The Paradise Graphics Difference
Effective graphic representation is essential to the success of every business. The best graphic representation is the result of a professional's talent and training. At Paradise Graphics you work with a seasoned professional who has the success of your business in mind.

Paradise Graphics is a complete Graphic Design and Typesetting studio owned and operated by accredited Graphic Designer, Debra Mixon. A native of the Tri-Cities, Debra has been working in the design field since 1982, specializing in logo design, illustration, printing and advertising production. She is knowledgeable in all aspects of pre-press preparation.

"I work a little differently than most designers. My client and I sit down for a one on one consultation to target their company needs, and how visual media can enhance the success of the business. I provide a service to my client that takes them from conception to completion of the camera ready mechanical. I offer an endless supply of creative and effective information presentation to help my clients project an image that makes their company successful. Although my designs encompass a wide range of applications, I specialize in Corporate Identities, Logo Design, Newsletters, Illustration, Brochures, Proposals, and Business Stationery."

To insure the success of a project, it is imperative to work as a team. The alliance between client and designer is a special kind of team where time, money and deadlines play an important role. The following paragraphs contain information to enhance this relationship with your designer.

Effective Communication
Communication is the key to giving an ordinary project visual magic. Working with an accredited graphic designer is the best way to communicate your ideas and image into an effective graphic representation. By understanding a few of the terms and procedures in the Graphic Design industry, you can take an active role in the successful completion of your visual project.

Manuscript
After your designer develops the creative concept, a writer produces a manuscript to convey the ideas through text. Ask your designer about copywriting if you need assistance.

The standard example of a correctly prepared manuscript is type written and double spaced. It is important that your copy be legible to reduce the chance for error. Typesetting is charged by the hour, so if your copy is difficult to read, it will take longer to typeset, thus inflating cost. It is also important to be complete and accurate. Present all of your copy at the same time. Don't let dates or prices come later. If you make changes to your copy, not due to typesetter error, expect to pay for them. Do all of your editing before you take the manuscript to the designer.

You may wish to use a word processing program to prepare the manuscript, and save it on a floppy disk for your designer. Although WordPerfect or ASCII text are universal, it is always a good idea to check the compatibility of your program with your designer's. Provide a hard copy of the manuscript for the purpose of indicating specific instructions. When keyboarding the text, there are a few simple operations you can incorporate to reduce formatting time as the text is converted into the designer's pagination program. A) Let the text wrap using soft returns; B) Do not indent or add extra returns to paragraphs; C). Use tabs rather than the spacebar to position text; D) Use a single tab even if the text doesn't appear to line up on your screen; E) Use only one space after a period

Rough Layout
The rough layout is a preliminary sketch designed to convey the basic arrangement of the graphic elements into the size that has been selected. This will help the designer understand what you have in mind and help you understand how the text will fit into the space. If you're not sure what you want, your designer can complete the rough layout after your initial consultation on the project.

Design
Your designer will take the information you provide and arrange it in a pleasing manner. Be prepared to explain your target audience, purpose and general feeling of the project. Paper, ink, color, typestyle, layout and format are all considered by your designer to meet these objectives. Specify which parts are more important than others or any parts that may be omitted if space is limited. Your designer will be able to come up with a look or theme that will get your idea across beautifully and effectively.

Proofreading
Proofreading is one of the most important, yet most ignored steps in the design process. Proofread carefully and completely. This is your opportunity to check the copy against the original manuscript. You are responsible for changes made to the copy not caused by typesetter error, including errors made because the manuscript was in poor condition. Don't let a pressing deadline intimidate you into inadequate proofing. It takes longer to do a job twice than to do it right the first time. Use standard proofreader's marks so that you and your designer know exactly what changes you want.

Deadlines
Be reasonable and honest when asking for a deadline. After choosing the type of printing, work backwards from the delivery date to come up with the deadline of when your job has to be taken to the printer. If you ask for a prompt deadline, be prompt in proofing and picking up your order. If your rush job is left on the shelf for a week after completion, it may not be as easy to get your next rush job rushed through. If a project is hurried through too quickly, there is more opportunity for costly mistakes to be made. Remember even minor errors that must be corrected once the job reaches the press are expensive. Begin your project with enough time for your designer and printer to complete it without being rushed.

The Printing Process
The offset printing process works on a few basic principles. Copy to be reproduced must be in black and white so that the image can be photographically or digitally transferred to the printing plate. Ink and water do not mix, therefore ink will stick only to the image (black areas) and water to the non-image (white) areas.

Working with Photographs
Since printing copy must be either black or white, a photograph as it appears, cannot be reproduced. The camera would see only the blacks and the whites, making the grays disappear. To print, a photograph must first be converted to black and white dots (halftone). This creates the illusion of gray tones.

A black and white photo is better than a color photo for reproduction. Black and white film is designed to convert colors to different values of black, white and gray. Color film is used specifically for copying the exact color as it is seen. If you try to reproduce a color photo on a camera designed only to see black and white (process camera), the results are usually disappointing. With a black and white photo, the colors have already been converted to black, white and gray using the correct film type. A good example of this theory is a color photo of a person. Since the process camera sees red as black, and skin tones consist mostly of red shades, they may be seen as dark gray or black. This makes the photo reproduce very dark, showing little detail. For best results, choose black and white photographs with good contrast for your project. For identification purposes, photographs should be marked using the page number they will appear on, plus an alphabetical designation if there is more than one photograph on a page.

Use a soft writing tool when marking the photograph to avoid a show-through impression on the face of the photograph. When using a pen, allow the ink to dry thoroughly before stacking the photographs. Show-through may be picked up as an unwanted mark by the camera.

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