Unleash the Power of Your Printer

Add a little originality in the office. Use creative fun papers.

Fun papers feature dynamic creative designs for high–impact communication. Use these high–quality, 24–lb. papers in your laser or inkjet printer. They add interest and uniqueness to your announcements, invitations, memos and more — really get your message across.

Here are some ideas for using colorful, fun papers...

Border–style fun papers make great photograph frames or backgrounds for scrapbooks and corporate announcements.
Fold a border–style fun paper in half horizontally for unique flyers, booklets, brochures or programs.
Use theme or seasonal fun papers for invitations to your special events.
Make sure to keep fun papers wrapped until ready for use. Avoid temperature and humidity changes.

Desktop publishing tips

Magnify the impact of your brochure. Choose a format that conforms with your letterhead and business card. Left justified column formats in brochures makes reading easier. Text columns that are fully justified result in spaces between words.
Coordinating designs of social and business stationery sets will pull your company's image together.
Make your documents look more professional by following these simple rules:
1. Don't overcrowd your pages. Give text and graphics a priority. High priority items, like headlines and main graphics, should have more space. Low priority items should have less space or be eliminated.
2. Make sure your lines are evenly spaced and lines in your paragraphs have equal leading (the space between the lines).
3. Avoid widows and orphans (wide spaces between words or letters). Slightly change the margin width or letter spacing. You can also add or delete a few words.

Add interest and uniqueness — use the brochure format horizontally

Avoid using more than three typefaces per brochure. Limiting the amount of typefaces makes your message more readable.
Try using serif fonts for body copy and sans serif fonts for headlines. Sans serif typefaces communicate a fresh, no–frills approach. Serif typefaces communicate a powerful traditional approach.
Make your brochure more inviting, use simple type and plenty of white space.
Too much information is overwhelming. Don't try to crowd too much into a single brochure. Prepare several brochures and aim each towards a single topic.

Try using...

Postcards for invitations or use plain white or ivory announcements and add your clipart for a more personal touch. Carry the same theme over to bulletins, Thank You cards and RSVP cards.
Business cards as personalized gift tags. Punch a hole in the corner and secure with a ribbon.

Make professional-looking transparencies

It's so easy to make professional–looking overhead transparencies using your printer or copier, and the price per transparency makes it relatively inexpensive.

Create on your computer.
Print with your printer. To print out a single sheet, place one sheet of film in the manual feed tray of your laser printer. If the film has a paper backing, place it paper side down.
or with your copier. Place your original on the glass, then place film in the paper feeder slot. If the film has a paper backing or sensing stripe, place the stripe or backing stripe face down.

Using overheads at presentations or meetings

When using overheads, limit copy to 4–6 lines. Add color whenever possible to your visuals. Color commands and holds attention. Don't overdo visuals... use 10 visuals for every 20 minutes of presentation time. They should aid the message, not be the message.

Highlighting saves your time

Highlight summary information as you read. This saves time later and keeps you focused on the matter at hand.

Just use these four time–saving ideas and you'll be hours ahead:

Tag, flag, tab, color–code or mark as many documents, folders and publications as you possibly can. You'll be surprised how much time you save when everything in your office has bright, attractive, easy–to–read labels.
Stamp or write a "Terminate Date" on items you know you won't use a week, a month, or a year later. You'll never again waste time trying to decide "should I keep this?"
Spending 15 minutes to write a meeting agenda can save an hour of wasted meeting time — and that hour is multiplied by every person in the meeting!
Before making a call or writing a letter or memo, take a few seconds to jot down the points you wish to cover. You may find some items can be combined. Or you may discover a crucial item that must be dealt with before making the call or starting your writing. Either way, you'll ultimately save time.