Tips
Before You Come In
The Publication and Printing staff is available to help you make printing decisions, but it is a good idea to have several basics in mind before you bring in your print request. To place a job or to obtain an estimate, you will be asked about:
- The number of copies you want to have duplicated or printed.
- Pictures or artwork to be used.
- How the publication is to be finished and bound.
- The account number to be charged.
- The type of paper and which ink colors to be used.
- When the delivery is needed.
Begin Early
With 10,000 to 12,000 printing jobs produced annually, 8 million impressions printed each year, and 30 to 40 jobs in progress on any given day, scheduling is important. Because of the many steps involved in getting your print job to the press, it is important to allow enough time.
Rush Jobs
Rush jobs are accommodated when possible. Emergencies are unavoidable, and the staff will do all that is possible to help in those instances. However, delaying work on scheduled jobs to work on an emergency can disrupt the smooth flow of planned production, leading to errors and possible compromise in quality. To avoid that, check your supply of NCR forms and other printed pieces on a regular basis. You may want to schedule times according to your anticipated work flow and add a note to "check printing inventory" on your calendar.
Quick-Copy or Offset?
You'll want to know which jobs can be quick-copied, and which are more cost-effective for offset printing. The guidelines are:
Quick-Copy:
- Faster production time
- Automated collating and stapling
- Tape binding
Offset:
- Larger quantities
- Multiple-part (NCR) forms
- Envelopes
- Panel cards
Photographs
It is usually best to provide an original, high-quality photo for most printing work. Avoid writing on the back of the photo because marks may show through when the photo is reproduced. Also, it is important to avoid attaching anything to the photo with a paper clip or staple that may scratch the surface. If necessary, use a paper clip with a layer of folded paper between the metal and the photo. Digital photos do not work as well when they are taken with a DPI setting that is too low for quality reproduction.
- For Quick-Copy Printing: Provide the original photo for best results unless you are sending a digitized file to the DocuTech and your file includes scanned photos. In this case, there will be no loss of quality. If you are providing a hard copy for DocuTech reproduction, the copier will screen and position your photo. If you provide an already-printed photo from another publication, it may develop a moiré pattern during re-screening. For this reason, original photos work best.
- For Offset Printing: Becau se electronic scanning equipment is calibrated to its companion press equipment, it is best to bring in your original photo and allow it to be scanned on our equipment. Another advantage is that you will be able to see the results on your proof copy.
Standardized Letterhead, Envelopes and Business Cards
To consistently represent the institution, letterhead, envelopes and business cards are standardized according to UWG's pre-determined styles. Letterhead and envelopes bearing only the "University of West Georgia" heading are available from Purchasing Services' Central Warehouse on campus. For letterhead and envelopes printed with departments, names and phone numbers, it is more cost effective to place a printing order for the work. When you bring UWG pre-printed letterhead to the print shop to have department information added, you are paying for printing twice.