Initiating Your Print Project and Requesting an Estimate
Embarking on a print project begins with a clear understanding of your needs and how to communicate them effectively. At TXST Print & Mail Services, we streamline this process, starting with easy estimate requests.
Free Estimates at Your Fingertips:
Obtaining a complimentary estimate is straightforward. Simply navigate to our Print Center Ordering System and complete the Order Form. Once you’ve filled in the necessary details, instead of submitting the order directly, click “save as quote” on the final page. This action generates a detailed estimate based on your specifications.
To ensure accuracy in your estimate, please have the following details ready:
- Number of Original Pages: Specify the number of unique pages that constitute your document.
- Quantity: Indicate the total number of copies you require for the entire print job.
- Finished Page Size: Define the desired final dimensions of your printed piece (e.g., 8.5″ x 11″, 5.5″ x 8.5″).
- Paper Weight and Color: Choose the paper stock that suits your project. Options vary in weight (thickness) and color (e.g., 20lb bond, 70lb text, white, colored).
- Ink Color(s): Specify the ink colors needed. Options include black ink only, spot colors (like Pantone Matching System – PMS colors), or full-color process (CMYK).
- Print-Ready Digital File: Ideally, upload your project as a PDF file. This ensures accurate reproduction of your design.
- Design/Typesetting Services Needed?: If you require assistance in design or typesetting, indicate this in your request.
Leveraging Design and Typesetting Services:
Recognizing that not everyone has in-house design capabilities, Print & Mail Services offers professional typesetting and production services. Our skilled team can transform your raw content and elements into polished, print-ready documents. If you’re interested in utilizing this service to enhance your “send and print txst” experience, please contact us for detailed information and to discuss your specific needs. We’re here to help bring your vision to life, even if you’re starting from scratch.
Designing Direct Mail Pieces to Meet USPS Standards
When it comes to direct mail, adhering to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) guidelines is crucial for successful delivery and cost-effectiveness. Non-compliance can lead to extra postage fees or, worse, rejection of your entire mailing. Before you finalize your direct mail piece design for your “send and print txst” campaign, consult with us.
Pre-Design Consultation is Key:
We strongly recommend discussing your direct mail project with our experts before you begin the design phase. The USPS has specific requirements regarding size, weight, and the placement of addresses and postal markings. Navigating these regulations can be complex, but our team is well-versed in the latest USPS standards.
Maximize Your Mailing Efficiency:
There are various mailing options available, each with its own set of rules and pricing structures. By consulting with us early, we can provide you with the most current information and pricing details relevant to your project. This proactive approach ensures that your design is optimized for postal efficiency, helping you get the most value from your mailing budget and avoid potential setbacks. Let us guide you to make your “send and print txst” direct mail efforts a resounding success.
Using the TX State Logo on Printed Materials: Brand Compliance
Maintaining brand consistency is vital for Texas State University. When incorporating the TX State logo into your printed materials, adherence to university guidelines is mandatory. Before you “send and print txst” materials featuring the logo, please familiarize yourself with the official usage policies.
Understanding Official Logo Usage:
It is imperative to review the UPPS (University Policy and Procedure Statement) regarding the use of the official TX State logo. This document outlines the correct and authorized ways to display and utilize the university’s visual identity.
Accessing Logos and Brand Guidelines:
Official TX State logos and comprehensive brand guidelines are readily available through the University Marketing Brand Guidelines website. This resource is your primary destination for ensuring your use of the logo aligns with university standards. Proper logo usage strengthens brand recognition and maintains a cohesive visual representation of TXST across all printed communications.
Mastering the Print Request Form: Streamlined Ordering
Our updated Print Center Ordering System is engineered to simplify your ordering process. It features user-friendly, pre-designed order forms and convenient templates, especially for frequently requested items like business cards and stationery.
Easy-to-Use Templates and Order Tracking:
These templates allow you to directly input your text and approve the design instantly online, accelerating the setup phase of your “send and print txst” requests. Moreover, the system includes a dedicated “My Orders” section. This feature is invaluable for keeping track of all your past and current orders. It stores all order details, including any uploaded print-ready PDF files, making reordering effortless and expense tracking more manageable. This streamlined system ensures efficiency and control over your printing projects.
Graphics and Photos: Achieving High-Quality Print Output
The quality of your printed output is significantly influenced by the resolution and file format of the images you incorporate. For professional-grade print results, especially when you “send and print txst” projects with visual elements, understanding graphics specifications is crucial.
Resolution and File Formats Matter:
For most professional printing, whether press or digital, your graphics and photos should have a resolution of at least 300 dots per inch (dpi). Images with lower resolutions can suffer from pixelation, resulting in a blurry or jagged appearance in print.
Checking Image Resolution:
If you’re unsure about the resolution of your images, you can easily check using image editing software like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Opening your graphic file in these programs will allow you to determine its current resolution. Graphics saved at web resolutions (typically 72 to 96 dpi) are inadequate for printing and will likely produce unsatisfactory results.
Understanding Pixelation and Resolution:
When low-resolution images are printed on high-resolution equipment, the machinery must artificially add pixels to compensate. This “guessing” process leads to inaccurate and pixelated images. Conversely, attempting to increase the resolution of a low-resolution image by simply saving it at a higher dpi will not improve its print quality and will still result in pixelation. Always start with high-resolution graphics to ensure crisp and clear printed materials when you “send and print txst”.
Fonts: Ensuring Accurate Text Reproduction
Fonts are a critical element of document design. While we maintain an extensive font library at Print & Mail Services, occasional font substitutions can occur if a specific typeface is not available in our system. This can alter the layout of your document, affecting line breaks, pagination, and overall aesthetics when you “send and print txst”.
Embedding Fonts with PDFs:
To prevent font substitution issues, we strongly recommend saving your documents as Portable Document Format (PDF) files. PDFs have the capability to embed all fonts used within the document. This embedding ensures that your chosen fonts are preserved, and your document will print exactly as intended, regardless of the fonts installed on our printing equipment.
Providing Fonts When PDF Creation Isn’t Possible:
If you are unable to create a PDF, please include both your screen fonts and printer fonts files along with your document when you “send and print txst”. Providing these font files allows us to install them on our system before processing your job, minimizing the risk of substitution.
Outlining Fonts: A Note of Caution:
Another option is to outline your fonts, which converts text into vector graphics. However, once fonts are outlined, the text becomes uneditable. Therefore, while outlining prevents font issues, it also means we cannot make any text revisions. If you are sending a Photoshop document, ensure that you rasterize all type layers before submission to avoid font-related problems. Using PDFs is generally the best practice for reliable font handling for your “send and print txst” projects.
Color Specifications: Achieving Accurate Color in Print
Consistent color standards are essential for professional printing. For projects where precise color reproduction is critical, understanding color specifications is vital, especially when you “send and print txst” color-sensitive materials.
Spot Color (PMS) vs. Process Color (CMYK):
In one- or two-color offset printing, the industry standard for spot colors is the Pantone Matching System (PMS). PMS colors are pre-mixed inks that offer highly accurate and consistent color. For full-color process printing, which uses a wider spectrum of colors, the standard is Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Black (CMYK). CMYK printing combines these four colors to create a vast array of hues.
Consistent Color Standards for Accuracy:
When designing your graphics and final document, ensure you consistently use either PMS or CMYK color standards, depending on your project requirements. Mixing color standards can lead to inaccurate color separations and unexpected print results.
RGB Color and Offset Printing:
It’s important to note that Red/Blue/Green (RGB) is a color system designed for screens and digital displays. RGB is not suitable for offset printing. RGB is used for software interfaces and web designs, but it cannot be directly translated to the printing process. Always convert RGB colors to CMYK when preparing files for offset printing to ensure color accuracy in your “send and print txst” outputs.
TXST Brand Colors:
Texas State University’s official Pantone colors are PMS 504 (maroon) and PMS 872 (metallic gold). Our Kodak NexPress digital press has a “5th color” capability to simulate metallic gold. Additionally, our offset presses can print true metallic gold ink. If you require true metallic gold for your project, please specify this in the special instructions when placing your order. All TXST business cards and stationery items are printed using true metallic gold as standard.
Original Materials: Submitting Text for Typesetting
If you require Print & Mail Services to handle the typesetting for your document, preparing your text file correctly will ensure an efficient process when you “send and print txst”.
Guidelines for Text-Only Submissions:
For text to be typeset by our team, please prepare your content in a Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) file and email it to us. We will format your text to fit appropriately within your printed layout.
Formatting Your Text File:
Please adhere to these guidelines when submitting a text-only copy:
- Avoid Hard Returns at Line Ends: Do not press the “Enter” key at the end of each line. Allow the text to wrap naturally.
- Use Tabs for Alignment: Use a single tab character instead of multiple spaces to align text elements.
- Include a Hard Copy: Always enclose a printed hard copy of your text file. This serves as a visual reference for our team and helps ensure accurate typesetting.
By following these simple steps, you can facilitate a smoother typesetting process for your “send and print txst” projects.
Portable Document Format (PDF): The Preferred File Format
We highly recommend saving your files as PDFs for all print submissions. The advantages of using PDF extend beyond our printing process, offering universal compatibility and reliability when you “send and print txst”.
Benefits of PDF Files:
PDF files resolve issues related to platform, software, version, font, and graphic incompatibilities. By embedding all necessary data—fonts, graphics, and formatting—into a single, compressed file, PDFs ensure that your document appears and prints consistently across virtually any computer system. Anyone can view and print your PDF file exactly as you designed it.
Creating PDFs from Various Applications:
- Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign): These applications include Acrobat. Simply choose “Save As” in Illustrator or Photoshop and select PDF as the format. In InDesign, use “Export” and choose “Adobe PDF Preset” set to “High Quality Print” or “Press Quality.” For documents with bleeds, ensure you set crop marks and bleed settings in the export window.
- Microsoft Office Applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint): Use “Save As” and select PDF from the format dropdown menu.
Access to Adobe Acrobat for TXST Staff:
The full version of Adobe Acrobat is available to Texas State staff through Information Technology’s website. Utilizing Acrobat can further enhance your PDF creation and management capabilities for your “send and print txst” needs.
Storage Media: How to Deliver Your Digital Files
When submitting digital files for printing, proper file organization and delivery methods are essential to prevent delays and errors, particularly when you “send and print txst” large or complex projects.
Guidelines for Sending Digital Files:
Please follow these guidelines when providing your digital files:
- Include Linked Graphics: For documents containing graphics, ensure that the original, linked graphic files are included. These should be either on the same storage medium or embedded within the document. InDesign users can easily use the “Package” function (under “File” > “Package”) to gather all necessary files.
- Supply Fonts: Include all screen fonts and printer fonts used in your document, especially if you are not submitting a PDF.
- Label Your Media: Clearly label your storage media (disk, USB drive, etc.) with the document name, your department, and the software used to create the files.
- Job-Specific Media: Ideally, each storage medium should contain only the files directly related to the specific print job you are submitting. Avoid including unrelated documents or files.
- Verify Color Correctness: Double-check that your color settings are correct (spot color or process color separations) before submitting your files.
By adhering to these guidelines, you ensure a smooth and efficient file transfer process for your “send and print txst” projects, helping us to deliver high-quality printed materials promptly.
