Shake Up Your Designs with Die-Cut Cards

Designers & business professionals wanting to think outside of the box might find satisfaction in the option to die-cut cards. It involves cutting stock with a specifically-shaped metal die.

Die-cutting is a great way to provide impact & emphasis, leaving a lasting impression on the viewer. Cards can be cut to the same shape of your logo, or cut to a shape that represents your company’s product or services. This extra step in your final design can help you stand out among the crowd and draw in prospective customers.

Morning Print Hint: Outlining Your Text

Fancy fonts can be really fun and fantastic not to mention futuristic, ferocious and flirty.. sorry just got on a little alliteration kick there.

However I’m sure we have all experienced typing something up in a fun font and then saving it on a portable device and using another computer only to find out that this other computer doesn’t have the same fonts stored on it and therefore cannot read your text or it comes out in a different font.. etc. This is also the same case for when you send us your documents. We might not always have the fonts that you have embedded in your files. Text can be converted to curves (paths) in some graphic programs. This will fix upload errors that result when fonts are not embedded in your file. Following these easy steps will help ensure that your text prints clearly.

MorningPrint Hint: Rich Black vs K100

MorningPrint’s February 2015 Promo

February is here and it is time to save! Right now all the Pearl Plastic stocks are marked down 20% off at www.themorningprint.com. No coupon code is needed the prices have already been slashed and this offer will be gone at the end of the month. So if you are looking for a truly unique stock that will get you noticed then go for the Pearl!

Don’t forget to check out our sample kits, you can check out the stocks before ordering: Click here for a sample kit.

MorningPrint Hint: Understanding the Margin of Error

Good Monday morning world! Today we wanted to talk about a common issue we hear about from our clients in the offset gang printing industry.

You set up your artwork for print. You use the guideline set up, your text is within the safezone.

you submit your order and when you get it back the text is touching the edge of the document and the whole design looks off-center.

The Design of the Month for December is…

Hello! Here at MorningPrint, we receive many amazing designs, and we really enjoy seeing the creative process the designers go through. We enjoy seeing the results received after we send these designs to print. We would like to share some of these creative designs with you to help inspire you as they have inspired us.

Business Card Design of the Month : December

Designer Name : Shawn Hazen Company Name: Hazen Creative Inc. Website : www.hazencreative.com Order Details : Heavy Nouveau + Oversized Blind Press Embossing

REVIEW

Q : Please briefly tell us about you, your company, your products and services: A : I run a small studio in Chicago that specializes in visual design: mostly logos, web sites, and editorial work.

Q : You have a very clean and simple design which is very effective, how did you arrive at this concept? A: Thanks! I actually just simplified my studio’s branding. I wanted to do something with just the name, in bold but minimal typography. But I didn’t want it to be SO minimal that it wasn’t “special.” I had been thinking about doing a foil stamp-which I’ve done for a couple clients through MorningPrint and then I noticed the embossing, which I’d somehow missed before! It was just the touch I was looking for, so I designed the card around being able to do that.

Q : You have many orders with MorningPrint, all of which are on the Heavy Nouveau. How did you select this stock and what keeps you coming back for the same stock? A: Yes, I pretty much use that exclusively with you guys! I started designing business stationery back when there weren’t all the online printers-working with a traditional local printer using 1 to 3 spot colors on an uncoated stock. The explosion of online printing is great in a lot of ways, but options are limited and I miss the slightly-toothy uncoated stocks I used to spec with my local print shops. The Heavy Nouveau is my favorite option for getting back to that classic, tactile quality that I want for business stationery but still getting the benefits (cost, speed, and full-color) of online printing.

Q : How has your experience with MorningPrint? Did you experience any difficulties when using MorningPrint.com, or find anything to be inconvenient or inefficient? A: It’s site and the service has always worked really well. My only unusual experience this time was that I contacted Laura in your service department this time because I was worried about exactly how my blind embossing would work (since I was doing it over a solid printed surface.) But that was just me being paranoid and overly cautious-I could have just sailed through with the information/functions on your site. But it was nice to be able to get confirmation that I hadn’t screwed anything up!

Q : A business card can hold a lot of different information, how did you determine what information to include, and what do you believe are the key components needed for a business card? A: That’s a good question. I still have clients who insist on putting a fax # on there when they haven’t used a fax in years! Old habits die hard, I guess. I kept mind simple-no title or extraneous information. I could have included a tag line or description of what I do and both my phone numbers, but I find that when I hand someone a card, I generally have laid a little groundwork, so I really only need to ensure they have my name, number, email and web site. I’ve actually left my address off cards in the past! But I like having a little more info on there than that-even if just for design reasons!

Q : Any tips for our clients to consider when they are creating their business cards? A: Think about my comment above: what is the situation you’ll be in when you give it to someone, and what will they need the card to convey to them? In my case, the more intangible aspect of handing someone a card is that I want them to take it and go “ooooh”-and so far my blind embossed type on blue is doing that! Because I’m a designer, there has to be some designs-ness to it. But I want all my clients to get an “oooh” when they hand someone their card. That may not be triggered by something visual: a really clever tag line can have the same effect. Since cards are less a part of daily business life these days, if you’ve got one, it should be purposeful and special.

Q : Any plans for your next business card? A: I actually want to do 3 more of this exact same card, but instead of cyan, I want to do magenta, yellow, and black! Am I a huge design dork or what?

What is Gang Printing?

  You may be wondering what a gang printing service is. There are different types of printing, processes and techniques within the printing industry. MorningPrint is a CMYK offset gang printing service.

MorningPrint Hint: Embossing

Embossing is a great way to add interest to your business cards. Embossing is a finishing technique where a graphic, text etc. is pressed into the paper using two die. one that is raised and one that is recessed. The dies fit into each other so that when the paper is pressed between them, the raised die forces the stock into the recessed die and creates the embossed impression. A specific level of pressure is applied to the dies in order to squeeze the fibers of the paper, which results in a permanently raised area in the paper (*note the backside of the embossing is indented).

Design of the Month for June is…

Hello! Here at MorningPrint, we receive many amazing designs, and we really enjoy seeing the creative process the designers go through. We enjoy seeing the results received after we send these designs to print. We would like to share some of these creative designs with you to help inspire you as they have inspired us.

Name : Jimmy González & Erick González

Website : www.leuxsolutions.com
E-mail : INFO@LEUX.DO
Order Details :
Black paper Glossy Silver Foil
Nouveau + Raised Ink (single side)

Q : Briefly tell us about yourself, your company, and the services you offer:

A : We offer viable and innovative solutions putting aside conventional methods and providing ideas that will improve our customer proposals. Leux arises from the mixture of two minds and our task is to create, experiment and have fun every day.

The services we provide are: Motions Graphics, Video Production, Digital Marketing, Advertising, Project Startup, Branding, Webdesign. In short, everything you need for your company to stay in the mind of all its customers in a special way.

Q : After placing your order receiving the cards was not the end for you. You got creative after receiving the cards, made some cuts and had some assembly required. The end result was something truly unique. How did you come up with this idea to create a card with moving parts?

A: We must admit it was not an easy task, we needed something that awed people the moment they had it in their hands. After our “Creative Storm” and taking as inspiration the concept of interactivity, we tested, assembled and repeated over and over to reach this result.

Q : How did you select the stocks and options you chose?

A: Luckily we found a special place where we had a wide range of options to choose and our advantage was the samples that MorningPrint sent us. We did some tests with those samples until we finally decided on the Nouveau for the Rise ink and black paper for the foil, that gave this combination an awesome result.

Q : How did you make the cuts after receiving your card?

A: We had to make some cuts to the purple card, then with a “Circular Shaper 3/4” drilled the black card. The biggest challenge was merging both cards, for this we used eyelets and carefully we merged both getting the result you are seeing. Everything was done manually (Art & Craft).

Q : When working with your clients, how do you get to the bottom of the style / design / products you will offer them?

A: Our # 1 rule is to provide experiences with high attention to detail. We do our “Shoot ‘Em Up” session, in which we take the idea and analyze it from different points of view, thereby obtaining the sketch. After this, we do the proposals, obtaining stunning results.

Q : Any tips for our clients to consider when they are creating their business cards?

A:Think different, make mistakes because they help you to learn new things. Evolve your creativity, play with your idea and never forget to add the secret ingredient: To love everything you do.

Q :Any ideas for your next card? Different stock / options?

A: Rest assured that we will come up with something new, taking advantage of the products that MorningPrint offers. We’re thinking on a concept that plays with the perception of the viewer.

Q : How was your experience with MorningPrint? Did you experience any difficulties when using MorningPrint, or find anything to be inconvenient or inefficient?

A: Our experience was fantastic! We received a quick reply to all emails, all the answers were very clear. The delivery time exceeded the one shown in the website and the product we received was beyond our expectations. The best part was the love MorningPrint greeted us with, which is why our card has that special seal. We do not have a single complaint.

Special Offer from LUXE SOLUTIONS :We are offering 30% off for branding & design, 25% off for social media and 20% off for motion graphics & advertising. To take advantage of this special offer just mention MorningPrint.

MorningPrint Hint: Foiling (pt.1)

Are you looking to add a touch of elegance to your card? Look no further than MorningPrint Foiling options. Foiling options offered are as follows: Glossy Gold, Matte Gold, Glossy Silver, Matte Silver, Glossy Red, Glossy Blue, Glossy Green, Glossy Black, Hologram.

Things to keep in mind when considering foiling:

• Foiling is only available for one side of the card (only exception is the black paper stock)
• Foiling is a flat application, but you can add embossing to raise the foiled area (*note embossing does affect the back side of the card, leaving it indented)
• Foiling is a flat application however it can be combined with embossing to create a raised effect (*do note that embossing affects the backside of the card)
• Foiling colors are standard we do not match colors
• Foiling has some size limitations, the standard price is for an area of 40mm x 20mm
• Foiling areas larger than 40mm x 20mm may be possible however are subject to an oversize foiling fee. If the foiling area is too large (not leaving space for our machines to hold the card) it may not be possible. If your foiling area is larger than 40mm x 20mm you want to make sure to select oversized foiling during the ordering process, failing to do so can cause your order to be placed on hold.
• Our machines need 5mm of space from the document size of 2 adjacent sides to hold while foiling
• Detail for foiling should not be too small, tiny details may not translate into foiling properly. We recommend that foiling areas be larger than what can be compared to a point 7 font. Keep in mind all fonts and sizing is different so we cannot guarantee it will be expressed perfectly, when in doubt use larger detail or font size. We can only recommend larger sizing for better results.
• Large blocks of foiling are not recommended, we recommend for simple graphics and clear text or logos

In order to process foiling we require that you submit 3-4 files.

All files should meet the following requirements:

• Document size for paper stocks = 3.62” x 2.05”
• 300 DPI or higher
• Color Mode: CMYK
• Convert all text to outlines: By converting fonts to outlines in programs like Illustrator and Photoshop, you will avoid font issues such as missing fonts or missing text. When converting text to outlines, the font becomes a “shape” and will look no different than its original font. If your fonts are not converted to outlines or rasterized, your design may not be viewed the way it was meant to be seen. Illustrator – Select All text – Type – Create Outlines / Photoshop – Select text layer – rasterize

Files needed:

1. Front Complete Design – this will include all elements of the front of your design (printed and foiled)
2. Front Printing – this will be only the areas for ink to be printed (no foiling area should be seen here)
3. Front Foiling – this will be only the area for foiling denoted in 100% black (foil color will be whatever color selected during the order process.
4. Back Side Printing – this will be just the area for printing on the backside

Example of file 1-3

This is a simple example of an ideal foiling project. The foil is simple, it is within the 40mm x 20mm standard size, and it is not aligned to any printed areas as foiling can shift 1-2mm due to cutting.

Now that you have a better idea of the possibilities of foiling we are excited to see what you come up with!

Print responsibly.