Advertising Information

The Graphic Problem


Digital printing has revolutionized the sign industry. Current printers can reproduce an image at 1440 dpi (dots per inch) at virtually any size. But they are worthless if the original image is of low resolution. We define resolution using pixels. A pixel is commonly thought of as the smallest individual unit of an image (tiny dots if you will). If the pixel content is low, the image will look fuzzy. Anyone that has blown up a picture in a popular program like Adobe Photoshop has experienced the pixilation of an image. The most common way to express the resolution of an image is via two integers: the first is the number of pixel columns or width and the second is the number of pixel rows or height. Another common way to express resolution is by giving the total number of pixels in the image (usually expressed as megapixels). It is determined by simply multiplying the pixel columns by the pixel rows.

Most typical file formats such as bmp, jpeg, png, etc. will give the physical image size. This is done through DPI. For raster images (those images in rectangular pixel format), DPI means the number of pixels printed within one inch horizontally and vertically. For example, if you have an image expressed at 600 by 300 (or 1.8 megapixels) and you want to print at 300 dpi, the image would need to be printed within two inches by 1 inch (you divide 600 x 300 by 300 dpi) - a very small image to get the needed resolution. The bigger you print the same image, obviously, the lower the amount of dots per inch. A 20 by 10 inch print of the same image would be only 30 dpi. Try to imagine how bad the quality would be if you had only 30 dots for every inch.

We commonly have customers uploading 600 x 300 jpeg images of the family dog, say, and ask us to put it on a vinyl banner 4 by 2 feet, for example. We refuse to print a sign with less than 300 dpi, because we know our customers will not be happy wth the quality. If we enlarged this image to fit the sign, we would get a sign with 12.5 dpi (only about 12 dots per inch).

We need to help educate so you will know that we are not trying to aggravate or, worse yet, price gauge when we ask for a better quality image. Believe me, we only do this so the customer will be happy with the final product. I always feel bad when I have to disturb a customer. I understand the buyer's position. They want quick results with minimal effort. But customers have to take a proactive role, because once and a while, a sign company will go ahead and print a borderline or low quality image. We won't do that - we insist on quality - which sometimes makes the customer think we lack some mysterious technology that our competition has. There have been those frustrating times when a customer will tell me they know of a local sign company that will print their sign with the image as is. And then they hang up miffed.

If we cannot get a higher quality image we need to convert the file to vector format. This format allows us to enlarge the image without loss in resolution. In fact, we have a full time graphic person that can do this rather quickly in some cases. We usually try to do it gratis for our customers, but sometimes we have to charge them. It is awkward because the customer does not always understand. Some even suspect we are attempting to add on frivolous charges. We want them to understand why!

But I also have to caution customers. Some sign companies will charge high prices for art work. Converting a diagram or clip art to vector format can be very cheap - about $10. But poor quality photographs require the artist to reproduce the file as a graphic drawing in detail. It takes time and most companies will understandably try to recoup their costs. But you should not be charged more than about $30 an hour and photographs rarely take more than 2 or 3 hours to convert.

To learn more about Magnetic signs and other types of signs please visit http://designasign.blogspot.com. To purchase Magnetis, Vinyl and just about every type of sign imaginable visit http://www.designasign.biz


MORE RESOURCES:

Financial Times

Doritos' cat murdering Great Dane wins Super Bowl ad contest
Fox News
Despite all the big-money, celebrity-filled ads shown during Super Bowl Sunday, it was Doritos that came out top of the advertisers with one man and his very bad dog. The chips and dip maker was the most effective brand to advertise during the Super ...
Super Bowl ads battle for top spotChristian Science Monitor
Advertisers' big day: Who caught your eye?Minneapolis Star Tribune
Super Bowl commercials replayChicago Sun-Times
New York Times -CBS News
all 1,076 news articles »


Syracuse.com

SU advertising students talk about the best, worst Super Bowl ads
Syracuse.com
We asked advertising students at the SI Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University to digest those pricey ads. Nine students in the Advertising 421 Advanced Portfolio Class agreed to help us out. The class is taught by Kevin B.
EA Worldwide: Super Bowl commercials set advertising trends for year aheadJournalism.co.uk (press release)

all 72 news articles »


Tic Tac® Mints Launches Interactive Advertising Components of Shake It Up ...
PR Newswire (press release)
6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The iconic Tic Tac® brand launched today a series of interactive advertising and mobile experiences for its first-ever 360-degree marketing campaign – Shake It Up™. The campaign, which encourages Millennials to break from the ...

and more »


Award-winning advertising and marketing firm thriving in Licking County
The Newark Advocate
Julie and her husband, John, started StrohCreative after years of working in the marketing and advertising industry. / Zach Gray/The Advocate "Aces of Trades" is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs -- whether they're unusual jobs, ...

and more »


IBNLive.com

Is Facebook advertising right for your small business?
MiamiHerald.com
Advertising choices: There are two ways to advertise on Facebook. You can pay each time a person clicks on your ad — this is known as pay-per-click advertising. Another option you have is to pay each time someone sees your ad regardless of whether ...
As Facebook grows up, it courts Madison Avenuemsnbc.com

all 38 news articles »


Cegedim Strategic Data (CSD) Tracks Pharmaceutical Companies' Print ...
MarketWatch (press release)
The industry experienced a particularly difficult 12 month period to September 2010, where the decrease in print advertising investments was 10%. Use of advertising in medical journals continued to decrease for the following 12 month period ending ...

and more »


IBNLive.com

Facebook Due to Show Advertisements on Mobile Devices by March
DigitalJournal.com
One of the key factors to come out of Facebook's risk analysis pre-IPO is the social network's inability to advertise on mobile devices. This may change in March before its initial public offering. People using mobile devices to access their Facebook ...
Facebook advertising to go mobileVertical Leap News (press release)
Facebook's Mobility ChallengeNew York Times
Facebook Mobile Ads Developing: Sponsored Stories Coming 'Within Weeks'paidContent.org
Financial Times -Columbus Dispatch
all 62 news articles »


MLive.com

Skechers dog race commercial the Super Bowl's best, MSU advertising faculty says
MLive.com
MSU advertising faculty members chose it as the Super Bowl's best commercial. EAST LANSING -- Skechers' commercial featuring a pug dog winning a race wearing the company's shoes was rated the best ad of this year's Super Bowl by the faculty of Michigan ...
MSU professors evaluate Super Bowl commercials for 15th yearMSU State News
MSU professors rate Skechers top Super Bowl commercialMSU News
MSU Professors Rate Super Bowl AdsWLNS
Lansing State Journal
all 15 news articles »


TapIt!â„¢ Releases Proprietary Mobile Advertising Platform
San Francisco Chronicle (press release)
Global mobile advertising company, TapIt!â„¢ releases proprietary mobile ad platform that includes real time bidding, in-depth targeting and auto optimization capabilities. Global mobile advertising company, TapIt!â„¢, releases proprietary RTB enabled ...

and more »


The Associated Press

Resilient Chevy, Chrysler ads win at Super Bowl
Reuters
Other commercials from companies such as Anheuser-Busch and Coca-Cola repeated old themes or failed to stand out during American TV's most valuable advertising time, according to industry experts and online comments. Companies that spent $3.5 million ...
Advertising's Big Night OutHere Is The City
Super Bowl ads battle for championshipThe Associated Press

all 574 news articles »

Google News

home | site map
© 2006