Marsid M&M Group Blog

Envelope Size Chart Quick Guide

Giovanni — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:39:14 +0000

It’s easy to get confused when selecting the correct envelope sizes for invitations, business letters or Direct Mail pieces… A2, A4, A7, #10, #9, #10 Window…

So we decided to build this common envelope size chart with the goal of providing a sort of cheat-sheet or quick reference for envelopes for our customers and anyone who can use it.

If you find it useful or know someone who could use it, please share it!

You can also download a High Resolution Print Ready Version of the Envelope Size Chart Quick Guide [PDF].

or view the large version on your browser [JPG]

This envelope size chart is provided as a quick reference when selecting the proper envelope size for your projects. If you have questions or are in need of an envelope size not listed in the envelope size chart, please feel free to leave a comment below or contact us right away!

Creating Die Lines for Custom Die Cut Printing in Adobe Illustrator

Giovanni — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:23:48 +0000

This post is best suited for graphic designers who will be working on a die cutting project and/or those of you who simply like to know how to do stuff.

Creating a die line for die cutting can be pretty simple or can be quite difficult, all depends on your design and some planning beforehand can come in very handy later on.

First, I want to make it clear that die cutting thin lines is not always a good idea. Thin lines in a die create thin cuts in the paper that can easily bend or rip off. Sometimes it’s unnavoidable such as die cutting hair or thin fonts but if possible, always try to use thick locks of hair or bold type if your die cut is typography-based.

Custom Die Cut Hang Tags

For this tutorial we are going to create a Die Cut Hang Tag. Many clothing manufacturers use hang tags to brand their merchandise and sometimes include information about the product or the company on the back or inside if it is a folding hang tag.

For this tutorial, we will use a fictitious Clothing Brand called mmprint.

Our goal is to have a finished hang tag where we will die cut the mmprint with the white Stroke around it. Leaving the grey area (which for purposes of this tutorial is simulating the paper) by using a die cutter such as our Heidelberg Windmill Letterpress.

The Right Tools

The die line must be made using a vector design program such as Adobe Illustrator or InDesign. A die maker uses a CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine which uses CAD software to send the design commands to the CNC machine.

Since the CNC is computer controlled, it requires vector lines to operate. Raster lines are created using blocks which then create jagged edges along the perimeter of the line.

Preparing the Artwork

Creating the die line for the mmprint hang tag should be rather straight forward and simple. We used Century Gothic Bold for the text and made an offset path to make it thicker, then added a 3pt. Stroke around it. All we really need to do is make a line that goes around the entire perimeter of the white Stroke.

Sure, you can show off your Pen tool skills and trace the whole thing but working efficiently is key for a designer and when you have other projects to move on to, time is important.

At this point in our design, our stroke is an effect applied to the object. When you select the object with the black arrow, you will see that the selection line is located within the stroke. Since we need the die line to be the outside edge of the stroke, we have to make the stroke an object itself.

Select the mmprint object then click Edit>Copy then click Edit>Paste in Front

With the new object selected, click Object>Expand

While still selected, click the Unite button in the PathFinder tab (Window>Pathfinder)

Now you should have the outline of the object that is completely white, which notably is the shape that will remain in the sheet of paper once the mmprint is die cut out…

Now just 2 more steps.

While our new white object selected, all we need to do is give it a 1pt. stroke (I chose orange so it stands out) and remove the fill color.

Here is the result:

The orange line is the area where the die cut will be made

Cleaning Up

The final step is to convert the orange color we selected into a PMS color that we will call “Die Line”.

The purpose of making the die line its own PMS color is so that it separates correctly when making plates. The CMYK parts separate accordingly for printing and our “Die Line” PMS will separate as one separate plate for the die.

Here is how it’s done:

With the Die Line Layer selected, Double click the Orange color in your Swatches Panel.

Change the Swatch Name to "Die Line", change Type to "Spot Color" and click OK

Notice the Orange color swatch has a White corner with a Black dot in it...this means it has been converted to a PMS color

Tips and Tricks

It’s always a good idea to consult with the printer/die cutter before you spend a lot of time on your design. Discuss and if possible, show a sketch or basic artwork of your die cut to get feedback on what may or may not work.

As a graphic designer/consultant, you are hired to be efficient and work within budgets.

To save on die charges, you can always use a pre-made Die Cut shapes and customize only the printing.

We offer a nice selection of pre-made die cut shapes:

Take the Design Even Further

When budget is not an obstacle, take your creativity to the next level with Foil Stamping and Embossing.

At this point you can design a hang tag with all the bells and whistles that people may possibly keep. Hang tags create an amazing opportunity to spread your branding with the very merchandise that you sell. Make your hang tag reflect the quality of your company and your product.

So how do you prepare the design for foil stamping and embossing?

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Complementing Innovation: Taking a Step Back to Take a Step Forward

Giovanni — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:45:11 +0000

These days it’s hard to keep up with the advancement of technology, whether in our personal lives or in business. Seems that before we even become accustomed to a new product or system there is another that replaces it.

At The Marsid-M&M Group we are always trying to stay on the cutting edge of technology, but recently we decided to take a different approach…

We decided that in order to move forward we had to take a step back in time, to our roots one might say.

-Barry Caputo, Co-owner

The evolution of print has brought upon us a new age where digital printing, short runs and variable data have become a large part of our everyday business. We realized that these customers were in need of more finishing options than we previously offered while keeping costs down and still manage to deliver a quality product.

So we hired Heidi and gave her an office:

Heidi is a Heidelberg Windmill Letterpress. She's hardworking, precise and classy; she's tough. Been around the block, but still in great shape. Our BizHub Digital Presses say she's quite the cougar.

Heidi Finds a New Home

The Heidelberg Windmill Letterpress made it’s first public appearance in 1913.

The beauty before you in the image above was manufactured in August of 1969. She had lived in San Diego, California for many years where she printed all types of advertisements, brochures and stationery. She was one of 10 Heidelberg Windmill Letterpresses which were all lined up in a row. She worked very hard for 10 hours every day and 10 hours every night with very little rest; as did her 9 sisters sitting beside her on the long and narrow concrete floor that she called home.

Right after her 15^th birthday in September of 1984, the factory that Heidi worked in was shut down. People said, “It was because there were newer types of printing presses called Offset Machines that could run faster and produce better and cleaner printed work.” Heidi then sat idle on that cold concrete floor with no electricity or oil for almost two years… Read the full story written by very proud owner, Sid Halpern.

A Windmill of Opportunity

Die Cutting and Foil Stamping are only a few of Heidi’s traits. With a few add-ons she can also print color, emboss, score, perforate and number.

At this time we use her for Die Cutting, Foil Stamping and Scoring:

Card Stock Scoring

Custom Die Cutting

Custom Foil Stamping / Die Cut

Vision Becomes Reality

Our goal was to offer more custom finishing options to our customers with low minimums and make it available for digitally printed materials. We also envisioned a whole new line of products that we could offer in addition to our standard printed materials.

Well, we’re the type of company that doesn’t let good ideas go by the wayside so we went gung-ho, full speed ahead and there was no stopping us.

Over the next few months we will be adding a slew of new products to our website that provide a foundation for your own new ideas that are only limited by creativity.

The Benefit is Clear: Stand Out from the Rest

Die Cut Business Cards

We all know in business it’s very important to make a great first impression. Most first business meetings begin with a handshake and an exchange of business cards.

A well crafted business card is as firm a statement as is a firm handshake.

We currently offer these standard die-cut business cards that you can pick from and you can always request a quote for custom die cutting to your specific shape:

Feel free to download our Die Cut Business Card Templates.

Die Cut Desk Calendars

Calendars offer 365 days of steady promotion and you only pay for them once!

Standard calendars are made to be hung on a wall but Die Cut Desk Calendars are made to stand on a desk which makes them more accessible.

Your company name and contact information will be displayed at all times at arm’s length.

Die Cut HangTags

Boost the value of your product with custom Die Cut Hang Tags. A great way to include your branding and a description of the product or instructions on how to use it.

Many standard shapes are available or you can always go a little further and customize the shape for a truly unique finish!

Feel free to download our Die Cut Hang Tag Templates.

Die Cut Bookmarks

Still a very popular product, die cut bookmarks make effective and simple promo products that everyone likes. Add a custom shape and a tassel to make it even more attractive.

Lamination, UV coating, Aqueous coating also available.

Die Cut Gift Card Holders

Retail establishments can really benefit from our custom printed die cut gift card holders. Make your gift cards more presentable by providing a safe and secure holder that can be customized with your artwork.

Great for branding and promotions.

What Die Cut products would you like to recommend we offer in the future?

Heidi Finds A New Family at The Marsid M&M Group

Sid Halpern — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:53:20 +0000

Heidi was born in August of 1969. She had lived in San Diego, California for many years where she printed all types of advertisements, brochures and stationery. She was one of 10 Heidelberg Windmill Letterpresses which were all lined up in a row. She worked very hard for 10 hours every day and 10 hours every night with very little rest; as did her 9 sisters sitting beside her on the long and narrow concrete floor that she called home.

Tragedy

Rebirth

In July of 1986, Henry Jenkins, a reverend from a small church in Los Angeles, found Heidi listed in a newspaper advertisement. He journeyed to San Diego with a large moving truck and brought her back to his garage in L.A.. He fed her oil and gave her electricity which made Heidi so happy. The reverend’s wife came to the garage once a week, always on Wednesday, to clean her and rub her down with a very soft cloth. Heidi was finally at work again; her new job was to print small prayer books and song sheets for Reverend Jenkins to distribute to his parishioners. After many years, the good Reverend took ill and was forced to make a change. On February 17, 2007, Reverend Jenkins and his wife closed their church and moved to a small town in Mexico where they became missionaries. Heidi now needed a new home. She still had so much life in her.

Heidi was found by an adoption agency in Jamaica, New York called Crystal Graphics. The company was owned by a man named Mr. Bally, who knew that although he would probably be keeping Heidi for a while; he was sure he would eventually find her a good home. He cleaned Heidi from top to bottom and made sure she looked good. He then covered her with a big green tarp with the words “WINDMILL 13X18″ on it. Trying to find new parents that were qualified was not an easy task. People would come to look at her, but no one seemed to have the right use for Heidi. After many months of deliberation, Mr. Bally decided to convert Heidi into a Die Cutter and Foil Stamper. In November of 2011, after the conversion was complete, she received a new coat of paint and was ready to go. Again the green tarp was put back on Heidi to keep her protected and safe, but it now had the words “FOIL STAMPING / DIE CUTTING” added to her description.

A New Home

It was about this time that Sid Halpern, the president of The Marsid M&M Group a very progressive “State of The Art” commercial printer, decided to compliment his offset and digital capabilities and bring “in house” Foil Stamping and Die Cutting to their growing list of clients. Mr. Halpern found Heidi advertised by Mr. Bally on eBay and decided to make a visit to the Jamaica, New York warehouse to see her. He lifted the green tarp and was immediately impressed! Heidi was clean and beautiful, filled with oil and ready to go to work with all her new capabilities. The deal was made and the adoption finalized! A few days later, December 10, 2011, Heidi was on Mr. Bally’s delivery truck heading to her new home in Carle Place, New York!

Wow! Heidi was amazed when she arrived. Mr. Halpern had built her a very special private room with an arched doorway! He installed new crown moldings and had pictures of Benjamin Franklin and Johannes Guttenberg on the wall above her. There was a vintage California Job Case to her left and an authentic composing stick to her right! There were even a few antique hymns engraved in copper on the wall. Heidi thought she remembered printing with those back when she was with Reverend and Mrs. Jenkins in L.A.. Heidi was so proud and now felt so useful in her new home with all of the shiny new offset and digital printers! Mr. Halpern was very good to her; he treated her as part of his FAMILY. He bought her all new tools and was so excited to watch her Die Cut and Foil Stamp new jobs every day. It didn’t take Heidi long to realize she would never again be on a delivery truck!

Adding Video to your Printed Marketing Materials for Free

Giovanni — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:14:23 +0000

In this post we will explore in detail how to beef up your printed marketing materials by adding your own custom video and making it easy for your customers to share the video as well.
I am sure some of you reading this right now are imagining small screens, wires and batteries or mini-DVDs glued to the inside of your media kits. Well, that’s not the case, it’s not that complicated and it’s free!

Adding the video to your printed marketing materials is done in 3 easy steps and all 3 tools needed are available freely on the Internet.

Video Distribution

The first step, assuming you already have a video that you would like to distribute to your customers, is to upload your video to the web. There are quite a few websites that will host your video file for free, some of the most popular being Youtube and Vimeo.

If you are tech-savvy or have an IT person who handles your website, you can also upload your videos to your own website hosting server.

Here are instructions on how to upload videos to Youtube
Here are instructions on how to upload videos to Vimeo

By uploading your videos to the web, you make them available and easily accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Most video hosting sites as you may already know, have a commenting feature where people can leave comments about your video and you can respond to their comments.

Creating a Link

In this second step we will create a link to the video. Both Youtube and Vimeo automatically create a link for you and you simply copy and paste it. Most video hosting sites will do this for you as well.

After we have uploaded the video and generated a direct link to the video, we are going to make it a link that we can track to see how many times it has been used, shared and who shared it.

There are many free URL shorteners available that give you free tracking tools that provide basic Analytics with information regarding the use of the link you shortened. Here are a few of the most popular ones, I recommend you create a user account so that you can log in and view your results:

I tend to be partial to bit.ly because I like how easy it is to create a shortened url and the way they present the link tracking information.

To create a shortened URL, simply paste the video URL into the big blue text box and click shorten. Easy as that.

The Bit.ly analytic panel gives you different ways to look at what happened to your URL throughout its life:

A visual chart with the amount of daily clicks
Cool feature called Conversations which shows who is talking and sharing the same link on social networks plus a count of how many times it has been shared on various social networks.
QR code and a sidebar to share the link on your social networks right from the bit.ly page (go to settings to authorize this).

Being able to analyze the results of your efforts is a very valuable tool. If you can tell what did well and what went wrong with your marketing, you can use this information to improve your marketing and drive better results on your next campaign.

Code Connection

The final step in adding video to your printed marketing materials is to create the connection between your video and the paper your marketing material is printed on.

Most of you may be familiar with QR codes by now since they have been around for a while. You might see them quite often on catalogs, magazines, postcards and many other direct mail printed materials; not to mention packaging and even in commercial stores like BestBuy use them to show video product demos in the stores.

If you would like to learn more about QR codes, I highly recommend you read my post that contains information about QR codes and a list of Free QR Code readers and generators.

For this specific tutorial we will be using a QR code to direct the user’s mobile smart phone to a video that you uploaded per the instructions in step one. Why use a QR code? Well, how many people do you think would want to type a URL that looks like this - bit.ly/egm7XG - into their smart phone browser? By using a QR code all the user has to do is tap his QR code reader app and scan the code.

Let’s get to it! Creating a QR code is simple. Go to one of the free websites I listed in the blog post about QR Codes. Try them all to see which one you find easier to use and feel free to share with us in the comments below.

For this example I will use the www.BeQRious.com website to generate my QR code:

Simply paste the shortened URL you created in step 2 into the text box labeled “Enter web URL:” and click the Create Code button.

You will see on the right an image of a cellphone with a QR code on the screen. That is the code that was generated by your special and unique URL.

Now, if you are feeling a bit antsy, go ahead and fire up your QR Code reader app on your smart phone and scan the the code right on your computer screen. Make sure it works correctly and directs your smart phone to the video you uploaded in step 1.

If it doesn’t work, go back to step 1 and make sure you used the correct link for the video, in the URL shortener and that you used the correct link generated by the URL shortner, on BeQRious.com (or whatever qr code generator you decided to use).

Wa-la! That’s it. Download the QR code and insert into the design of your marketing materials.

I recommend you download the vector/PDF version of the code (if available) as it is created in vector format and can be enlarged or reduced to just about any size without losing any quality. I personally try to keep it no smaller than 1 inch x 1 inch.

IMPORTANT!!!

Rule #1 : TEST, TEST, TEST.

You must make sure that the code is not too small or too blurry to be read by the cameras on smart phones. You must test the QR code among different phone models and different QR code reader apps to make sure it works appropriately.

A Holiday Greeting Card to Remember

Giovanni — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:19:26 +0000

With the holidays in proximity, we begin the yearly cycle of gift buying, long lines, figuring out who’s hosting Thanksgiving dinner, making sure those gifts are in the mail by a certain date, and all the other craziness that comes with the holiday season. For businesses it’s not so much the case, but appreciation is due to those who keep you in business and those who help your business thrive.

Holiday Greeting Cards Expectations

With every gift or even as a gift in itself, a holiday greeting card is expected. It could be for your employees, your clients, your suppliers or even your competitors, a greeting card with a nice big THANK YOU! in it can make a big difference in the year to come. Some may argue, but appreciation breeds motivation and loyalty.

Sometimes Thank You is not Enough

Sure, having custom holiday greeting cards printed and mailed can be perceived as thoughtful and polite but if it lacks substance, your efforts might just go to waste. A greeting card should be endearing, yet it still serves great purpose as a marketing and/or branding piece. The message you have printed on the inside can leave a lasting impression, so make it a good one.

It’s not a Sales Pitch or a Coupon

Well actually a discount coupon might not be such a bad idea but that depends on your line of business and who you’re sending it to. Your brand logo or company name may be the single most important part of the holiday card; If the recipient doesn’t know who is wishing them happy holidays or thanking them for their business, then it’s just as good as not getting one. Even if the card is blank on the inside, you still have your brand in their face and in their hands.

Would it make sense in your line of business to give your customers blank holiday cards so that they can use them and send them out to their customers?

Printing Terms Infographic – Color Quick Guide

Giovanni — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:47:18 +0000

We strongly believe that an informed customer can make all the difference in print jobs going smoothly and without misunderstandings. I’m sure it goes for any industry.

We strive to offer a unique and pleasant experience when working with us. By providing our customers with informative collateral we not only educate our customer, but we also ease the lines of communication which instills confidence in our customer that what they are ordering is exactly what they want. It’s logical, it makes sense.

With the recent popularity and practicality found in infographics, we decided to release a series of Quick Guides of printing terms and print related infographics to offer to our customers and anyone else who can use them. Please feel free to share this!

For a more in-depth look at color, visit our Colorful Guide to Understanding Color.

Creating Outlines from Type in Illustrator and InDesign

John — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 19:39:07 +0000

Why Do We Need to Outline Our Type?

Before sending a file to a printer, there are a few important steps that must be considered. One of those is making sure that the type in the document is turned into outlines. If the printer needs to make an adjustment to the file (fix color, adjust bleeds, etc.) and the type is not outlined, there could be font issues that cause the copy to change or re-flow. Sometimes these changes may not be noticed until after the job is printed. It is a very simple process that only takes a moment. Once it is done, the type is turned from a type box to vector outlines and can no longer be edited. This tutorial is for Adobe programs such as Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Indesign. Always remember to check your copy before converting to outlines, because it can not be edited afterward.

How to Create the Outlined Type

In the above Image, the top line of text is type while the bottom line is outlines. As you can see the outlines no longer have editable type; they have the individual vector points of the outlined shapes. In order to outline the type, one needs to select the type box as a whole so that it looks like the below image.

Then if you are on a PC, press CTRL + SHIFT + O, or if you are on a Mac, press CMD + SHIFT + O. The type can also be outlined from the top menu by selecting “type” then selecting “create outlines” from the drop down menu. Afterwards your type will turn to paths and look like this image below.

Finished Type Outlines

Now the type is outlined and safe to send to the printer. Remember to check that the other parts of the document are ready to go to pre-press before sending it to your printer. Outlined type can be helpful when creating typographical designs; it removes the need to work with type boxes and allows direct editing of the shape of the characters directly.

Design Tutorial: Offset Path Tool in Adobe Illustrator

John — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:33:44 +0000

Using the Offset Path Tool in Adobe Illustrator

This tool is one of my favorites within Illustrator. It does exactly as the name suggests, it creates a duplicate of an object with the path set off by a specified distance. It can create replicas of different size with standard distances between the original and replica and easily creates concentric shapes. It is great for creating large or smaller versions of objects or creating outlines that are shapes. It is also great for creating outlines around large groups of objects and creating shadows that are actual objects that can be edited independently from the object that would be casting the shadow.

How to use the Offset Path Tool

The offset path tool can be accessed from the Adobe Illustrator Menu from Object >> Path >> Offset Path. It will open the offset path tool box that asks what distance to offset the path, what type of joins for the corners and the miter limit. The distance used in the Offset field can be entered as a positive or negative which will make a shape that is either larger or smaller than the original.

Different Offsets

In the above image the offset path tool is used to create multiple concentric copies of the original shape in different sizes. In the purple example I created a smaller concentric copy by using negative values, while in the blue example I used the a positive value to create a larger concentric copy.

The offset tool can even be used to create multiple copies that can sit within one another. This effect is achieved by applying the offset tool twice as shown in the red and black example.

Different Join Types

The joins field in the offset path tool box modifies the type of angles the ends of the offset will have. There are three types, the miter which is a pointed corner, the round which is a rounded corner and the bevel which is a squared corner.

Miter Limit

The miter limit is how far the points can extrude from angles in the shape. Below there is an example of a high and low miter. The default is “4″ which isn’t always the best for more acute angles. The second example with a miter of “20″ actually allows for it to be much larger than what is displayed, so it is a bit of overkill.

The Difference Between Offset Path and Strokes

A similar effect can be created by applying a stroke to an object but a stroke and offset path are not the same, although they can look similar. The offset path is a replica that is evenly distanced from the original all around while the stroke is just an outline of a path. Also while resizing an object, the offset path will keep the proportions while the stroke will keep the same stroke size regardless of object size. Above we have an image of a stroke and an offset path around a line of text that has been reduced in size. Originally when the object was much larger they looked identical but as the object size changed more dramatically the stroke slowly became more out of place while the offset path still looks right. The stroke would have to be constantly adjusted or it would have to be outlined so that it can allow for size adjustments.

Using the Offset Path to Create Shadows

Creating an offset path of an object is a very handy way to create a shadow for that object. In the above graphic I created a shadow for the word tool by offsetting the graphic and then expanding it slightly. Afterward I used the feather on the offset and matched the color to the background. It isn’t hard and can create a nice shadow that is fully adjustable as an independent object.

Down the Right Path

The offset path tool is one of those tools that you do not hear much about but packs a big design punch when it comes to usefulness. Beyond the basic utilization illustrated in this post, the offset path tool can be used to create unique effects that can vary depending on the shape or object.

Please share any tips or tricks you may have discovered while using the offset path tool in the comments section!

5 Outstanding Websites to Download Free Commercial-Use Fonts

Giovanni — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:39:57 +0000

After you have read our latest posts about Typography, I am sure you are ready to get out there and start practicing and coming up with new Typography concepts for use in your designs. Now that you understand the difference between Serif and Sans Serif fonts, Kerning, Leading and Tracking and the principals of choosing fonts, we want to offer you a collection of websites that serve or link to [free] commercial-use fonts. The following 5 websites carry a vast array of fonts that you can use freely in both personal or commercial projects.