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Looking for information or products related to marketing, writing, design or desktop publishing? Here's some useful info I've compiled over the years.
Design & Printing Resources
Fotosearch (stock photos and illustrations)
This web site is a great source for quality photographs, illustrations and video. It searches for items from many other image sites and compiles them together in one easy place. You pay for each image depending on the file size/resolution, or you can order CDs of entire image collections.
Dynamic Graphics magazine
This magazine features very cool design projects with a real-world focus. Includes software info, how-to articles, design tips and other design stuff.
Printing For Less
1-800-930-6040 or www.printingforless.com
I can't say enough good things about Printing for Less! Their quality is excellent, customer service is outstanding, prices are exceptional, and they give instant online quotes.
Online ordering with PFL is very easy, even if you've never printed anything before. Their website and newsletters are loaded with helpful information. PFL can print from nearly any type of file, PC or Mac, small orders or large. Note: since they're shipping from Montana, it can take awhile to get your stuff, but if you're not in a hurry, it's no big deal.
Business Writing
The Little, Brown Handbook (writing handbook)
Anyone who does any sort of writing needs a handbook like this. It covers everything you need to know to write English properly. Topics include grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, word selection, writing style, research and business writing.
Quick Tips for Better Business Writing
Gary Blake
A great, easy-to-read book full of useful tips to improve your business writing skills.
Handbook for Business Writing
Baugh/Fryar/Thomas
A basic business writing book with lots of examples: letters, grammatical issues, writing style, plus tricky formatting stuff like salutations, titles, etc.
The Publicity Handbook (press releases)
David R. Yale
A must-have for any non-PR person who needs to write a press release or deal with the media. The book outlines how to write a press release, what to write in it and how to format it. Also tells where, when and why to send a release, plus all sorts of very useful information.
Specialty Papers
If you're short on design time or ideas, there are thousands of colorful pre-printed papers to work with using your laser printer or inkjet. Need to print a door hanger, table tent or invitation? Choose from huge selections of pre-printed or pre-cut designs to make your project fast and easy: papers, labels, envelopes, brochures, business cards, folders, note cards, table tents, door hangers, invitations, presentation supplies, etc.
Paper Direct
1-800-272-7377 or www.paperdirect.com
Idea Art
1-800-433-2278 or www.ideaart.com
Paper Presentation
1-800-727-3701 or www.paperpresentation.com
Computer Software
Adobe® Photoshop®
Photo editing/web graphics (raster/bitmap images)
Need to edit photos, JPEGs and bitmaps? Pros use Photoshop to create, edit and resize raster images (pixel-based images). Photoshop is very powerful and does lots of cool things, but can be intimidating and it's overkill for simple tasks.
Photoshop is also used to prepare efficient, quality graphics or photos optimized for the web. ImageReady creates the most efficient, best looking images and photos for your web site while keeping file sizes small.
Adobe® Illustrator®
Graphics illustration software (vector graphics)
Need to create or edit line art? Illustrator is the pro tool for vector-based art (art created with lines and shapes, as opposed to pixels). I've also used CorelDraw in the past because my clients use it.
Adobe® Dreamweaver®
Web Design Software
Need to build a web site? Dreamweaver lets you create and manage web sites without writing HTML. It offers powerful design tools you might not find in cheaper entry-level software: drop-down menu builder, sortable tables, javascript, etc. Like Photoshop, Dreamweaver is awesome but complex and pricey—definitely not for the faint-at-heart.
Adobe® InDesign®
Desktop publishing software (text mixed with images)
Need to design a complex document? InDesign is specifically designed for creating text documents with lots of images. It's much more powerful than a word processor (like Word) and lets you design complex documents more easily. Page layout programs like InDesign are geared toward professional printing, so they're overkill for simple text documents.
For more info, see the "Choosing Software" article.
Desktop Printers
Laser printer or inkjet printer? Compare speed, quality and per-print usage cost before you buy! Also, most inkjet prints are not waterproof, so you might need a laser printer if you print postcards or mailers.
Color Laser
I'm on my third Konica/Minolta/QMS color laser printer. Laser printers offer better quality text and are faster than inkjets, but they cost more initially. Most laser printers produce high enough quality output (1200 dpi) to be considered “camera-ready.” Each color toner has it's own cartridge, so you only replace the one that's low without wasting the other colors. Supplies and repairs are expensive for color laser printers.
Inkjet Printers
I also have an HP inkjet printer. I use it for hand feeding labels and envelopes. Most inkjets are slower than laser and the text is not as crisp. Some are crisper or faster than others, so get a sample print before you buy. Inkjets are fine for occasional use but don't buy a slow printer if you're printing more than a few pages at a time; spend the extra money to get something faster. Really do your homework before buying an inkjet. Check a computer publication to see how each printer ranks in terms of quality, cost, speed, etc. INKJET COST WARNING: Look at the per-page costs of USING the printer, not just the purchase price. Some inkjets are nearly free to purchase but use hundreds of dollars worth of ink in 2-3 years!
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