Print Design Tips for the Non Designer

1. No matter what anyone tells you – do not put two spaces after a period. That practice served a purpose in the typewriter era when all characters were the same width. With current computer generated true type, postscript or open type, the characters vary in the amount of space they occupy so the eye does not need more than one space after a period to identify the end of one sentence and the beginning of another.
2. When using black type over a tinted background, a 20% tint is a good rule of thumb. Depending on the final printing device you should find the right percentage within the range from 15% or 25%.
3. Resist the impulse to use all or many of your favorite typefaces. There is seldom any benefit from utilizing more than two fonts in any given print project.
4. When putting type inside a tinted box or a box with a solid rule, keep the type away from the edges. (indent all 4 sides)
5. Avoid using ALL CAPS almost always (never say never) except never use any script typeface in all caps, never - ever.
6. A quick and easy way to access your company logo is to right click on it and download its image from your website. Don't do it. The version of your logo used on your website is geared for the 72 ppi computer screen and is not suitable for a quality print project. What you need to get is the original version of the logo which would be in eps, pdf or adobe illustrator format (essentially variations on the same format). This format will look sharp and clean at any size used.
7. Although paper is routinely cut and packaged to 8 ½ x 11, there is no rule that says every marketing piece, form or flyer has to be on that size paper. Go green, save paper and use a size that fits the message. (Double your money with two 8 ½ x 5 ½ flyers out of each 8 ½ x 11 sheet.
8. Resist the temptation to use more words than necessary to make the point. Write your copy then trim it.
Finally, and perhaps most important after all that hard work...
9. When you are creating documents to distribute by email make sure that no matter who views the document they will see it exactly as you created it. Insist on a work flow which enables you to ultimately create PDF files. Anyone and everyone can view those files exactly as you intended with Adobe Acrobat or the Free Acrobat Reader.
10. If your project is destined to be printed by a commercial printer, using software that is up to the challenge will save both you and your printer lots of headaches. Adobe InDesign has every feature you could ever need to create credible projects. There is a learning curve with InDesign but better to spend time on learning than troubleshooting issues created by lesser software packages. Added benefit: seamlessly export your creation to a PDF file so all will see it as you created it.