Author: Newark Trade

 

Newark Trade will pledge, in your name, $10 from the purchase price of any Large Format job to the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund (NJPRF). This offer runs now through Labor Day 2020.

New Jersey has been incredibly hard hit by the COVID-19 virus, taking its toll not only in sickness and death, but also in bringing so many people, families, and businesses to sudden food “insecurity” and inability to pay bills due to business closures, job furloughs, and job losses.

Newark Trade wants to help, and by contributing through your purchase of some of our products we are able to do so. We like the fact that all the donations made go directly to the people who need the help, not the administering of the donations.

“One hundred percent of donations received … by NJPRF will be used to fight the medical, social, and economic impact of COVID-19 on New Jersey’s most vulnerable, supporting organizations that provide essential services and aiding those on the front line of the pandemic. NJPRF is proud to be hosted by the Community Foundation of New Jersey, which has been serving the needs of New Jersey non-profits and philanthropists for more than 40 years. Please join this effort by donating and share the news of NJPRF via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and word of mouth”

– NJ First Lady Tammy Murphy, founding Chair and non-voting member of NJPRF’s Board of Directors

If you would like to know more about the Fund, please visit their website, NJPRF.org.

This virus will not rest, and neither can we.

Please help us help New Jersey.

 

Since we are a small NJ business ourselves, Newark Trade encourages consumers to raise the curve and Buy NJ.

 

 

On January 28^th, over eighty industry professionals, as well as other interested people, got together at the Eisenhower Corporate Center in Livingston to discuss new trends in advertising. Topics discussed included personalization vs. privacy; the importance of transparency; keeping up with the speed of change; making talented creatives feel challenged and empowered; benefits of in-house art departments vs. ad agencies; importance of diversity, and more.

By Gary D’Atrio

If you are a graphic designer creating a document that will be printed by a commercial offset or digital print provider like Newark Trade, it is recommended that you provide a “print ready” PDF. This will ensure that there are no problems with fonts, linked images or special characters as long as the PDF is made properly. Here are the steps needed to create a “print ready” PDF from the most widely used page layout app, Adobe InDesign, using PDF presets.

Don’t forget the bleed and crop marks!
This is the most important, and most overlooked, step that should be addressed at the start of the project. Anything on the page that goes up to the trim edge should be set up with a .125” bleed. For more on bleeds, see my previous blog: https://www.newarktrade.com/blog/2018/02/21/by-gary-datrio/

PDF Presets
Adobe InDesign comes with several PDF presets that will cover most of the print and web scenarios you will encounter. The PDF/X-1a:2001 setting is good for 4-color offset printing since it converts the file to CMYK using the US – Web Coated (SWOP) color profile. The High Quality Print setting is good for digital printing that is toner or inkjet based. But both of those presets lack what I mentioned about above: Don’t forget the bleed and crop marks!

Create New Presets
To save you time in the future, I would recommend creating two new presets based on the previous two mentioned. While exporting a PDF, choose the High Quality Print in the PDF Presets. In the left column choose Marks and Bleeds. Click on the Crop Marks, Page Information, and the Use Document Bleed Settings options. In the lower left, click on the Save Preset… button and name it High Quality Crops. Do the same steps starting with the PDF/X-1a preset.

Now you are prepared to send your “print ready” PDF to either an offset or digital printer confident that it will be trouble-free and accurate.

By Bobby DePasquale

After spending more than 30 years in the software development field, successfully fulfilling various job roles across multiple industries, I now find myself at a creative digital marketing agency focusing on print, visual marketing solutions and the pharmaceutical industry. Although my job “world” may have changed, I am finding that the concepts and practices used in software development can also be applied here at Newark Trade.

For instance, instead of software coding standards (a set of guidelines, programming styles and conventions that developers adhere to when writing source code for a project) and best current practices (work procedures which are considered to be the most effective for performing a specific task or process), I now focus on pharmaceutical standards and FDA guidelines when proofreading pharmaceutical label pieces (e.g., full prescribing information (PI) sheets, medication guides, patient instructions), that are designed here at Newark Trade. Although the standards and guidelines differ between what I used in my previous career and what I now use, conceptually they are similar.

Software development is driven by a product requirements document – an outlined set of statements that, collectively, define what the product should do, and how it is expected to function under certain conditions and variables. Developers write software code to match the requirements. Testers formulate test cases that can be traced back to specific requirements. This traceability ensures that all requirements have been met; i.e., “Did we build the product right?” Work is managed according to a particular software development process methodology, such as Waterfall or Agile. At Newark Trade, we follow an Agile-like methodology for larger scale custom design projects – most notably for a recent web page redesign project – where we develop requirements, design according to those requirements, write/execute test cases, and perform requirements traceability. For our pharmaceutical work, we employ client style sheets when designing/proofreading drug label pieces. These client style sheets are similar in concept to requirements documents in that they provide guidance as to how the completed pharmaceutical deliverable is expected to look.

Software testing and quality assurance in the software development realm are synonymous with proofreading and quality control in the Newark Trade realm. Each are associated with the back end of the process. Each represents the last line of defense before the designed product is placed into the hands of the customer/client. Software testers execute test cases as many times as necessary until management is confident that the test results consistently reflect expected outcomes. At Newark Trade, pharmaceutical pieces are triple-proofread to ensure confidence that our designed copy matches the FDA-approved source. Also, each printed product undergoes thorough quality control measures before being delivered to the client.

So, here is what I have learned from this career change: though I may have left the confines of the software development world, at Newark Trade I have found that I am really not far from “home.”

By Lillian Mondaro

When the concept of pets within a professional environment is mentioned, we often think of feel good stories about colleges and universities offering stressed students time with therapy animals. Pets, however, are becoming more commonplace within offices and other businesses, integrating themselves into company culture.

Having pets in the workplace can be a boon and a challenge. There are many different aspects to consider before incorporating a furry friend into your work team. Here are just a few (in no particular order):

• People with allergies
• How well-behaved the pet in question is
• Who will be responsible for the pet’s health and well-being while in the office and after hours

Some benefits to having a pet in the office are:

• Stress relief/morale boost
• Healthier employees

If you’re office is considering the addition of a pet to your workplace, consider the pros and cons carefully while following all relevant company policies.

For more information about the challenges and benefits of having a pet in your workplace, check out Bridget Miller’s article on HR Daily Advisor entitled “Pros and Cons of Allowing Pets at Work”: https://tinyurl.com/yyd2c3t9

Do you have a pet in your workplace? Share your photos below and tell us all about them and how they are included in the day-to-day operations of your office.

By Robin Kantor

There is a seemingly endless list of expenses associated with a trade show. These include the booth rental, the displays, collateral material, promotional giveaways, staffing, shipping, and possible hotel expenses. Any way that you can make your dollar go farther is a big help.

1. Reuse your pop-up banner stand. The hardware is a major part of the expense. As long as you don’t order an inexpensive, disposable one on-line, you can just swap out an outdated graphic for a new one. Sometimes the end of the graphic can snap back inside the stand’s base. Should this happen, you’ll find it difficult to pull the graphic back out. Consider bringing your stand to a professional, like Newark Trade for example, to change your banner for you when necessary.
2. Consider easily portable options when possible. Whether it is a table-top display or a mini-banner, anything that stays with you will get there with you. No stressing about shipping costs or damages en route.
3. Bring an array of extension cords. Light is so attractive that it will draw people to your area. When you bring your own heavy-duty cords, you’ll know that your lighting can be powered. Also, duct tape to cover them up and keep them in place, which will help keep your guests from tripping on them. Bringing your own saves having to get what you need last minute at exorbitant prices near the exhibition hall.

Bonus Tip: Bring comfortable shoes. You can easily spend hours on your feet, and comfortable shoes could save money on a trip to the podiatrist when you get back home.

 

By Patty Jurado

Our 2016 Coloring Calendar was right on target for the coloring craze. The concept was rolled out in May 2015 based on all the articles we were reading regarding popular interests and sales, so we took the idea and incorporated it into our annual calendar.

Rounding up the most graphic and interesting pictures taken by our staff, converting them into illustrations, considering the right paper for coloring and how each picture would look in black and white, were some of the steps Newark Trade addressed in the production. Coloring pencils were included with the box sent to our clients so they could begin the fun immediately. A custom-made label to match our theme finished off the package. Adding to the fun, a coloring contest was added for our customers to share their monthly creations on our website.

We also developed short GIF videos, demonstrating and reminding our clients to submit their colored pages for a monthly contest via e-blast. The calendar was also available on our website as a PDF to share with anyone visiting the site.

Our clients responded with enthusiasm upon sending in their entries. Funny stories were shared. For instance, one client had already colored in her calendar but her children wanted to color some pages too, so she printed more copies from our website. She was able to enjoy her own artistry and the kids were also entertained. Here is a link to download your own copy of the calendar to color: 2016 Calendar

Staying current and adding fun to our promotional materials have always been a winning combination for Newark Trade with awards year after year from the NJ Ad Club for calendar design. We would love the opportunity to strategize and design your next promotional piece.

by Joe Tallman

Clickable Paper is a powerful, interactive solution that combines print with digital by using visual search image recognition software. It is an exciting addition to multi-channel campaigns for attracting attendees to participate in events. Some examples of printed materials that can be made Clickable include manuals, statements, magazines, brochures, welcome kits, and posters. It also includes analytics to improve campaign responses and return on investment. Clickable is a free mobile application that can be downloaded or it can be skinned into an existing mobile application.

Additional services offered with Clickable Paper include gamification and photo sharing tools.

Stamp Rally encourages attendees to tally up Click captures to fill up their card for a chance to win a prize.

Slot Machine allows users to bring up a digitized version of the classic casino game, offering a chance to win prizes.

Frame allows users to take pictures with a custom frame for the event and post the pictures to social channels like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Here is a link to a brief video on Clickable Paper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUXHi1tIZdY

By Gary D’Atrio

I’m at a crossroads and need your help.

For 18 years, I have stored, cataloged, and nurtured my digital photographs using Apple’s iPhoto software. The software was seamless, intuitive, and affordable. Everything was working quite fine.

Then Apple threw me a curveball: with the release of the Sierra 10.12 Mac operating system, the iPhoto app was discontinued and the Photos app was introduced. The Photos app, when compared to iPhoto, landed short of my expectations. Although I was able to find workarounds in order to cling onto my iPhoto app for a few more OS upgrades, its demise is inevitable.

So, I sought out alternatives, starting with Adobe’s PhotoShop LightRoom (now simply called LightRoom). I started copying my current iPhoto Library into Lightroom and its subsequent upgrades. Then Adobe threw me a second curveball: Lightroom would become part of Adobe’s monthly subscription plan. I hate subscription plans!

I then discovered a company called ON1, which offers Photo RAW software. The software is similar to Lightroom but includes many editing features and filters like PhotoShop. However, ON1 is a small company and I am concerned that if I move my photo library yet again, ON1 may be short-lived and I will be back on the hunt a few years from now.

Therefore, I need your suggestions to decide where my photos will reside for the next several years. Please comment on our LinkedIn or Facebook page to relate your experiences with storing and tracking your own digital photo library.

https://www.linkedin.com/company/newark-trade-digital-graphics/

https://www.facebook.com/newarktrade