File size requirements for large format printing are a bit different than for small format. And, like most things, acceptable standard files are different from printer to printer. Here at BIG Images, although we accept many file formats, there is one kind of file that tends to work very well with our workflow, and that's the incredible TIFF.

The standard file we accept is

• a flattened TIFF
• saved at 150 ppi (lower ppi will work depending on size of the graphic and distance the graphic will be viewed from)
• embedded with the Adobe RGB 1998 color space
• saved with LZW compression
• saved at the physical size it'll be printed

I know, I know; that's a lot of details, acronyms and geekiness, but that's just the biz. A major reason we accept files this way is because… Read the full article...

Tags: tips, tiff, design

Tools for Web Site Design on Windows

Some people make fun of me around here, and it’s not just because of my hair, my hygiene or the myriads of action figures I have on my desk. You see, I’m the only one in the shop with a PC back home. I know, I know; I constantly hang my head in shame. But have no fear, my fiancee and I also have an Ubuntu Linux box and a MacBook, but I do most of my freelance web work on a two year-old XP laptop. So when Jon wrote his article last month on the tools we use to maintain BIG Images’ web site, naturally it was all Mac software, and I thought I’d do a little representing and show the Windows world some love.

As with the previous month's article, I've tried to find solutions within the shareware and the free and open-source community.

Web Development Applications:

• Stylizer
  
• $69.95
• Live preview of sites, view changes to the page as you make them
• Amazingly attractive UI
• CSSVista
• Free
• Extract and edit the CSS from any page on the internet
• See your changes applied live in both IE and Firefox at the same time
• Doesn't save files from within the program, you have to copy and paste it into your editor
• Aptana Studio Community Edition
  
• Free
• Although initially meant to be a Javascript coding program, it has great support for HTML, CSS and PHP
• Syntax hilighting
• Relatively attractive interface
• Their code assist feature shows helpful hints about code as you type it
Read the full article...

Tags: tips, technology, ben lawless, web design, software, design

Stretching your trade show dollar — Drayage.

So I was filling my car this weekend and it hit me, kind of like a frog who realizes he’s being boiled alive. $52.70 worth of ouch. Now, I know that prices have been going up and the American dollar is about as a strong as a wet noodle, but this weekend at the pump I finally felt it.

So, with financial ruin looming, what do we do? At work, how do we stretch our tradeshow dollar and in the process keep our heads off the corporate chopping block? Let’s begin with a concept called drayage.

For those who don’t know, ‘drayage’ is a service for moving your display from the truck to the show floor, and back again after the show. Drayage  also includes removing and storing your empty cases. It can cost anywhere from fifty cents to over a dollar per pound. So for every hundred pounds, that means you're paying $50 to $100 so someone else can transport your display.

Here are a few things that most people don’t know… Read the full article...

Tags: trade show, tips, sales, ken pettit

Tools we use to maintain BIG Images’ web site

A friend of mine inquired via email: “What program did you use to design BIG Images’ website?” As I typed out my reply I realized that BIG Images is not the “normal” large format print company. I mean to say we do not just buy the Adobe CS suite because its what everyone else has; we aren’t satisfied with a solution just because it works. We experiment constantly. The workflows we develop, for example to build and maintain our web site, are very unique in our industry.

Our entire web site is home grown and maintained by BIG Images. We are major supporters of the Macintosh shareware community, as well as the free & open-source software community. Often these solutions are:

1. an order-of-magnitude less expensive than their more established competitors
2. are more reliable
3. exhibit faster and more personable customer service

Here is some of the software we use on a weekly/monthly basis to create and maintain our web site:

Web Development Tools

• RapidWeaver
  
  • $49.00
  • BIG Images’ entire site has been built and maintained with RapidWeaver for the past 2½ years
  • One of the beautiful aspects of RapidWeaver is the VERY active community at their forums. Often I can ask a question and have an answer within the day.
  • RapidWeaver has alot of plugins ($5.00 - $20.00 each) that enhance its functionality, and I have used most of them throughout the site. You can find a list of the plugins here.
  • YourHead software is one of the premier plugin developers. Their products are awesome.
• TextMate
  
  • $63.00
  • Ideal for custom html/php/javascript coding.
  • Incredibly customizable, so it adjusts to your coding style.
• CSSEdit
  
  • $29.95
  • For writing and editing css there is no better tool.
  • Instant live-previews make experimentation a snap.
  • This is also a great tool for reverse-engineering other sites to see how they created their effects.

Read the full article...

Tags: tips, technology, jon beebe, web design, software, design

War Stories from the Trade Show Floor — Cover Your Assets

Everyone remembers when Obi Wan Kenobi said to Luke Skywalker “You will never see a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.” He was, of course, talking about Mos Eisley, the spaceport on Luke's home planet of Tatooine. However, had Obi Wan been in the trade show industry, I'm fairly certain he might have instead said “There is but one more wretched hive of scum and villainy, New York City’s Jacob Javits Convention Center”.

You see, several years ago I was managing the installation of a million dollar booth at Javits. Out of all the union run-ins I encountered at that show, this one stands out as the most bizarre… Read the full article...

Tags: trade show, tips, ken pettit

Let's face it: the tradeshow environment is not a zen garden. There, you will never find balance and peace. Instead, you'll find situations like the Samsonite luggage commercial of old. You know the one: hulking gorillas crash into suitcases with all their might, shredding its contents.


I've seen and heard of all manner of horror stories from the show floor, and they can be truly grisly. 'Bob the tattooed flowerist' drives over your case of graphics while delivering the ferns you ordered. FedEx decides your booth needed a vacation — why else would its last known location be Palm Beach, Florida?

The point is nothing ever goes as planned. So, what then? What can be done in advance to minimize the inevitable? You plan for disappointment and heartbreak, and in short, you develop a Plan B. Luckily for you, I've been there, and I've found two objects that will save your hide almost every time.

The first is what I call a Contingency Kit. It's simply a large tool box with the following in it: Read the full article...

Tags: trade show, planning, tips, ken pettit

So here we are; it’s April and many of you are in the thick of your tradeshow season. With that in mind, I decided to discuss what NOT to do on the tradeshow floor. Without fail, every time I attend a show, I see staff blunders, gaffes, and other faux pas. How do you set yourself apart in this rough and tumble world? Well, let me tell you.

Sitting

The tradeshow environment is a tough one. I know that. By the end of the day your entire body feels weak and numbed. I also know that the next day you’d rather have your legs amputated than stand on them, but buck up! When you’re sitting, you look lazy and less approachable. In that state, lead-generating opportunities will pass you by like grandma getting passed on the highway.

Talking with other booth staff

Remember: this is not the breakroom and you’re not at the show to talk with “Bob” from R&D. Save the conversation for dinner. Otherwise, if you’re in the middle of chumming it up, show attendees will not even try to interrupt your conversation to ask for information. The same goes for the cell phone as well; if you need to take a call, excuse yourself from the booth… Read the full article...

Tags: trade show, tips, ken pettit

Increase your trade show results through design consistency

Feet throbbing, calves aching, staring blankly at the ceiling as I lay on my back in my hotel room; glad this was the last day of the tradeshow. It’s amazing, the simple things a numb mind will focus on, like the fire sprinkler over my bed... Tradeshows — the three ringed circus of the corporate world.

There is one last task before I can go to sleep, however. I have to figure out what I’m going to take home. We all know tradeshows are a cacophony of chaos and these bags of cheap swag and brochures next to my suitcase are proof. This is the process (you’ll want to pay attention here):

• Cheap pens, key fobs and other useless giveaways — trashed.
• T-shirts and neat toys my boys will like — set-aside.
• Letter openers, pocket knives and the likes — trash, airport security will make me toss ’em anyway.

So, here’s the question… how do you design in such a way as to keep your literature out of the hotel room trash can? The answer is simple but implementation is not.

In order to save your marketing materials from a recycle-bin fate… Read the full article...

Tags: trade show, tips, design, ken pettit

There seems to be a litany of sales/sports analogies out there. You know what I mean. They’re the stories of the greatest salesmen in history and how they compare to the Schumachers, Mannings and Woods of the world. So, in the shadows of the latest Super Bowl, I’m going to add one, or a litany + 1, if you will.
 
Everyone knows that sales is about money, where each sale equals so many dollars. What is professional sports about? If you said winning, well you’re partially right. From my point of view, it’s about the team consistently delivering results sponsors are willing to pay for.
 
So answer me this: Did Peyton Manning win the Super Bowl or did the team? Who is the ‘team’? Does this term only apply to those who grace the field? If you were benched the entire game, are you part of the team? How about the support staff, therapists, masseuse, logistics and administration? Don't they also count as the ‘team’?

The reality of the matter is that the Colts could never have delivered the results without the entire team. The team is comprised of everyone needed to deliver results.

Sales is the same. A sales person might be the one to play on the field, but the entire team delivers results. I hear of many companies who shove their sales people out the door without any support or, even worse, the company doesn't deliver what the sales person sold. Customers are like team sponsors; they want results in one form or another and results is what they pay for.

Last month’s questions were aimed at you. This month let’s focus on the team.

• Are you a team player?
• Be honest: is your company really a team? Is everyone committed to the goal of getting results?
• What can your team do better?

Remember, no one wants to sponsor a losing team. Conversely, when your team consistently delivers great results, people will talk and customers will seek you out. It's the nature of the business.

"A sale is not something you pursue, it’s what happens to you while you are immersed in serving your customer." ~ Source Unknown

Tags: sales, tips, ken pettit

Everyone affects sales

Sales is the life blood of every business and as such should be on the minds of everyone in the company. I’m not saying that all involved in your company need to be proficient sales people, just that every employee needs to be cognizant of how they affect the company’s sales directly. From CEO to custodian…each person’s contributions have an impact on sales and the net value of the company.

I am amazed at how many people I have observed who are oblivious or just don’t care about their effect on their company’s bottom line. Let me illustrate:

We ordered some typical supplies from one of our vendors the other day. We’ll call them vendor A. These are supplies that we rely on for the core of our business and without them we cannot print, and our vendor knows this. The next morning we called the vendor to get the tracking number and they confirmed that the order had shipped. Hours later, like clockwork, UPS arrived with our order — minus two items on backorder.

A couple of things went wrong here. First when we placed the order, the sales person never let us know our product was not in stock. Then the person who told us the order had shipped failed to mention two items were on backorder.

In contrast, we have another vendor, vendor B, that confirms the order while we are on the phone, then follows that with a faxed confirmation. Should there be any issues, they call us immediately.

The end result? Through consistently unreliable business communications with the first vendor we have moved the majority of our purchasing to the second vendor. Poor performance of individuals within their company caused vendor A to loose us as a customer. Each one of these people contributed negatively to vendor A’s bottom line.

Some might say “So what?... it’s not my job.” To those I say don’t apply here, and to their executives and managers, I say get rid of them. If you don’t, you aren’t doing your job. No good can come from someone who has no concern for the customer. Think I’m kidding? The people at company ‘A’ didn't lose a sale, they lost a customer. Because of this and other incidents, company ‘A’ will lose $80,000.00 this next year and company ‘B’ will gain $80,000.00 in sales. Why? Customer service. No other reason. Company ‘A’ had a great product and great price. They didn’t have people who cared about the customer.

So here’s the lesson — Always ask yourself:

• How will a customer perceive my actions?
• Are my actions enhancing the customer’s experience?
• Can I do better? (Hint, the answer to this one is always yes.)

Notice these questions are about you. Not your boss, not your co-worker, not your employee, they are asking you about you. By taking leadership of your own actions you are taking the first step towards exhibiting relentless customer service.

Consider this quote from Sam Walton, the founder of Wall Mart:

There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else. —Sam Walton

Next month I'll discuss the sales team.

Tags: sales, tips, ken pettit