Explanation of bleeds
Knowing if a print job contains a bleed is very important, as it will have a major impact on how the job is run and how it is priced. Many different jobs can contain bleeds, for example; business cards, presentation folders, brochures, and magazines, just to name a few. Simply stated, a bleed is where the ink is printed to the edge of the sheet. In printing what really happens is an oversize sheet is printed then cut down to size to appear like it was printed to the edge. Figure 1 shows some business cards printed with and without a bleed. This is an area where one of our experts can meet with you, and direct you based on your specific needs.

Explanation of Ink colors
For obvious reasons, ink color can be the most important part of a job. There are several types of colors in commercial printing, we only concern ourselves with two, they are process colors and spot colors. Both can produce vivid colors and designs. Spot colors are used in image identities so the mind will relate to a specific product or thing, i.e. the yellow used on Yellow Cabs®, the browns, tans and yellows in UPS®, the red in Coke®. These can be very effective marketing tools. Spot colors can also make a job less costly because spot colors only require that single color. Some designs use multiple spot colors, and some use spot colors with a half tone that appears as another color because it is shaded.

Process Colors are just four colors Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, (C,M,Y,K). With most current software applications we are able to extract images that can be reinterpreted and broken down (RIP-ed) into variations of the four colors. Typically these would be images such as photographs, cartoons, etc., although it can also be text and logos. Under a strong eye glass viewing a printed piece, you can see tiny dots of any combination of the four colors that reproduce the image.

Spot colors come from an international Pantone® Matching System (PMS). These are specific somewhat exacting colors that come from technical formulas that we mix on sight at no extra charge. We will be happy to perform a “swatch match” of your product and consult with you on our recommendations.

Explanation of watermarks
To see if your sheet has a watermark, hold it up to a bright light or a window and look through the paper. Watermarks can be text or words or just a symbol or logo. Figure 3 shows some samples of Letterheads with Watermarks. Watermarks will typically only be in 24# fine grade stocks. But don’t be disappointed if you don’t see a watermark because not all manufacturers have watermarks, and in the case of 70# stocks no watermark is used because of the thickness of the sheet. In some cases envelopes have watermarks as well, however they are not as easy to distinguish. As you can guess there are literally thousands of types and colors of stock (paper). We have a very large assortment of samples available for your review, simply schedule an appointment with one of our representatives and WE WILL COME TO YOU.