As 2012 takes off, many companies have resolved to finally take the leap into social media marketing. And why not? Social media provides smaller companies with the opportunities to market themselves in the same way major, global brands do. However, for small businesses with limited staff, the task may seem especially daunting as many questions undoubtedly loom. Where should we start? How do we start? How are Facebook and Twitter going to help my business? Who will take on the responsibility? Fortunately, social media is so accessible that the only thing standing in your way is, well, you! (more…)

For the past three years at Qdigitizing.com week three  has been the slowest week for order volume for the entire year.  We have to see how the rest of the year plays out but week three 2012 is already slower than weeks one and two.   And if the trend continues next week will be busier than last.  Based on this information it is also safe for me to make an educated guess that next year week three will also be slow.  Will it be the slowest week of the year?  Maybe, Maybe not; but I am confident it will be slow.  Planning for that and why it is important from a production standpoint is a matter of forecasting which is what this blog is about. (more…)

Resolution, and graphics size is a vast and often confusing topic, even for experienced designers. For those new to screenprinting it can be overwhelming. Before you panic at the thought of what you don’t know about resolution, focus on what you do know and some basic, easy to understand facts. (more…)

Welcome To Cora’s Corner, where every month I am going to help you with your artwork issues.

This month I’m going to discuss VECTOR images vs. RASTER images.

There seems to be a lot of confusion on the correct definition and usage of Vector and Raster images.   There is even more confusion on what kind of image is needed to use for a project.

(more…)

One of the most frequent questions I receive in one form or another is, “How should I price my embroidery work?”  On the surface this might seem like a simple question but it is not easily answered and depending on how involved you want to get it can be exercise in advanced accounting.

However, for the purposes of this discussion let’s keep it simple.  Start by asking yourself two critically important questions: (more…)

Welcome To Cora’s Corner, where every month I am going to help you with your artwork issues.

This month I’m going to discuss fonts (typefaces).

On 12 June 2005, a fifty-year-old man stood up in front of a crowd of students at Stanford University and spoke of his campus days at a ‘lesser institution’ — Reed College in Portland, Oregon. ‘Throughout the campus,’ he remembered, ‘every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and sans serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating.’ (more…)

Hello Everybody…

I hope all of you had a great summer and are looking forward to a busy holiday season.  Here at Qdigitizing.com things are great and once again I would like to thank each of you for your continued support of our products and services.  We are gearing up for what we are certain will be a phenomenal end to an already great year.

Todays blog is specific to an important  sub-set of  our customer base.  For those of you working with Melco Design Shop software this blog is very important.  Please review this carefully as you need to be aware of an important change and how it impacts our ability to service your accounts most efficiently. 

(more…)

Welcome To Cora’s Corner, where every month I am going to help you with your artwork issues.

This month I’m explaining some common terms used to describe colors used for apparel printing processes. These terms are commonly used in other printing processes, but have a slightly different meaning when used in screen printing and direct-to-garment printing. Some customers use these terms interchangeably, but they are different. However, they can be connected. I’m referring to Spot Colors, CMYK (Four Color Process) Colors, Pantone Colors and PMS (Pantone Matching System) Colors. Let me define each term and describe how they are used in screen printing and DTG printing (more…)

Contrary to popular belief embroidery digitizing is not tracing.   While it is true we lay stitches on top of your original art this is where any similarity to tracing begins and ends.  Digitizing is an art and a science.  A good digitizer will not only have an artistic eye she will also have an understanding of how stitches will affect the fabric substrate they are sewn in to and how to compensate for the vagaries of the equipment and the fabric. (more…)

RIP, in this case does not mean Rest in Peace. However, a good RIP (Raster Image Processor) software program can give a screen  printer Peace of Mind.  This month in Cora’s Corner I am going to discuss RIP software for textile screen printers and why RIP software is important.  (more…)