Using Images In Documents - Part 2

File size

The size of a file is determined by whether it is a vector or raster file and whether it is binary, grayscale or color. File compression is a way of reducing file size without compromising image quality.

There are two compression methods: one (called lossless) keeps all the pixels of the original image but finds more efficient ways to represent recurring patterns of pixels in the file; and one (calledlossey) eliminates pixels that aren’t needed to maintain quality.

File formats for printed images
The best file formats to use for images that will be printed are:

• For vector images: .eps (Encapsulated PostScript)
• For raster images: .tif (Tagged Image File Format)

Recall that vector images are constructed from mathematical formulas. This means that they are resolution-independent and can be scaled (resized) and manipulated (flipped, rotated, stretched, cropped, colorized, combined) with ease using programs like Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw. This is an ideal format for initial
design of logos and illustrations, and for clip art.

Raster images are composed of rows and columns of pixels (sometimes called a bitmap). Because raster images are hard to resize and manipulate, they are best used at the size and orientation of the original. Raster images can be cropped, colorized, converted to grayscale or monochrome using image editing programs such as Adobe Photoshop or Corel Paint Shop Pro. All photographs are raster images.

The .tif file format usually produces the best quality image from a digital camera. The other choice is .jpg (Joint
Photographic Experts Group), a file format that has been optimized for continuous-tone full color photographs by incorporating file compression.

JPG compression looks at blocks of 8x8 pixels and selectively reduces the detail in each block. This maintains the physical size of the image, reduces the amount of space required to store it, but sacrifices the quality of the image. The extent of image degradation depends on the degree of compression (it is adjustable).

If you are editing or manipulating digital photographs, work in .tif format rather than .jpg since each new save in .jpg compresses the file. By contrast, a .tif file uses lossless compression, so there is no loss of pixels.

The file formats .psd (Photoshop), .psp (Paint Shop Pro), .ai (Adobe Illustrator) and .cdw (Corel Draw) are proprietary. They are good to use while editing images in order to have access to all the editing tools in the program. However, after the image editing is complete, save raster images as a .tif file and vector images as an .eps file.

Use images successfully
For maximum effectiveness, any image you use in a document must reproduce well. This requires attention to the file format and adhering to production standards.

Using Images In Documents - Part 1

Imagine a page of text describing a product offered for sale. Now imagine that same page with images of the product added. Even in your imagination there’s a difference – the image adds interest to the page and improves its appearance.

That’s the power of images, whether they are photographs, clip art, illustrations, charts, graphs or symbols. To attract attention and improve reader comprehension, nothing beats an image.

An image has maximum effectiveness when it satisfies these four criteria: the image is worthy of being printed; it is of good quality; it is relevant to the text; and it is consistent with the design and layout of the document. In this post we will focus on what makes a good quality digital image for print.

What is a digital image?
A digital image is an image stored as one of two types: vector or raster. Vector images are lines created from mathematical calculations while raster images (also called bitmap) are created from numerical values – ones and zeros – organized as a fixed number of rows and columns of picture elements or pixels.

Vector images are created by illustration or drawing programs such as Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw. Raster images are created by digital cameras or scanners and are edited by image editors or paint programs such as Adobe Photoshop or Corel Paint Shop Pro.

Color in images
The simplest images, called binary images, contain only two colors. Each pixel is stored as a single bit (either 0 or 1). These images are sometimes referred to as black and white ormonochrome.

In a grayscale image, each pixel is a shade of gray that varies from black to white. Sometimes called a monochromaticimage, grayscale requires 8 bits of storage for each pixel where each bit represents 256 possible levels of gray.

For a full color image, each pixel has 24 bits of storage and can display 16 million colors, shades and hues. This explains why files containing color images are so large.

The two most common color models are RGB (red, green, blue) and CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black). RGB color is the color model for computer monitors and the web, while CMYK is the color model for printing. If you are working with your images in the RGB model, you must convert them to CMYK before
placing them in your document.

Image resolution
Image resolution is the amount of detail an image holds, expressed as the number of pixels in the image. Resolution for digital cameras is often expressed as the number of pixel columns (width) by the number of pixel rows (height), such as 640 x 480. For printing, resolution is expressed as pixels per inch (ppi),
meaning the number of pixels in a linear inch. The more pixels per inch, the higher the resolution.

The most important thing to understand about resolution is the relationship between an image’s resolution (ppi) and an image’s print size (actual width and height). For a photograph to reproduce well in print, it must have a minimum resolution of 300 ppi in its print size. Such a file is termed high resolution (hi-res). In some cases we may be able to use a 200 ppi image, but we almost never can use a low resolution (lo-res) file (resolution is below 200 dpi) because there are not enough pixels to adequately represent the image.

Even if a file’s resolution is high enough, it still may not reproduce well if the image resolution doesn’t match the print size. If you ask us to enlarge the image to print in a bigger size than it was originally, the pixels that make up the image will move farther apart. This changes the number of pixels per inch, reducing the  resolution. If the enlargement is significant, individual pixels may become visible, creating jagged edges in the image. This effect is called pixelation.

Print in the Mix: Research Summary - The USPS Household Diary Study: Mail Use & Attitudes in FY 2009 — Advertising Mail

Print in the Mix: Research Summary - The USPS Household Diary Study: Mail Use & Attitudes in FY 2009 — Advertising Mail

Using Email Marketing to Boost Social Presence - eMarketer

Using Email Marketing to Boost Social Presence - eMarketer

Five-Day Delivery: Not a Sure Thing

In late March, the USPS Board of Governors approved the USPS management proposal to drop Saturday mail delivery and to file a request for an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). The request was filed on March 30, 2010.

The USPS management proposal does not eliminate all services on Saturday. For example, retail window hours at post offices, delivery to P.O. boxes, incoming mail processing and transportation of mail between plants and network distribution centers (NDCs), and collection and processing of Express Mail would continue. What will be eliminated is collection of mail from blue boxes, delivery to street addresses, and Saturday processing of originating mail.

The postal service estimates that eliminating collection and delivery of mail on Saturdays initially will save over $3 billion annually, even after taking into consideration mail volume that will be lost because of no Saturday collection and delivery. By 2020, savings are projected to be about $5 billion annually. The savings come mainly from lower personnel costs.

To reinforce its proposal, the USPS commissioned several surveys of the public. These indicate that about two-thirds of average postal customers would accept five-day delivery if it meant avoiding postage rate increases and enabled the USPS to return to financial stability. Predictably, the postal labor unions are strongly opposed to the reduction in service.

While the PRC’s advisory opinion is important, the final decision will be made by Congress. Annually Congress makes an appropriation to the USPS and in past years the appropriation bill has included language mandating 6-day delivery. There are some legislators, including Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois who are opposed to eliminating Saturday delivery because they see Saturday delivery as a competitive advantage of the USPS.

The USPS hopes to implement 5-day delivery in FY2011, but to do so will have to overcome objections by the postal unions, Congress, and some parts of the mailing industry.

HOW DOES USING PAPER LEAD TO MORE TREES?

This is an interesting article on paper and trees.

DO PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT QR CODES?

During half time at the recent NBA All-star game, www.nbastore.com flashed a QR code on the screen above the scoreboard for a special offer on purchases at the online store. More than 10 percent of the game’s audience pointed a smartphone at the screen and clicked. This isn’t much of a scientific study, but it was surprising that that many people responded. I guess basketball fans are plugged into Mobile Marketing. Your business should, too.

THINK EMAIL IS ALWAYS BETTER?

Printing Industries of America South recently reported that the USPS delivers 99% of the mail to its addressees. On the other hand, a study by ReturnPath shows that only 19% of permission-based email makes it through the spam filters and delete buttons. Remember that these are just average numbers. If the email addresses in the target audience are decision makers, chances are that the email death rate is a lot higher because of the pressure on time.

Sustainability of Print

Don't be so quick to move your marketing completely online! Listen to this radio interview with Michael Makin, President of Printing Industries of America, as he talks about the scope, viability, and sustainability of print. Just click on the title above to listen.

Print in the Mix: Research Summary - The USPS Household Diary Study: Mail Use

Print in the Mix: Research Summary - The USPS Household Diary Study: Mail Use & Attitudes in FY 2008 — Advertising Mail

Posted using ShareThis

The Stars Align for QR Codes

The Stars Align for QR Codes

By Barb Pellow, InfoTrends

Over the past several years, there has been a lot of buzz about Quick Response (QR) codes. Although QR codes are now widely used in countries like Japan, they have been slow to take off in the United States. Nevertheless, 2010 could be the year where the U.S. actually sees the true potential of QR codes. The combination of smartphones and printed materials will help drive this market, and endorsements by brands like Google and the ability to drive real-time demand will add fuel to the fire.

The Mobile Story
No one denies the importance of mobile technology. Cell phones have truly become an integral part of our everyday lives. Statistics from a variety of sources (e.g., eMarketer, Mobile Marketer, InfoTrends) tell the story:

·         At the end of 2007, there were almost three times as many cell phone subscriptions as there were total users of the Internet.

·         There were four times as many cell phones as there were personal computers of all kinds (including laptops, desktops, and servers).

·         More than 90% of us keep our cell phones within arm’s reach 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year.

·         More than 70% of us actually take our cell phones to bed with us.

·         Over 70% of us now use our cell phones as alarm clocks.

·         A study by Unisys revealed that if we lose our wallet, we report it missing in 26 hours. If we lose our cell phone, we report it missing in 68 minutes.

Then There’s Print…
Consider all the printed messages that surround you on a daily basis—there are billboards, flyers, newsletters, books, and magazines. While some marketers are turning away from print and putting all of their eggs in the online basket, savvy marketers understand the importance of going offline and using signage and printed media to get their brands in front of consumers on the street.

Particularly within the younger generation, the focus on smartphones is huge. Texting is replacing e-mailing as a primary mode of communication for some. Mobile devices are the primary interface for the Internet among younger consumers. Savvy marketers know that they need to reach consumers who are unchained from their home computers. Connecting with these consumers means communicating via mobile devices, signage, packaging, interactive magazines/newspapers, catalogs, and direct mail.

Google Gets It!
Google added credibility to the world of QR codes this past December. The company began using QR codes to promote its Local Business service. Google mailed out window stickers with two-dimensional QR codes to the most-searched for or clicked-on businesses in its local business directory. These stickers were sent to more than 100,000 local businesses.

By-passers with QR-enabled mobile devices were able to scan the code to call up a Google Mobile local directory page for one of these Favorite Places. The directory pages generally include a map, a phone number, directions, the address, reviews, and a link to the business’ Web site.  

Local businesses can also set up coupon offers through their Google directory page, which would turn the QR code into a mobile coupon. Consumers who are standing at a store window might be enticed to come in and take advantage of a special offer.

Figure 1: Window Sticker for Favorite Places Campaign


QR codes have certainly taken off in Japan, but U.S. adoption has been much slower. With this endorsement and promotion by Google, the U.S. might become the next hotbed of activity for QR codes. In the near future, Google Maps on mobile phones will start including businesses as points of interest. Google calls these “smart maps” internally. As the businesses are added, they are clickable and their Places page pops up.

Businesses will be selected based on their PlaceRank. According to Google, PlaceRank is like PageRank for places. The service attempts to figure out how prominent a place is based on factors such as references on the Web, reviews, photos, how many people know about it, and how long it has been around. Google has figured out a way to leverage its technology and QR codes to generate the most important value proposition—real-time demand.

The Bottom Line
As move forward through 2010, the stars are aligned for QR codes. Major brands like Google are now endorsing QR codes as a trigger to real-time demand for businesses. I believe that QR codes will soon become more mainstream in the United States as a result. If you are a local business or a big brand investigating this potential, the combination of location-based needs and real-time information means that the sky is the limit!

Snail Mail Still Sells

In a Wall Street Journal story, the president of a company that had used direct "snail mail" for years related what happened when they decided to change to email sales.

Amid the recession this company was looking to cut costs. They had spent about $20,000 a year on personally signed letters that offered customers a discount for early orders. Time and money could be saved by switching the advertising program to email.

Despite the prevalence of digital media, this company found old fashion direct mail was the key to winning and keeping customers.

After swapping snail mail for email last year, this company, a seller of city diaries, albums and planners in the struggling corporate gift market, saw a 25% drop in early orders compared with the same period the previous year.

"We realized we had made a huge mistake," said the president of the New York firm.

The affordability of e-marketing, along with the explosion of social media and the desire to trim costs in the recession, has prompted many small companies to slash traditional direct-mail budgets. U.S. consumers received about 5.2 billion pieces of direct mail in the third quarter of 2009, a 27% decline compared with 7.1 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to Mintel Comperemedia, a research firm that tracks direct-mail marketing.
However, some entrepreneurs who were quick to write off direct mail as too pricey or passé are finding it's not so easy to dismiss.


Our New York company president says that at first she blamed the economy for the drop off, until she "started hearing from customers that they never got their 'reminder' in the mail." She quickly sent a postcard mailing in June, which recouped the 25% loss.