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Double Checking Before Putting To Print

Self Portrait (Magnify)When you send something off to the printing press this will allow you to make multiple copies of whatever it is you want to get printed in good quality and with minimal effort on your part so that they can be used in marketing or as part of your services and goods. However it is very important when doing this that you make sure your content or images are in as good quality as possible, and if you have left any typos or other mistakes in the documents that you are getting printed then these will be present in all of the copies whether they are sheets of paper or mugs. In turn this then means that you will have wasted a large amount of money on products or documents that you can’t use, and you will then have to dispose of them. Of course you can use these faulty copies – but if you do it will damage the reputation of your business as it will look like you can’t spell or don’t put the necessary time and effort into what you do.

Find out more writing tips by reading Do You Hate Typing?

Check everything for print!

So how can you get around this problem? Simple – by being certain to check very thoroughly over everything you’ve done before finalizing it for printing. Here are some procedures to help you do this.

  • Get it Checked by Multiple People: Don’t just check what you have made yourself, you need more input .You are unfortunately blind to your own mistakes, which is often what causes you to make those errors in the first place. Instead be sure to pass what you’ve done over to a third party who can look over the copy. Other people have a fresh eye and are more likely to spot mistakes.t
  • Zoom in and Out: For images, try zooming all the way in and then all the way out first to check for both overarching problems and stray pixels that you can clean up.
  • Print it Out: You should print one copy out for yourself. This way you can pass it around and check over it directly. You will be more likely to spot errors than if they exist only on your computer screen.
  • Use the Spell Check: If you’re printing type then you should make sure to use the spell check in your word processor. Make sure that you don’t just look for underlines, but that you actually run the spelling and grammar check and go through item by item. Don’t take this as gospel though, as even the most advanced spell checker can miss some mistakes – particularly if your misspelling spells a new word.
  • Read Aloud: This then is a strategy to use other than spell checking – and that’s to read your content aloud. That way you can hear what it sounds like and whether it flows and you will be more likely to spot problems – apart from anything else reading aloud prevents you from skim reading which can cause you to miss vital errors.
  • Leave Time: Most important of all is to make sure you leave plenty of time between when the image or text is complete and when it needs to be submitted. Don’t make this a last minute rush because that’s how you gloss over important problems.

Jordan Siron is a well known marketing executive working for printing services and has been providing various tips on using a printing service for an effective marketing strategy.

You may also enjoy reading How to Print a Poster: The Designer’s Guide.