Printing Mistakes you should Avoid in Small Business

You have spent a lot of time with the designers and finally have a great design with matching artwork. Now it’s time for the printing press to finish off the job.

Most of the time, the job will be done perfectly. But sometimes, a few things can go wrong, leading to printing mistakes that you should avoid in small business.

Here are some of the biggest printing mistakes that small businesses do:

Tiny Font with a Dark Background

Beware of tiny fonts when printing on a dark background. Go for a big font if you prefer a dark background. If you prefer a small font, go for a bright background.

Colors That Contrast Poorly

Some colors give disastrous results when used together. Avoid colors that won’t give good contrast such as yellow, magenta and cyan.

Spelling Mistakes

Spelling mistakes can easily get into print if you don’t proofread carefully. If you feel challenged to proofread, get a competent person to proofread the material before printing. Repeat this process whenever changes are made on the material.

It is better to spend time and some money ahead of printing than to have the material printed and then realize that it needs corrections. The loss can be substantial and if you don’t carry it out, the results would be printed materials that don’t work as effectively as they should.

Overcrowded Print

Parts of the design can be chopped off if the design is overcrowded. To avoid parts of the design getting out of the print area, go for quiet borders. This is a design in which borders are not defined by color or lines. Quiet borders are defined by the space left around the printed area. The result is a professional looking print that is inviting to the audience.

Low Resolution Images

Using low resolution images leads to poor printed materials that look cheap and amateurish. Always ensure that the resolution of images meant for printing purposes is at least 300 pixels (ppi).

Not Getting a Hard Copy for Proofing Purposes

When you have proofed the design on the screen, you might assume it will be the same when printed. However, proofing on screen is not adequate for materials meant for printing. Get a hardcopy of the material. The hard copy will give you a good idea of what the final print will look like. Proofing a sample copy helps you to have a complete picture of your product. This includes the overall design and copy.

Poor Quality of Paper

The paper quality used may not be good enough. Insist on proofreading hard copy printed on the exact paper that will be used. This will help you make the best decision about paper quality.

Too Many Font Types

A print can have too many fonts. This can easily be a turn off for your audience. It is best to go for one or two fonts for any print.

Wrong Contact Information

Incorrect contact information can easily get into the final printed material. This can happen when proofreading is not done. The results would be disastrous. Always be keen about the contact information. Remember that the printed material should get customers to contact you.

It helps to look out for these printing mistakes in order to get rid of them. Are there other printing mistakes you should avoid in small business?

Author Bio: Guest post contributed by David Kendall on behalf of WhoIsHostingThis.com – David is a freelance technology writer. He enjoys sharing his insights on various tech blogs.