Links and Recommendations

People often ask us about machines, technology & methods used to design, print & finish our work - so we've decided to give you a sneak peek at our tips & tricks. Follow any of the links below to see more about the products used by us.

Digital Photography
Canon 50d Camera - we use a Canon 50d Digital SLR for brochure & product shoots, we've used Canon cameras for over 5 years and have been very pleased with the results.
Manfrotto Tripod - universally acknowledged as the best available, a good tripod is essential for crisp product & brochure shots.
Lastolite - lighting is key to a good shot and we've used our trusty low-voltage Lumin8 Lastolites for lots of product shots with excellent results.
Fotolia - for many jobs, stock photos are the most cost effective solution to creating striking graphics. Fotolia has the largest library of quality images we've seen (and their prices are very keen!).


Software
We use many software packages but here are our favourites:
Quark XPress - used for page layout & design, an essential tool to handle text-heavy documents.
Adobe Photoshop - used for photos & pixel-based image manipulation, it would be hard to imagine life without it. The much improved CS5 version is out soon!.
Adobe Illustrator - used for vector-based design & illustration, create smooth scaleable logos that stay smooth however big you enlarge.
Adobe Acrobat - used to create PDF files from any software. PDF has revolutionised file sharing & printing, it's our preferred format if you're sending us documents.

Hardware
Dell - Contrary to the norm, we've shunned Macs and used PCs exclusively from day one. We've used Dell Precision Workstations for years with no complaints.

Transferring Files
Dropbox  - far more reliable than emailing large files to us - we recommend this to ALL of our customers. Simply drag & drop your files and access them from any computer, anywhere. You can email a link to anyone so they can access a file in your dropbox. There's a great iPhone app too - a really easy way to copy files to your iPhone.

Other Links
Two Sides - excellent site that helps inform consumers that print is both ecological & sustainable: the Myths section is particularly interesting reading.
Cadwyn - gifts from Wales and Fair Trade Gifts from around the world.