When I start a job, I find out budget and schedule information in advance. I pace myself so that things are done on budget and on time. In fact, I don't think I've ever missed a deadline in nearly 25 years.

I nearly missed a deadline today, and WOW, was I stressed about it!  Most of my stress was coming from the fact that it was totally out of my control. I was waiting on someone to send me an ad file that needed to be included in what I was working on. The finished product HAD to have that ad. The advertiser had paid quite a bit of money for the ad space. The problem was, the person handling their marketing had no idea what they were doing.

This person , let's call her Cathy, was in charge of sending out information to the general public, as well as to sources that would run ads for them. I believe she even created the ads herself. But the artwork wasn't designed in an actual graphic design program. Cathy didn't know any design programs, so used Microsoft Publisher* and clipart instead. Cathy didn't know how to export the files into something that could be used in professional printing. She also didn't know how to attach the finished files to her email to send them to me. I'm not sure what Cathy's background is, but it is definitely NOT graphic design. This, my friends, is a perfect example of why a professional graphic designer might be needed to meet your business' needs!

When a business is first being developed and planned, start-up money can be tight. Many people are tempted to try to navigate their branding and marketing without going straight to a professional first. I get this. It seems more cost- and time-effective to do it yourself, or turn it over to an administrative assistant, or a close friend who is creative and has offered to help you out. But when is it time to admit you need to turn to the professionals?

I've compiled a short list of things to consider when taking that step:

We will save you time. Are you doing all the marketing yourself? Unless you're a graphic designer, you need to spend your time creating and growing your business, not  creating a business card. Leave that to the professionals.

We can save you money.  Seriously! A professional designer knows the ins and outs of the business. We know shortcuts. We know what printers to use. We know what materials to use. We use software compatible with printers and web programmers. We know file types and compression and every other little detail. We can do this stuff in half the time, and we can do it correctly the first time.

We will make you look good! There are certain "rules" of design that designers follow. We're taught from the get-go that there are font combinations that work; that there are colors that speak to people; that these rules are in place so we can make you look good. And get this...in our free time, we read design blogs and follow creative trends, so we can design something fresh and relevant!

You will look professional. There are a lot of programs that come standard on a new computer, and there is a lot of clipart out there on Google. Yes, you could slap an image onto a PowerPoint* slide and call it a business card, but my guess is, it's not going to look as professional as you really need it to.  You have to trust me on this one.

There are more reasons I could list, but I think these go to the root of the issue. What are your experiences with this? I'd love to hear your stories, dealing with both amateurs and professionals, and where you've found success in your branding!

- Cheers, Kelly

(*not actual design software)

I want to start by saying I don't come up with the terminology. Talking about "making sure your art bleeds correctly before printing" sounds a bit scary, but trust me, it's not!

BLEED is the printing term that means that your art runs off the edge of your paper.

What does that mean?
When a design is first created, the designer makes a decision to either have the art end inside a "safe" zone, or continue all the way to the edge.  Bleed comes into play when the art continues all the way to the edge. If the image ends even just a hair too soon, a white edge appears at the edge of the page (or card or whatever) and ruins the look of the image. So when the designer creates this masterpiece, she has to extend the art BEYOND where the printer will trim the piece off, eliminating any chance of a white strip showing. This extension is called the bleed. 

Here is the difference between an image with bleed and the same without:

There is always a chance that maybe the white won't show, but this is VERY difficult for the printer to deal with. If the cut is off the smallest amount, that dreaded white will show. In a pinch, printers will try to avoid this with little tricks like sending the job to print slightly larger than 100%, or trimming the piece slightly smaller, but both compromise the finished item and can mess up the design. Plus, it takes extra time for them to do this, and they really don't like to have to make that adjustment. It makes everyone happier if the designer sets it to bleed properly BEFORE submitting it to print.

Do you HAVE to use a bleed?
No. You don't HAVE to. You can choose to have a colored image that ends before the edge and allow that white around it. If that is the case, that white becomes part of the composition, so it needs to work.  In the examples below, I've shown two possible options. The left is where a white border is included as part of the composition. The right, I've eliminate a background altogether.

In some cases, you CAN'T have a bleed. The most common reason for this is if you're printing out a full-page design on a printer or copier that does not allow for printing all the way to the edge of the paper. It's really helpful to know this limitation in advance, so the layout can incorporate the "unprintable edges" into the composition.

How to correctly set up a bleed.
First things first, check with your printer! They will have an amount that they recommend that works well for their setup and machinery. Typically it's a small amount, say 1/8" (0.125"), but can vary. There should also be a "safe zone" away from the cut. All the important stuff should stay within the safe zone and nothing super-duper important should go past it, just to, uh, be safe...

To correctly bleed an image, the edges of the printed piece HAVE to be trimmed. This is a requirement. (Did you get that? It's mandatory.) So if you have an 8.5 x 11" image that has a  bleed, it has to be printed on paper even BIGGER than 8.5 x 11" and then trimmed down to size. Will it cost more? Yep. A little. The paper is bigger and then a trim charge is added to the bill. This is important to remember BEFORE the job event starts. If budget is an issue, make sure to talk with your designer and printer about this and find out how much it will cost before the design is approved.