GENERAL
What do I need to know when looking for in a printer?
Quantity capabilities, types of stock, types of digital files accepted, binding methods, how long has the company been in business, their production methods and knowledge of sales and client support team. Printing is a very competitive business where most companies are survivors (low cost producers). The only way for them to stay in business is to reduce the selling price, resulting in a reduction of overall value (quality and level of service, product quality in terms of material and construction methods). Be cautious of low initial estimates and be wary of undisclosed additional costs.
Aren’t all printed products the same?
NO! They may look the same to the untrained eye or without comparison to the products you had printed with Mirror Image. We only provide quality prints to our clients and we work with various presses and have some of the newest in digital presses to get your jobs done. Most other printers out there just cannot compare.
FILE PREPARATION & PROOFING
How should I send in my files?
Your quote will be based on trouble free PDF files (prepared to industry standards) unless otherwise specified. We do accept native files in Indesign, Quark, Illustrator and Photoshop in both Mac & PC platforms for a small additional charge. When sending in application files, the customer receives and signs off on a proof.
What are PDFs? Are they better?
PDFs (Portable document file) contain the pages, size, font style, images and color information needed to print your job. They are often small enough to email or send digitally and many customers have now decided they no longer need a paper proof before printing to save on turn times. You can have a printed proof, but it will delay the process of the order.
What resolution do I need for photos?
We recommend 300 dpi for all image types except bitmaps. They should be 1200 dpi.
What about barcodes?
When supplying barcode they must be 100% black only. If you would like us to create your barcode we will need to know which kind – EAN with price undetermined, EAN with USD price, EAN with CDN price, or ISBN with no price.
How long will it take for my proof?
Online
Jobs done online will have live proofs created as you upload or design your work. Jobs submitted online will usually have proofs within 1 or 2 business days from confirming your order.
Jobs submitted manually
It takes approximately 3 working days to produce proofs from trouble-free files, and 1-2 days shipping via Fed-ex or UPS to most destinations.
Do I need a printed color proof?
We provide digital color proofs that are calibrated to our presses to simulate what your cover will look like when printed. Since other devices are not calibrated to our presses we would not be able to provide any assurance of similarity to a customer supplied proof. Keep in mind all printed proofs will delay turn times on finished products.
Will color pictures look exactly like the proof I received?
Your finished job will look very similar but will not be an exact match. Although lamination does not change the color it does change the way light is reflected and will affect reds more than other colors. With thousands of orders per year and hundreds of returning clients say you can trust our quality.
PRODUCTION
What paper is available?
For covers we use a 10pt C1S, 14pt and 16pt stock which means it is coated on one side. This is required to produce a quality 4 color process. For text you can choose from a 70, 80 and 100lb offset. We also stock a 60 and 70 lb. uncoated and a an 80lb 100% post consumer recycled, environmentally friendly paper. For other stock options we can provide you with information on the print quality, pricing and delivery specifics that you are looking for.
Does stock have an effect on color?
Yes. All stocks are slightly different shades ranging from blue white to warm white which will change how you see the picture. Coated stocks will be the most vibrant as the ink does not get absorbed as much as uncoated keeping the print dot much sharper.
What are PMS colors?
Pantone colors can be created two ways. The most accurate way is to print pantone colors by mixing the ink and printing it as an additional color. The least accurate and least expensive is to replicate the PMS color selected using the four process colors, CMYK.
What Binding methods do you offer?
We offer perfect bound, spiral bound, Wire-o- bound and Saddle stitched.
