8 Points to Consider When Choosing Your Online Print Shop

There’s a reason VistaPrint is the leading online print shop, especially in the US. It’s good. Really. But it’s not perfect. Today I will be discussing the advantages and disadvantages of using Amoona Studio as compared to fully automated online print shops.

This ties into our next advantage, customer service and design support. Fully automated online print shops, like VistaPrint, have very limited customer service as pertains to the original design. All design files are generated online and sent to printing directly, without proofreading, which can lead to undesirable results, the likes of which cost more in the long run in terms of time and money.

With fully automated online print shops, all design files are generated online and sent to printing directly, without proofreading, which can lead to undesirable results, the likes of which cost more in the long run in terms of time and money.

Amoona Studio provides more design support alongside affordable pricing by utilizing a combination of templates and extra design work, reducing the cost dramatically while making sure the print files are ready to print with no mistakes. We can also recreate your existing design for free, if that’s a worry with switching printers. Our design support suits different budgets, as we offer completely customized design, high-end template implementation, template and design combination, and printing for those who have an existing design.

Have or need a printable PDF file? We provide you with a press quality printable PDF file so that you can use it to place orders on our or on any other printing companies’ website. So you don’t need to worry about being tied to us as your print shop, should you ever become unsatisfied, as you will have the file and be able to print it from anywhere. Others operate a little differently. With some fully automated online print shops, you can’t download a printable file – you can only save to their online store, restricting you to keep using their store if you wish to keep using the design you created. However, to re-iterate a point from before, you don’t need to worry about that with us, as we can also recreate your existing design for free, if that’s a pain point with switching printers.

Why care about vector vs pixels? The answer depends on how much you care about image quality, and how big you plan on making your image. The bigger it gets, the more the disparity grows, but even for a small scale item (like business cards) the difference can be seen. Pixelated files can end up blurry, whereas Vector files ensure the sharpness of the design remains professional.

Pixelated images often look poor when they are low resolution or contain very few pixels. On the contrary, vectors can be blown up and stretched with no loss in quality whatsoever.

Now let’s delve into why and how vectors and pixels are different. Whereas pixel images appear differently depending on the resolution, vector images operate independent of image resolution. Pixelated images often look poor when they are low resolution or contain very few pixels. On the contrary, vectors can be blown up and stretched with no loss in quality whatsoever. This is because pixelated graphics are made up from lots of tiny physical squares (aka ‘pixels’), whereas vector graphics are mapped out using mathematical equations to determine where the edges of the shapes sit in relation to one another.

Fonts made using vectors allow colours to be changed efficiently and the symbol to easily be scaled up to any size without losing quality. In contrast, digital photographs should always (and are always) made up of pixels, allowing for a much more efficient blending of the colours. If the image were made using vectors, each shape would have to be mapped out and filled with a gradient, which is obviously not ideal. Instead, each physical pixel block can be coloured individually allowing for greater control and precision.

So, how can you tell when an image is vector or pixel? Often, the quickest and easiest way to figure this out is to check out the file extension. As a rule of thumb, files ending in .AI or .EPS are vector based, whereas files ending in .JPG, .BMP or .PNG will always be pixel based. There are some file extensions (ex/ .PDF) that overlap in this area. The quickest way to check without access to graphics software is to zoom into the image as far as you can – if the image doesn’t lose quality, then it is almost certainly a vector based graphic.

Ultimately, there are pros and cons for both, but for a sharper, more professional design, vectors must be used for certain design elements. With us, they are. We cannot say the same for others.

RGB and CMYK are the two traditional colouring options for print and design, and professional designers use a CMYK color index to pick color so that the printed result won’t have a significant color difference. Why should this matter? What you may not know is that what people see on their screen might look very different when printed, due to colouring differences with digital files and the screen.

What you may not know is that what people see on their screen might look very different when printed, due to colouring differences with digital files and the screen.

Some sites do mention all uploaded files should be in CMYK mode, but not all customers know that the colour they see on their screen can be a lot different from the actual print. It is a gamble on uploading the correct CMYK file, a gamble you don’t need to worry about taking with us – we’ll ensure your design looks exactly the way you imagined it.

Shipping costs and turnaround times are obviously very important for businesses, both for budgetary and scheduling purposes.

We offer local pickup as well as lower shipping fees, giving us the advantage in this area. Our printing turnaround time will typically be within a week, depending on the item. We take a little bit longer than other print shops (we can’t offer same day turnaround) because we want to ensure that your design is exactly as you want it, and that you can have peace of mind ordering from us. With that in mind, if you are to order from us (thank you!), please order in advance.

Our pricing is better for many items, certainly as pertains to larger orders (which you probably will place as pertains to business cards and other mass-order marketing collateral). As well, we offer corporate pricing, package deals, an affiliate program, and reward points. For more information on our corporate pricing and purchase packaging, click here. Important to note about the corporate pricing is that it could be just the company itself ordering from us, or it could be that the company is ordering printing materials on behalf of their customers to accumulate the total spending.

As pertains to the affiliate program, you receive commission for sending us web traffic in which the customer makes a purchase by placing a banner or link on your website, or linking to us in an email, image, etc, you would qualify as an affiliate.

The reward points work in a fairly straightforward way: for every dollar you spend, you will earn 1 point, and for every 100 points, you can redeem 1 dollar. It’s a small percent but it can be added to our corporate package and affiliate program and the effect can stack. As well, when purchasing large orders, the points will accumulate quickly, and you can also collect points by ordering for your customers.

In summary, while fully automated online print shops have their good qualities, namely mass-production and certain price points, Amoona Studio has the edge in several categories, namely customer design, customer support, local pickup, print file flexibility, the pixel vs vector advantage, signup benefits, and all that comes with having an engaged and supportive print shop to help you with whatever problems may arise.

For these reasons, we believe that if you wish to stand out, have superior design & customer support, and save money, Amoona Studio is the best choice for you.