Essential Photoshop Preference Adjustments for Sign Shops
- Are you having issues with FlexiSIGN & Photoshop?
- Do you work with large images?
- Are you designing in Photoshop & then transferring to FlexiSIGN for printing?
- Does Flexi or Photoshop crash more than you like?
If you are seeing issues with trying to use both Photoshop and FlexiSIGN, then read this article. After reading it myself, I found tweaks to Preferences in Adobe Photoshop that can make a great difference in performance as well as the use of valuable RAM that is shared with both programs!
I truly believe that making some of the changes suggested, you will see fewer issues with both Photoshop and FlexiSIGN & Print!
Finds out how changing a few preferences in photoshop will make it perform faster and better in the sign shop workflow.
Here is the link to the article. Enjoy and let us know if it helps!
https://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/essential-photoshop-preferences-beginners/
Be sure to visit our mother ship for the best in wide format printer: www.mutoh.com
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Read MoreHow to securely send email and texts
We send messages all day long, and every time we hit “send,” we roll the dice. Hackers don’t have to break into your phone to steal your data; they can intercept messages or break into other people’s devices. Once they have your email or text, there’s only one way to protect your private correspondence: make it unreadable.
Imagine if hackers were able to see everything you do online, every account name and password. All that data is transmitted through your router, so you need to make sure it’s not compromised. Tap or click for a free test to see if your router has been hacked.
One of the most powerful defenses against snoops is called “end-to-end encryption.” Encryption is a secure way to protect your conversations from being read by others. Even if a hacker intercepts them, they can’t see anything but gibberish. “End-to-end” means messages remain encrypted, no matter who is sending or receiving them.
This idea sounds a little complicated, but it isn’t tough to set up. And you can get this extra layer of protection for free.
If you’re really concerned about staying safe, you really should be using a VPN. Tap or click here to learn all you need to know about choosing and setting up a VPN.
Encrypted emails
Believe it or not, big-name email services like Gmail and Yahoo do not provide end-to-end encryption. Some critics say it’s because large data companies want the ability to read your messages.
The common explanation is much simpler: watertight encryption is hard to implement, and it requires all correspondents to participate. For example: If your email uses encryption but mine doesn’t, the process isn’t end-to-end. At some point, your message will be vulnerable.
For businesses and organizations that require tight security measures, or for cautious individual users, here are some standout services that do provide end-to-end encryption. There are some loopholes and drawbacks to each, but if you get your entire network onboard, these platforms can theoretically safeguard your entire email chain.
Here are some services known for their encryption capabilities to make your email and text messages more secure.
ProtonMail
This service has won global attention because of its end-to-end encryption, and it has become a popular option for users seeking absolute privacy. The company is based in Switzerland, a nation famous for its privacy standards, and its servers are literally buried underground.
There is a limited free version and a more robust paid version, and you can use the service for your website’s domain. The company boasts that even they – the developers – can’t read your emails.
See something shady in your inbox? There’s a way to find out exactly where it came from. Tap or click here to find out how to track down the sender.
Mailfence
This Belgian company puts a premium on security by using “keys,” which you can share with trusted individuals. The good news is you can trade ultra-safe emails with fellow Mailfence users. The bad news is you can’t send end-to-end encrypted messages to people who don’t use it.
Tutanota
You can secure end-to-end encryption between one Tutanota user and the next; and you can also create secure passwords for viewing Tutanota-sent emails on other services, such as Gmail.
SCRYPTmail
This service is similar to others, except it can also provide decoy email addresses, making it difficult for a recipient (or hacker) to know who sent a message. This could be used malevolently, of course, but it can also protect your email from abusive responses.
Hushmail
Created in Canada in 1998, Hushmail has been in the private email business for a long time. Like Mailfence, Hushmail uses keys for sharing with others. Many of Hushmail’s innovative features are fairly standard these days, but the service remains as trustworthy as ever.
Microsoft Outlook
Yes, the popular email service has developed end-to-end encryption – you just need to change your settings to use it. Outlook will analyze your email for sensitive information; but more interestingly, Outlook can prevent a recipient from copying or forwarding your emails.
Encrypted Messaging Apps
“Text messages” have evolved rapidly in recent years, and smartphones are capable of supporting a wide range of messenger services — a handful of which provide end-to-end encryption, just like email.
There are numerous services available for inexpensive or free messaging, which provide decent levels of security. These are three of the biggest; I recommend Signal first, Messages (if you have an iPhone) second and WhatsApp third, but you might also look into Silence, Silent Phone, Telegram, Wire, Dust or Cyphr, among others.
Signal Private Messenger
As its name implies, Signal Private Messenger is explicitly designed for covert communication. Its developer, Open Whisper Systems, has won accolades from security experts and cryptographers, and the system is available for Apple and Android devices, along with desktop computers.
All Signal messages are encrypted end-to-end, and you can also set a timer for your transmissions so they are automatically deleted. What’s more, the programming is open-source; there isn’t a major corporation looming over your data, nor is there a faraway server that stores your data.
Incredibly, Signal is free to download and use, whether you get it from the Apple App Store or Google Play. Not only can you send messages, but you can also hold HD video calls with users all over the world.
Apple’s Messages app
Apple users generally rely on the Messages app in iOS and macOS, which protects messages and attachments sent between two Apple gadgets. So if you send a message from an iPhone to a friend’s iPhone – or their iPad or Macbook – your text will automatically be encrypted. Text messages stored on iCloud are also encrypted, as long as you’ve enabled two-factor authentication.
Predictably, messages sent to Android users are not encrypted. Android gadgets do not encrypt SMS messages by default; in that situation, you may consult another one of these apps.
Android users often get the short end of the stick when it comes to safety and security. Tap or click to see a long list of apps you must delete now and future downloads you should avoid.
WhatsApp has garnered global popularity for its free text and voice messaging. The app is available on a variety of platforms, including Windows and macOS computers, as well as Android and iOS mobile devices.
One drawback: WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, which has come under fire in recent years for privacy issues. Tap or click for 5 Facebook privacy settings you must change to protect your account.
That said, WhatsApp does offer end-to-end encryption between yourself and other WhatsApp users. As always, I don’t recommend sending sensitive information through the app – much less compromising photos or documents – but you can use this app to comfortably keep hackers at bay.
What digital lifestyle questions do you have? Call Kim’s national radio show and tap or click here to find it on your local radio station. You can listen to or watch the Kim Komando Show on your phone, tablet, television or computer. Or tap or click here for Kim’s free podcasts.
Copyright 2019, WestStar Multimedia Entertainment. All rights reserved.
Learn about all the latest technology on The Kim Komando Show, the nation’s largest weekend radio talk show. Kim takes calls and dispenses advice on today’s digital lifestyle, from smartphones and tablets to online privacy and data hacks. For her daily tips, free newsletters and more, visit her website at Komando.com.
Read MorePrint and Cut Made Easy with These Awesome Tips
What is the Best Workflow for a Print & Cut Application?
Ever since the first wide-format printer was released, most sign shops saw the potential to create smaller images that could be contour cut and made into decals or stickers for various applications. Print and cut projects can be made easy with a few careful considerations and thinking your project through from start to finish.
In this blog, we want to show you some of the things to consider when preparing for a print and cut application and give you some tips for getting the best workflow for a successful project.
Print and Cut Considerations
Before we give you some tips, let’s define a few considerations to the print & cut workflow.
- Print & Cut Equipment
- In our opinion, a separate printer and cutter are a necessity. Most likely, many print & cut applications will need to be laminated. That means they will be removed from the printer, laminated and then contour cut. A separate cutter is good in this workflow. In addition, separate devices mean they can be used separately, you could continue to print while contour cutting.
- The width of your printer will determine the width of the cutter you may want as well.
- Be sure to choose the best ink type for your application, eco-solvent, UV-LED or others are used for different applications.
- Media Considerations
- They type of media you will use is important because the cutter you choose will have a limit on the thickness it can cut.
- Media such as adhesive-backed textiles are fibrous, so choosing the right cutter and blade is important. The same would be true of card stock or vinyl.
- Software Considerations
- The design software should be capable of importing or opening many file types.
- The software should be able to easily add and edit contour-cut and perf cut paths.
- The software/RIP should be able to control the speed of the cutter, the pressure used and other factors related to cutting.
- The software/RIP should be able to control color quality and output.
Print & Cut Tips and Workflow Using a MUTOH Printer
Below is a video/webinar on using the MUTOH printer in a print & cut workflow.
For more information about MUTOH wide format printers, click here.
Read MoreMUTOH America to Offer Awesome 1 Day Design & Printing Training in Phoenix December 6, 2019
How to Handle Crappy Customer Artwork
This will be the focus of this live training event by MUTOH America. We will cover how to use FlexiSIGN , Adobe Photoshop and other third-party programs to “fix” the artwork that customer typically provide you. In addition we will show you how to match colors from monitor to printer AND we will even show you the best way to keep your printer working in top condition through a hands on printer maintnance session.
All of this in a ONE DAY live training session to be held in Phoenix, AZ at the new MUTOH headquarters.
Best Selling Christmas Crafts – Updated for 2019
Author: Lisa McGrimmon | Published: January 21, 2014 | Modified October 29, 2019
What will be the best selling Christmas crafts for the 2019 holiday season?
Of course, no one can flawlessly read the future, but we can look at holiday retail industry trends to make informed predictions about what Christmas shoppers will likely be buying this year and how they will shop.
Retail trend data can help you make smarter, strategic decisions about how to best market your brand, provide shoppers with what they’re looking for, and create crafts that sell for this holiday season.
Beyond the Christmas 2019 trends in the retail industry, you can also look at fashion and decor design trends to help determine what will be the best selling Christmas crafts for 2019. I took a deep dive into DIY Christmas trend predictions here. So we’ll stick with examining holiday retail shopping predictions in this article.
Were you looking for the older version of this page – Best Selling Christmas Crafts for 2018? Just click the link if you came to this page looking for holiday retail trends from the previous year.
We’ll look at several sources of holiday retail trend information to find out:
- when people will be shopping throughout the holiday season
- how much people will likely spend
- where people are shopping
- what, in general, shoppers are looking for
- what categories of products shoppers will buy
- ways to apply this information to boost holiday sales
When will customers be doing their holiday shopping?
Don’t wait until Black Friday to Start Holiday Promotions
Retailers will see a big surge in holiday spending during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which fall on Thanksgiving weekend. However, most people will have started their holiday shopping prior to that weekend.
In fact, Thanksgiving is late in 2019. Thanksgiving falls on November 28th, Black Friday is on November 29th, and Cyber Monday isn’t until December 2nd. Those later dates increase the likelihood that shoppers will begin their holiday shopping prior to that weekend.
Last year, 64% of people surveyed had started their holiday shopping before Thanksgiving weekend (source Deloitte*).
* I’ve included a lot of stats from a few different sources in this article. Every time I mention specific data, I’ve cited the source in brackets. At the bottom of the page, I’ve linked to all of the reports I used to research this article, so you can check out the reports yourself if you’re curious.
For 2019, 37.8% of shoppers who were surveyed indicated they would begin their holiday shopping in early November. That number is even higher for shoppers who plan to spend the most money. 45.6% of shoppers who say they will spend $500 or more plan to start shopping in early November. Shoppers who are more budget-conscious shoppers will start shopping later because they are waiting for sales. (source Tinuiti)
Best selling Christmas crafts should be promoted early in the year. Don’t wait for Thanksgiving, or you’ll miss out on customers who shop early.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday present huge opportunities
How many people shop on Thanksgiving weekend?
71 percent! (source Deloitte)
So while you shouldn’t wait until Thanksgiving weekend to promote your products to holiday shoppers, Black Friday and Cyber Monday can present huge sales opportunities.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping is expanding beyond the US
Black Friday began in the US, but it is expanding into European countries as well. In 2018, online shops saw increased sales in some European countries on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If you serve European online shoppers, these dates will present sales opportunities. (source Criteo)
% sales increased on Black Friday compared to average daily sales:
- US 328%
- Spain 92%
- UK 181 %
- France 141%
- Switzerland 88%
- Netherlands 146%
- Sweden 165%
- Germany 82%
- Poland 235%
- Russia 71%
% sales increased on Cyber Monday compared to average daily sales:
- US 164%
- Spain 40%
- UK 81 %
- France 66%
- Switzerland 24%
- Netherlands 50%
- Sweden 33%
- Germany 22%
- Poland 90%
- Russia 24%
How much will customers spend on holiday shopping in 2019?
Spending is predicted to increase for the 2019 holiday season, particularly online.
Retail predictions estimate 2019 holiday spending between November and January will total 1.1 trillion dollars. (source Deloitte) That number represents a lot of opportunities for business owners.
Shoppers who were polled indicated they planned to spend more this year compared with 2018. Predictions show that total holiday spending will increase by between 3.8% and 4.2% (source National Retail Federation).
Both in-store and online spending will be up, but online spending is driving most of the increase in sales. The predicted increase in online sales ranges from about 11% to 14% (source National Retail Federation).
Were will people be shopping in 2019?
As we’ve already seen, the biggest growth in holiday spending is in online shopping for 2019, but that doesn’t mean people aren’t shopping in person as well. Most shoppers plan a mix of in-store and online shopping.
31.6% of people surveyed say they plan to do most of their shopping in-store, which is actually up by 10.9% compared with 2018 numbers. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that younger shoppers, those aged 18 to 24, are showing the biggest growth in in-store shopping. (source Tinuiti)
Black Friday is all about in-store shopping. 70% of people surveyed plan to shop in-store on Black Friday, while 50% say they will shop online.
Cyber Monday is when most people plan to shop online. 73% of shoppers will shop online on Cyber Monday, and 40% plan to shop in stores. (source Deloitte)
Where do people shop online?
28.3% of people who responded to a Tinuiti survey indicated they start their shopping research by searching on Amazon.
28.1% say they start shopping research by searching in-store.
Think about that for a moment. The number of people who start looking for gift ideas on Amazon is equal to the number who go to all other brick and mortar stores.
Amazon, by far, leads the pack in terms of where people shop online. 82.3% of people who plan to shop online will shop on Amazon.
There’s good news for those who have Etsy shops. Etsy is showing strong gains in online holiday shopping. 12.3% of people who shop online will shop at Etsy. That’s up 29% since 2017. (source Tinuiti)
Etsy’s predictions for 2019’s best selling Christmas crafts.
What, in general, are people shopping for?
Best Selling Christmas Crafts Reflect Customers’ Values
73% of American shoppers are willing to consider a new brand. But if you want to build loyalty and keep that customer, you do that with the values your company represents, not with sales.
You might attract a new customer with a sale, but a sale won’t build loyalty. The shopper who was initially attracted by a sale is interested in the lowest price, not your brand. But you can turn your new customers into loyal, returning customers with the values your company represents.
51% of US shoppers say that the values represented by a brand will influence their purchasing decisions. And 35% say they are more likely to return to a shop because the company’s values are in line with their values.
Whatever values your company embraces, they need to be genuine and demonstrated throughout all aspects of your business. Don’t just follow the latest trendy cause. Support something that’s meaningful, and make it part of your company’s core values. (source Criteo)
Thanksgiving shoppers are looking for sales
As we’ve already seen, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are huge shopping days, but if you want to take advantage of these opportunities, you’ll need to offer some discounts. 82% of people surveyed say they are shopping on Black Friday to take advantage of great sales. (source Deloitte)
What categories of items are people buying?
Here’s what holiday shoppers say they will be buying:
- clothing 72%
- electronics 57%
- toys 57%
- food and beverage 36%
- home and kitchen 31%
- health and beauty 31%
(source Deloitte)
How can you use this information to sell more crafts over the Christmas 2019 season?
Don’t rely on Black Friday and Cyber Monday alone
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are big spending dates online and offline. But most shoppers will start holiday shopping before that. Also, those who are shopping on that weekend are looking for sales, which may or may not be right for your brand. Start your holiday promotions before the end of November, or you will miss out on opportunities.
Consider offering sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday
That’s what shoppers are looking for on Thanksgiving weekend, so if you want to attract customers, consider offering a discount. For example, you might slightly mark down some items in your Etsy shop just for that weekend. If you have built enough profit into your regular prices, you’ll be able to offer a bit of a discount and still sell at a profit.
Offering sale prices isn’t right for every business. Some handmade business owners worry that offering sale prices will devalue the special nature of their handmade items. Others worry that by offering sales at certain times, they will train their customers to only shop during sales and not buy at full price throughout the year.
There are certainly reasons why you might not want to offer sale prices, but if you want to capitalize on Thanksgiving weekend shopping, it’s something to consider.
Support a cause – Be genuine, not trendy
If there are key values you’ve been wanting to embrace in your business, do it, but be genuine. Shoppers feel loyalty to businesses that embrace values they believe in. So supporting an important cause not only allows you to do some good, it can also help to build your business.
Best Selling Christmas Crafts are Promoted via Email
Whether you sell your crafts online or in person, or a bit of both, you can promote your company with email marketing.
Everyone who sells online seems to always be excited about social media marketing, but in fact, email marketing is more important than social media marketing when it comes to influencing purchases. 58.5% of people surveyed say they sometimes make holiday purchases based on email offers. On the other hand, only 1/3 of shoppers say social media influences in their purchasing decisions.
Shoppers aged 35 and over are more influenced by email than younger shoppers, so if your target market is aged 35+, this strategy can be particularly impactful. (source Tinuiti)
Retail Industry Trends Data Sources
Here are the sources of the data used in this article. Each report contains additional topics I haven’t covered here, so it’s worth having a look at the reports if you want to dive deeper into holiday retail trends for 2019.
You’ll need to provide your email address to receive two of these reports, which will put you on each company’s mailing list. You can easily unsubscribe if you don’t want to receive further mailings from them.
Deloitte 2018 pre-Thanksgiving Pulse Survey
The 2019 report should be out in mid to late November. I wanted to get this information into your hands as soon as possible, so I used data from the 2018 report. You can return to the Deloitte site closer to Thanksgiving to find the 2019 report if you’re interested in that data.
Tinuiti 2019 Holiday Shopping Predictions and Behaviors
You’ll need to provide your email address to access this report.
Criteo 2019 Holiday Marketing Report
You’ll need to provide your email address to access this report. They want people to use a company email address, so their system won’t accept a gmail address.
National Retail Federation
Holiday sales forecast article.
More Best Selling Christmas Crafts for 2019
DIY Christmas Trends – Trending Crafts to Sell for Holiday Season 2019
DIY Christmas trends for 2019. Popular trending crafts handmade business owners can sell at holiday bazaars, Christmas markets, and craft fairs.
Need a printer to make a craft? Check this out: www.mutoh.com
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