Please select a topic from the list at the top of the right-hand column. Topics also available as a pdf to download are listed below.
We welcome feedback – please let us know if you have found this information useful, and if there are other topics that you think we might be able to demystify!
FAQs
Q. Why won’t a picture that looks great on my website work in a printed brochure?
A. It’s mainly a question of resolution, and the difference between screen display and ink on paper.
The resolution of an image is the amount of tiny dots/pixels that an image is made up of – lower resolution simply means there’s less information in an image. For web, or viewing on screen, a lower resolution picture will often display well as the maximum pixels displayed is 72 per inch. For print we need at least 300 per inch – which means a much bigger file to start with! As a rule of thumb, a file of less than 25Mb (opened in Photoshop) will not be of high enough quality to print on an A4.
Screen display is a completely different technology to ink on paper and can give misleading impressions. Screens work in the RGB colour space, whereas most colour printing is created with CMYK inks (cyan, magenta, yellow and black – or “key”), so the images need to be converted before printing. Additionally, you view screen images with light pouring through them which makes everything appear very bright, whereas on paper you are working on a non-luminous surface. Our screens at L&B are calibrated to display as near as possible to printed results but we still need to judge from experience how the printed job will appear. That’s also why proper proofs are so important (see Different types of proofs).
Q. Can you get my report translated into Russian/French/Czech?
A. We can translate copy into many languages, for both print and web. With non-European languages (or languages with nonstandard accent characters) we have these typeset to our layouts. We can also arrange for subediting in translation – for example we design a magazine in English and a translated version in German which is subedited to ensure that all hyphenation etc is correct (see Translations).
Q. Why do L&B charge VAT on design if we print our own magazine, but not if you supply the print too?
A. Design and artwork is classified as VAT standard rated if supplied as an end product, so we have to charge VAT. If we supply the finished, printed job – and the printing is classified as zero rated (eg a regular magazine) – we can bill as a complete product and zero rate the entire invoice.