Menus, cards, and signage all looked like different companies.
What we did
- New menu system + table cards
- Business cards + loyalty cards
- Window and A-frame signage
Result A consistent in-store brand that finally matched the new website.
Build + Measure
Print Media & Design
Production-ready print design for campaigns, sales enablement, events, and brand presence.
What it is
Less margin for error than digital.
We design and prepare production-ready print collateral across the full range of formats, every file built with production specs handled correctly: bleeds, trim, resolution, color profiles, and press-ready delivery.
Core services include
- Billboards and large-format design
- Flyers, mailers, and direct mail
- Brochures, menus, and sales collateral
- Business cards and brand essentials
- Booklets, catalogs, and multi-page layout
Definition
What is Print Media & Design?
Print Media & Design is the practice of designing physical marketing materials, brochures, signage, direct mail, business cards, and event collateral, and preparing the files to commercial-print standards so they reproduce correctly on press. It covers both the creative layout and the technical production setup that a printer requires.
How it works
A designer lays out each piece in professional software (typically Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, or Photoshop) around your brand system, then builds the file for press rather than screen: CMYK color, high-resolution imagery, correct bleed and safe margins, embedded or outlined fonts, and a press-ready PDF/X export. We match the file to the printer's template and manage the proofing round, a digital proof for routine jobs, and a physical proof for color-critical or high-risk runs, before the piece goes to press.
Who it’s for
It is for marketing and sales teams, multi-location brands, and businesses with a trade-show, event, or mailing deadline who need collateral that looks professional and prints without errors. The outcome is a consistent, credible brand presence in the physical world and printed pieces that come back right, with less risk of avoidable reprints, missed deadlines, and off-brand materials.
In practice
A company preparing for a trade show needs a booth backdrop, a folded brochure, and a sales sell-sheet. The design is built to the fabricator's exact template with scaled dimensions and proper bleed so the backdrop prints edge-to-edge with no white margin, and all three pieces carry the same colors, headlines, and logo treatment as the company's digital ads.
Who we work with.
- Marketing and sales teams needing external design support
- Tight trade-show deadlines
- Multi-location brand consistency
- Sales material refreshes
See if Print Media & Design is the right move for your team.
Request a free quoteSee it in action
Collateral your printer accepts on the first pass.
Press-Ready Delivery · Q3 Campaign Kit
Your Brand · CMYK · GRACoL2013 · PDF/X-4
backdrop_96x120in.pdf
Large format · 150 DPI at size · 1" bleed
brochure_trifold_8.5x11.pdf
Fold + trim marks · 0.125" bleed · 300 DPI
cards_3.5x2in.pdf
Dieline + spot-UV layer · rich black 60/40/40/100
Fonts outlinedICC profile attachedPackaged Jun 30
Illustrative example, styled to show the kind of output we deliver.
Selected work
Representative engagements.
Design and print that still does the heavy lifting offline, and matches the brand online.
Booth materials looked dated next to competitors.
What we did
- Booth banners + backdrop
- One-page sell sheets
- Branded folders + cards
Result A booth that looked the part, with materials the team could hand out.
Things we produce
Business cardsBrochures & flyersMenusPostcards & mailersTrade-show bannersSignage & window graphicsPackaging & labelsFolders & sell sheetsStationery & letterheadVehicle-wrap design
Examples are anonymized to honor client NDAs and edited to illustrate typical scope, outcomes vary by market, budget, and starting point.
How & why it works
What leaves our file is what comes off the press.
A print file behaves nothing like a screen: the press has no undo, ink spreads into paper, and color is defined by a profile rather than a monitor. We remove the ambiguity before the plate is ever made, so the sheet matches the proof and the proof matches the intent.
- Build to the printer's spec sheetBefore design starts we pull the vendor's dieline and specs: trim size, bleed (0.125" flat work, larger for large-format), safety margin, page count for the binding method, and the fold or die template as a locked layer. Layouts are set up in InDesign or Illustrator to that template so panels, folds, and grommet zones land where the finisher expects them.
- Color in CMYK against an ICC profileEverything is authored in CMYK to the destination profile the press actually runs (GRACoL 2013 / CGATS 21 for premium coated, SWOP for web, or the shop's own profile), not sRGB. Spot/Pantone colors are kept as named separations when a job runs spot inks, or converted with a controlled recipe when it prints process. Rich black is built (e.g. 60/40/40/100) instead of flat 100K so large solids don't look weak.
- Trap, overprint, and total-ink controlWe set overprint vs knockout deliberately so black text overprints and knocked-out elements don't leave white halos on registration shift; enable small-element trapping where the press needs it; and keep total area coverage under the substrate's ink limit (~300% coated, lower on uncoated/newsprint) so heavy shadows don't set off or offset. Images are sharpened and resampled to ~300 ppi at final size (150 ppi for viewed-from-distance large format).
- Preflight to PDF/X and packageFiles export to the right PDF/X flavor for the job: PDF/X-4 to preserve live transparency and ICC-managed color, or flattened PDF/X-1a when a RIP demands it. We run a preflight profile (Adobe Preflight / a Ghent Workgroup spec) that flags low-res links, RGB or unwanted spots, missing bleed, hairlines, and blown ink limits, then package linked assets, embed or outline fonts, and hand off a report so the prepress operator has no reason to guess.
- Proof loop against the printed sheetRoutine jobs get a soft/PDF proof; color-critical or high-risk runs get a contract hard proof (a calibrated proof made to the same ICC profile). We check the physical proof for registration, trim/fold accuracy, and color, sign off, and hold the press sheet against the approved proof so what ships is what was approved, not a surprise.
Worked exampleA multi-location retail brand needed a trifold brochure, a die-cut business card, and a 96"×120" trade-show backdrop from one campaign, produced by two different vendors.
- Built each piece to its vendor's template: 0.125" bleed and 300 ppi imagery on the brochure and card, 150 ppi at full size with 1" bleed and grommet-safe margins on the backdrop
- Standardized brand color to the shops' GRACoL profile, converted a Pantone accent to a controlled process recipe, and set rich black at 60/40/40/100 so headline blocks stayed dense
- Set black type to overprint, added a spot-UV and dieline layer on the card, and kept total ink coverage under ~300% so shadow-heavy photos wouldn't offset
- Exported PDF/X-4, cleared a Ghent-based preflight (0 errors), packaged native files + fonts, and approved one hard proof; both vendors accepted the files on the first pass with no reprint
Why it works
Screens are additive light on a calibrated display; print is subtractive ink absorbed into a specific paper, so a file that only looks right on a monitor is undefined on press. Locking color to the destination ICC profile and resolving overprint, trapping, ink limit, and bleed before platemaking turns an expensive physical process with no undo into a predictable one. That discipline is also what makes a piece cheap to reprint and easy to keep on-brand across runs, vendors, and formats.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
We design the full range of print collateral including brochures, sell sheets, sales decks, trade show banners, signage, business cards, direct mail, packaging, and event programs. We are the design and production team, so we build files that are correct for production, but printing is usually handled by a vendor. We will spec the right printer for your job, prepare press-ready files to their template, manage the proofing round, and review the physical proof so the printed piece matches what was approved.
Every file we hand off is built to print standards, not screen standards. That means CMYK color, 300 dpi imagery for close-viewed pieces (scaled appropriately for large-format), proper bleed and safe margins, embedded or outlined fonts, and a packaged folder with all linked assets. For example, for a tradeshow backdrop we set up the file at the fabricator's exact template with scaled dimensions, bleed, and overprint settings so it does not get rejected or printed with a white edge. We can also supply a print-ready PDF/X export plus the native source file.
Timelines depend on scope. A single sell sheet or flyer typically takes a few business days, while a multi-page brochure or a full event kit usually runs one to three weeks including revision rounds. We start by scoping the deliverable, page count, and copy status, then move through concept, design, two structured revision rounds, and final press-ready handoff. We build print deadlines backward from your event or mail date and factor in the printer's turnaround so nothing gets squeezed at the end.
You own the work. On final delivery you receive both the press-ready export and the native editable source files, typically Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, or Photoshop, along with the linked images and fonts used. That means another designer or your in-house team can update the piece later without starting over. If a font is licensed and cannot be redistributed, we tell you exactly which one it is and how to license it so you are never stuck.
Yes, and that consistency is a core reason clients use one team for both. We design from your brand system so a printed brochure, a landing page, and an ad set all read as the same company. For example, if we are already running your campaigns, we carry the same headlines, color usage, and logo treatment from the digital ads into the printed leave-behind so a prospect sees a continuous brand from screen to hand. If you do not have firm brand guidelines, we can establish the print-specific specs as we go.
Let’s make it measurable.