it’s impossible to think that the print industry could work without computers nowadays. it makes lots of things easier, especially data handling etc. the only problem is .. lots of people don’t really understand what they’re doing. for example, the last job i worked on was a 20 pages booklet thingie for a local event (cheap-o-matic).
imagine you are supposed to input 40 sponsor ads and spread them over 20 pages. sounds easy, no? the only problem is .. once u have a look at the data u got from the client, you see 10 word files with some crappy graphics in rgb, 10 72dpi logos as jpegs which have been taken from some homepages, 10 pdfs without fonts, 5 pdfs without fonts and in 72dpi and maybe 5 usable industry standard formats which actually work. of course, there is the additional 4 to 5 cases where the only thing you get is a black and white copy of their business cards.
there’s a serious lack of knowledge .. i suppose it’s because nowadays, everyone has a) a computer and b) word. sometimes, they even have photoshop – but they roughly understand the basics. and the worst thing about that is, that there are some 1-man agencies that don’t have a clue about their output. it’s kinda depressing, that even people who are supposed to know how it works got the feeling that it’s ok to send an ad template in a word file…
a solution for that? – well .. guess there ain’t one beside the most rigorous: switching customer segment .. :)
2 Comments
…or enlight your customer. Tell them how they have to send you the proper format. Most important, explain them how they can achieve this goal! ;)
what about realistic suggestions? :)