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In the printing world, the terms “collated” and “uncollated” are often used when discussing the specifications of a print job. If you have a document that includes multiple pages, it is important to understand the difference between these two key words before submitting your project for print.

What Does Collated and Uncollated Mean?

Let’s start with the basic definition of these terms.

Collate means to collect, arrange or assemble in a specific order of sequence. Usually to prepare a document for binding into a booklet, manual, presentation, etc.

If you need 10 copies of an 8-page booklet, choosing to print collated will give you the 10 copies with the 8 pages already in order and ready to go.

Alternately, printing uncollated would mean the opposite. Printing this same document uncollated will print the first page 10 times, the second page 10 times, and so on. You will have to re-order your booklet by hand.

The Benefits of Collated Printouts

Whether you are printing at home or with an online printing company, collating your print document is going to be more beneficial in most cases. If your print job is considered to be one entity in and of itself, such as a magazine, booklet, program, catalog, etc., then it makes the most sense to print collated. You wouldn’t want these pages to be printed at random where you would have to spend valuable time reorganizing.

These types of projects are also usually collated in preparation for binding, whether it’s a simple stapled spine or something more extensive. Here at PrintingCenterUSA, we offer a lot of binding options for your collated project, such as perfect bound, saddle-stitch, spiral or wire-o binding.

So What About Uncollated Printing? 

Printing uncollated has its uses, too. If your print document is a flyer, poster, fact sheet, brochure or some other type of single print out, it may be more useful to print uncollated. Your print file might contain 5 pages that explain 5 different types of products that you will be promoting at a booth, conference, convention or trade show. Having your flyers arranged by product would make it easier to target your customer's interests. This same idea also makes sense for handling print documents for business presentations, classroom lectures and more.

What This Means with Online Printing

There are many reasons why you might want to print something either collated or uncollated, bound or unbound. It’s your project and any online printing center will help you achieve your end goal. The good news is that choosing to print collated or uncollated usually does not have an effect on the overall price of your print job. It's a decision of convenience - not money!

PrintingCenterUSA is happy to answer any questions you have about collating your next printing project. Call us at 1-800-995-1555 or send us an email.

It’s no question that the digital age has changed the world completely, especially when it comes to our reliance on e-commerce for obtaining goods and services. Online printers have become an easy and reliable way to order the printing products you need for your business.

Why? There are many reasons to make the move and utilize online printing for your needs. It can be much easier, faster and cheaper than using traditional printing companies. Commercial online printing offers a great deal of benefits, including transparent cheap printing costs, easy online ordering and a larger selection of standardized print options. All of which makes it more affordable and less stressful for you.

How do you know which online printing service best suits your needs? Searching through millions of Google results is a daunting task for many people to want to undertake. PrintingCenterUSA excels as a premier, affordable online printing company (we just had to throw that in!). We might be a little biased, but before you decide on a printing company, we want to give you the facts. Here is some helpful information that you can use to make an educated decision on what service may be right for you.

Transparent Reviews

You want to find a company that produces your project affordably. On the other hand, saving a few bucks doesn’t do you any good if you end up with a bad product. Choose an online printing company that is completely transparent with its customer reviews. The information you get from online customer reviews is much more valuable than taking a company’s or sales representative's word for it. Customers never hold back and are more than willing to provide accurate information whether it's good or bad. Know what you are getting yourself into before you commit and spend some time reading customer reviews. If they have low average ratings or no reviews at all - buyer beware!

Service (Communication is Key)

Find an online printing company that you can contact via phone, email and chat. Just because you’ve chosen to save time and money with an online printing service doesn’t mean that you have to say goodbye to a good old fashioned one-on-one personal service. Some printing projects can seem a bit complicated. No one wants to run into problems during the production process, but sometimes issues come up and you will find yourself in need of help. Use a company that can give you both the ease of using an online service and the personal service you deserve. 

Transparent Pricing

Find a company that is transparent with pricing. One downside to traditional printing services is pricing inconsistency and slow pricing service. You never know what your sales rep will come up with from one day to the next. It is a long and drawn out process. 

Here’s an example of the process you may be all too familiar with: You call or email your sales representative and go over every option or service you are looking for. Then you wait…and wait…and wait some more. What a waste of time!

Use a service that is open and transparent with their pricing. Look for a company that is willing to show their pricing online. Pull your pricing in seconds. Stay away from printing companies that won’t publish their pricing online - they will ultimately cost you more money. Nobody ever wants to be surprised with hidden shipping, delivery, postage or service fees. Choose a company that is upfront with pricing and offers instant, full scale quotes online. No haggle, no fuss! The best printing companies will want you as a long-term partner and will go the extra mile to give you superior service, speed and pricing.

Convenience

Why should you take time out of your day to go down to a local printer and submit a project or go pick up your project after it has been completed? As anyone who has ever picked up a couple boxes from a local printer knows, finished printed products can be very heavy...ugh! Why not have it delivered to your door? You might think you are saving by not having to pay to ship the product to you, but if you look at the costs from online printing services, they are usually much more economical than local printing services, even with the shipping costs included. How can online printers do this? Online printing vendors are built and specialize in specific products. Online printing companies have to be optimized with the most efficient equipment to keep costs low and compete for the products they are offering.

Online Resources & Design Tools

Find and use free online resources. Some online printing centers offer a wealth of resources to help you set up, design and submit your project. And these resources are all available with a click of a mouse. Did you know PrintingCenterUSA has tons of free tools and downloadable templates that will give you a leg up on your design preparation? These include free downloadable calendar grids available in PDF, InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator formats.

High End Printing Equipment & Supplies

When you choose to print online, you’re going to have a lot more options on what your final product can look like. You will have more choices in size, color, paper texture and weight than smaller, local print shops can usually offer. From full color offset printing to short run digital printing to mail services and bindery, online printers are fully stocked with the latest and greatest technology. It doesn’t matter if you are ordering simple business cards or multipage photo books, online printing offers the most streamlined and efficient service to handle your project professionally and fast.

Trust PrintingCenterUSA to provide you with the information you need to make the best decision that is the right fit for you. PrintingCenterUSA specializes in booklets, catalogs, magazines, programs, calendars, brochures, postcards and more. Check out our customer reviews and become confident in our ability to help you with your next project. 

Sign up for our e-newsletter to get exclusive savings in coupons and weekly specials.  Also, check out our resources for file checklists and white paper guides on calendars, booklets, magazines and more!

At PrintingCenterUSA, our knowledgeable staff is always available to answer any questions and can be reached via email, by calling 1-800-995-1555 or by live chat!

When David Freitag’s Dinosaur Coprolite 2019 Calendar came across my desk, I was immediately interested and had to call him to get more information on these dinosaur nugget calendars. David created his Coprolite Calendar because he didn’t have a calendar at the time. What he did have were hundreds of photos that were taken for his eBay Rock Store, which he started 5 years ago.

David’s Backstory

David used to gold mine for over 15 years in Wyoming out in the desert. He wrote the story, “Wyoming’s Billion Dollar Nugget,” which was published by the California Mining Journal many years ago. “After we reclaimed our gold mining site, I was tired of gold and wanted to hunt fossils again,” says Freitag. In doing so, he found huge deposits of Dinosaur Coprolite along with Dinosaur Gizzard Stones and other dinosaur relics.

“After some time went by, I was sitting in my easy chair one night, just about to drift off, when I heard Rick from Pawn Stars on the TV. He said, ‘You know, in the 25 years since I’ve been a pawn broker, about the only thing I haven’t seen come across the counter is dinosaur poop.’” “Well,” thought Freitag, “I have 3 pallets out back with some of the finest dinosaur poo you can buy.” After doing a web search and contacting the show, 5 months later he was in Las Vegas filming his sale of Coprolite on Pawn Stars. Rick bought the piece featured on the 2019 calendar’s cover for $1,100! Shortly after being featured on the show, David heard a Jade collection was for sale and bought 6 pickup trucks full of the gemstone. He then began his rock store on eBay and it has grown very nicely.

Choosing the Print Shop

“I chose PrintingCenterUSA over the others because your front page says that you have been in business for 40 years. That sold me.” says David. He liked the price we offer over other online printing companies, as they are more reasonable prices. “The quality is great and I can say nothing but good things about your products.”

David now sells his calendars on his eBay Rock Store. He has since bought 3 more Jade Collections and is now the largest seller of Wyoming Nephrite / Jade on eBay worldwide! Freitag says, “I have had great interest in geology and rocks for over 40 years. Why will I keep doing it? Because Wyoming Rocks!”

“If you love what you do and believe in your product, you can't fail.”

- Founder and Editor, Nealie Sanchez of Texas Dog Magazine 

Nealie has been a dog lover for her entire life. While in high school, Nealie realized that the school magazine interested her. One day in June 2017, she was having a conversation with her stepmom, Deborah, and said, “I want to start a printed dog magazine, that is my dream job,” to which Deborah replied, “Do it then.” The very next day I created the Texas Dog Magazine website and registered my business!

Texas Dog Magazine (TXDM) is dedicated to advocating for our four-legged friends. In this edition, TXDM has made a small donation to The Love Pit (TLP), a 501(c)(3) foster-based non-profit dog rescue in Dallas-Fort Worth.

TLP’s mission is to reduce the homeless pit bull population through rescue, rehabilitation, training and advocacy.

Its goal is to educate the public about a breed that often falls victim to breed specific legislation, discrimination and cruelty, in addition to promoting responsible pet ownership through spay/neuter initiatives, vaccinations and training resources

According to TLP’s website, more than one million dogs are euthanized each year, and it's estimated that 40 percent of those are pit bull breeds.

Donations to TLP go toward medical care for ill and injured dogs, training classes prior to adoption and education and community support to reduce the number of dogs in shelters.

Through donations, TLP has been able to save more than 300 dogs since 2015. TXDM is proud to support TLP’s mission.

Texas Dog Magazine uses some of the proceeds each quarter to make donations to rescue, shelter or foster organizations in the State of Texas. It is their goal to help all dogs. In Nealie's experience, she said, “We know the best way to do that is by supporting organizations that advocate for and actively help dogs.”

We asked Nealie, "How did you find out about PrintingCenterUSA?"

I found PrintingCenterUSA after a month-long hunt for a printing company. Many of the people I reached out to locally didn’t get back to me and I was very nervous about outsourcing the work to another state. After reading reviews online, I decided to take the leap and use PrintingCenterUSA as my magazine printing company. The reviewer that stuck out to me the most said that even as a first-time publisher, PrintingCenterUSA had treated them as if they were a big name magazine. This review was important to me choosing the company.

Advice from Nealie

Understand your timeline so that with design, production, printing and shipping you are not rushing your project. Additionally, the staff at PrintingCenterUSA have been so helpful from the beginning. When I email or call, a real person is there for me promptly and truly cares about resolving any concerns or questions I may have.

Nealie’s Future Vision for Texas Dog Magazine

“I can't wait for the day we have an office independently and each of my employees can bring their dogs to work. I am also excited about hosting Texas Dog Magazine events in the future and increasing the circulation of the magazine and implementing subscriptions.”

Magazine Printing Resources:

Magazine Print Layout Tips

Your One-Stop Shop for Magazine Printing

Impressive Magazines Help Photographer Win Business (Case Study)

There are many reasons to create a calendar. You may be working on a fundraising project for your . Perhaps you want to showcase your photography and sell the calendars to make a little money.  So where do you begin?

1. Choose Your Audience

Are you selling you  to the general public? Are you giving them as gifts to your best customers or the parents of your school? Once you have determined who your audience is, you can start to choose the types of pictures you want to include in your calendar. 

For example, The Highway 1 Project is an organization dedicated to raising money to improve Highway 1 in California and to protect parks along the Pacific Coastline. Their calendar features gorgeous scenic pictures. This entices people to purchase the calendars and it reminds them throughout the year that they supported a good cause.

2. Are You Going to Include Advertisements & Sponsors?

This will be a factor when you are designing you calendar because you will need to include space for the "thank-you" page and for advertisements throughout the grids. To learn more about calendar fundraising, click here to download our free calendar fundraising guide.

The image to the right shows how the Knoxville Ice Bears Booster Club placed sponsor logos throughout their calendar on different dates in the monthly grids.

3. Choose Your Photos

One great way to choose photos for your calendar is to first choose a theme. There are many themes to choose form, here are just a few to give you an idea:

• Picture or collage of photos on the top of each month - for example, September in a school fundraising calendar could say, "Welcome Back to School" and show a photo of the football team.
• Places or things that relate to your cause or organization.
• Pictures of peoples' favorite animals.
• Photos from previous events or trips.

The possibilities are endless! Just remember, your pictures need to be high resolution for them to print looking clear. If your images aren't at 300DPI (dots per inch), there is a chance that your images will appear pixelated when your project prints.

4. Time to Design!

After you have chosen your pictures it's time to start designing! You can design the calendar many different ways. Most calendars have one large, full-size image on the top half and the calendar grid on the bottom half. I have also seen calendars that have a collage of images or a single image with a nice background around it. The sky is the limit!

If you already have pictures and a project in mind it's time to get down to work and actually start designing. You can design a custom calendar using programs like Photoshop, InDesign or Illustrator. If you don't want to start from scratch, check out our  to get you started. Using a pre-designed template will ensure that you have the correct size and will save you some time!

We also offer a free calendar online design tool. I love this tool because it makes it incredibly easy to put a calendar together. Just upload your pictures, drag and drop them into place and voila! A finished calendar design.

Remember - 

To start designing a calendar you must first choose your audience. Decide what kind of pictures will appeal to them the most and design your calendar with your audience in mind.

When the time comes to put the calendar together either design online or use our  in a design software like Adobe Photoshop, InDesign or Illustrator.

If you are starting a calendar project and would like to speak with an expert, feel free to give us a call at .