WE HAVE MOVED
Our new location is 23 Filleul Street, Dunedin. Next door to Configure Express Gym & directly across the road from Fuji Xerox. Ph 03 477 6379
Unethical Paper Companies
Some of you may have heard of a recent Australian documentary about the APRIL Group operating throughout Asia. From what I understand the company are operating with very bad ecological practices damaging natural habitats and wildlife. PulpWatch.com give APRIL and Asia Pulp and Paper very poor ratings.
Please be assured that Colortronics does not purchase any papers from these companies.
The problem is some paper companies lie. They make false claims about their environmental practises. Fortunately due to the great work done by various enviromental watch groups they are eventually exposed.
At Colortronics, myself, Geoff Bilson, is responsible for all our paper purchases. I work very hard at obtaining competively price papers from proven responsible manufacturers. The manufacturers must have at least:
FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) certification. FSC is a WWF international non profit organisation which operates a Chain of Custody labelling system for wood and paper products which means they are certified at each stage of their manufacture to meet social, economic and environmental standards.
ECF (Elemental Chlorine Free) Paper that is whitened without the use of Chlorine gases.
ISO 14001 (International Mill Standard) International Organisation for Standards promotes the development and implementation of voluntary international standards.
WMF (Well Managed Forests) Forests that are certified and audited to ensure they comply with environmentally sustainable practice and principles. Tropical hardwood and softwood trees are now grown in Well Managed Forests
Where possible Colortronics will use approved manufacturers also accredited with:
Farmed Trees One million contracted Thai farmers grow specifically chosen Eucalyptus trees alonside their rice, cassava, sugar and corn plots. This leaves no need to use existing trees from natural forests for paper production.
Recycled Paper containing a percentage of recycled fibre (pre-consumer and/or post consumer waste.
So please once again be assured that Colortronics work hard at being environmentally responsible print suppliers. You are invited to visit our website www.colortronics and read our Sustainabilty Policy.
Best wishes to you all.
The Ultimate Design Brief
Design work can only be as good as the brief a designer works from.
The best projects are borne from briefs that are open enough to inspire ideas, while being specific enough to feel workable. The tips below will guide you to providing a comprehensive & clear design brief.
Firstly: Your business name, your full name and all contact details.
1. Title of item / project.
2. Delivery mechanisim & marketing objectives
3. Format (if known)
4. Budget & schedule
5. What are you providing the designer with: Photographs, product shots,
(please check these are high resolution).
6. Description of target audience: Occupation, gender ratio, average age,
nationality/location, lifestyle preferences.
7. Message objectives: Provide any copy, show key headline/statement,
indicate any desired visuals/product shots.
8. Where to look for inspiration: What aspects of your company/brand are
important in the look of the design, What feelings or metaphors reflect
the spirit of your product or company.
9. What you believe is not working with your existing
material. (if applicable) Give an example of what you do not like about
your current printed image, & why you feel the need to change.
Tips for briefing a designer
1. Don't prescribe solutions.You are paying for the designer's ideas, so avoid the tempation to tell the designer what to do. Instead, be clear about what the item needs to achieve, so the designer can explore ideas, This is where you need the designer's expertise.
2. Consider the project in relation to your business as a whole.
It is often a good idea for reasons of consistancy to make sure that the overall image of your business is the same across all media. Nothing looks worse than say, a sign on your building sporting a different logo or colour to the graphic on your car! if commissioning a new identity/logo, make sure all stationary, signage, visual media & web reflect the new look . You do not wish to create a confused brand message to your potential customers.
3. Formalize design briefing:
Carefully word your brief in an email or printed doc, and use this as a reference point when you meet. It always pays to meet face to face particulary if you are a new client, or if the project is a large & involved one.
Is printing expensive?
Sometimes we may have a casual enquiry regarding price and get told "oh that's expensive!" Hmmmm. What to reply? Actually printing has got cheaper over the years. I recall the very first digital colour printer I had around 15 years ago. The printer cost around $120,000. I used to charge around $4.00 per A4 which was about standard then. The printer would print 4 copies a minute and really the quality wasn't very good.
Nowdays we will, depending on quantity etc.., charge as little as 60 cents on a 65 pages per minute printer with quality that is absolutely fantastic! Print buyers have benefited from the huge improvements in technology. Even paper has increased in quality over the years. I recall when I was an apprentice, over 30 years ago, trying to print on a particular imported paper. The trouble was there would be sheets of paper that had holes in them. Sometimes as large as a $2 coin. On other occasions the ink would not dry because the ink had reacted to the chemical residue on the paper.
So really when you compare print over the last few years, it is cheaper.
Advantages of digital print over conventional offset
One of the major advantages of digital print is the suitabilty for the smaller print run. Depending on the job, to set up for offset printing requires the making of film and printing plates. This is an immediate cost that reflects in the unit price. So if say a print run of 500 A4 colour, that would mean a cost of around 32 cents before even the printing commenced. Digital removes this cost because the electronic file is sent directly to the digital printer and printed there and then. Colortronics using the latest digital presses and software can produce offset print quality virtually on the spot. There is no ink drying time before further finishing. In fact with our pressess the finishing, trimming and folding, are done online as part of the print process. With our advanced colour management software we can guarantee every print is the same colour and quality, blemish free.