How to Print Professionally

Have you ever made a design that you thought was going to be great, but then when you printed the file it came out all pixelated and blurry? Do remember being disappointed because it did not look as sharp as you had hoped it would be? This post seeks to help you avoid the woes of printing.


The All Important Rule
Any time you design a logo or poster for your church, make sure that the file is large enough for what you want done. Do you want a large 40" x 100" banner showcasing your church building project progress? Don't make the design on an 8.5" x 11" size document. When you go to print, the file will have to scale almost 10x it's original creation size and that will skew your design.

Notice the examples below:

4x6 Slide

40x60 Slide

Click on the 4x6 image. It's small, because that's the size it was created, and it's very clear. Now suppose I want that to be a super-size poster in my church. Click on 40x60 image above to see it full scale and notice how grainy and how bad the quality is. That is what happens when you scale your small raster to a larger size. For sake of being clear, this is what a portion of the file would look like printed out:

Another factor to consider is the files DPI, or Dots Per Inch. The average High Resolution image is about 300 DPI. If you are designing in Photoshop, you can set this yourself when you create a new document. If the file is originally a low DPI file (i.e. 72 DPI, the web standard), then your file will look like the picture above after scaling it two inches, let alone all the way up to 40"x60". The higher your DPI, the more pixels that are crammed into a square inch space. The more pixels in an each means it will stay clearer longer the larger you scale it.

Does that make sense? Therefore, if you plan to create something like this for your church, make sure the file size is the size of the desired print (i.e. 40"x60") and that your DPI is high enough for good quality (usually 300 DPI).

Okay, now let's talk about a potential solution.
 
I recently posted about the difference between Rasters and Vectors. Vectors prevent this problem. I said potential, though, because the image above cannot be a vectorsince  it contains a picture in the background and all pictures are rasters, that is they are made up of pixels.

However, using a vector allows you to take that small design and scale it to any size without any loss of information or clarity. This is the wonder of the vector image. Take a look at the examples below.

Screen Shot of  17" x 5"

Screen Shot of 70" x 18"

Click on each document to view them full size. You'll notice that there isn't a bit of difference in quality. That's the way vector works. Again, to full illustrate, take a look at a zoomed in shot of the 70" file below:

No pixelation. No blurriness. Only a beautifully clear logo.

Summary
All logos should be done in a vector format (Illustrator)
All pictures are raster because they're made of pixels
Make sure your file is large enough for your desired print
Use a High resolution DPI for printing

Can you think of any other printing tips regarding file size, raster/vector, or DPI that I did not mention? Feel free to share them in the comments box.

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A Simple Guide to Projector Setup

A Simple Guide to Projector Setup
This guide will help you setup the physical projection equipment.

Step 1: Purchase a Projector
If you do not have an digital projector, invest in one. Not only will this be useful for yourself and your church, but it will be helpful to any missionary that you have come through. You can buy projectors almost anywhere: Best Buy, Digital Projection, Optoma, and View Sonic. Projectors come in all shapes and sizes. Not sure how much you'll use it? Buy a $300 projector. Do you want to use it every service? You'll probably want something a little more expensive.

Step 2: Pick a Place to Put It
One thing to consider before purchasing a projector is where you will put it. Depending on your facilities, like if you rent a building for Sunday morning, you may want to just set the projector on a table. It's easy to take down and setup each week. If you own a church building and intend to use the projector a lot, you may consider hanging it from your sealing like our church does. It's out of the way, and always setup. If you choose the latter option, make sure the projector you purchase is able to hang from the ceiling. You may need to purchase additional supplies for this.

Step 3: Purchase and Place a Screen

The first question to ask is: Do you need a screen? Murray River Baptist Church rents a facility with white walls. They simply project onto the wall. If you do need a screen, Will it need to be moved after every service, or can it stay in one place? That will determine whether you need a free standing screen or a drop-down screen installed from the ceiling. Basically, if you plan to mount your projector, plan to mount the screen too. Check out http://www.projectorscreenstore.com/ for more information.



Step 4: Installing Your Projector
If you will put the projector on a table, no installation is necessary. Pull it out of the box, plug it in, and follow the next step. If you intend to hang it from the ceiling or plan to put it in any other fixed location read these two articles from ProjectorCentral and DoItYourSelf. The biggest thing is making sure you can fish the wires through the ceiling back to wherever your audio/visual booth is located.


Step 5: Connecting Your Computer
Most projectors connect using VGA and most laptops have it. This is a VGA Cable hookup:

If you have a Mac, chances are you have a DVI port instead. Newer Macs come with mini-DVI and older Macs come with standard. You will need one of the two following plugs for this. If your laptop did not come with it or you no longer have it, Google "Mac DVI to VGA" to purchase one.

Step 6: Displaying Your Screen
This could take a little bit of work depending on your laptop. If you have a Mac, it's simple. Open System Preferences, choose Displays, and then click Detect Display. If it's connected properly, your screen will show up. For PC, the easiest way is by pushing the F-key with a box in it. Hit this a couple times and see if your screen displays. If it does not, you may need to hold down the function key, then press it. If you do not have an F-key with a box in it then go here.

That's it. Your done.

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A Simple Guide to Audio Recording

A Simple Guide to Audio Recording

I am not going to cover setup of a full sound system. Instead, this will guide will help you make audio recordings the cheapest way possible for low budget churches, assuming the reason you don't have one already is because you are a low budget church.

Step 1: Purchase an MP3 Player/Recorder
Firstly, you will need some sort of recording equipment. You can purchase something as cheap as a Sony Digital Flash Voice Recorder for $60 or as expensive as the Roland R-05 MP3 Recorder for $250. The difference is in the quality of the recording and clarity of the audio. You may want to start of with the cheaper equipment, and as your ministry grows, then purchase the more expensive. If the recorder you decide to purchase does NOT come with a lapel microphone, you can purchase one just about anywhere. Most recorders will probably come with internal memory. The Sony has 2 GB of internal space. However, covering all possibilities, you made need to purchase a memory card if necessary. Though you probably have one lying around your home somewhere if you happen to need one. I've got 6-8 of them, I think.

Step 2: Record Your Sermon
I would suggest reading the instructions before recording your sermon, but most recorders should be fairly simple and I don't think I would cause anything bad to happen by telling you to just plug in the lapel, hit record, and start talking. Make sure you've got a memory card in it (if it needs it) and that it's all charged up of course. No use trying it out when the batteries dead. That's one way make sure it doesn't record anything!

Step 3: Download to Your Computer
The MP3 recorder should come with a USB cable. Connect the cable to the recorder and to the computer. Something should pop up on your screen, whether that be a download dialog box, a folder, or an icon on your desktop. If nothing appears, open "My Computer" and look for it where you'd find a CD or other drive. It should function much like a flash drive if you have one. Copy the file from your recorder to your desktop.

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