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font
Another name for typeface.

image resolution
This is determined by how many pixels are used digitally to recreate an image. High resolution image files (suitable for print) should be at least 300dpi (dots per inch) at print size. Low resolution image files (suitable for on screen use) are between 72dpi - 120dpi at 100%.

COLOUR JARGON

spot colour
Any area of colour that is designated to be printed with a specific ink (for example, a Pantone colour), rather than being reproduced with process inks.

process colour
Colour produced in printing by combining the four CMYK inks, used for full colour printing.

cmyk
Cyan, magenta, yellow and black - these are the printers primary colours.

Pantone
An international printing colour system which provides an accurate method of matching and controlling colours.

rgb
Red,green,blue - colours are defined in this way for on screen use - for example, white is R:255 G:255 B:255.

indexed colour
A way of defining colour in an image from a specific colour pallette rather than from RGB values. Most commonly seen in .gif files used on the internet.

greyscale
a greyscale image is an image containly only black, white, and tints of grey.

bitmap
an image containing only pure black and white, with no tints of grey.

duotone
an image made from tints of two colours.

FILE FORMATS

.eps
Encapsulated Postscript - an image file containing all the information required to rip the file to print (this information can only be read and cannot be altered or added to unless the user has the relevant software).

.tif (tiff)
Tagged Image File Format - an image file that can be altered and extended.

.jpg (jpeg)
A compressed image file format most commonly used for photographs displayed on the internet.

.gif
An image file format that uses indexed colour rather than rgb or cmyk colour values. Popular on the internet due to small file size.

.pdf (Portable Document Format)
A MAC/ PC secure file. Documents created using a variety of different software packages can be easily converted to pdf format, retaining the appearance of the original. The pdf files can then be viewed on any platform using Acrobat Reader software. Pdf files can be used to send visuals and proofs digitally, as an alternative to printed proofs.

PDF files are commonly used on the internet to provide downloadable versions of printed documents.

PDF files can also incorporate interactive elements, navigation buttons, multimedia clips and so on. These features can be used to create quality digital presentations, portfolios etc

.ppt (powerpoint)
Powerpoint is part of Microsoft Office, and can be used to build interactive digital presentations.

.swf (flash)
Macromedia’s Flash software is a way of making animated web content. It can produce sophisticated web pages/effects, but the viewer needs to have the flash plug in downloaded to their web browser for the page to function.

PROOFING

digital proof
A digital proof reproduces a colour proof without the need of outputting film, these laser prints vary in quality (hi or lo res) but are usually of a greater accuracy than office laser printers. These proofs are relatively cheap.

chromalin proof
High quality and colour accurate printer’s proofing method. Chromalins are produced using light sensitive film which then becomes tacky upon exposure. Coloured powder is then dusted over the film and sticks to the image area. For each colour a separate film is used and built up in layers.

Wet proof
Produced from the final metal plates, printed onto the correct stock, this proof gives the truest and most colour accurate impression of a finished printed item. The increase of CTP makes this form of proofing cheaper, especially on jobs with a low number of pages. This option is the most expensive if changes are required, as usually new plates need to be produced.

PRINTING

bleed
Any printed area that extends over the edge of the page (ie where there is no margin) is described as ‘bled off’. There is usually a bleed of about 3mm on artwork to compensate for any slight irregularities in the trimming of the printed document.

GSM
Grammes per Square Meter (gsm2) - printing paper weight measurement.

gloss paper
A coated paper that has a reflective, smooth surface.

matt paper
A coated paper that has a duller surface which produces a flatter image/ colour with minimal glare.

silk paper
A coated paper that is somewhere in between matt and gloss art paper Premium quality coated paper.

uncoated paper
A general term for papers whose surface has had no mineral coating applied after the body paper is made. It usually feels less smooth and it is often possible to see the pitting within the surface texture. It is much more absorbent than the coated papers which affects the way printing inks dry. This affect leads to slightly differing colours when compared to coated papers. For more accurate matching, a different colour may need to be specified. Uncoated papers are good for writing onto and are used for stationery and documents that have forms for filling.

Here are a few of the things Positive K is doing to become a greener business…

Saving Energy and Recycling.
To become more energy efficient we are:
• Using low-energy light bulbs.
• Recycling all paper, plastic and glass.
• Re-filling ink cartridges
• Turning off printers, computers and other electrical equipment when not in use.

Transport.
• We do not commute long distances to work.
• Investment in technology allows us to minimize long distance business journeys.
Print Specification and Suppliers.
• We are forming partnerships with print companies who show an active awareness of environmental issues.
• Paper specification for print work is based on chlorine free, sustainable forests or recycled pulp whenever possible.

We are keen to establish working relationships with people who share our values.
If you are a supplier or potential client with a similar approach get in touch here

Designing Demand is an initiative run by the Design Council in association with Business Link.

The workshops are run to help businesses understand the value of good design and how to maximise their own opportunities through innovation and planning.

More details here

Using the right keywords in your internet marketing is vitally important. If you want to get more visitors to your website, and more importantly, if you want those visitors to turn into customers, the keywords you choose must be popular with your target market and must be highly relevant to your products and services.

The important element of any marketing plan is to get inside the minds of your target market and understand what they are looking for and what motivates them. This is true whether you are looking at an online (internet) or an offline (traditional media) marketing campaign.

These days, when people are looking for a product or service, the first place they go to is the internet and the most popular place they use to search for information is Google. The search term that they enter in Google is made up of keywords and keyword phrases.

Your potential customer will use keywords and keyword phrases to:

• Find a solution to their problem
• Find information about a product or service they are looking for
  
• Find a supplier of the product or service they need

The trick is to second guess the keywords they will use and then optimise your website so that it is listed at the top of the search engine results page when that keyword or keyword phrase is entered. (Sounds easy doesn’t it??!!)

The first thing to do when you’re developing your internet marketing strategy is to come up with some phrases that people might use if they are looking for your product or service. IMPORTANT: Don’t just focus on single words as these will be too general, will have the greatest competition and it will be very difficult to get your website to rank highly for them. Instead, think of phrases that incorporate the keyword – about three words in the phrase will make it more specific and accurate, so the visitor that is using that search term is most likely to find what they need when they arrive at your website.

So how do you optimise your website for these keywords?

Search engine optimisation is a specialist area involving many different techniques and changes all the time. Google changes the way it ranks websites on a regular basis and the terms that people use to search on the internet changes too. So it isn’t a one-off exercise; search engine optimisation, or SEO, must be done on a regular basis to make it effective in keeping your site highly ranked for your chosen keywords.

One way of optimising your website is to write content for your website that includes these keywords but in a format that will appeal to your market. Don’t just repeat keywords for the sake of the search engines, your website copy MUST appeal to your human visitors as well! Otherwise, you may get lots of visitors, but if you don’t engage your visitors when they arrive at your site they will leave VERY QUICKLY. If you choose your keywords carefully and make your content interesting and engaging, you should achieve a return on the investment in your website in the form of more leads and ultimately more sales.

Janet Helft is an experienced internet marketing consultant having worked for more than 20 years in business and IT consultancy and project management. For more information on what internet marketing can do to boost your business email janet@positivek.co.uk

A great event for anybody interested in social enterprise.

Find out more here…