June 21, 2004 -- John Giles, a printing industry consultant , is a featured writer on the Microsoft Office web site with an article on how to find the right printing professional for your budget. The Microsoft site, found at http://office.Microsoft.com, and searching keyword Giles, offers special assistance to people who use Microsoft Office users including Publisher 2003, a program used by consumers to prepare documents for commercial printers. The article outlines what a printing consumer who prepares his own digital documents should expect from a commercial printer. “Not all commercial printers are prepared to take customer-created documents,” said Giles. “Unless a printing consumer knows what he to expect from a commercial printer, he could face higher costs and missed deadlines. The article discusses the better printers’ standards for customer-created files and how a consumer can avoid costly mistakes.” Said Giles, many printing buyers want to prepare their own files for a printer to avoid design costs and save time. Since Office is one of the most popular software applications used by businesses, Microsoft wants to help its users avoid problems when taking a digital document to a commercial printer. “If used correctly, Microsoft Publisher 2003 is a page-layout program capable of producing documents ranging from newsletters to business,” said Giles. “Many Publisher users aren’t professional designers, so they may prepare a document that is impossible to print. If they follow printing industry standards for digital documents, they can help the Publisher designer avoid additional costs for the printer having to fix the file.” Giles said the printing industry is much better prepared to accept customer-created files today. “Printers know that most printing buyers don’t understand the mechanics of printing, so a customer- created file could fail to print as expected. Customers need to understand how fonts, graphics and color work if they want the document they prepare on their computer to print properly on professional printing equipment. Printers have developed standards and procedures to help meet the document creator’s expectations.” Giles is the author of Digital Directions and The Digital Original. The books help printers develop and implement standards for accepting customer-created files as well as explain the techniques of using Postscript and PDF files in a customer-created file workflow. An industry consultant and speaker, he is also the director of CPRINT (Certified Printers International), an organization certifies printing companies who demonstrate business practices that allow them to provide exceptional quality and service to the business print buyer in their community. Giles can be contacted at 304-5863548 or at [email protected]. For more information, visit his web site at www.johngiles.com.