In the Designers Working With Series, I’ve been covering printers, pre press and printing. Keeping with the print theme, for this Resourceful Friday I’m sharing David Airey’s blog of the same name.

Irish born David has come up with a printing list worth checking out.

12 money-saving questions to ask before printing your promotional material

1. Did more than one person proof-read the job?
2. If we change the size of the printed product can we print on a smaller press and save money?
3. Did you make a “dummy” or mock-up to check configuration and presentation of your job?
4. Are you absolutely sure about the quantity to be printed?
5. If there are photos in the document, do they need to be retouched?
6. Is the paper opacity sufficient or will there be any see-through?
7. What about the texture of the paper?
8. Can we substitute our choice of paper for a stock that is less expensive, while still looking as good?
9. Will ink colours change when printed on a particular type of paper?
10. Does the printed sheet need a varnish?
11. Can we print four colours on one side of the sheet and black on the reverse to give the illusion of a “four colour process” job?
12. Can we combo-run any of the elements for a cost-savings?

Other great posts by David on the subject of printing

• File preparation for commercial print
• How paper can critically affect the colour of your printed product
• Design guide for print

Or David’s Printing Resources

• Commercial Color Offset Printing | Printing Terms-A Sponsored by TigerPressOnline
• Preparing your files for Printing on a Commercial Printing Press by Gregg Stalter (AKA Cappy)
• The Impotence of Proofreading by Daniel Scocco at Daily Writing Tips

David’s blog has much more than printing so be sure to get over to his Featured Articles for more.

Until the next
Resourceful Friday,
cat