Working with a desktop publishing company can save you lots of time and money plus give your business a more professional image.
You can make your design house really happy with you and save both of you lots of time if you beef up your knowledge of their lingo.
You'll also get a better understanding of what they go through to get your work done.
Here are some terms you might want to know.
Leading - is the spacing between lines.
Most of what you're turning in probably has one space between the lines, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Creative spacing is useful for making text stand out and creating a customized page.
Proofing - This is checking for consistency, such as document headings all in the same font and same case.
Camera Ready Artwork - This is artwork with the best contrast.
Use bright white (photo white) paper.
It greatly improves the final look of photographs and graphics.
Copy - Everything that will be printed; text, artwork, and photographs.
Bindery - Where paper folding, binding and trimming is done.
It may be part of your desktop publisher's operation, or they may contract it out.
Bleed - Printing that extends to the edge of the document.
It takes longer and costs more to print documents designed this way.
Fonts - Your word processing program likely uses True Type fonts, but your desktop publisher may need PostScript fonts.
Work with your desktop publisher to find out what they need and to ensure you're providing copy that's easy for them to use.
Kerning, or letterscaping - Certain letter pairs don't appear spaced equally automatically.
This is especially true when in headings when your font size is large.
Kerning allows your desktop publisher to adjust this, making your end documents look more pleasing.
A little vocabulary goes a long way.
Understanding these terms can help you ensure a long and profitable relationship with your desktop publisher.