From owner-qrp-l@Lehigh.EDU Sat Sep 13 08:49:55 1997 Received: from fidoii.CC.lehigh.EDU (fidoii.CC.lehigh.EDU [128.180.1.4]) by oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id IAA05123 for ; Sat, 13 Sep 1997 08:49:54 -0400 (EDT) Received: from Lehigh.EDU ([127.0.0.1]) by fidoii.cc.Lehigh.EDU with SMTP id <35357-48484>; Sat, 13 Sep 1997 08:49:32 -0400 Received: from nss2.CC.Lehigh.EDU ([128.180.1.26]) by fidoii.cc.Lehigh.EDU with ESMTP id <34976-48484>; Sat, 13 Sep 1997 08:48:40 -0400 Received: from emout13.mail.aol.com (emout13.mx.aol.com [198.81.11.39]) by nss2.CC.Lehigh.EDU (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id IAA121869 for ; Sat, 13 Sep 1997 08:48:33 -0400 Received: (from root@localhost) by emout13.mail.aol.com (8.7.6/8.7.3/AOL-2.0.0) id IAA07916; Sat, 13 Sep 1997 08:47:56 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <970913084755_994709216@emout13.mail.aol.com> Date: Sat, 13 Sep 1997 08:47:56 -0400 (EDT) Reply-To: NilsBull@aol.com Sender: owner-qrp-l@Lehigh.EDU Precedence: bulk From: NilsBull@aol.com To: "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: The guy who prints his own (was Software for QSL cards wanted) X-To: vole@primenet.com, qrp-l@Lehigh.EDU X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 beta -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN Status: RO Gang, There are some tricks to QSL card printing that I must share with youse all. I've been printing my own cards (by the antique letterpress method) since I got Dad's print shop after his passing. Before that I used offset "quick print" places. It all works the same way. LAYOUT: You can do it all with Aldus PageMaker, CorelDraw or ClarisWorks. There are tons of different certificate, memo, page make up, publication software packages that will do the work for you. Just remember some of the stuff below: COLOR: color costs extra, especially if you're printing your own off a color jet printer or whatever. However, if you print out your card design in black with each color on a separate sheet WITH the obligatory registration marks (circles with crosses in 'em) before you go to the print shop of your choice, life will be easier. You pay EXTRA for having the printer/negative/plate stripper cut in the color for you. BATCHING: Try to fit as many copies of your card design on one sheet (or on sheets if you're using color). That way you get a press run cost for X number of sheets and pay only a tiny portion more to have the cards cut out of the eventual press run of sheets. Kinda like making all the legs for 15 chairs first, so you only have to change the woodworking tool once for each part. DESIGN: Remember that certain colors of type disappear on various back grounds. It's easy to put your call sign in large block letters that stand out against whatever background. That's cool. But the QSL information should be in black, against a clear, uncluttered background, in type that doesn't take a Star Trek manual or a visit to the Klingon Language Institute site to read. If you do nothing else, make the QSL info clear . . . . and yes, you can still put it on the back of a picture post-card style of card (as in a scene from a Puerto Rican beach with your callsign stomped across the skyline of palm trees). PRINTERS #1: Quick print places can and often do have color repro equipment. However, take a look at the prices and paper stock variables that your local "real" printer can do. Xerography usually plays on unfinished (not shiny) card stock. And there's a limit to the thickness of card that you can run. "Real printers" can handle a much wider range and often have no problems (given the right equipment) with calendered (bristol, shiny, whatever you wanna call it) card stock. (Make sure that they can do full coverage color if you go this route . . . nothing worse than lettering that fades out from edge to edge across the color.) PRINTERS #2: Don't leave out letterpress printers. There are lots of lunatics still around who do letterpress printing. If you want a simple card with a simple design but you want one little dash of panache, letterpress printers often can do that for you. Example: You design a card that has all the QSL/address/QRP club affiliations &c on your computer, leaving space on the card somewhere for your call in another color or type face. You batch 'em up, you get 'em xeroxed at the quick print place and then take the press run (AFTER cutting & trimming) to a letterpress printer. He or she then prints your callsign in gold ink or some bright color on each card. (I used to do this for folks: I had a card design that was basic gut-bucket QSL info &c. I then overprinted the callsign on the top left of the card, ARRL membership hoohah and all, with the ham's name & address at the bottom. Three different faces of callsign info, various colors upon request &c.) PRINTERS #3: A lot of what you see in QST or 73 or CQ magazine is available at home. Shop around your town for a personal touch. This ain't to say that you don't want to have Wayne (W4MPY) print your cards . . . or Tom Ebbert (used to be in all the mags, now understand he's only doing QSLs for old, long-time customers) or W9XX (in Indianapolis), or the "Little Printshop" and others for that matter. It's just a hint at getting your own design. LAST but not least: Keep in mind that you can get too damn much stuff on a card. Keep it simple and honest and easy to read and you'll end up with a card that will hang in a wall-packet whatchit. AND NO, I do not print QSLs. It cuts into the time I spend reading QRP-L stuff, operating, blowing up, burning down, chopping up, burying, burning, stomping on and cussin' at stuff that I wreck. A man's gotta know his limits. 73 Nils WB8IJN &c