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Printing Tips Blog

Using Our Print Shop in Fort Worth To Help Grow Your Business

Printing is what we do, but helping you grow your business is what we enjoy most. On this page you will find tips about how to create and use printed materials to grow your business. We are active networkers. You will also find tips for effective networking to add customers and referral sources to your business.


Before You Visit the Print Shop, Plan Your Printing

Before you make that call to the graphic designer, ask yourself a few planning questions. Who is the target audience for this printed piece? What is the reason they would care about what you are about to print? What impression do you want to create in the mind of the target audience as they look at or read your piece?

Graphic designers will usually make it striking. They work to get the fonts and the colors just right. Most often they don't know the answers to the questions above and unless you tell them, they won't be able to consider these key questions in their design.

Don't forget that we have a great graphic design team on staff at Minuteman Fort Worth.

As in any endeavor, time spent in planning your print will reduce cost and increase impact!


Printing Business Cards and Brochures With Bleeds

When you call a printer for a quote, one of the questions you will be asked is "does your file bleed?"  Don't worry that the term sounds strange to you, it does to most people.  We say a file "bleeds" when color or an image runs all the way to the edge of the document.  Lot's of designs "bleed" off the edge of the paper to create a more dramatic or finished look. 

Most documents will be printed on white stock.  If you want your sheet to be blue that's fine.  We will usually not print it on a blue stock because the color of the stock will impact the appearance of the other colors on the document.  To make a sheet fully blue, we will "bleed" the color blue off the edge of the white stock.

The reason we have to ask is to print a file that bleeds, we will print on an oversized piece of paper and print the image at least 1/4 inch larger than the finished document.  We will then cut the document to size.  It takes more paper and a secondary operation to put a "bleed" on your finished document. 

"Bleeds" can be dramatic and add value to your finished document.  Now you know how we do it at the print shop.