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Creating Your Own Publicity Material
If the key to any small to
medium-sized enterprise’s (SME’s) success is advertising, high quality,
professional publicity material needs to be within reach.
Added to this, the cost of producing the necessary brochures and
business cards needs to be kept relatively low if a small business is to
remain profitable.
Thankfully for small business owners, recent technological advances have
made the in-house production of effective, low-cost publicity material
much easier to achieve.
The variety of desktop
publishing software that is now available, in conjunction with
affordable printers, allows SMEs to produce all their advertising
material themselves at a reasonable price.
According to Mark Williams, an expert who advises and assists small
businesses about desktop publishing, the final product isn’t limited to
black and white business cards or monochromatic leaflets, either.
“Depending on the type of printer, you can produce photo-quality glossy
brochures, overhead projector transparencies, even T-shirt iron-ons
these days,” he says.
He adds that most printers a small business is likely to purchase are of
good quality.
“Each have their own strengths and weaknesses, but most are satisfactory
if you use them properly and for what they are intended for.”
Acquiring a good printer, however, doesn’t guarantee that publicity
material will wow potential clients. Quality software is just as
important in self-production of advertising products.
The range of programs available – from specialized suites like Corel
Draw and Adobe Illustrator, to basic programs such as MS Publisher and
Paintshop – means that virtually any SME should be able to find the
right package for its needs.
An even more recent development is digital imaging technology, which
enables businesses to jettison photo development and film costs in favor
of a digital camera.
Paul Rogers, a senior category manager from Hanimex Pty Ltd., the
Australian distributor of Fujifilm products, says there is also an
increasing range of printers that can produce top quality photographic
prints.
“Photographic quality printers can produce a wide variety of print
sizes, from 4" by 6" prints through to A3 prints,” he says, adding that
the most popular software being used to enhance photographs before
printing is Adobe Photoshop.
Rogers adds the caveat that with all new technology, employers should
ensure their team members have adequate knowledge of and training in the
product before results can be expected.
“Employees definitely need some training,” says Williams. “Otherwise
they will work in inefficient ways that they may have learnt in the
past, and not use the package to the best of its abilities.”
To facilitate a business’ shift to self-publishing, the following hints
are useful:
• For document design, bold and italics can be used to make certain
parts of the material stand out.
• The use of templates and a database of regularly used documents such
as invoices, payslips and letterheads can also save a business valuable
time.
• It is important to remember that with much self-publishing software,
minor details of punctuation can mean the difference between a
professional product and something which was clearly produced by an
amateur.
Therefore, people new to desktop publishing should make sure they
understand the difference between, say, an inch mark and an opening and
closing quotation.
Usually a good training session and the software’s documentation should
explain this.
And when it comes to printing, SME owners should try to avoid design
programs which don’t produce the same colors on screen as in hard copy.
Otherwise it can be difficult to accurately predict how material will
look in its final version, which can result in disappointment as well as
wasted resources.
After all, the focus of the transition from outsourced printing to
desktop publishing should be on the quality of the final product – for
the sake of the business as well as customer satisfaction.
And, since the highest quality
product is the goal, it may be worthwhile considering hiring a graphic
arts professional.
Mastering desktop publishing can take time – an expert will be able to
ensure that your business’ publicity material continues to impress
customers while you develop your own desktop publishing skills.
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