Graphic Impressions, Inc.: Printer@Work

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Graphic Impressions, Inc.

September 10, 2010

A delightfully absurd take on everything from superheroes to office humor, twisted relationships, huggable animals, and more.
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News From
Vaughn Riley

Idea of
the Week

Uncommon Product
of the Week

Work in RGB, see the effects in CMYK.		Happy Non-Holidays!
All Tied Up		Training in Progress

A Message From Vaughn Riley

The Way I See It

Lick-ity Split

Have you ever taken the words of others too literally? This humorous story is an example of such a misunderstanding and goes to show why sometimes ignorance is bliss:

The staff at a retirement home was puzzled when one of their residents began scrubbing her dentures and gargling nonstop with mouthwash muttering that something disgusting happened at the post-office. The elderly lady who rarely ventured out decided to mail a stack of holiday cards. She purchased her stamps and stepped aside to lick each of the stamps. Despite pressing as hard as she could, the frustrated lady complained to the clerk that her stamps wouldn't stick. The clerk explained that she needed to pull back the paper, so the elderly lady fiddled around until she removed the paper backing on each stamp and licked them all again and again, but they still did not stick. The clerk tried to explain that they are adhesive, self-stick stamps, but the increasingly frustrated lady could not grasp the concept. Exhausted, the clerk said "Just pretend they've already been licked."

Here's the way I see it: Robert McCloskey once said, "I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant." Look to us for your next important printing project and you can rest assured we'll all be on the same page.

Vaughn Riley

Idea of the Week

Work in RGB, Preview in CMYK

While Photoshop files intended for use in full-color print jobs will ultimately need to be converted to CMYK color mode, working in RGB color mode means more filters for you to use, and a smaller file size, which allows Photoshop to operate more efficiently.

Knowing these benefits, wouldn’t it be nice to work in RGB mode, but see the effects of your work in CMYK mode?

Here’s how you can do just that in real-time. While your image is open onscreen, go under the Window menu to Arrange, and choose New Window. This will open another view of your existing document. Press Command-Y (for a PC: Control-Y) to show a CMYK preview of your image, then return to your original document and edit as normal. The changes you make in the RGB window will be updated in the CMYK window.

Your finished file will still need to be converted to CMYK mode for use in full-color print production. If you need assistance with this final step, please contact us - we’ll be happy to help.

See more great ideas like this!
Click here to visit the Graphic Impressions, Inc. Ideas Collection.

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Marketing Tip

Year-Round Promotions

Because many companies focus their marketing on Thanksgiving and Christmas sales, it is easy to feel bombarded with marketing overload during the holidays. Here are a few examples of how to use creative promotions to grab your customers' attention and boost sales year round:

Happy Birthday! Take advantage of every opportunity you have to celebrate, whether it is your company's birthday or your customers' individual birthdays. Don't have this information? Request it by creating a "birthday club" offering special discounts, promotions, or a free gift on customer birthdays. This is also a great way to build and update your customer database.
Ground Hog's Day. While Valentine's Day is typically the feature push during February, you can get a jump start by promoting a more light-hearted holiday. For example, a fireplace business could offer a discount promo to help customers stay warm during six more weeks of winter.
Earth Day. You don't need one particular holiday to show interest in the environment. Does your company take every opportunity to print on recycled materials, use energy-efficient appliances, install solar panels for energy, etc? If so, toot your own horn and look for creative ways to reward customers who do likewise.
Cold weather fun. If you live in the Midwest, it may be fun to offer a promotion around the weather during the blissful month of January. For example, if yesterday's high was 15 degrees, customers would receive a 15% discount on all purchases. Be clear upfront if exclusions apply.
Choose a quarterly way to highlight a target demographic. For example, seniors receive a free piece of pie with $5 purchase in April. College students receive a free pitcher of their favorite beverage with a large pizza in October. Families receive a 15% water park admission discount for groups of four or more in August.
Help your community with goodwill promotions. Offer discount coupons or free gifts with donation of a non-perishable food item, gently used clothes, or blood bank donations. Many people forget that non-profit organizations need donations and support year round.
Other ideas... Has your spring sprung? Overhead door companies could offer a discounted garage door replacement to promote the kick-off of spring. Enjoying the dog days of summer? A doggy-doo cleanup company can help you relax by offering summer promotions to clean up your yard.

If you'd like help creating marketing materials to advertise your low-cost, high return promotions, give us a call today! We're full of unique print ideas to increase sales year-round.

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Tech Tips

Organizing Cord Clutter

If you look behind or under many computer desks (whether at work or home offices), you'll often see a "rat's nest" of power cables, computer cables, telephone lines, and maybe even speaker cables. In addition to being unsightly, a messy collection of cables can become damaged by crimping or breaking, be a potential fire hazard, cause overheating or allergy flares from a buildup of dust, be dangerous for children or pets, become disconnected by getting accidently kicked, or could even potentially get soaked with spilled coffee. Here are a few tips on how to effectively deal with cable clutter:

Unplug and disconnect all cables and power cords before cleaning them to remove dust and allergens.
Identify all nearby wall outlets and plug as many cords directly into them as possible without extension cords.
Install a USB hub to eliminate extra cables and consider replacing cords that are ridiculously long with shorter cords.
Attach cable hooks to the underside of your desk to keep cables up and away from your feet.
As an option besides tie cables and Velcro straps, cord towers not only protect cables from every day abrasion and dust build-up, but they also keep wires invisible from curious pets and kids who may be tempted to pull or chew on them. Wire looms are another option available in a variety of colors and offer a stylish way to protect cables from friction, heat, dust, and sunlight.
Use a plastic cord cover to protect cables from heavy foot traffic and keep the floor clear and safe by preventing run over or tripping accidents.

If you'd like creative ideas on how to organize your print files or materials, give us a call. Your printing projects are our priority!

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Uncommon Product

Employee Training Materials

It's no surprise that well-trained, productive employees are the key to business success. Whether you are creating an employee handbook or various training materials, here are a few tips to consider:

Think of employee training as an investment rather than an expense. While training can be costly up front, it's a long-term investment in the growth and development of your employee team.
Consider making continuing education the responsibility of one person in the department, who updates all training materials and staff members on current policies, procedures, and the technology relevant to the department.
A well-written employee training manual ensures that every employee receives the same information about the rules of the workplace, your employees will know what you expect from them (and what they can expect from you), and you'll buy yourself valuable legal protection if an employee later challenges you in court.
Create quality printed training materials, since they become valuable resources for trainees to refer to again and again once training is over. For example, if you are training an employee on an important piece of equipment, incorporate visual images that illustrate functions, examples, and example how-tos.
Consider organizing your training materials in a three-ring binder with easily identifiable tab dividers to make it easier to update and organize information.
Keep the reader in mind and avoid corporate terminology.
Provide blank pages or white space for employee notes.
If there are policy or procedure changes, consider distributing a brief information sheet (or training alert) and ask employees to update their training binder. Offer follow-up training if there are any questions regarding the change.
To ensure your training materials are read, consider testing trainees and offer rewards for top performing employees.
While a well developed training manual promotes consistency and ensures that important details are addressed, remember that a training manual should not replace a human trainer. It is simply a tool to assist both the trainer and trainee.

Considering your company will only be as successful as the people you work with, you can rest assured we can help you reach your goals when you trust your printing projects with us.

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