Did you know...Vital Facts About the Paper Used in Print Products

These vital facts about the paper used in print products

• About 90% of paper and paperboard consumed in the United States is produced in the United States.¹
• Overall, 33% of papermaking material comes from recycled paper; 33% comes from wood chips and scrap from sawmills; and 33% comes from virgin trees.²

American Envelope Sizes

There are dozens of sizes of envelopes available. Not all are used for posting mail, but for such things as former pay packets or putting a gift card or a key in.

Announcement Envelope Sizes

Name	Size in millimeters	Size in inches
A-2	111 mm x 146 mm	4 3/8 in x 5 3/4 in
A-6	120 mm x 165 mm	4 3/4 in x 6 1/2 in
A-7	139 mm x 184 mm	5 1/4 in x 7 1/4 in
A-8	139 mm x 206 mm	5 1/2 in x 8 1/8 in
A-10	159 mm x 244 mm	6 1/4 in x 9 5/8 in
Slim	98 mm x 225 mm	3 7/8 in x 8 7/8 in

Announcement envelopes are very common envelopes and are used for cards and invitations.

Commercial Envelope Sizes

Name	Size in millimeters	Size in inches
No. 6¼	89 mm x 152 mm	3 1/2 in x 6 in
No. 6¾	92 mm x 165 mm	3 5/8 in x 6 1/2 in
No. 8	98 mm x 190 mm	3 7/8 in x 7 1/2 in
No. 9	98 mm x 225 mm	3 7/8 in x 8 7/8 in
No. 10	105 mm x 241 mm	4 1/8 in x 9 1/2 in
No. 11	114 mm x 263 mm	4 1/2 in x 10 3/8 in
No. 12	120 mm x 279 mm	4 3/4 in x 11 in
No. 14	127 mm x 292 mm	5 in x 11 1/2 in

Commercial envelopes are standard-sized envelopes that are used daily for regular mail.

Catalog Envelope Sizes

Name	Size in millimeters	Size in inches
No. 1	152 mm x 228 mm	6 in x 9 in
No. 1¾	165 mm x 241 mm	6 1/2 in x 9 1/2 in
No. 2	165 mm x 254 mm	6 1/2 in x 10 in
No. 3	178 mm x 254 mm	7 in x 10 in
No. 6	190 mm x 266 mm	7 1/2 in x 10 1/2 in
No. 7	203 mm x 279 mm	8 in x 11 in
No. 8	209 mm x 286 mm	8 1/4 in x 11 1/4 in
No. 9½	216 mm x 267 mm	8 1/2 in x 10 1/2 in
No. 9¾	222 mm x 286 mm	8 3/4 in x 11 1/4 in
No. 10½	229 mm x 305 mm	9 in x 12 in
No. 12½	241 mm x 317 mm	9 1/2 in x 12 1/2 in
No. 13½	254 mm x 330 mm	10 in x 13 in
No. 14¼	286 mm x 311 mm	11 1/4 in x 12 1/4 in
No. 14½	292 mm x 368 mm	11 1/2 in x 14 1/2 in

The catalog formats are mostly used for — you saw this one coming — catalogs, folders, flyers and magazines.

Using standard envelop sizes for your work is a logical step, envelopes are availlable in a wide variety of dimensions and having custom envelopes made is possible, but expensive.

Converting to CMYK

When preparing files for print, you will have to convert images from RGB to the CMYK color space. Any respectable image editor or file layout prorgam has a option for it. Sometimes it can be tricky to find the specific option to convert to CMYK.

Here is a list of several common programs with instructions on how to convert the color space to CMYK.

Adobe Photoshop

If the file already exists select the following menu options: Image > Mode > CMYK When starting a new file select CMYK for the mode before clicking OK.

Adobe InDesign

Use the following menu options: Window > Swatches and Window > Color. Double click color in Swatches Change color mode to CMYK and color type to Process. Any colors created in the document that are not in the Swatches palette, need to be changed to the CMYK color space. Select each object you want to convert and make sure the Color palette reflects the CMYK percentages. Click top right arrow in the palette to change to CMYK if necessary.

Corel Draw

Select each object you want to convert. Select the Fill tool and click Fill Color Dialog. Make sure the Color model is CMYK. For each object with an outline: Select the Outline tool and click the Outline Color Dialog. Make sure the Color model is CMYK.

Adobe Illustrator

Use the following menu options. For an existing file select Edit > Select All and then Filter > Colors > Convert to CMYK. For a new file, select File > New and select CMYK color for the Color Mode.

Quark Xpress

Use the following menu options: Edit > Edit Colors > Show Colors in Use > Highlight Color and click Edit. Change model to CMYK and deselect Spot color.

Adobe Pagemaker

Use the following menu options: Window > Show Colors. Double click "colors" in palette and select Model to be CMYK and Type to be Process. Please be advised that Pagemaker does not successfully represent CMYK color on the monitor.

Is converting images to CMYK important?

Yes! It's very important if you are working on a print document. Many commercial printers accept RGB images wihout question but using images with a RBG color space can seriously screw up your image. We've seen black and white images, twisted color spectrums and more terrible stuff. Printers who accept RBG images auto-convert images to CMYK without checking the outcome.

Make sure you convert images to CMYK yourself, so you can do ajustments on the CMYK outcome if needed and keep 100% control over image quality. While working in CMYK, here are some Adobe Photoshop CMYK tips to get you started.

How should I submit my files for printing?

Here at SLB printing the most common question we are asked is, "How should I submit my files for printing?" The simple answer is pdf. No matter what design software you are using to create your files, you should be able to save a hi-resolution press ready pdf with bleeds and crop marks for us to rip and print without any formatting or font issues.

The method you need to use to make a hi-resolution PDF is in the "settings" dialog box inside of acrobat distiller (full version). Some programs will allow you to access this dialog box from your print dialog box. Once there, your "preset" box should be set to either "Press Quality" or "PDF/X-1a".

As for setting up your file with the proper bleed area, we have a video that will help you with making a file with bleeds here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcrx9havGsY

Crop Marks (or cut marks) is simply a check box in your print dialog box that needs to be selected.

If you are using Photoshop to set up your file, SLB Printing has found that this is a very bad idea. The text, even if set on a vector layer, usually looks fuzzy or jagged in the final press ready file. There are many reasons for this. We always tell our clients that Photoshop is for editing your pictures, not for layout. If you want a quality looking job, you need to use a proper page layout program.

If you still need assistance with set-up to submit your files for print, please call our office at 310-558-4752 (310-558-4SLB). Depending on the complexity of your project and the amount of help you need, we may be able to answer a simple question over the phone or recommend that you bring in your working files and have us finish them and prepare them properly for hi-quality printing. Our rates are $90 per hour with a $22.50 minimum for working on files.

In printing terms, what are "bleeds"?

A bleed refers to the artwork that extends beyond the finished size of the product. To make sure your artwork prints to the edge of your piece, please allow for an additional 1/8" (.125") on each applicable side.

When setting up your files with bleeds, it is good to keep a safety margin or text margin as well. Any essential text and design elements should be positioned within this margin. Please make sure the text still maintains the required margin even when graphics bleed.

Is USPS in trouble?

Here at SLB Printing we work closely with the United States Postal Service for our direct mailing services. The following article is being reposted from the Printing Industries Association of Southern California. It offers some insight and peace of mind as to the status of USPS:
(via piasc.org)

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has been in the news recently because of its financial woes and questions about its ongoing viability. Here are some facts and a few opinions to help you understand what is going on.

1. Forget what you hear about USPS going out of business. It will continue to exist for the foreseeable future and provide good, dependable service. It is too big and important to the economy for Congress to let it fail.

2. It is continuing to cut expenses in its processing network, delivery, and retail operations to bring capacity in line with diminished mail volume (led by the drop in single-piece First-Class Mail). Its goal is to have about 200 processing centers, down from almost 500, to close unprofitable post offices and to merge carrier groups for more efficient delivery.

3. The Postal Service's primary challenge is due to the rapid decline in the use of First-Class Mail, not mismanagement. First-Class Mail is its largest and most profitable product, representing nearly half of USPS revenue. While FirstClass volume has been falling since 2001, its decline accelerated during the recent recession at a pace that was greater than expected.

4. Standard Mail grew in volume by 2.6% this year. Mail will continue to be an important channel to communicate with customers and prospects. Roughly half of all commercial printing jobs in this country are destined for the mail.

5. Service standards will be changing for First-Class Mail from 1-3 days to 2-3 days. The days of dropping a payment in the mail and expecting it be delivered the next day will soon be over. This change is necessitated by the consolidation of processing centers and should take place in 2012.

6. USPS is an independent agency of the executive branch that requires Congressional legislation to pursue some of the changes and flexibility it seeks, such as five-day delivery, reducing or eliminating the pre-funding of retiree health benefits, getting a refund of its overpayment to the employee pension fund, and sponsoring its own health care plan. Several bills have been introduced that address—more or less depending on the bill—these changes. When one of these bills will be signed into law is anyone's guess. USPS executives are doing their best to remind Congress of the dire situation the Postal Service is in.

View the original article here: The Status of USPS-1