Understand the “ABC’s of Printing” and you’ll be able to carry on an intelligent conversation at the water cooler.

Aqueous Coating-It’s a clear water-based gloss most commonly used on postcards.

Banner-The word banner is derived from a Latin name “bandum”, a cloth used to make flags.

Color bars-Printed on the trim border of a press sheet, a color bar is a trouble-shooting reference tool when proofing the color of a project.

Decals-A picture, design, or lettering on paper or plastic, with an adhesive backing.

Embossing-Using heat and pressure, material is re-shaped to form raised lettering or design.

Four Color Processing-Otherwise known as CMYK-Cyan (a bright blue), Magenta (a vivid red-purple), Yellow, and Black.

Grand Format Printing-Digital printing process that allows you to print media with extra-large dimensions on a variety of materials such as vinyl, canvas, flag cloth, mylar, window film, paper, carpet, and synthetic fabrics.

House Sheet-Standard paper kept in stock at all times by a printer.

Internet Banners-An online advertisement typically 460×68 pixels, usually placed at the top a Web page.

Jules Cheret-A French Lithographer who was responsible for bringing artistic sentiments to advertising and printing in the late 1800s.

Key lines-Lines, which show the exact size, shape and location of photographs or other graphic elements. The materials outside these lines become trimmed.

Lithography- Plates are used to of printing using plates whose image areas attract ink and whose nonimage areas repel ink.

Monks and Manuscripts-Before the invention of the printing press, Monks would spend hours on end duplicating manuscripts.

Neon Sign-Electrified gas, contained in a tube of glass, which is bent into particular shapes.

On-Demand Printing-Digital printing that does not require a set quantity. Duplicates can be created, as the demand needs it.

Pica-Unit of measure in typesetting. One pica = 1/6 inch

Quote-Price of a job offered to a customer by the printer before job begins.

Resolution-Measurement of the sharpness and quality of an image. The higher the resolution, the better a document is for printing, however images viewed on a computer monitor do not require nearly as high of a resolution.

Screen Printing- Method of printing by using a squeegee to force ink through an assembly of mesh fabric and a stencil.

Turn-around Time-The time a printer estimates that a job will be done.

UV Coating-Ultra-violet-cured gloss applied over printed-paper, which is dried by exposure to UV radiation.

Vinyl-The world’s most versatile plastic used for decals, banners, and signs.

Web-A roll of printing paper.

Xerography-A dry photographic process in which a negative image formed by a powder on an electrically charged plate is thermally fixed as positive on a paper.

Yellow-a crucial pigment in four color processing referred to as CMYK.

Zip File-Compressing into a smaller archive, reducing file size.

Is Fido the next barking billboard?

The world of advertising has come leaps and bounds since writing on Egyptian stonewalls, printing in newspapers, and tugging airplane flags past ballparks. Advertising has gone beyond the once fantastical new trend of large format printing, and started to show up in places you’d never imagine. With the advancement of digital printing, the question begs to be asked: how far can it go? In California, you can purchase beachside trashcans with your company’s logo, and of course we’ve seen cars wrapped in colorful decals. It is the beauty of removable adhesive decals that make temporary advertising the way of the future. If there is a flat surface, you bet you can advertise on it. This includes durable street decals that withstand heavy traffic, and vinyl decals to cover the meal tray in airplanes and the bin you put your shoes in at the security line.

And it’s not just temporary adhesive that’s becoming a trend! Because digital printing is cost efficient, not quantity driven, and you can leave your mark on just about any material, we’re seeing ads on items as takeout boxes and woven material; Just recently Salvation Army printed ads on fleece blankets which wer e passed out to the homeless, and NY pizza boxes with a Cingular logo began showing up at doors.

One wonder if someday you can screen print your dog urging others to lower their insurance, cover your front door with the newest anti-diarrhea medicine, or spray paint your lawn with the golden arches in order to cash in on the valuable real estate that is our everyday life.

A tiny look into a big discovery

Neon. Synonymous with Vegas, Times Square, and that awful martini-shaped thing you used to declare your rebellion with in college. But since the invention of LCD lights, Neon is sometimes thought of as the ugly redheaded stepchild. But take a look into the world of Neon and you’ll hopefully walk away with more appreciation for this glowing wonder of science . . . and yes, advertising. First of all, Ne, the chemical element which creates the effect we know as “neon” is only found in small amounts in our atmosphere. So how can Neon signs be produced in such copious amounts? In the mid 1800’s, two chemists named William Ramsay and Morris W. Travers were screwing around with our earth’s elements like most of our beloved historical nerds did during that time. Ramsay was inspired to freeze a sample of our earth’s atmosphere until it became a liquid (raise your and if you had no clue that “air” could melt). When they warmed the liquid back up, they separated the gasses that boiled off and identified them as Krypton , Xenon, and our friend neon (Greek for “new”). Then, in 1898 another soon-to-be-rich nerd bottled the concentrated neon into tubes, and found that when electrified, it glowed. In 1923, the first neon banner was purchased by a Packard car showroom in Los Angeles, CA. Store owners soon began investing in the traffic-stopping, glass, pieces of art. During the repeal of the prohibition in 1933, bar owners found neon signs to be an affordable, and trendy way to lure people back into their water ing holes. Since the discovery and invention of the Neon light, scientist have been able to go beyond it’s natural glowing color, red by adding additional elements such argon, mercury and phosphor. Gosh, science is purd-y.

Birthdays are like opinions – everybody’s got one. It doesn’t matter if you’re six or 56, ringing in the inevitable yearly aging process with a big ol’ banner that says “Look at me! It’s my birthday!” is always the way to go. Let your neighbors know it’s your birthday – it only comes around once a year, so go all out! And that was exactly my intent.

A few months ago I had the pleasure of throwing a birthday for a very close friend turning 30. Yes, it was a big one! She said she wanted something quaint – a few balloons, a cake, a few friends. But that’s just not my style. I’m a ‘go big or go home’ kind of gal. I figured the way to start the party off right was to hang a giant birthday banner above the stoop of her apartment building. I did some research and basically found that the sky is the limit when it comes to creating your own custom banners. They come in all sorts of sizes, themes, colors… I wanted to get an abnormally large one for the entire neighborhood to see. I knew she’d love it.

My next task was deciding what I wanted it to look like – respectful and simple or delightfully tacky and loud? Of course I went with delightfully tacky and loud. I was going to design it like she was a kid again. Sparkles, glitter, tiaras, balloons – you name it, I would put it on there. This banner was going to be the king of all banners and this birthday was going to be one she never forgot!

I was a little nervous about how this was all going to work. I had to do it secretly, and I was afraid the cost and trouble was not going to be worth it. But it turns out, making banners is extremely easy and pain free. I worked with the banner place and they were so helpful – throwing out ideas, telling me what wouldn’t work and what would be amazing. The cost was very reasonable and fit into my almost non-existent birthday budget. They had it done within the week and shipped to my house so not to divulge the secret. Bright pink, glitter, tiaras, princesses, and cupcakes – the banner was perfect!

The day of her birthday I got there early and while she was in her apartment I began to hang this large, heavy banner on her building door. Let me tell you – this wasn’t easy. The hardest part of this entire process was getting the banner up by myself! I should have probably thought of that and brought reinforcements, but as it stood I was there alone, with a banner and a mini ladder trying to scotch tape this sucker onto her brick building door. I was almost there when the wind blew and one side of the banner came down, wrapped around my waist, threw my balance off and wham! I was on the floor wrapped in my own birthday banner. As if that wasn’t enough, who was suddenly standing above me? That’s right – the birthday girl. We had a good hearty laugh over my failed attempt to be coy, and ended up hanging the banner in the hallway by her apartment door. She loved it, the guests loved it, and the party went on without any trouble. In fact, she was even happy that I went against her wishes and threw a big bash instead of the quaint little gathering she had originally asked for – thank goodness for birthday banners! And let’s just say, watching her friend fall from a ladder wrapped in an oversized bright pink vinyl banner definitely made it a birthday she did not forget.

Boston just celebrated another professional championship with a parade on Thursday. The Boston Celtics won their 17^th NBA title and first in 22 years. That’s six championship banners for the New England area since 2002. The other five? How about three Super Bowls for the New England Patriots and two World Series’ for the Boston Red Sox. Let’s not forget the amateurs. Boston College has been in the NCAA hockey championship five times in the last nine years, winning the Frozen Four tournament twice. This just isn’t fair to the rest of the country.

If you live in the Boston area and need a sign made don’t be surprised if they put you on the back burner. They’re too busy making banners to show off in their stadiums. The Celtics championship I can get with. Kevin Garnett has been one of my favorite players for a long time, and it’s great to finally see him win a ring. Being a Denver Nuggets fan I predicted my team would do squat if and when they made the playoffs. Just another disappointing season.  The Red Sox, on the other hand, can take their World Series sweeps and shove it. Their 2007 championship crushed the hopes of my Colorado Rockies and their hopeful fans. I had waited 15 long years for them to make it to the World Series, only for them to be embarrassed. I was even rooting against the 2004 Sox when former Rockies legend Larry Walker was playing for the St. Louis Cardinals. I also think Albert Pujols is one of the baddest mashers in baseball. As far as the Patriots go, Bill Belicheat and the rest of them will get theirs.

Hey Boston, when you decide to let other teams raise some banners please consult me before handing over the torch. I have a couple cities in mind that could use a parade.