Blog Articles


Time for the big dance! While in Columbia, check out these local favorites on the Cayce, West Columbia side of the Congaree.

Don't set resolutions that are unobtainable. Instead, set GOALS that you can reach.

A round-up of our top 5 blog articles from last year.

Are you prepared for the graphic design trends of 2019? Here's what we see as the top 10 trends for this year.

What does it take to create the perfect logo? The answer may surprise you.

Learn how to make master pages and page numbers quick and easy with Indesign.

Don't use the envelope distort tool in Illustrator for paragraph text on concentric circles. Instead, use this tutorial to get beautiful, arched type that is easy to edit.

If you want your business card to turn into sales, then you must pay careful attention to how it's created. Here are five tips for designing an effective business card.

Indesign Character Styles and Paragraph Styles can save you hours of extra work! Learn how to use these styles and ways to implement them into your design routine.

Of course, holiday income doesn't generate itself. If you really want to rake in the sales this holiday season, you have to prepare for it... through marketing.

With election day right around the corner, there are a few ways your business can get on board the political bandwagon and market through the red, white and blue.

With Halloween just around the corner this week, how can your business join in the festivities? Here are a few spooky good marketing tricks to consider for Halloween.

Fortunately, there are a few tips every business professional can keep in mind when it comes to creating a logo. Here's how to design an awesome logo for your business.

How much room do you need to leave for mailing information on a 6x9 postcard? If your design runs into the mailing area, you might incur higher postage rates. Find out more in this blog article.

Reading offers a variety of benefits to business professionals, particularly in strengthening leadership skills. Check out these five reasons reading makes you a better leader.

If you run a restaurant, landscaping business, cut down trees or are a real estate agent, door hangers won't break your bank and are easy to distribute to neighborhoods in your local area. Here are a few suggestions on how to use door hangers to advertise your services or company.

Fortunately, there are some tips out there to help you write a powerful newsletter in order to connect with customers, promote the brand and grow the business.

Custom presentation folders are a great addition to your marketing arsenal. Here are a few options when selecting a pocket folder and uses for each.

To get you started, we came up with six festive fall marketing ideas for you to take advantage of this October. Let’s dive into some valuable fall marketing.

By developing your networking skills, you can continue to expand your business circle, which provides more resources and opportunities. Here’s how to grow your circle.

While natural leaders do exist, it is also possible to learn leadership skills, put them into practice and grow your leadership capabilities.

With its fingers in many different industries, including industrial, fashion and interior design, Pantone is the go-to for color. Find out why in this blog post.

Picking the right colors is important when you are establishing your brand. Here are some steps to think about when choosing the colors for your brand.

So, how can you kick off your September marketing? Here are seven super September marketing ideas for you to jump start your marketing this month and head into the season.

If your company does any kind of marketing or communications outside and within, you need a brand style guide. Here's a look at what a style guide is, what is in a brand style guide and how to use a style guide.

Why do the colors of your printed piece look different than they do on your monitor? Here is a look at a few different reasons why.

Ask any small business owner and they’ll say that Labor Day sales are only as good as Labor Day marketing. But if you haven’t started yet, it’s still not too late!

Ask these "How?" questions when planning your promotional product strategy.

2018 is quickly coming to an end, but you still have time to take advantage of these promotional product trends.

When businesses fail to market to existing customers—and only focus on bringing in new ones—they leave money on the table, and can end up losing loyal customers.

Small businesses can not compete with large corporations who spend millions of dollars on advertising. Here is a look at how inexpensive promotional products allow small businesses to get their name and brand out into the public.

Does your company use promotional items for marketing? Here are 10 reasons it should.

Needless to say, customer service is an incredibly important aspect of any business model. So, here are five ways your business can have better customer service.

When planning a good promotional product strategy, one of the main questions you should ask is Why?

Choosing unique gifts for your swag bag can help boost your social media buzz. Here is a look at how to choose items to go into your bag, and some examples of unique product ideas.

The downside of business swag? You have to invest a bit of money to create your own. The upside? You create walking billboards everywhere customers wear or use the items.

Here is a look at how you can stay consistent with your brand across Print Media, Marketing and Ad Specialty Products.

In a digital world, how can you track the success of an ad specialty product campaign? Find out in today's post.

If a management team drives vision for a business, and marketing brings clients into the business, then employees are those who actually move the business forward.

Get the most out of your marketing dollars by following these 6 steps for a successful ad specialty campaign.

A well designed and informative newsletter is a great asset in your marketing toolbox. Find out the benefits of a printed newsletter and tips on how to generate content that gets people excited to read it in today's article.

What exactly is responsive website design, and why does it matter for your business? Let’s dive into a few reasons why your business website should be responsive.

Here are 5 popular Adobe Illustrator tools that help make print production run more smoothly.

Postcards are a great tool to use in your marketing plan. Knowing how to effectively design, implement and track a direct mailing campaign will help you spend your money wisely. Here are 7 steps to accomplish your goals.

As we approach the back-to-school season, you should have a plan in place to market to consumers in order to attract them to buy your product or service.

What is creep and how does it affect my design? Find out more about the strange printing term, creep, in today's article.

Take advantage of this Back to School season to hand out free items with your company logo and information on them! Here are a few ideas to help.

If you’re not sure where to start with your competition, don’t worry. We’ve compiled a list of five ways, to get you started.

A great looking pocket folder will give your brand or marketing project a huge boost. Check out this blog article for some helpful tips when designing your next pocket folder.

How long does a press check take? Can I make changes during a press check? What is that smell? These are a few questions we get asked during press checks. Find out the answers in this blog post.

A vision statement is a vital part of any successful small business, so today we explore how to craft an effective vision statement to move the business forward.

A proof is your last chance to make corrections to mistakes or changes to your project. These are a few different types of proofs you can ask for depending on the complexity of the project.

Useful tips for using Word as a desktop publishing tool and how to prepare your files to send to a printing company.

If you want your sales to stay successful after Independence Day, then you’re going to need a second strategy to implement once the day comes to an end.

Save money and time by making sure your files are ready to be sent to the printing company. If there are changes or corrections at the proofing or press check stage, your project can get costly. Today’s post will help you to make sure your files are ready and set up properly.

Today, we will look at how colors need to be approached, and the proper way to create or edit your images in Photoshop.

With all of the excitement surrounding the Fourth of July, consumers are searching for sales. How does your business join in? Here are a few marketing reminders.

Even before you begin designing your print media project, you need to be thinking of how the piece will look when it is finished. Follow this guide to help you keep designing for print in mind.

Confused about kerning, tracking and leading? Check out this article for a better understanding.

When you know how to best represent your brand, you have the flexibility to share that brand with others, while representing the company in a professional light.

Confused about the different choices for varnishes or coatings on your next print media project? See the most popular choices here.

Working with Variable Data Printing (VDP) files is easy when everything is set up properly. To learn how to set up your files or check them, read through this blog post.

Here are five key components for how to make a strategic video script and create a successful marketing video which will help boost lead generation and grow your business.

What are LPI (lines per inch), DPI (dots per inch) and PPI (pixels per inch)? How do these terms affect graphic design and printing?

What are the major factors of dot gain and how can it affect the look of your print project? Find out in today's blog article.

Whether you choose to take photos with a quality camera or a simple smartphone, there are specific ways to ensure pictures turn out clean, crisp and professional.

May is National Bike Month! Riding your bike is a great way to exercise and enjoy the outdoors. It also provides you with great health benefits.

What are your options for binding your print media project? Here is a look at common binding styles and the projects that work best with them.

In today’s world, if a business is not on social media, it can easily fall by the wayside as technology advances. However, being on social media is simply not enough.

For all who have made the greatest sacrifice, we thank you. Thank you for our freedom, our safety, and our country. May you have a blessed memorial day.

Follow these guidelines to help you remain consistent when naming files or folders.

We put together a quick list of our favorite summer marketing ideas to help you get ready for the hot sales season coming up. Here’s how to prepare for summer marketing.

If your company uses large graphics, posters, banners and point of purchase (P.O.P.) displays for marketing and advertising, your service provider needs to have a large format printer. Here are a few popular uses of large format printing.

Digital printing is a great option for print projects with low quantities or variable data. Take a look at the pros and cons of running your project on a digital press.

Should your business have a mobile app? Today we dive in and explore some of the reasoning behind having—or not having—a mobile app for a small business.

Find out how digital printing on linen and laid finish papers produces different results from offset printing in this article.

Here is a how-to guide to properly setting up your Adobe PhotoShop document for printing at a commercial print shop.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner on Sunday, May 13th. It’s the perfect opportunity to engage with consumers by celebrating a day for the mothers in their lives.

Want to learn more about data merge in Adobe InDesign? Follow these steps to merge data into your InDesign document.

Do you know the difference between reader spreads and printer spreads? Find out in today's blog post.

Vehicle branding is an exceptional form of advertising medium with few downsides. For just one single startup cost, your vehicle can expose a multitude of people to the business every single day.

Small business competition is tough. Use these steps to say in the lead.

When fiverr.com first came on the scene, graphic designers were up in arms against it. But are sites like fiverr and 99designs bad? We look at the positives and negatives in this blog article.

Without strong content, a blog can quickly fall apart. If this sounds like you, you’ve come to the right place. Today we discuss seven post ideas for your business blog.

Is your logo your brand? Not exactly. We look at what makes up a brand in today's blog post.

Use these ideas for ways to stay connected with your clients year round.

You may ask, “Earth Day and marketing?” How could those two possibly go together? Today we’re going to discuss how to embrace Earth Day in your marketing efforts.

How can I reduce the file size of my PDF in order to email it? Find out the answer to this and other tips in this blog post.

Using Acrobat for prepress? This guide shows you how to add crop marks and bleeds to a PDF document.

Drip email marketing, otherwise known as drip email campaigns, is the perfect way to automate the marketing and sales process, easily converting leads into customers.

A look at the most common Acrobat tools used in print production.

Pocket Folder Dieline Template, #10 Converted Envelope Template, Remittance Envelope Templates to download.

Take a look at the selection of papers available for your print media projects.

No matter who you are or what you do, networking can help you and your business grow. Today we dive into the big benefits of joining a networking group.

All body text that you design to be black, needs to be 100% black and not a build of black. Here's why:

Your print media piece looked great on screen, but now that you have the final printed piece in your hand, the colors are dull and boring. How could you have caught this before thousands were printed? The answer is proofing. Join us as we take a look at what Printing Proofs are and how they can help you as a designer.

As a marketing professional, you may have read an ebook or two before in your day. But the real question is: have you ever considered writing one?

How can you establish your brand and make it unique? Here are ten actions to help.

Check out this list of 7 ways to keep a tight grasp on your marketing campaigns across multiple divisions.

While Twitter might be smaller than the social media giant Facebook, it’s definitely something worth attention. Today dive into why your business should have a Twitter.

Time saving keyboard shortcuts for QuarkXPress.

A look at how useful QuarkXPress is for print media.

What is SquareSpace? Should my business use SquareSpace? See our take on these and other questions.

Looking for ways to increase your brand awareness and name recognition? Start using these steps today!

An email subject line can ensure viewers actually open the email, read it and act upon it. So, how do you create a compelling email subject line? Here’s how.

Here are some tips we have come across on creative ways to reach volunteers.

A cruise offers so many ways to reduce stress and have fun while seeing exotic locations. Many cruises are all-inclusive and offer everything you need right there on the ship.

Make the most of your Google searches with these tips.

A mission statement can drive a business towards success through a strong business communication strategy. Today we discuss how to write an effective mission statement.

In this article, we will help you understand what is needed to give a more precise quote.

We sometimes get confused too.

How can you build and sustain a successful email marketing campaign for a small business? Here are the five tips to get started on a top email marketing campaign.

It’s tough to find a great commercial printer in today’s competitive market. Using these six guidelines will help you along the way.

What are some common Adobe Illustrator keyboard shortcuts? Find out in this article.

How can I create a dotted line? Why are my strokes not staying the same size when I scale my graphics? We answer six commonly asked questions about Adobe Illustrator.

A website's optimization is integral to improving marketing efforts and growing the business. Here’s some key pointers for how to search engine optimize your content.

How to get the most out of Adobe Illustrator for Print Media.

So many fonts to choose from, serif, sans serif, script, handwritten, fixed width, and they all look great! Should you choose a free font or commercial font? There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

Knowing the correct panel size on a folded brochure is very important to maintain a professional look. Here are 6 common folds and panel sizes to help.

Great job to two of our employees in the 2018 McAngus Long Run!

When it comes to building strong landing pages, there are vital components. In today’s lesson of Marketing 101, learn how you can create effective landing pages.

You’ve come a long way Guttenberg! A look at the history of print.

Running is great for both your physical and mental health. Today, we ask our resident runners 7 questions about their running experience.

Infographics include information for consumers, but in a way that’s visually appealing, with short, impactful tidbits of content. But, how do marketers create infographics?

Envelopes are a major part of any business. Any envelopes that are to be mailed need to be printed to certain specifications in order to be processed by the post office. Using these remittance envelope templates will help you to properly design envelopes.

What are Pantone colors? How can I find Pantone colors in Illustrator? What is the Pantone color of the year?

Paper coatings are just as important to your print media project as color and design. Take a look at these common paper coatings manufacturers offer.

RGB mode has a larger color gamut than that of CMYK. If you are designing a piece that has to be commercially printed, you need to be working in the CMYK color space. This article looks into the differences of RGB and CMYK.

Both insourcing and outsourcing a business blog have their advantages in business, so today we’re going to take a deeper look and see which is the better fit.

A job interview is your chance to sell yourself to the company, and making a memorable first impression is key to landing that position. Let's look at 7 ways you can dress effectively for a job interview.

Love thy neighbor. Do you? Do you go out of your way to help someone, to offer your time, or your expertise? Community service and the decision to make a difference impacts so much more than service you are helping, it impacts lives.

Five ways to actively live out the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. today. Advocate louder, love harder and dream your wildest dreams.

If you have a business page, how can you utilize Facebook to increase your followers and grow sales? We have some tips for how to improve your engagement on Facebook.

Knowing and using keyboard shortcuts can help shorten your production time when working in Photoshop. These keyboard shortcuts are ones I’ve used repeatedly in Photoshop.

This Photoshop tutorial will walk you through the steps of converting multiple images to the same color space.

How exactly can you utilize local search engine optimization for your website? Here are the first few steps in integrating local SEO best practices for small businesses.

With so many features, users may be urged to only use Photoshop when designing for print. Please don’t. Here are a few do’s and don’ts to using Photoshop for print media.

So how do copyright laws protect property rights and how do they affect the print industry? We'll take a look at some steps to take to make sure your images are legal to use.

It’s a new year, and a chance to take a fresh look at your budget management plan to see where your money is going. Here are some budgeting tips to get you started.

Happy New Year, From PrintSouth Printing!

If you want to make sure 2018 is successful, there are a few things to put in place now. We’ve compiled a list of a few ways to start off a new year for marketing.

Seems, even with today’s technology, time still gets away, wasted, and lost forever, never to be recovered again. How can you improve time management? Here are 7 Steps Towards Successful Time Management.

Getting together with friends and family to share good food on the holidays is one of the best parts of the season. These are a couple recipes that our employees have shared with their families. Happy Holidays!

2018 will be here soon, and with it comes new innovations, strategies and marketing trends to help expand your network and grow your professional business.

Merry Christmas from PrintSouth Printing

You may be thinking, “A 5k seems long. How many miles are in a 5k?” A 5k is only 3.1 miles and is easily doable for a beginner. If you would like to go from couch to 5k walk or run, we found this 6 week plan (pdf) to help you with your journey.

Should I send a high resolution pdf with bleeds, or native files (output, fonts & supports) to my commercial printer or service provider? Here are advantages and disadvantages to both.

Your project is completed and ready to be sent to your service provider. But is it really? Here are 5 things to check to make sure.

If you’re the procrastinating type—or even if you’re not—we have seven last minute Christmas marketing ideas you can start taking advantage of today.

What is the PDF X-Factor? How can I select objects behind others in InDesign? How can I easily flow text to new pages in my document? Here are a couple tips and tricks for Adobe InDesign.

Adobe InDesign tutorial on packaging your files to send to a printing company.

Why should you use Adobe InDesign when you are designing for print media? Here is a look at our top five reasons.

The world was changed forever once the first Japanese bombs were dropped on Pearl Harbor, Sunday morning, December 7, 1941.

What is "bleed" in printing and how do I design with bleeds in mind? We answer this question and provide a handy download explaining the term.

Here are five duties of an Electronic Prepress Technician.