THE NEWS IN PRINT

Let me reveal a little secret of mine. I used to be a web designer before I started working as a quality specialist cum blogger. One of the things that I strongly stood for is Mozilla Firefox and at the same time, detested Internet Explorer. I have had nightmares designing websites to be compatible with IE. Firefox was sweet, simple and uncomplicated. Also, the Mozilla browser offered umpteen number of features that were unmatched by any other browser.

Firefox allows you to add a custom message either in the footer or in the header. You could write anything under the sun that you wish for. If you are using a common printer at office, one could easily identify and segregate his prints from others by adding his name in the print-outs.

You can enable the option of adding a custom message by following these actions:

- Click on the File menu

- Click on Page Setup

- Select Margins & Header/Footer tab

- Use the dropdown menu and select Custom to print the message of your choice

Maybe there could be different applications using the custom message feature. If you think of any, let us know.

via Mozilla Links

If you quickly wanted to print something off the web, hitting the print button would print all the graphics displayed on the screen; things wanted and unwanted. In the age of web, readers should be able to print only the content rather than the website banners, sidebars, footers etc.

A small tweaking is needed in the stylesheet to provide an option for the reader to print only the content. Using a separate stylesheet for printer friendly pages is preferred by most web designers worldwide. The first stylesheet would a normal one with no changes done to it. The second stylesheet will have a display:none element under the sections that are not to be printed.

37signals provides an example of the code and the outputs obtained with and without printer friendly stylesheets.

A simple tweak one every website would help in reducing consumption of printing fuel which is great for the consumer and the environment.

Suppose there is a need to print multiple word documents, the only way possible is to open each file individually and to print them as per requirements. This process is tedious considering the time spent on opening each file. How about selecting a whole bunch of articles from a folder and providing one single print command? This feature is not available on Windows or on Mac. But, a simple application by Zevrix Solutions provides the capability of printing multiple documents for Macs.

WordOutput 1.0 automates the process of printing several word documents from file view window and removes the need of opening them individually. It also features capabilities of providing PDF outputs, virtual printer support for automated faxing and document emailing, offers status reports and much more.

This printing enhancement tool is available for Mac 10.4.2 and higher and Microsoft Word 2004. It is priced nominally at £13 and is a great asset especially if you print in batches from multiple files.

Double side printing is fast becoming a common feature among all laser printers today. It is a great help to save our fast dwindling forests. Not all printers print double sided, but there are tricks of the trade that could be applied to convert a non double-sider into one. Its ghetto but it works.

I am not introducing any scripts that would transform your printer into a double-sider but a small exercise that each one of us can do to help the cause of nature. Maybe some of you are practicing it already; maybe not.

1. Print all the even numbered pages first in reverse order

2. Insert the pages so that your printer would print on the blank side. I have faltered at it a few times. Better to test first before implementing on a huge document.

3. Now print all the odd pages in the document without reversing the order (standard order)

There is a reason behind printing even pages first. If your document has odd number of pages (Ex.51), the last page (51) need not be reinserted back in the tray. It will be quite confusing, so best to avoid.

This topic might fall into marketing genre but there are some technical nuances along with creativity that everybody should know in order to print effective stickers. Design of stickers need not have a highly creative mind but a mind that understands pleasable colour combinations and fonts.

I stumbled upon an article that listed some ideas for sticker printing. I found the points relevant and useful even for my personal sticker printing needs. Here are some good ones:

- Die cut stickers stand out more than the square shaped ones.

- Colours, its all about colours isn't it? Use colours that are attractive and complementary. Use of yellow and black is more attractive than yellow and green. Avoid white backgrounds.

- Use a font that's legible and has sufficient spacing between letters. Fancy fonts may not be the answer everywhere.

- Select the right quality of sticker; preferably UV coated. The output on such stickers have a high gloss finish and a finesse touch.

- UV Coated stickers are best for use as promotional giveaways, for creating brands, election campaigns, notice sign, and the like. Uncoated stickers are commonly applied as return address labels and shipping labels among others.