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HERRON PRINTING & GRAPHICS PRESENTS
JAN
11
PRINTING IS OUR PASSION.
WELCOME TO TEN MINUTES OF GOOD NEWS AND FUN STUFF FROM YOUR FAVORITE PRINTER!
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Message
A Message from Randy Herron
The Way I See It
 
We love our community. It is such a nice place to live, raise a family and build relationships through our business dealings. We understand the role we play in our community and how our involvement can really impact a lot of lives for the better. It is our privilege to provide services that make your lives a little easier, and we always want the interaction you have with our company to be a positive, uplifting one.

Obviously, our lives are not contained within our print shop. We live full lives with many different dimensions. Our employees are involved in any number of activities and organizations. We are proud that they see the need to serve our community in their personal lives because they are an extension of us as their employer.

Here’s the way I see it: we have a responsibility to be involved in our community. It is ever growing and changing, and we can make a positive impact on the people who live here. Being active in our community helps us to understand the importance of providing high-quality, affordable printing. It helps us serve both our customers who are buying the printing as well as the many people who will be using the information after it leaves our shop. Please give us a call if you have any printing questions. We’d love to help impact your life for the better!
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Idea
Idea of the Week
Sharpen InDesign Type Spacing with Three Easy Tips
FOR DESIGN THAT IS TO THE LETTER

Have you ever been confused by a billboard where one word seems to bleed into the next? Or struggled to “decode” text that was so crowded you needed a magnifying glass to proceed?

While great typography sets the tone for your project, appropriate spacing can make or break a design. Proper type spacing captures audience attention, allowing people to focus on your message instead of concentrating on the mechanics of reading.

Here are three tips for manipulating the metrics for your preferred typeface:

Kerning

Kerning is the process of adjusting the space between individual letter forms.

Your main goal is a perceived equal distance (or aesthetically pleasing design), and some letters tend to cause problems. For example, diagonal-sided, upper-case letters like A, V, W, and Y (or letters with large crossbars like T and F) can create massive space with upper and lower-case letters near them.

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No worries! To tighten the space between individual letters, position the text cursors between two letters (or characters), then hold down option/alt (option/shift on a Mac) while tapping the left or right arrow keys. You may also try choosing “Optical” from the Kerning menu to manipulate characters.

Tracking

Instead of adjusting the spacing between two characters, tracking uniformly adjusts the horizontal spacing between a range of text, creating a more readable, pleasing texture.

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If you want more or less spacing for a word, sentence, or an entire paragraph, highlight that range of text and hold down option/alt (option/shift on a Mac) while tapping the left or right arrow keys to tweak spacing. Instead of adjusting the kerning, this changes the tracking of a whole section of text.

Leading

Leading describes the amount of vertical space between each line of your text.

For content with multiple lines of text, you’ll want to allow appropriate vertical spacing to make your content legible. Wide columns of text make it especially hard for the eye to track from line to line unless you increase the spacing between lines.

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To change the leading, highlight the text you want to adjust. Now change the leading to “Auto” or to a numeric value (in points). You can do this in the leading menu of the content panel, the properties panel, the character panel, or in the paragraph or character style options dialog boxes.

Not sure what proportions are best? Adjust leading visually by holding down option/alt (option or option/shift on a Mac) and then tapping the up or down arrow keys until the look is just right!

A Finish That Takes the Cake

Character and line spacing are like frosting – a final touch that makes all the difference. Mastering these fundamental elements creates designs that are well proportioned, readable, and appealing.

See more great ideas like this!
Click here to visit the Herron Printing & Graphics - Ideas Collection.
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MARKETING
Marketing Tips
Dare to Compare
ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER…
Consider an ad for a color copier with a photograph on one side of the ad, a color copy of the photograph on the other side, and text asking the reader to pick which one is the real photograph. This type of side-by-side comparison advertising is so successful because it offers readers the challenge of telling two things apart. Who can resist a challenge?

This technique captures attention and has staying power as readers scrutinize the ad to determine which is the photograph, and which is the copy. In a world of short attention spans, what could be better than people pouring over your ad? And, including a few lines of engaging text will increase the lasting effect of your ad.

We can help you design and print all your marketing materials. Let us know how we can help you make a statement about your company.
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Tech Tips
Work Comfortably
IMPROVE YOUR POSITION AT WORK.
The ergonomics of your work space has a direct impact on your mood and productivity. If you find yourself sitting in front of a monitor for a good portion of the day, a few adjustments to some basic items can make your work more comfortable. Here are just a few suggestions:
  • Put your monitor at the right height. Sit at your desk looking straight ahead. Notice where you are looking. The top of your monitor should be at or slightly below eye level.

  • Move your keyboard and mouse off your desk. Your arms and forearms should be at a right angle to your keyboard, and the top of your desk most likely places the keyboard too high. Pull-out keyboard shelves can help alleviate this problem. Also, your mouse should reside directly next to your keyboard.

  • Keep your blood circulating. Wiggling your toes, taking your eyes off your screen, and standing up to stretch periodically, are just a few examples of things you can do to keep your body and mind alert.

  • Do you use a notebook computer? Monitor height and keyboard position apply to notebook computers as well. If you use a notebook as your primary computer, connecting a decent keyboard and setting the notebook monitor at the correct height will make using this portable computer a bit less painful.
Here is an excellent site with more details about proper ergonomics: www.office-ergo.com.
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Uncommon Product of the Week
Padding
CONVENIENT SCRATCH PAPER.
Did you know we can make notepads? It’s true. No more searching your desk for a piece of scratch paper. Notepads can be made out of any paper color or weight, they can be plain, or have text added. Whatever your need, we have the equipment to produce sturdy notepads for you. Give us a call today!
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