Sarah Schumacher

As the founder of cyclone press, Sarah has 15+ years of experience providing branding, design, business and technical expertise to startups and small businesses. After personally building ~100 websites, she's become an evangelist for utilizing technology/automation to build systems and processes to run businesses more effectively. She’s also a mixed media artist and writer who reads; obsessed with books, the intersection of ideas, and how they apply to your latest startup idea.
by

If you bill by the hour, you need a time tracking app. This is how I use TimeCamp.

As a consultant and web designer, and someone who for some reason wants to see how much time I spend maintaining Inbox Zero (it’s depressing), time tracking is especially important.

You could use the timer on your phone or pen and paper, but that’s kind of a pain. The market has exploded in recent years, and there are lots of options for apps that promise to solve your time-tracking woes.

I’ve tried many of these apps for kicks, but only half-heartedly. I’ve happily been using TimeCamp since 2016. It’s been long enough I can’t remember what I used before.

One of my requirements for most all of the software I use is that it has a Mac app. I absolutely despise software that runs in-browser. Most time tracking apps should have a Mac app, but there’s one very specific feature in TimeCamp that’s the reason I’ve been so loyal, and that’s the way it runs in the menu bar. Here’s what it looks like:

As you can see, it shows my current task, which is writing this post (the M stands for Manual–more on that in a minute). To switch to a different task, all I have to do is click the task name, and this window pops up:

I can double-click the task if it’s under Recently Used, scroll down to select, or type it in the search bar.

The way this is set up means I can switch between tasks with 3 clicks. I want my time tracking to be frictionless. I’ve used Toggl in the past, and while it’s great for iPhone-only personal tracking, there is WAY too much friction around adding a new task on a Mac. I don’t have time for that.

If I’m starting a new task or project, I can click “Create Task, and this is the window that pops up:

All I have to do is type the name, parent task (if I want this to go under another project), check the box to start working on it immediately, then click Add Task. So 3 clicks + typing a few words, and I’m working.

Auto Time Tracking

That keywords section in the middle is for TimeCamp’s automatic tracking feature. Auto mode uses your Mac’s disability access features to watch for the keywords in that second field. It uses those to categorize your current task while you focus on work. So if you want to do an automatic “Billing” task, you could use keywords like “Quickbooks, Overview, All Sales, Invoices, ” etc. When TimeCamp sees you doing a task where those keywords are present, it will start tracking “Billing.”

I only use the Manual settings. Yes, I am a nerd about security settings, but that’s not why. By virtue of what I do, it’s too hard to use keywords to track different projects. I’m in WordPress dashboards all the time, so I’d have to really drill down into every possible unique keyword for a specific client’s website. Design software is used for everything, all the time, and there aren’t necessarily keywords available to differentiate between clients/projects. Because I use time tracking reports to bill clients, I’m not going to take any chances with automatic tracking, so I manually switch between everything. This is why quick task switching is so important for me.

End of Day Review

I can view how I spent my time at the end of the day in the TimeCamp dashboard:

This is where I can manually add or remove time on tasks if I know I forgot to switch on something. I can also view unassigned activities, and assign them to the correct project after the fact:

Reports

The best thing about time tracking apps, of course, are the reports. You can view any task by any increment you like. This is what I reference to bill clients at the completion of a project. One-off tasks will be archived, but if it’s an ongoing project like a monthly newsletter I’ll keep it as a consistent project so I can see how it changes over time.

There are a million ways to view reports and statistics, but I practically never use these. TimeCamp also integrates with many popular productivity apps. I haven’t found them necessary with my current workflow.

The main feature I would like TimeCamp to add is a built-in Pomodoro timer, but beyond that, the menu bar click-to-switch system is better than anything else I’ve seen, so I’ll be sticking with it.

Did you know?

I have another business solely focused on tech coaching and process consulting for Mac users who’d like to better wrangle their technology. Check out first pixels tech if you’d like 1:1 coaching or to talk processes for your business.

first pixels tech
by
best note-taking app Evernote vs. Bear software review

I’ve been using Evernote since 2011. Unfortunately, over the last several years it’s started to go downhill. Speed alone on the iOS app is atrocious. I’ve been keeping an eye out for alternatives, so in 2020 I decided to migrate to Bear and try it out. After 2 weeks of use (I use note-taking apps daily) I wrote a comparison review where I contrasted Bear’s features and how they compare to Evernote.

There are two apps I cannot live without. 1Password, and Evernote.

I’ve been an avid Evernote user since 2011. By avid I mean daily, which is why I can’t live without it. Every random idea for an art project is immediately saved. Every epiphany is recorded. Every quote that strikes a chord. Every haiku. Everything.

Evernote has been around since 2004. An eternity for apps, and it doesn’t feel like much has changed. In many ways, that’s a good thing. However, a few years back they tried to nudge people off the free model by limiting uploads to 60 MB per month and devices to two (iPhone + MacBook for me, which is fine). Because I love it, I’d be happy to pay, except that it’s $7.99/month, which feels way too high.

Bear comes highly recommended, and I’d had my eye on it for a while. 2 weeks ago I decided to take the plunge.

I get overly excited about new tech tools (I mentioned Bear in this post), and I was thrilled with it initially. Mostly the design. Migration from Evernote was quick and easy. I only imported personal notebooks, since I planned to keep using Evernote for work. At the time I liked the idea of separating work/personal notes. Now I think that might be unnecessarily complicating things.

2 weeks in, how is Bear stacking up?

Not so great, as it turns out. Less because I dislike Bear, more because I’ve learned what I need from a note-taking app.

Instead of doing a classic pro/con comparison, I’m going to talk about each of Bear’s features and how they compare to Evernote. I’ll outline about my initial impressions, and how they changed after 2 weeks.

App Design (Mac and iOS)

Bear Initial Impression: LOVE – especially icons, customizable fonts, themes, etc.

Have I mentioned I’m a designer? I don’t care how good your app is; if your app design sucks I won’t use it. Custom icons for categories were beyond exciting. Which makes sense, because I’m the kind of person that will stop testing actual functionality in order to assign the perfect icon for every tag.

  • There are custom themes and typeface options for Mac and iOS.
  • The overall design is sleek and fits right into the rest of my Mac apps.
  • While importing notes on the desktop app, dragging/dropping felt very natural and intuitive.

After 2 Weeks: Evernote needs icons

Still love Bear’s design. Everything feels better and more modern. However, I discovered that I do not like the entry screen on Bear’s iOS app. It opens directly to the list of notes, and the new note icon is in the bottom right. Evernote’s in bottom center and has many more options, including shortcuts.

Design Winner (Mac App): Bear

Bear wins for sleekness and customization. Evernote is functional; the unassuming businessman stock photo next to the trendy freelance photographer’s aesthetic. But looks can be deceiving; I missed Evernote’s additional features.

Design Winner (iOS App): Evernote

Turns out I like their utilitarian layout a lot better. Bear is just too simple on iOS. Bear does have customization options Evernote lacks, like themes that change the app icon color and fonts. Cool, but functionality is more important.

—

Tag Categorization vs. Notebooks

Bear uses tags like Evernote uses notebooks.

It’s like a regular hashtag. Type # + category anywhere in the note and it’s filed. You can nest tags, meaning if I want to file this years art project under “The 100 Day Project” I’d do it like this:

Bear Initial Impression: I can file the same note in two places? Sweet! Wait…

In Evernote there’s no way to have a note in two notebooks, and I’d like to do that on occasion. Hashtags feel intuitive, although this feature made me uneasy. There are no notebooks in Bear, so tag-only categorization felt a little weird and loose. That’s all the categorization there is.

I didn’t like how I had to nest tags in order to get subcategories, but I figured I would get used to it.

After 2 Weeks: I miss Evernote

I like this less and less as I use it. It’s easy to use, but it feels messy. Also, it turns out I need to use hashtags in the body of my notes without them actually being tags for the note.

Example: I’m currently doing the 100 Day Project, which I post on Instagram. I create a note with the painting details that becomes the comment/description for each Instagram post. That comment needs to contain a bunch of hashtags, but pasting that list into Bear means I suddenly have a pile of new categories cluttering up my sidebar that I don’t actually need. I can’t do clutter.

I really missed notebooks. In Evernote I have 3 main categories: Creative, Personal, and Work. I categorize every other notebook under these three notebooks. I collapse them to keep things clean. There’s no way to do something similar in Bear without having 30 character hashtags. Not cool.

Winner: Evernote

I need notebooks. (Evernote still has tags. They have their own area where I don’t have to see them unless I need them). Of all the things making me return to Evernote, I think this one was the dealbreaker.

—

Actual Use/Formatting

Initial Impression: Finally! Easy adjustments and I guess markdown is good?

Markdown(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markdown) is a way of typing where you manually style words by enclosing in asterisks, slashes, etc. For example: this is bold. Most editors are rich text, where you can use a button or dropdown to change text to bold, but the actual designation for that style change is hidden in the backend.

I’ve never really had a need for Markdown, although I’ve used it in the past. I thought it would be nice to just type a shortcut to designate what should be a heading, italic, etc.

After 2 Weeks: What I really wanted was shortcuts

Turns out seeing the markdown notations in my otherwise clean document really bugs me. Which is kind of the whole point, but as mentioned above, I can’t do clutter.

Evernote has shortcuts to change your text styles. ⌘b will make text bold, for example. I feel like an idiot for only discovering this now, especially because I consider myself a shortcut ninja. Ah well, now I know.

Formatting Winner: Evernote

I guess I don’t need markdown, and evidently I need to learn more shortcuts for Evernote. I just don’t have a use case for this. It doesn’t mean there is one… just not for me at this time.

—

Quick Access/Favorites

In Evernote you favorite a note, and it shows up in Shortcuts. I love this feature and I use it daily. In Bear you just pin the frequently accessed notes to the top of the massive chronological note list. Not a fan.

Winner: Evernote

I need multiple favorite notes in a separate list, quickly accessed on iOS. Evernote does this beautifully.

—

Sharing/Integrations

Because Evernote has been around for forever, it’s built into everything. It’s in IFTTT, there are browser extensions, etc. Bear has some of the basic OS, iOS and Shortcuts down really well, but as a smaller company they aren’t going to be baked in to so many other mainstream services like Evernote is.

Bear makes it easier to link notes to each other within the app. They don’t have a web app, so if you want to email a note to someone, it’s going to copy the body of the note in an email. In Evernote, you can share a link that opens in browser and will update if you update the note. Evernote also has chat, which kind of goes along with the sharing thing. I don’t really use these feature, but it’s there.

You can also email to a notebook in Evernote (although not on the free plan). I didn’t see that feature in Bear.

Winner: Evernote

Ubiquitous is good when it comes to this kind of thing.

—

Tables

I didn’t even think about this until after I migrated everything. I was looking for the insert table button, and… wait, there isn’t one? Bear doesn’t have tables?!

I don’t use this feature a lot but I still want the option. Mostly because I already had notes using tables, and importing them into Bear destroyed the formatting

Winner: Evernote

—

Security

Evernote and Bear both offer passcode or fingerprint protection for the app. Bear also has the ability to password protect individual notes. I don’t have a need for that, but it’s there.

One huge downside to Bear is the fact that you subscribe through iCloud. I do NOT like purchasing this kind of app like that. I use separate email logins for every service I use.

That Bear subscription is now tied to our main iCloud account, which is personal/family. I don’t want that, and here’s why:

I keep forgetting to turn off that stupid feature where apps auto-download on the iPad after download on a different device. Meaning that Bear automatically downloaded itself onto the family iPad, which I just noticed yesterday. When I opened it, it immediately began syncing all my notes. This means that I just gave my 5 year old access to my entire life of notes he could have been in there swiping and deleting unbeknownst to me. In Evernote, you have to download the app, then sign in. AS IT SHOULD BE.

If I were to start paying for Evernote, it would be through my login, through Evernote itself. I could put it under my company credit card, completely separate and having nothing to do with iCloud. That is what I want.

I feel like longevity kind also goes in this category. Evernote has been around for 16 years at this point, so I feel a little more confident about them existing 16 years in the future.

Winner: Evernote.

iCloud purchase is my second dealbreaker. I almost didn’t sign up for the trial when I got to that point and realized it was my only option. That auto-download confirmed it’s a bad idea.

—

Price

Again, I’m on the free plan for Evernote, because it’s all I’ve never needed (just text notes, 2 devices).

Winner: Bear

No contest here.

Bear – $15/year.

Evernote – $95.88/year (Basic plan).

—

Note Details

Bear has this beautiful little info bar in the top that shows word count, read time, and export to many different formats. This is one of the things I was most excited about. When writing this article I found that information in Evernote, but it doesn’t have read time, and of course, it’s not as pretty.

But, it led to the biggest epiphany of this whole app testing débâcle.

It turns out my needs are less for a note-taking app, and more for a writing app. I do all my writing in Evernote, which works fine. But this trial with Bear has shown me that if I were to switch to something other than Evernote, I would actually require more functionality, not less. Which means I should have been running a trial of Ulysses, which is a feature-rich writing app.

In summary:

Bear is a sleek, simple, note-taking app. If you want hashtag-based functionality for basic notes, you’re only using it on Mac and iOS, and you like using iCloud for purchases, it’s fantastic. It’s also very enjoyable for writing because it’s so clean and uses markdown.

Evernote is a robust, dependable note-taking app with a lot of additional features (easy sharing, chat, reminders, better categorization). It has everything Bear does and a whole lot more (except the sleek design).

The Final Verdict: Bear or Evernote?

My recommendation for using any note-taking app hasn’t changed. If you keep your phone around, you should use one, and use it consistently. Apple Notes have gotten a lot better and syncs to iCloud, so that’s not a bad (free) option, although they don’t make export easy.

If you want an app that’s simple and sleek, you can’t go wrong with Bear. If you’d like the additional functionality of an app that’s been around for years, it’s Evernote, and I’m glad to be back. I imported the new notes from Bear and went right back to normal, albeit with a few new tricks. I also started running a trial of Ulysses, only for writing. It’s lovely, although I’m not sure I need a dedicated writing app. If I decide against it, I know Evernote can handle that too.

by

Captain’s Log, April 1, 2020: Working from home with no end in sight.

I’ve been working from home for 10+ years. Or more frequently, out of local coffee shops. I’m missing both the cafe vibe and the ability to support the small businesses who need it most (other than the occasional drive thru or online order for pick up). The biggest challenge, however, is having a small, needy child at home the entire day. It’s really put a damper on the whole consistent work schedule thing (it died an immediate death).

I’ve seen a lot of articles about working from home. Most of them I haven’t read. The couple I skimmed were mostly fluff (one exception). So I’m just going to type a quick list, as things come to mind, after having done the work from home thing for years.

0. Get up at the same time every day.

After publishing this I realized something: I was assuming the reader would continue to get up at the same time every day. It was pointed out that this isn’t obvious to everyone, so I’m adding this caveat. Get up at the same time (or close to it) every day. Pretend you’re going to work. You are. It’s just in your house now.

If you had to be up at 7 every day previously, maybe it’s more reasonable to push it to 8 (no commute), but try to stick to a specific time. Factor in when the kids get up. But don’t sleep in until 11 and then drag yourself into the “office.” This list will not work for that. OK now, moving on…

1. Pajamas are for sleeping, not for working.

Isn’t it a cliché that people who work from home do so in their PJ’s? I feel like it is, but it’s dumb. Don’t do it.

The thing about clothes is that they affect your mental state. Imagine giving a presentation. You’ll put extra thought into what you wear, and when you know you look good, it affects how you present, doesn’t it? Most of us know this. What kind of work do you feel like you’re producing if you’re wearing pajama pants?

Don’t go overboard; there’s a middle ground between PJ’s and slacks. My modus operandi when home: leggings and light hoodies (i.e. comfy/no need to protect from cat claw snags). The important thing to note is that they’re different clothes than what I wear to bed. In a parallel universe, I suppose one could wear an evening gown to bed and flannel to work from home. It’s not the clothes themselves that matter so much; it’s the intention and mindset you’re stepping into.

1a. Make the bed.

You don’t have to, but it takes 2 minutes and it starts the day on the right foot.

2. Create a morning beverage ritual.

My love for coffee is well known. Perhaps less so is the fact that I’ve been mostly abstaining from caffeine the last several years. My dream is a cup of black not-decaf, but alas, my body is better off without it. I really miss the ritual of Aeropress coffee, which is my preferred method, but if you don’t like coffee, don’t feel like you have to miss out. I alternate between:

  • BioCoffee, which is this weird instant coffee mixed with wheatgrass that I don’t consider coffee at all
  • Decaf black tea
  • London Fog (black tea + lavender syrup + steamed milk)
  • Matcha latte (powdered green tea + steamed milk)
  • Chai latte (black tea + chai spices + brown sugar + steamed milk)
  • Decaf latte (decaf espresso + steamed milk)
  • Hot chocolate or drinking chocolate

Find something you enjoy and be consistent. Again, it’s the ritual that matters. The day really starts when you smell that coffee/tea/whatever and it signals the work is about to begin. Yes, I love coffee, but it’s less about the contents of the mug and more about the fact that I have a mug with something hot to drink. I could probably achieve the same psychological result with a mug of hot water, but who wants to drink that?

3. Create a dedicated work space.

This seems like it should be obvious, but I’m going to state it anyway. If you have an office, use it. I have a studio that doubles as my office on one side and and my art studio on the other. I mostly work at my desk. I often move to my beanbag for personal writing, so that’s where I am now. This afternoon it was beautiful so I worked on the porch for a bit. There are a couple spaces I’ll move to for a change, but 90% of the time I’m at my desk.

Come up with something to delineate your work space from the rest of the house. The key in this point is about setting boundaries: this is the place I work. It’s what you’re telling your brain, and your kids. If you have an office with a door, fantastic. Unfortunately, my studio is an attic room and does not have a door, so the kid can burst in at any time making laser sounds with LEGOS. Which leads me to…

4. Block off set periods for working and not working.

Full disclosure: I suck at this one. Like most entrepreneurs, I would be working nonstop if left alone (I’m not saying this is a good thing – just telling it like it is). My normal schedule (work while kid is at school) has turned into work when kid is not bothering me. Meaning the second he’s wrapped up in his LEGO scene I’m sneaking to my studio to knock out a few things. He inevitably realizes I’m gone, and Boba Fett decides to take his battle to the Studio system.

Because of this, it’s important that you are clear up front about WHEN you will be working. I clearly state I’m going upstairs to work, during his “morning playtime.” Depending on the day (and your kid), you might want to set a timer for an hour or something (don’t come into my office until the timer goes off). Apple finally made the obvious design decision to have a visual timer countdown on the Clock app, so if you have an iPad you can set that up where they can actually see how much time is left.

Another helpful thing here is to ask what special toy they’d like you to get out for that morning’s playtime. In our case, that’s either kinetic sand, a bucket of dry beans, playdough, car track, or potentially worksheets, coloring, or an easy puzzle. Just make sure it’s an activity that doesn’t require assistance. (Pro tip: hide some toys and only let your kids have them on occasion. You’ll always have something “new” and exciting to distract them). Obviously the iPad itself can be an activity, which is what we do for the afternoon work session (no game screen time until after 3 pm).

Not working: make sure you’re also scheduling time for other things. Not just chores either. See #10.

5. Figure out if you like ambient noise or silence.

Having worked out of coffee shops for years, I prefer ambient cafe sounds for working. I have a friend who used to rent a conference room just to work in complete silence. If you’re not used to working from home, finding your preferences might require a little trial and error. There are many curated playlists to choose from if you prefer music, but again, it’s the ritual that matters. Give yourself permission to experiment.

6. Take frequent breaks.

This one is tough. I prefer to sit down and work for a solid several hours. That’s not entirely healthy, and your productivity goes down after a certain point anyway. But the big reason for this one is that you will be interrupted. You can’t have the same expectations around work as you did when things were, well, normal. It’s best to just step into a different frame of mind, and be intentional about stepping away to refill the tea, make the sure the house is still in one piece, let the dog out, whatever. The weather has been gorgeous lately, so use every excuse to step outside for a bit. I need to be better about taking breaks anyway, so I’m trying to use the distractions that could be are frustrating as a way to develop healthier work habits.

Also, it makes you appreciate the occasional late night work session with no interruptions (but don’t do it too often).

7. Don’t work out of your email.

If your project management “software” is a notepad and a pen, it’s still better than using your email to manage projects. On a normal day, it’s a guaranteed way to prioritize the urgent over the important. On a day in the life of someone who doesn’t normally work from home, who can’t leave because they’re sheltering-in-place, with their kids… Yeah, not a good idea.

There are a million project management systems to choose from, but you need to first decide if the system is going to be more work than the work itself. Now might not be the time to try to learn new software (or maybe it is–your call). There’s nothing wrong with a notepad, which is how I effortlessly managed projects as an employee. As an entrepreneur? Eh I wish… I wear too many hats now, so I need something more robust.

“Your inbox is a to-do list to which anyone in the world can add an action item.” – Chris Sacca

Take the requests out of the inbox, then work off your list. It doesn’t matter what kind of list you use. If wrangling your inbox is a daily struggle, read my post on getting to Inbox Zero.

8. Use technology to your advantage.

If there ever were a time in history to be quarantined, it’s now. You can stream Netflix, Disney+, download games, order anything you want online, livesteam on social media, Facetime your family and friends. Most people know how to use these services (or they’re learning). Do the same for your business.

Here’s what you need to do. Map out your desired workflow. Figure out what areas you could streamline using software. Google that kind of software, and narrow it down to a few possible options. Ask your network for recommendations or sign up for free trials. Think about how you can automate things. Feel free to contact me if you need help or suggestions with this process.

  • I use Vectera for video chats, which doesn’t require software downloads. If you’re a Google Workspace (G Suite) user you have Google Meet.
  • Time tracking software is a must. I use Timecamp (love the menu bar timer), and I also recommend Toggl (free tier allows teams up to 5, better UI).
  • For project management we used monday, which is amazingly easy to use immediately, because it’s set up like a spreadsheet. It’s built for teams, so if you’re a single user it might not be a good fit. ClickUp is actually what we use now, as it’s similar but more affordable.
  • My CRM is Daylite, but unless things are slow for you, now might not be the time to get into CRM’s unless you’re also using it for project management.
  • I cannot speak highly enough about 1Password. This is 2020: you should be using a password manager. And no, Google Sheets is not OK. If passwords are a daily struggle, if you have time now, sign up for an account and input all your logins. You’ll wonder how you lived without it.
  • Specifically for teams; if you’re needing to work things out creatively and miss the whiteboard, look into a tool like Miro or Milanote. Project management systems are great for staying on top of things, but for mapping out strategies it helps to have a tool that’s more fluid.

9. Plan the next day the night before.

At the end of the last block of your work day, prioritize your tasks for tomorrow. Clean off your desk. Prep so that when you complete your morning ritual on the following day everything is ready for you.

If you check your email first thing in the morning, chances are what you work on will be what came in. So work off the list you made the night before. Do the important work first, when your mind is fresh and the coffee’s hot.

10. Make time for downtime.

This is a weird time we’re living in. If you run a business, you’re probably used to actual running to get things done. When you can’t do that, it might be tempting to be in your email all the time, or do low-value work that feels like being productive. Don’t do that.

COVID sucks. I know a lot of people are scared, but dwelling on the unknowns… it’s not helpful. For the first time in recent history, the entire world is united against a common enemy. At the same time, some of us are recognizing how unhealthy our workaholic tendencies have become. There are many articles that talk about how productivity is higher when working less hours, or how we should have 4 day work weeks, or allow more flexible schedules for employees. Social distancing, sheltering-in-place… this is finally forcing movement on a lot of these issues. It’s become a giant experiment instead of just talk.

If you’re a small business owner, you might feel helpless. But you might also feel like it’s a good time to reconnect with your family, spend time with your kids. Maybe pick up that hobby you’ve been neglecting. Actually read a book for fun. Take advantage of the downtime instead of just constantly working. If you’re someone who isn’t sure what to do with that downtime, I wrote An Introvert’s Guide to Quarantine Bliss for my personal art website. It’s all the things I will be/am doing when I get through the website and email updates/announcements and other client work.

People generally don’t start businesses because they want to work less (if they do, they’re in for a shock). Most of us work too much, because it’s hard work. I’m not advocating you fall asleep at the wheel, or don’t do everything in your power to set your business up to survive whatever is happening to the economy. But I know you’re already doing all that. Don’t forget to take a breath and take some time for yourself.

Bonus: create a daily schedule for the entire family.

This seems to be the best piece of advice I’ve seen. I’ve enjoyed seeing other families work from home schedules, but I don’t have anything so well organized at the moment. See HBR’s Guide for Working (From Home) Parents.

I hope you found this list helpful. If you have questions or there’s something you’d like to hear more about, please comment below or send me an email. I’m planning a future post about how to use this time to work on your business (hint: it’s storybranding).

Note: this post contains affiliate links.

by

Have you ever been handed a business card with a grainy logo? Maybe you had a brochure printed and your graphics didn’t look as crisp as you expected.

Chances are your logo was in the wrong format.

There are two main reasons for poor logo quality on printed materials:

  1. Your logo was created in the wrong format (built in the wrong software)
  2. Your logo was created properly, but you used the wrong file for printing

Unfortunately, the first issue is one we run into all the time. This is where the adage “you get what you pay for” rings especially true. There’s more to logo design than owning a computer with a certain piece of software.

There are two terms that will explain the grainy logo problem:

Raster (or bitmap) art:

A raster or bitmap file is an image; it’s composed of tiny pixels of color. If you zoom in, you’ll see all the little squares that create it. In printing, we use the term DPI (Dots Per Inch) to measure resolution. The more dots per inch, the higher the resolution, and the better quality the print. These terms generally come up when you’re printing photographs; you want the image resolution to be at least 300 dpi.

Raster Software: Adobe Photoshop, Affinity Photo, Gimp
Raster File Types: JPG, PNG, GIF, PSD, TIF

If your logo was created in Photoshop, it’s a raster file. Period. It doesn’t matter what file type you save it as. PDF? Nope. It’s still a raster file because it was created in raster software. This means it now has the same printing requirements as your family photos; high-resolution and the proper size (a 300 dpi image that’s only 1″ x 2″ is not going to look good blown up to 5×7).

This is a zoomed in look at a raster/bitmap logo – you can see the pixels and how it would show fuzziness around the edges.

 Vector (or line) art:

Vector art is composed of continuous, mathematical lines and curves. It is not an image or a photo, so it can be scaled to infinite sizes without a loss in resolution. If your logo is vector art, you could blow it up to fit on a billboard and it will look just as good as it does on your flyers, t-shirts, and signage.

Vector Software: Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer, Pixelmator, Freehand
Vector File Types: PDF, EPS, AI, SVG

It’s important to note that vector files can be saved as raster files. If your logo was created in Illustrator, but you export it as a JPG, the file has been rasterized and it’s no longer vector art. If it’s a raster file type, it’s a raster file, regardless of how it was originally created.

The logo above recreated as vector artwork. Look closely at the linework around the edges (the irony is this example image is rasterized, since it’s been saved as a JPG for use here. But you should still be able to see the difference).

Logos should always be designed as vector art.

A logo needs to be usable for everything – print, signage, advertising, websites, email newsletters, t-shirts. JPGs and PNGs are standard files for web use, and it’s easy to export a vector logo as those files. Unfortunately the opposite is not true; the only way to export a JPG as vector art is to manually redraw it.

Another reason your logo needs to be designed in vector format is for color separation. These days, the majority of what we print is full color, so full color logos are fine for business cards or stationery. However, if you want to screen print your logo on something (t-shirts), chances are you’ll need to have a 1 or 2 color logo. You can’t really create a true 2 color logo in Photoshop.

Q: How do I know if my logo is vector or raster?

If it’s one of the vector file types (PDF, EPS, AI, SVG), and the lines look crisp, you’re probably ok (though not always – you can open an image in Illustrator and save it as an AI file… but it’s still an image).

If it’s one of the raster file types, then it’s a raster file (JPG, PNG, GIF, PSD, TIF). TIF is high-res format, so that’s a better sign, though still not ideal. If care wasn’t taken to ensure your logo was designed in vector format, chances are it was also not created at 300 dpi. If you print the logo on business cards, it might be ok, since they’re small. But if you need to create a poster, it’s probably not going to look great. Every case is different though – if you aren’t sure, feel free to send us your logo and we can make specific recommendations.

Q: What if my logo is a raster file?

You have two options:

  1. Option 1: Contact whoever originally created your logo, and ask if they have vector artwork. Occasionally the logo has been created in the proper format, but either the original files were never sent to you, or if they were, they got lost or buried in a folder somewhere. Most of the vector formats can’t be viewed without the proper software, so it’s common for business owners to be using the wrong file types, simply because those are the only ones they can actually open. I always send our clients vector logos in PDF format to avoid this issue.
  2. Option 2: If your logo was NOT created in vector software and is too low-res for your project, you’ll need to recreate it in vector format. This is pretty standard in the printing industry (I’ve recreated a massive amount of logos over the years). It happens so often with new clients I just add logo recreation to the estimate if I know we’ll need it. The amount of time required depends on how complex your logo is, but a quick look is all I need to give you a time estimate. The good news is once it’s been rebuilt you won’t have to do it again. At cyclone press, if we’re recreating a logo, we can also redesign it somewhat if it needs a little help (see examples of redesigned logos here).

Q: Why can’t I just save my raster logo at a higher resolution?

This doesn’t really work, and here’s why. If you have a raster file composed of 500 pixels, and you increase the image size, you still only have 500 pixels.

You can increase the dpi at the same time (this is called resampling), but Photoshop has to guess the colors in between the pixels that are already there. You’re not really improving anything, because your logo will actually lose sharpness. Sure, it will get bigger, but it will also get blurrier.

we can design, re-design, or recreate your logo in vector format.

Every logo we design is created in Illustrator as vector artwork. We save multiple versions of logos for our clients – a standard full color for print (CMYK), color for web (RGB), a black & white version for printing on your desktop printer, and a 1 or 2 color version (PMS colors) for certain printing applications. We’ll even create portrait and landscape versions, logos with or without taglines, whatever your business needs.

We keep logos on file, so if you misplace your vector versions, send us an email and we’ll resend it. We can create new versions if you want something like a 10th anniversary logo. We can even talk to the company producing your custom mugs about the logo formats and sizes they need, and send it directly to them. Brand management is what we do.

Need to recreate your logo? It’s a standard hourly rate and a quick and easy estimate. Click below to send us an email, and just attach a copy of the logo you need to recreate or redesign.

REQUEST LOGO REDESIGN ESTIMATE

Still have questions? Anything that wasn’t clear? Leave a comment! We’re all about education: an informed entrepreneur is a confident entrepreneur.

by
free business card design template with bleed

In this post I’m going to show you how to set up bleeds for printing, because it’s one of the most common designer errors I see. I’ll explain what bleed is and why it matters, then show you how to properly set up your files for print production.

Q: What is bleed?

A: In general, bleed simply refers to any color, lines, or other graphics that extend past the trim line. In printing, when we say the art files need to have bleed, what we’re really saying is that the art needs to extend an extra 1/8” past the trim line. Bleed, in this context, is referring to that extra 1/8″.

Q: When does my file need to include bleeds?

A: When you have a design with any elements intended to “bleed off” the edge of the paper, you need to extend those elements an extra 1/8″ past the edge. The mistake is in designing the art to run right up to the edge, but not including that extra 1/8”.

Note: In the images below, the cyan border indicates the trim line. The magenta border indicates the bleed line.

This artwork does NOT bleed, and the file size should be the same as the trim size (8.5 x 11).
This artwork DOES bleed, and the green/gray bar and stroke should extend 1/8″ past the blue border (8.75 x 11.25).

Q: Why do I need to set up bleeds in my artwork?

A: If the item bleeds, it has to be trimmed. While this is done on a machine that’s very precise, there’s still the potential to be slightly off. Without bleed, the person trimming your business cards or brochure would have to trim exactly on the edge of the art – a hair off and you’d have a white line instead of color or graphic all the way to the edge.

See the objects flyer sample. I highlighted the 1/8″ bleed in magenta. Imagine if that pink background were actually printed. You can see how there would be a good chance of seeing a pink hairline on the edges of the flyer after trimming the incorrect file.

WRONG: pattern stops at trim line.
RIGHT: pattern extends to bleed line.

ok, so bleeds are important. how do i set them up?

Q: What size should my bleeds be?

A: For most print projects, the bleed should be 1/8″ (.125). There are exceptions; for large items like posters or signage, printers want more bleed, generally 1/2″ (.5).

Occasionally, printers don’t need bleed for larger items, but these cases are the exception, not the rule. And supposing no bleeds are needed, it’s easy to crop your artwork to size, but the reverse… not so much. It’s always better to build bleeds in at the beginning of the design process. Make sure when you set up your document size, you’re also setting up the bleed settings and extending your artwork.

Q: How do I set up bleeds in my art files?

A: The correct way to set up bleeds is in the page/document settings. Your software will add a magenta border outside the trim line so you know the minimum distance to extend your background color or pattern.

In InDesign, when you create a New Document, there will be bleed settings at the very bottom (you may have to click “More Options”). Set this to 1/8″ (.125″) on all sides. For an existing document, go to File > Document Setup > then add the .125″.

In Illustrator bleeds are also in the New Document window, or under File > Document Setup for existing documents.

It’s telling that Photoshop does not have bleed options; it should never be used for print layouts. However, if you find yourself having to export a PSD file for printing, simply make the document size 1/4″ larger than necessary and make sure the art extends to the edge. For example: if your project is intended to be 5″ x 7″ finished size, make your document size 5.25″ x 7.25″.

Q: How do I export my files for printing?

A: As a PDF with specified bleed settings. This is an important step; if you set up the file properly but forget this part your file will lack proper bleeds.

In InDesign, go to File > Adobe PDF Presets. Choose High Quality Print, or PDF/X-1a:2001 if your artwork has transparency. After you hit Save, you’ll see an Export Adobe PDF dialog box. Select the Marks and Bleeds tab on the left, then click “Use Document Bleed Setting.” If you set those up properly, it should change from 0 to .125″. Crop marks are optional and depend on the printer (they can still work with the file if you leave them off).

In Illustrator the process is the same, except that you will choose File > Save As > PDF, then change the Adobe PDF preset in the dropdown at the top.

Again, Photoshop should not be used for print files, but if you must, you generally should be saving as a TIF file. The process won’t be any different as long as you’ve made the document .25″ larger (5 x 7 becomes 5.25 x 7.25).

quick video of how to set up a new doc and export with bleeds

Hopefully this post has answered all your questions, and you now understand why bleeds matter and how to use them. If you’d rather not worry about it, contact us about designing your print files so you’ll know they’re ready for production.

Most of our clients just send us what they’re thinking and we create a design, or send in new names and info when they have new employees who need cards. But the bleed question does come up from time to time, so I figured it was time to address it in a blog post as a service to any designers trying to get files ready to print.

If you have any questions, please comment below. You can also make suggestions for topics you’d like us to cover. Education is a huge part of what we do at cyclone press, so if you have a nagging question about design, printing, website development or why your Mac does that weird thing it does, let us know.

+ Load More
Continue Shopping →
Item added to cart.
0 items - $0.00
Checkout