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Hi:

Can you explain what is involved in the color separation. - process,getting it ready for the printer, etc..

Also for black and white with black and white pictures - will pictures taken with a digital Sony Mavica provide the right resolution for a catalog, and how are they provided to the printer for use? - are they submitted separately, or embedded into the Pagemaker document?

For compiling ads where graphics are involved - is there a specific software program you find the best?

Thanks...I'm sure we'll all benefit from this answer.

Bud

> Hi:

> Can you explain what is involved in the
> color separation. - process,getting it ready
> for the printer, etc..

> Also for black and white with black and
> white pictures - will pictures taken with a
> digital Sony Mavica provide the right
> resolution for a catalog, and how are they
> provided to the printer for use? - are they
> submitted separately, or embedded into the
> Pagemaker document?

> For compiling ads where graphics are
> involved - is there a specific software
> program you find the best?

> Thanks...I'm sure we'll all benefit from
> this answer.

> Bud

Bud,

To get color separations you need to have the photo in a format like 'Tiff-CMYK' which is the one many printers use or accept. The photo when printed will yield 4 pieces of film, 1 for Cyan, 1 for Magenta, 1 for Yellow and 1 for Black. Together they are your color photograph. Maybe someone with a printer's background can elaborate more--mybackground is more from the catalog production end.

Black & White printing is of course much easier. Some printers are now doing documents from pdf files. To use photos from a digital camera, you need to make sure you have a resolution of 300dpi at least. A jpeg photo is only 72dpi so you can imagine the resolution of a jpeg as opposed to a tiff at say 300dpi, would be much 'fuzzier'. The key is to find out what your printer wants and then give it to him (or her).

Take care,

Mike Winicki

> Bud,

> To get color separations you need to have
> the photo in a format like 'Tiff-CMYK' which
> is the one many printers use or accept. The
> photo when printed will yield 4 pieces of
> film, 1 for Cyan, 1 for Magenta, 1 for
> Yellow and 1 for Black. Together they are
> your color photograph. Maybe someone with a
> printer's background can elaborate
> more--mybackground is more from the catalog
> production end.

> Black & White printing is of course much
> easier. Some printers are now doing
> documents from pdf files. To use photos from
> a digital camera, you need to make sure you
> have a resolution of 300dpi at least. A jpeg
> photo is only 72dpi so you can imagine the
> resolution of a jpeg as opposed to a tiff at
> say 300dpi, would be much 'fuzzier'. The key
> is to find out what your printer wants and
> then give it to him (or her).

> Take care,

> Mike Winicki

I almost forgot...software.

I use both Adobe Pagemaker and Adobe Illustrator for creating ads. Pagemaker for catalog stuff. Illustrator for space ads.

Take care,

Mike W.

I heard Gary Halbert and Dan Kennedy both say that you are normally much better off taking 1-4 of your best sellers from a catalog and sending a direct mail piece just on them.

You save the cost of the whole catalog and only having a few choices usually brings in more sales because you aren't confusing them with too many choices.

I've only tested this on a small scale but it seems to work.

Ron


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Ron,

Starting out small is obviously a good idea. Most catalogers don't just print a 32 page catalog right off the bat...most use a method like you describe or they do card decks or they do space ads. Critical mass seems to be when you reach a couple thousand name customer base. That is when you can start thinking 'catalog'...but the variables can change that figure dramatically also.

Take care,

Mike W.

> I heard Gary Halbert and Dan Kennedy both
> say that you are normally much better off
> taking 1-4 of your best sellers from a
> catalog and sending a direct mail piece just
> on them.

> You save the cost of the whole catalog and
> only having a few choices usually brings in
> more sales because you aren't confusing them
> with too many choices.

> I've only tested this on a small scale but
> it seems to work.

> Ron