PRINTING FAQs
WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS ARE SAYING
New business cards are awesome!
J. C. South Jordan Utah
The team was great and easy to work with
N. S. West Valley UT
Great customer service and quick ordering and shipping.
D. W. South Jordan UT
Alphagraphics West Valley always does a great job. We'd recommend them highly.
M. C.
BJ was VERY helpful and I was very satisfied with the overall quality and price of the final product.
B. M. Salt Lake City UT
BJ never lets us down!
P. I. Salt Lake City UT
Very prompt. Usually deliver ahead of time and exceeding expectations.
W. K. Salt Lake City UT
Product always looks great and we appreciate the quick return.
N. T. West Valley UT
I would like to offer some opportunities for improvement, but my experience with Alphagraphics has been fool proof. Well done!
B. D. Anderson IN
Ordered and received business cards within a couple of days. Look just like the proof I saw when placing the order.
R. J. Salt Lake City UT
Staff is always very friendly and helpful. Brenna is awesome getting our orders placed and completed in a timely manner.
J. K. slcqut Utah
Jorge Ituretta helped me with the idea for printing a drawing I had. His idea was perfect and the finished product was amazing! It was for a football banquet and everyone loved their gift. Brenna was very helpful and so friendly. As soon as I walked in the door she greeted me and helped me with my order. Will definitely use alphagraphics again!
P. S. SLC Utah
You're wonderful. May you and your staff have a very Merry Christmas!
P. C. Riverton UT
Garrett is very good with his customers. Great place to do business
J. M.
Brittany and the team went above and beyond to accommodate some unexpected last-minute needs/changes. First-class customer service responses. Jacobsen Construction loves working with your team!
A. C. Salt Lake City UT
The owner is awesome and was accommodating with short notice
T. H.
always great to work with do a great job
M. B. Salt Lake City UT
Fast, Efficient and Professional.
M. K. Holladay UT
You provided an efficient, and worry-free service. Thank you
M. H. Midvale Utah
Service and finished products are great! The team there is professional and always willing to help explain things to me and work out a solution for the project I need.
D. S.
The turnaround time was very fast.
D. Z. Salt Lake City UT
Always very helpful and willing to help in a crisis.
D. N. Salt Lake City UT
I go out of my way by at lease 10-15 miles to work with Derity and her team. She has always taken care of us. Thank you!
S. M. Murray Utah
Everyone was great.
W. B.
Good quality and service.
A. M. SLC Utah
Quick process, and very friendly customer service.
S. P.
Garrett is amazing. It's not very often you receive the service he has provided us time and time again.
H. D. Salt Lake City UT
Everyone in the West Valley store has been attentive and a pleasure to work with. I am using Alphagraphics for all my promotional needs.
T. R.
I ordered some business cards. The process was very easy to accomplish. The cards came in a timely manner, and look great. Thanks!
T. H. SLC Utah
I enjoy working with this location, the staff that I deal with is always friendly and enjoyable
J. N. WVC Utah
Great service and very attuned to customer satisfaction. Garrett was very thoughtful on how to best help the South Jordan Chamber.
H. W.
Working with Alphagraphics has been a positive experience. We have had some very last minute projects that have been pulled together seamlessly which we appreciate.
N. C. Salt Lake City UT
I absolutely love working with alphagraphics. Brenna Litz has been our main contact and I absolutely love her! She definitely takes great care of me and all my printing/marketing needs!
D. C. Tooele Utah
Tiffany takes great care of us. She is very personable, prompt and professional.
R. L. North Salt Lake City Utah
We needed an order done within 24 hours and when we made the request we really didn't think it was possible but we were wrong. Alphagraphics delivered and amazed us!
A. G. West Valley UT
Good service and timely!
B. L. Salt Lake City Utah
As soon as I see the box, I know that the music inside will not be damaged. THANK YOU FOR SUPERIOR SERVICE! A+A+A+A+A+ PERFECT SCORE !
P. C. Riverton UT
The owner Brian is very attentive and professional. We ordered custom metal street signs for our building and they look great. Brian provided professional advice when we first inquired about it.
S. S. SLC Utah
Very quick and very friendly! Greeted me with a smile and I left happier than I walked in!
N. H.
I wish there was an alphagraphics in Tooele valley- We come all the way from Stansbury Park to use their services. They are honestly the best!
A. C.
I am always very happy with the quality of work and level of service.
S. P. West Valley Utah
Quick turnaround - thank you!
S. C. Salt Lake City Utah
I referred my husband over to your location for his new business cards, he is also very happy with your service.
L. S.
It's SO nice having y'all on site.
J. A. SLC Utah
Great work in a timely manner
L. W.
Best services
F. G. West Valley City Utah
The experience was very quick and easy and I received my business cards in a timely manner.
D. W. South Jordan UT
It's rare that I've seen a company that is willing to go above and beyond the way the Alphagraphics West Valley did! I needed a quick run of labels to get me through the weekend. They got them to me in a day so that I would be ready for my first market! Since then, they have been willing to go as far as bringing my order to my house. If I could give them 5 stars for service and quality, I would!
N. B.
Staff are pleasant and easy to work with
B. D. Anderson IN
Always friendly, and great customer service.
K. H. Salt Lake City UT
ALL ABOUT PRINTING
ARE THERE PRINT SIZE LIMITATIONS?
Yes, and no. Our digital copiers will take sheet sizes as small as 4.25” x 5.5” up to 13” x 19”. Traditional offset can accept sheet sizes up to 12” x 18”. Our in-house large format printers can produce graphics up to 41.5” wide. If you have specific questions about our sizing options, please do not hesitate to give us a call.
WHAT IS A PROOF AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
In printing terms, a proof is a one-off copy of your document after all modifications and printing setup processes have been completed. It is your last, and best, opportunity to make sure that your print job comes out the way you envisioned. By carefully inspecting the proof, you can help ensure an accurate, flawless delivery of your print job the first time.
DO YOU REQUIRE MINIMUM QUANTITIES ON ANY OF YOUR PRODUCTS?
Nope! Some printing methods may be more cost-effective than others, but our professional staff are happy to work with you to determine which printing method is best for your project.
DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COLOR SEPARATIONS OR HALF-TONE PRINTING TO GET MY JOB COMPLETED?
Absolutely not! We handle all the "back-end" production for you.
The terms are pretty easy to understand, though. Color separation refers to our offset printing process, where we use cyan, magenta, yellow, and black in four separate plates that go directly to the press. These four colors can create almost any color you can imagine!
Half-tone printing refers to converting a solid tone of black ink or one color into tiny dots that are invisible to the eye to create your image. You see a solid image, but it’s really created from the spacing of these tiny dots.
IS WHITE CONSIDERED A PRINTING COLOR?
Not typically. Because white is the default color of paper, it is simply recognized as the absence of ink.
WHAT PAPER TYPES DO YOU OFFER?
We have a large collection of “house” stocks in our production area. If you have a specific style in mind, we can check our in-house inventory to see if our selection is able to match your tastes. Or, we’ll check with our paper vendors to see what they have on hand. Keep in mind that special stocks or materials may require bulk purchasing from suppliers.
WHAT IS THE PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM?
The Pantone Matching System (PMS) is a color reproduction standard in which colors all across the spectrum are each identified by a unique, independent number. The use of PMS allows us to precisely match colors and maintain color consistency throughout the printing process.
WHY DO THE PRINTED COLORS LOOK DIFFERENT THAN THE COLORS ON MY SCREEN?
In short, printers and monitors produce color in different ways. Monitors use the RGB (red, green, blue) color model, which usually supports a wider spectrum of colors. Printers use the CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) color model, which can reproduce most—but not all—of the colors in the RGB color model.
Depending on the equipment used, CMYK generally matches 85–90% of the colors in the RGB model. When a color is selected from the RGB model that is out of the range of the CMYK model, the application chooses the closest matching color. Programs like Adobe Photoshop will allow you to choose which color will be replaced; others may not. We’ll provide you with a sample print right before we print your job to ensure a "what-you-see-is-what-you-get" final product.
COMMON PRINTING TERMS
BIND: To fasten sheets with wire, thread, glue, or by any other means.
BINDING: A name given for any of many procedures used to put pages together.
BLEED: Printing that goes to the edge of the sheet. Trimming is required to make the printing run to the edge of a sheet.
CAST-COATED: Coated paper with a high- gloss reflective finish.
COATED PAPER: Paper with a clay or other coating applied to one, or both, sides. The coating can be dull, gloss, matte, or a number of other finishes. Coated paper generally produces sharper, brighter images and has a more refelctive quality than uncoated paper.
COLLATE: To put pages in a certain order for binding.
COLOR CORRECTION: Methods of improving color separations and definition.
COVER PAPER: A heavy printing paper primarily used to cover books or make presentation folders.
SIDE-STITCHING: Stapling through the spine from front to back. The publication will not lay flat when opened.
CROP: To trim a picture, image, or printed sheet.
CROP MARKS: Printed lines showing where to trim a printed sheet.
GLOSS: A shiny paper coating that reflects light.
LAMINATE: To cover with protective film. Also used to bond or glue one surface to another.
MATTE FINISH: Dull paper or ink finish.
OFFSET PRINTING: Printing which involves a plate that makes an inked impression on a rubber-blanketed cylinder, which, in turn, transfers it to the paper.
PERFECT BINDING: An unsewn, flat-spined book binding made with glue.
RESOLUTION: The degree of sharpness of a computer-generated image as measured by the number of dots per linear inch in a hard-copy printout or, the number of pixels across and down on a display screen.
SADDLE-STITCHING: A type of binding that uses wire stapling at the center of a magazine or pamphlet.
SCORE: Creasing paper to help it fold more neatly.
GENERAL QUESTIONS
WHAT TYPES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES DO YOU PROVIDE?
AlphaGraphics is a full service marketing communications provider, and offer a wide range of products and services. To see a full listing of our services, check out the Products & Services area of our website.
WHAT TYPES OF MARKETING TECHNIQUES CAN YOU ADD TO MY PRINTED MATERIALS?
OUR MULTI-CHANNEL MARKETING OPTIONS INCLUDE:
- QR Codes
- PURLs
- SMS and MMS marketing
- Video production and editing
- Variable mapping
- Social media marketing
- Mobile optimized websites, and so much more!
Call our team today to learn more about the tools we can use in concert with your printed communications to improve your ROI.