How templates can help and hurt brochure printing

How Templates Can Help And Hurt Brochure Printing

If you are considering brochure printing, then you may be tempted to use templates for your layout and design. After all, the entire process of brochure printing from inspiration to printed product can be overwhelming, particularly if it is your first time. There are definitely some positives to using a brochure template, but there are also some negatives to using one as well. Here are some elements that you will want to consider before using a template for your brochure printing.

The Positives of Using Brochure Templates

One of the main reasons that people decide to use templates when printing brochures is because templates can save you a lot of time. If you are under a deadline to get the brochure printed and distributed, then you may not want to waste time looking for a designer and undergoing the lengthy process of creating a unique and original brochure for your project.

Along similar lines, brochure templates can also help you to save money. Your brochure printing company may even have some templates that are free to use, particularly if you use the same company for your printing needs. Many of the design programs that you may already use may also include brochure templates that you can edit for your needs. And even in the cases where a fee is charged to use the template, it is still more affordable to pay that than to hire a private designer.

Lastly, brochure templates are easy to use. Even if you have never done brochure printing before, or you need to get one done quickly, you can still have a professional looking product. All you have to do is drop in your own pictures and text, and you have beautifully designed brochure.

The Negatives of Using Brochure Templates

One of the big downsides of using a brochure template is that it will limit the creativity of your brochure printing. Therefore, if you are hoping to create a design that will make your brochure stand out from all the others in the rack, then this will be difficult to accomplish using a template.

Secondly, the use of a brochure template could cause people to think that they have seen your brochure before, and they may toss it without reading it. Some brochure templates are so overused that it can cause your brochure to appear just like everyone else’s design. Therefore, if you decide to use a brochure template, you will need to make adjustments to ensure that your brochure stands out in other ways using the pictures, headlines, and copy.

Keep in mind that brochure templates are used to create the design for you. These should not be confused with guideline templates, which are given to you by your printer. A guideline template can be laid over the final design to make sure that you have met all the size and bleed requirements needed for a successful printing. These guideline templates are often used regardless of whether you are using a custom design or a premade one and can be a useful tool.

Ideas for products of the future

Ideas for Products of the Future

Here are some new product ideas for things yet to be invented, or innovations yet to be tried. Why don’t you be the inventor or innovator? Help yourself. There are no patents on the following ideas as far as I know — but do your patent research, of course.

1. A pavlovian dog calling device. The scientist Ivan Pavlov trained dogs to salivate when a bell rang — simply by ringing a bell whenever they ate. Imagine a small beeper on your dog’s collar. Each time you feed him you first start the beeper with a radio-control device. Soon all you have to do to get him to come running for the kitchen is push that button and make the device beep.

A range of up to a mile would be nice for calling the dog home. The technology for this is already here, waiting to be put together, but would people buy it? I think so. It’s interesting, useful, and new product ideas for pets are always in high demand lately.

2. The Innovation Game. This is a competitive innovation teaching-game, to help develop the players creative skills. Cards challenge players to invent something (on paper) based on certain criteria. For example, a card might require players to combine two concepts in the most innovative way. All the various problem solving techniques would be exercised using these cards.

One problem to overcome in developing this game is the competitive aspect. How would results be judged to determine a winner? Perhaps the game would have to have a volunteer sit out during each round, to function as a «judge» and award the points.

3. Better pedal boats. The pedal boats you see at many parks are designed so that two people can pedal them around a pond or lake. However, if you have ever tried one, you realize that they are less fun than they appear. This is mostly because they are slow.

A better pedal boat would be in the shape of a torpedo. The point is to create something that glides through the water more easily. Even if it is to hold more than one person, the users could be in a line, instead of next to each other, for better streamlining. Make one that can actually hydroplane and everyone at the beach will want to try it out.

4. Underwater treasure hunting camera. With all the new interest in metal detectors and treasure hunting, this is a natural. Years ago there was a treasure hunter who regularly found guns, money and more in murky rivers, using a tube with a plexiglass glued over one end, and a light strapped to the outside. He held the device near the bottom of the river and was able to see what was there.

What could be better than this? A small camera, especially now that the technology has developed smaller components. It could be lowered to great depths from any boat or dock. A motorized «claw» at the bottom might make it especially useful and interesting to those of us who like «toys.»

5. Glue-on soles. (Some of you who don’t hike might not relate to this one.) Blisters are caused by the friction of your feet sliding and rubbing on the inside of your shoes. A good non-heat-conducting sole, glued to your foot, could slide in that shoe all day while your feet were prevented from getting blisters, since the bottom of the foot itself wouldn’t rub against anything. That is the essence of «New Soles,» the newest in foot protection.

Before writing this new product idea off as too weird, remember that we glue fake teeth into our mouths. A similar glue might do the trick, and these glue-on soles would be for very specific markets — like long distance hikers and runners. Of course, there will have to be a simple way to remove them too.

How to play in poker tournaments

How To Play In Poker Tournaments

There are a large variety of poker games. Games from Texas Hold’em to Five card stud. Though the types of hands you try to get are always about the same, the games are played very differently. If you are interested in playing, you might want to go into one of the many poker tournaments that are offered online. First, though, you’ll need to understand what types of games there are and what hands are the best.

Texas Hold’em is the most popular type of poker in the US these days. The game is played by dealing each player two individual cards and then placing, face up, on the table five more cards. Players make the best five card hands from the seven cards that have been dealt.

In five card stud, players are dealt five cards from which they must select at least one and up to all five to keep. The rest are given back to the dealer, who replaces the cards they hand back in with new cards. Betting goes on after this and then players reveal their hands. The player with the best hand wins.

The best hand that you can get is the Royal Flush. A Royal Flush is a type of straight flush. A straight means all cards are in sequential order. A flush means they all belong to the same suit. To achieve a royal flush, the cards must be Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten all in one suit. These are extremely rare hands.

The next best hand that you can have is four of a kind. It is just what it sounds like, four of the same number. If two people happen to have four of a kinds in the same round (which is highly unlikely but possible) the highest cards win.

Next on the list is the full house. A full house has three of a kind and a pair in the same hand. This is followed by a flush. Following comes the straight. A three of a kind (without a pair making it a full house) is then the next highest hand. Followed by two pairs, then one pair. If no player has any of those combinations, the winner is determined by the holder of the highest card.

The ace is the highest card, followed by the king and then on down the line from there. There are variations, depending on the house rules. Occasionally a card may be declared «wild, » in which case it can count as whatever card best helps your hand.

Make sure to learn how to play the game before joining any poker tournaments. They are a lot of fun, but they can be expensive to join in. The pots on the big tournaments, though, get up to several million dollars, so it can be lucrative if you have the skill and the patience to really learn to play the game well. Some people dedicate their whole lives to playing the game, so don’t run into anything too big before you have some practice.

How to recycle

How To Recycle

It may seem simple enough, but there are certain specifics to recycling that can help the environment and your sanitation service. Recycling reduces waste that builds in landfills in order to make new products from the old. This is rewarding for us and the world in which we live. But it may not be as simple as it seems. Haven’t you ever wondered if you recycle this or that? And if so, how? Does it go with the plastics, or the metals, or the papers? Well prepare to have all of your questions answered.

1. First, find out what your sanitation or recycling service requires. Some prefer to separate all kinds of products, like the plastic bags from the cardboard boxes and the cans from the newspapers. If this is the case, make sure to designate a specific area for each kind of recycling.

2. Some states provide cash for recycling bottles and cans. If yours is one of them, save up and take them to a recycling center for some extra monies.

3. Some services require that you wash or remove lids from your recycling.

4. Paper is especially easy to recycle. If you work in an environment that uses a lot of paper, keep some around to use as scrap by writing on the backs of it. Keep a bin under your desk or a stack that you can easily move to the recycling can. This way you save time by disposing it all in one trip and you help to conserve a valuable resource.

5. At home, reuse your plastic bags. Whether you have extras from grocery shopping or you have empty bread bags or newspaper bags, they can easily be reused as smaller garbage can liners. Just make sure they don’t have holes — if they do, double up. If you still have extras you can bring them with you when you do your grocery shopping to hold your groceries or to drop off at a recycle center at your local supermarket. You can even use plastic bags in the car to hold scraps and stray litter. Plastic bags are also great to clean up after your pets when you walk them or clean out the litter box or yard (you can even bring them to the animal shelter because if you don’t need them, they sure do). You can save them for packaging when sending boxes or use them as stuffing for shoes to help keep them keep shape while drying. Plastic bags also have potential for art — you can make a wreath or scarf by melding bags together.

6. There are tons of items that you may not think of when you hear the word recycle. Here are just a few: magazines, milk cartons, packing peanuts, cell phones, batteries (especially important) styrophome (also takes forever to decompose) old televisions, and computers.

Recycling is very beneficial for the environment and for the soul. It helps you to feel like you’re contributing to the good of the world, and is a good habit for today and for future generations.

How does government protect you from identity theft

How Does Government Protect You From Identity Theft?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the federal financial institution regulatory agencies have sent to the Federal Register for publication final rules on identity theft «red flags» and address discrepancies. The final rules implement sections 114 and 315 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003.

According to a report of the President’s Identity Theft Task Force, identity theft (a fraud attempted or committed using identifying information of another person without authority), results in billions of dollars in losses each year to individuals and businesses.

The final rules require each financial institution and creditor that holds any consumer account, or other account for which there is a reasonably foreseeable risk of identity theft, to develop and implement an Identity Theft Prevention Program for combating identity theft in connection with new and existing accounts. The Program must include reasonable policies and procedures for detecting, preventing, and mitigating identity theft and enable a financial institution or creditor to:

Identify relevant patterns, practices, and specific forms of activity that are «red flags» signaling possible identity theft and incorporate those red flags into the Program;

Detect red flags that have been incorporated into the Program;

Respond appropriately to any red flags that are detected to prevent and mitigate identity theft; and

Ensure the Program is updated periodically to reflect changes in risks from identity theft.

The agencies also issued guidelines to assist financial institutions and creditors in developing and implementing a Program, including a supplement that provides examples of red flags.

The final rules also require credit and debit card issuers to develop policies and procedures to assess the validity of a request for a change of address that is followed closely by a request for an additional or replacement card. In addition, the final rules require users of consumer reports to develop reasonable policies and procedures to apply when they receive a notice of address discrepancy from a consumer reporting agency.

The final rule-making is issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Trade Commission, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Office of Thrift Supervision. The final rules are effective on January 1, 2008. Covered financial institutions and creditors must comply with the rules by November 1, 2008.

The government is doing its best to combat identity theft. Keeping one step ahead of the thieves by checking your free credit report will ensure that no one has stolen your identity. The government is doing what it can, but you are the first line of identity theft defense.