Awesome New Chuck Anderson Book

Wandering Off Into Space - New NoPattern book now available
Originally uploaded by nopattern

A friend of ours, Chuck Anderson of No Pattern, has released an awesome new book titled "Wandering Off Into Space." There are sixty-four high resolution pages of Chuck's projects and work. The book measures 8" x 9" and is available in a signed limited edition of 2000. A true steal at only $25! And a portion of all sales goes to Invisible Children, www.invisiblechildren.com, a great charity.



Check out more pictures at:
http://www.nopattern.com/nopattern/project.asp?project_ID=101

Great job Chuck! Keep it up!

Epson Ultrachrome Inks Freezing Does Not Ruin Them

For everyone who lives in a cold state like we do, the problem of supplies freezing is a issue we deal with every winter. We previously wrote about problems that happen to Premier Eco Printshield when it freezes that ruin the product. We are glad to report, on a more positive note, that freezing does not ruin Epson Ultrachrome pigment Ink. Epson has confirmed that pigment ink for the Epson Stylus Pro series, Epson Ultrachrome Inks, Ultrachrome K3 Inks, and Epson HDR Inks are not damaged in any way by the cold, freezing, or thawing. If these cartridges do freeze, either due to UPS leaving it on a doorstep or forgetting it in your car, they are still perfectly good ones they thaw out.


MAKE SURE YOU GIVE IT PLENTY OF TIME TO THAW AND WARM UP TO ROOM TEMPERATURE BEFORE PUTTING THE EPSON INK CARTRIDGE IN THE PRINTER!


For best results from frozen inks, you have to shake it *Very* well after it thaws before you put it into the printer.

Does a freeze ruin Epson Ink?
No. If an Epson ink cartidge freezes or is subject to cold, it is not ruined. It should be allowed to warm up to room temperature (thaw it), shaken well, and it should work fine. This applies if it is frozen solid or partially frozen. Allow plenty of time for it to warm up.

How would it possibly freeze?
There are a few ways this could happen. If you leave the ink in your car, if UPS left a package on your doorstep, if your studio is cold, or if you like to work outside.

What type of Epson ink does this rule cover?
Most Epson professional printers, including:

• Epson Ultrachrome Inks
• Epson Ultrachrome K3 Inks
• Epson HDR Inks

The printers these pigment inks are used in include:

• Epson Stylus 3800 Printer

• Epson Stylus 4000 Printer
• Epson Stylus 4800 Printer
• Epson Stylus 4880 Printer

• Epson Stylus 7600 Printer
• Epson Stylus 7800 Printer
• Epson Stylus 7880 Printer
• Epson Stylus 7900 Printer

• Epson Stylus 9600 Printer
• Epson Stylus 9800 Printer
• Epson Stylus 9880 Printer
• Epson Stylus 9900 Printer

And many other printers that this will apply to.

Epson 3880 Coming Soon

Epson 3880 will be coming soon. It is rumored to have very similar specs to the Epson 3800 but with Vivid Magenta and Vivid Light Magenta Inks. More info should be available at Epson3880.com

Freezing Ruins Premier Eco Printshield

Avoid freezing Eco Print Shield products by PremierArt (formerly Premier Imaging). They have confirmed that when the Glossy, Satin, or Matte printshield freezes it changes the chemical composition of the product. It will clump up and never work right again.

Does a freeze ruin Eco PrintShield?
Yes. If a bottle of printshield is frozen solid, it is no good and no longer usable. It should be returned or discarded.

How would it possibly freeze?
If UPS left your package outside and it froze, if your warehouse is cold, or if you like to work outside.

How can I tell if my Printshield was previously frozen?
It will contain clumps that will not go away no matter how much you mix or shake the bottle.

Does this problem exist for all PremierArt print shield?
Yes for all Eco printshield (glossy, matte, and satin). The spray cans do not have this issue.

Check us out on Twitter!

Merry Christmas! Check us out on Twitter for more updates, news, and more.

Elevate Printing
http://twitter.com/elevateprinting

Michael's Personal
http://twitter.com/msullivaniii

New Epson GS6000 Pictures

Here are some pictures of the Epson Stylus Pro GS6000 64" Eco-Solvent printer up and running.

Link to Epson GS6000 pictures on Flickr

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Great New Paper - HP Everyday Photo Paper

HP's newest economical paper -- HP Everyday Pigment Ink Gloss & HP Everyday Pigment Ink Satin -- is great for photos, posters, proofing, and much more. Priced at 20 cents a square foot (24"x100' roll is $40, 36"x100' is $60), it greatly reduces the cost of using genuine HP paper. Combined with great image quality and HP's notorious manufacturing standards, this paper is hard to beat. It was designed for use on pigment Designjet printers, but we have used it in Canon and Epson pigment inkjet printers with great results as well.

HP Everyday Roll Paper Overview:

• Great total ink absorption, producing vivid colors
• Very quick dry time
• Only designed for pigment inks
• Great price and even greater value
• Suitable for photographic use or everyday wide format printing
• 235 g/m²

HP Everyday Satin	24" x 100'	Q8920A	$39.99
HP Everyday Satin	36" x 100'	Q8921A	$59.99
HP Everyday Glossy	24" x 100'	Q8916A	$39.99
HP Everyday Glossy	36" x 100'	Q8917A	$59.99

Valuable Printing Links on Delicious

We often bookmark our favorite websites using Delicious, an online social bookmarking website.

Digital Printer's Delicious
http://delicious.com/digitalprinter

My Personal Delicious
http://delicious.com/wully

Huge Sale - IPF6100 and IPF5100 ends soon

There has been a huge sale going on the Canon IPF6100 and the Canon IPF5100. If you haven't noticed, the ipf 5100 is selling for as low as ~$800 (with serial number of existing printer) with a bunch of free paper and the ipf 6100 has been selling for ~$1500. Check out IT for free freight. I doubt this will last much longer, this seems to be way below cost considering MSRP of $2800 (IPF 6100) and $2000 (IPF 5100).

As was the case with the last IPF 5000 sale, you might want to consider picking up another printer if you already own one. When you factor in the cost of ink, printheads, and spare parts, buying one might make economic sense. For example, printheads can run up to $500. Buying two would be around $1000. If you bought another unit at $800, you get two printheads and the rest of the unit is essentially free (all the ink, etc).

Check the deals out at:

• IPF 5100 -- http://www.itsupplies.com/cgi-bin/itsupplies.storefront/en/Product/2157B002AA

• IPF 6100 -- http://www.itsupplies.com/cgi-bin/itsupplies.storefront/en/Product/1016B002AA

Remember to add the product to the basket to see the real price.

Giclee Camera Capture System for Fine Art

If you are looking for a solution for photographing your artwork, check out the Giclee camera capture systems on the DTG Web site. They have common cameras for photographing fine art in order to make reproductions.

http://www.dtgweb.com/solutions/

Camera kits and bundles start at just under $34,000. Output options go as high as 39 Mega pixels.



They also offer a PDF of some of their solutions available at:

http://www.dtgweb.com/solutions/DTG_GICLEE_%20Solutions.pdf

How to Enlarge Low Resolution Images - Genuine Fractals - Image Enlargement Plug in for Photoshop by OnOne Software

OnOne Software's Genuine Fractals Photoshop Plugin is a must have for anyone creating large format output from lower resolution (low res) files. For example, anything at 72 DPI, images from the internet, or images from lower megapixel digital cameras.

Genuine Fractals is a plug-in for Photoshop that uses advanced algorithms to enlarge images. The plugin comes with a variety of different settings for different applications.

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Examples:

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Genuine Fractals Interface (Version 5 on Mac 10.5)

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Demo:
http://www.ononesoftware.com/downloads/

Purchase:
Amazon.com
(Amazon usually has good prices for OnOne Software, check the "new & used" pricing as well)

Flickr Album Embedded - First Post

Below is a Flickr embed of images that have been tagged "flyer". These are pictures of the posters for galleries, art shows, and other events I have curated, printed work for, or helped coordinate.

--Michael

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Recommended Newsletter: Lexjet In Focus Email

LexJet has an absolutely fantastic email newsletter titled "In Focus." They cover everything from Photoshop to industrial printshops, offering tips, tricks, money saving advice, industry news, and new product reviews. Almost anyone involved with digital printing or photography can find some great articles here. This is one of the very few newsletters I read consistently.

LexJet In Focus Current Newsletter and Archives

Subscribe to LexJet In Focus Here

HP Z2100 Designjet - New Firmware (V7)

HP has released a new firmware in late August, 2008, for the HP Z2100 (both the 24" and the 44"). The latest version should now be 7.0.0.3-5.

Download from HP: HP Designjet Drivers and Firmware

TR8-MVL-U-7.0.0.3-5.fmw

HP Designjet Z3200 - New HP Z series printer

Hewlett Packard (HP) recently announced the release of its new HP Z3200 photo printer. Available in 24" and 44", it is set to replace the current HP Designjet Z3100 series. The Z3200's notable improvements over the Z3100 include:

HP Z3200 Improvements:

• Newly formulated Red ink (called Chromatic Red) --hopefully eliminating the Orange color problem on some Z3100's
• Improved Pantone Matching
  
• Updated internal software by ErgoSoft and Betterlight.com
  
• StudioPrint RIP software is included from ErgoSoft
• Eliminated pizza wheel issues of the initial Designjet Z3100

HP Z3200 Similarities to HP Z3100:

• Speed: not any faster
• ICC Profiles: same internal spectrophotometer
• Inks: 11 colors still the same
• Same outer look

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HP Designjet Z3100 - 44" Model

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HP Designjet Z3200 - 44" Model

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There was a collaboration between HP and Nikon to create an end to end color management solution. The printer includes ErgoSoft's RIP - StudioPrint. There are additional features that work with Nikon D3 series cameras to manage your colors from the initial photographing to the printing process.

Epson Solvent Roadtour Chicago

The Epson Solvent Roadtour was in Chicago last week and we were lucky enough to see the new Epson Stylus GS6000 (GS-6000) in action.

Large Hot swappable 950ml capacity individual ink cartridges

3 heaters you can control individually.

Includes Colorburst RIP

Doesn't current work for Macs

No print driver for this, you MUST use a RIP.

Register for the event here:
http://www.newvisionservices.net/customer_register.php?courseid=58

More information on the event hear:
http://www.newvisionservices.net/pdfs/EpsonGS6000_Dates_and_Locations.pdf

The initial quality looks spectacular. Look for more updates soon!

MyEpsonPrinter.com - Beta Version

If you own an Epson wide format printer, you should check out there new online software program: MyEpsonPrinter.com. This is a remote management panel with a wide combination of other useful features. Works with their Stylus Pro printer line when connected via Ethernet. Check the website for specific model information.

Features

• Audit and track individual printer usage.
• Track media and ink for a single printer or across multiple printers and locations
• Remotely manage and view printer problems and errors
• Estimate job and print costs based upon your media and consumables cost.
  

I believe they are planning to charge for it in the future, but for now it is free.

HP's PurchasEdge - Rewards Program for DesignJet Z3100, Z2100, Z6100 from Hewlett Packard

If you own an HP Designjet Z3100, HP Designjet Z6100, or HP Designjet Z2100 you should enroll in HP's PurchasEdge (Purchase Edge) program. The owners of these printers then earn rewards from HP every time they purchase genuine HP ink, HP paper, or HP toner. You accumulate points based upon how much money you spend and you earn free HP hardware, from scanners to digital cameras to printers. For every $4 you spend, you earn one PurchasEdge point. If you print enough, you can accumulate enough points to get another wide format printer for free.The program is HP's way of rewarding people using authentic HP paper, ink, and media. To qaulify, you must spend at least $500 a year on HP supplies from any of their participating authorized dealers. This does not have to be a wide format printer (DesignJet series), it can be any HP printer, such as the 13" B9180 or B8850. You enroll on the PurchasEdge website, www.purchasedge.com, and then inform your dealer of your PurchasEdge ID (PID). They take care of the rest by automatically submitting your points. You can then check on the PurchasEdge website to see how many points you have earned and what free products you can order, using the login you create when you first sign up.

PurchasEdge Homepage:
www.purchasedge.com

HP PurchasEdge FAQ:
http://www.hp.com/sbso/partner/purchasedge/learnmore/faqs.html

HP's list of Qualifying Supplies:
http://www.hp.com/sbso/partner/purchasedge/learnmore/qualifyingskus.html

Nice interactive menu of how many PurchasEdge points Supplies are worth:
http://www.itsupplies.com
(click HP Ink and Media on blue left Column, a direct link does not work)

Elevateprinting.com back up online - offering free printing

Elevate Printing [elevateprinting.com] is back online after a short incident, further delayed due to the recent hurricanes. During site upgrades, including a new shopping cart program and a few other additonal applications, our hard drives on our dedicated server were damaged. The offsite backup tapes were delayed due to weather, but have now been restored. This also effected the email servers we use.
To compensate for any inconvenience caused, Elevate Printing is giving away free printing for the rest of the weekend. Any order under $40 will be fulfilled for free, any order over $40 will receive a $40 credit off of the total. This offer is valid through Sunday, September 14th, 2008 at 11:59 PM for up to the first 30 customers (existing customers and clients DO qualify). Limit one free order or credit per person, company, and/or address. Other additional terms, restrictions, limitations, and exclusions apply, contact Elevate Printing LLC for more information.

To place an order, use the website (http://elevateprinting.com/), email free@elevateprinting.com, or call 888-993-5382 (messages left will qualify). We expect a large demand, so if we do not get back to you before the weekend do not worry. You will be eligible if you are one of the first 30 and contact us within the timeframe. You can contact us to request a quote during the timeframe and the credit will be applied, as long as the order is placed within the following week. If you are using Google Checkout (such as for the Vector Banner Creator), use coupon code FREESEPT08 during checkout to take advantage of this discount.

Vector Magic - Convert Raster Images to Vector Images

Vector Magic is an online application and server for vectorization, the process of converting raster images (BMP, JPG, GIF) to vector images (SVG, EPS, AI, PDF). The advantages of vector images are that they can be enlarged to anysize without losing any quality and the files are generally smaller in size. One can think of vector images as giving someone directions, and raster images as drawing a map.

Vector Magic was originally developed at Stanford University and allows a wide choice of options in converting your file into a vector image. It asks you a series of questions about your image to best determine how to convert your file. Some potential uses of this are to create a print ready file for a corporate logo or text, clean up files with compression, and enlarge low resolution graphics for large format printing.

When using commercial printers, they prefer to deal with vector graphics. This makes sure you get the crisp and sharp looking output that you are expecting. Vector logos, for example, will look excellent whether they are printed onto a business card or enlarged and placed on a billboard. This would not be possible with raster graphics, such as any images you find on the internet (however, you can usually download vector graphics from stock photo websites). One additional use for this program would be to clean up files they look fuzzy (with different color squares or pixels visible) due to image compression.

This online application used to be free, and they still allow you to test it for free, with full functionality, for two images if you register with their site. They now have a variety of payment options, including unlimited online use for under $8 a month or a pay per use option. They recently released an unlimited desktop version for professionals for just under $300. I have personally tried a wide variety of these vectorization programs, including free and paid versions, and have found this to be by far the best one available. It is also the easiest to use when converting raster images to vector images. At Elevate Printing, we frequently use it to enlarge customers images for large format output onto banners and signage.

Some Tips for using Vector Magic:
Choose the correct number of colors (if it is a corporate logo, chose the number of colors in your logo). I also recomend trying a variety of different settings, as certain ones work better for certain images. Trial and error will quickly show you what works best for your image. The whole process of vectorization does not work well for photographs. It also does not work great with certain times of line drawings, such as a map outline.

HP B9180 Rebate Problem and Part number issues

Are you having trouble qualifying your HP Photosmart B9180 printer for HP's $70 mailin rebate? You are not alone. This is a common problem that has taken a quite a few calls to HP and authorized dealers to sort out. Here is what I have learned:

To order the 13" HP B9180, you order part number Q5736A#ABA (or simply Q5736). This is the HP manufacturer part number for the combination of the HP B9180 printer unit (stamped Q5734A on the back), the software CD, the power cord, the box, the manual, and the media. All of the actual printers are stamped on the back with Q5734A. You can not order a Q5734A, as it would not even contain a box, cords, etc.

Sometimes the number on the plate on the back of the printer will appear as Q5734A-002, or something similar.

Now to the rebate part: If you enter the part number on the back of the printer, Q5734A, HP will reject your claim. However, if you enter Q5736A and your serial number (from the plate on the back of the printer) it should go through online just fine. HP at one point recommended mailing in your claim if you had problems, but that is probably not necessary.

Some questions this answered:

If my B9180 printer says Q5734A on the back does this mean it is an older model?
No. This number is stamped on the back of all the HP B9180's. These are not refurbished, grey market, foreign, or outdated printers.

Does the Q5734A product qualify for HP's mail in rebate?
Yes, simply enter the part number as Q5736A as that is the product you ordered (and the product number on the outside of the box you received from HP).

International Fraud Signs and Order Redflags

This advice serves as a general list of things to look for and red flags (things that should indicate a scam, raise concerns, or trigger a deeper investigation). This serves as a good list of things businesses should look for when conducting international business to avoid scams. This is meant for Small business, Entrepreneurs, and any business who doesn't primarily deal internationally. Please feel free to add your own advice and best practices in the comments.

Important things to look for in international business transactions:

Email address the request is form:
While many people have Gmail (user@gmail.com) or Yahoo accounts (user@yahoo.com), most use their business emails with their company web domains (user@yourcompany.com) to conduct large business. The sign the customer has a real webdomain is a good sign, as this usually requires some kind of investment. The use of a free email provider is simply something to look for, as many people have all their emails forwarded to their Gmail account for productivity. If something is mailed from user@yourcompany.com on behalf of user@gmail.com, that is probably the case (Outlook has an issue with Gmail) and is not necessarily cause to worry. In the case of the Feed the Children scam, however, the original banner printing scammer was John Kennedy (depella0124@gmail.com) and the fake shipper was Evans Williams (mcdanielshipping@yahoo.com). These combined should raise suspicion. Keep in mind, however, a lot of legitimate businesses do have companyname@gmail.com.

No websites offered / the person's names not on them:
As previously mentioned, an email of yourcompany@gmail.com is fairly common, especially among small businesses; so don’t let this throw you off. However, if there is no company website at all this would be a red flag to me. Perform a quick search in Google to determine if the company has a website, or try companyname.com. Today domains cost under $6 to register, and monthly hosting is as cheap as $3 per month, there is no reason not to have some type of website for your business. If the company does have a website, check the ranking of it on Alexa (www.alexa.com) and Google’s PageRank (download the Google Toolbar) to make sure the site is actually in use and not just set up temporarily as part of the scam (some current scams are very elaborate). For Alexa, the lower the number is the better. For PageRank, the higher the number the better (always between 0-10). Low traffic sites and PageRank aren’t necessarily a red flag, but should warrant a more thorough investigation if this is the case. If there is no information for one or both of these, that is not a good sign. If there is an email address listed on the company website, feel free to contact them and verify that the individual you are working with is in fact a legitimate employee.

Misspellings in CRITICAL elements of an email:
While perfect English, grammar, and spelling should not be expected from foreign contacts, there are some simple things that in a serious request they would take the time to double check. In our example, this includes what is actually going to be printed on the banner and the message subject. For example, one email had a subject of “Bannera Request” and they wanted to have the banners printed with “Feed the Chidren” on them.

They only will pay with credit card and can’t provide any supporting documentation:
While paying with a credit card might also seem like a legitimate request, it really isn’t with new customers overseas. Once your product leaves, you have very little power if the customer claims to never receive the goods or simply decides they don't want or like them. When dealing overseas with first time customers, you should require a bank wire transfer. If you are accepting credit cards, make the buyer send you a scan of the following:

1. the front and back of the card
2. their Government issued ID
3. their last Credit Card billing statement

The first two are the most important. This step alone will eliminate over 95% of the problems you have when dealing abroad, especially in online or website situations. While in advanced and professional scams the con artist could take the time to duplicate these documents, most unsophisticated scam artists will not.

Seller can’t choose shipper & Seller must pay shipper:
The shipping policy I prefer in dealing with international transactions is that both the buyer and the seller request quotes from their preferred shipping agents and exchange this information. This helps you get the most competitive rate and shows a little good faith in the transaction. While the buyer should has the right to choose what company to go with, if they choose their preferred shipper they should pay them directly. Obviously you must make sure they pay you for the products before they are shipped out or picked up. You also should help coordinate the shipping arrangements, but you should not be required to pay for a buyer arranged shipping agreement with a buyer arranged shipping company. In the original banner scam, they try and mislead you into thinking you are making the shipping arrangements by having you request the quote from their preferred shipper (read, Fake Shipper). However, by not letting you chose the company you are requesting the quote from they are ultimately the ones in full control. The scammers in this case suspiciously don’t ask for any other quotes or ask if you currently work with a local shipper. Requesting you to forward money via Western Union to anyone is generally fraud.

Refusal to compromise:
International scammers (particularly the ones from Africa) will usually refuse to compromise on any aspect of the deal. In our original example, if you contact the original scammer and ask to use another shipping company, even telling them it is half the cost, the African scam artist will insist they use their fake shipping company or cancel their order entirely. This does not make any business sense. They cited that no other shipping company in the world knew how to find them. What is a better policy in dealing with international transactions is that both the buyer and the seller request quotes from their preferred shipping agents and agree on one to use. There are very few monopolies in the shipping industry, and the reasoning they one can avoid import / export tax or that only one company can find there location is a clear red flag.

Billing Address & Shipping Address:
A quick search on Google revealed that the billing address the first banner scammer gave for the credit card payment was actually a used car dealership in central Illinois. Ironically, it wasn’t more than an hour or so away from where I’m located, yet the person requesting the banners was in the UK. Both should alert you that something weird is going on. I called the car dealership to see if they knew anything about this; they were elated I called and assured me they did not order the banners. If you are given a phone number for the billing address, feel free to call that as well. A quick Google search of the address they give you should yeild some local businesses at or near that address-- feel free to call them to verify as well.

Refusal to use your website or shopping cart software:
One thing I noted about scam artists were the scam perpetrators would avoid using my company’s website any more than absolutely necessary. This is probably in an effort not to have their IP address and other information recorded on our server logs, which would most likely be investigated once we discovered the fraud later on. The scammers' emailed my info@domain.com email address instead of using our website’s “Contact Us” form and emailed us their credit card information instead of inputting it into our secure web store as I advised. After being contacted, I checked my traffic history with Google Analytics and I had received one visitor on that day from Ghana (who claimed to be in the UK). Ultimately, I confirmed their location by forcing them to an “invoice” page to print their receipt that grabbed their IP address after I refused to email them one. More sophisticated scam artists and con men will route to your website using a local server and IP address or an onion router (such as TOR), masking their true location. However, to save time on my end and prevent lower level scams, I have blocked IP domains from high risk countries around the world (article coming soon) using .htaccess commands.

In Conclusion:
These are just some of the things to look out for when dealing with quote or proposal requests from foriegn countries. Use your best judgement and realize that for every 4 or 5 fake requests (scam attempts) I recieve one legitamate overseas business deal (usually they can be lucrative). I have however only had a handful of printing requests from overseas actually pan out, as the cost of shipping often times prohibits your cost from being competitive. However, with the current low exhange rate and the weak US dollar, overseas companies and individuals are finding all kinds of American products and services suddenly extremely more affordable.

Best of luck.

Photo-tex vs Fab-tac Results and Summary

Elevate Printing released the following results of their testing of Maciglee's Fab-tac vs Photo-tex material. Both are removable adhesive products that can be repositioned and not damage the surface they are applied to.

See a summary of their results here:
Elevate Printing's Perfect Printing Blog - Magiclee Fab Tac vs Photo Tex Testing Summary
Elevate Printing's Perfect Printing Blog - Fab-Tac vs Photo Tex Test Results

VG Kids - great company for Screenprinting tshirts, stickers, and more

VG Kids (www.vgkids.com) is a company located in Michigan specializing in Screen printing on T-shirts, Vinyl Stickers, LP Record covers, and almost anything else you could possibly want to screenprint onto. The don't charge set up fees for the screens and they have excellent prices and excellent quality. They have great deals on organic t-shirts and American Apparel tees. They can custom die-cut stickers, another way to creatively promote your company, for an additional set up fee of $100-$300. I have personally used them for both Vinyl Stickers and 7" LP Album covers, both turned out wonderfully and I plan to place another order shortly. The only downside I have experienced is they took about 3 months to send me a sample kit (although they did notify me they were delayed).

aheadcargodivision.com - SCAM & FRAUD ESCROW

Update from a previous post -- the site aheadcargodivision.com or www.aheadcargodivision.com is a scam. They have a FAKE Verisign logo, they claim their company is registered in Philadelphia, and their website domain is registered in Chicago. This scam usually involves tickets, motorcycles, or high valued items. The site is pretty much a fake escrow service. Don't let their fancy, professional looking website fool you. They also have no phone number on their website -- another bad sign. Company claims to be Ahead Division (PVT) LTD.

Fraud email reads:

Here is how i sell the tickets so you can inspect them before i receive payment and so we can both be protected . Go to www.aheadcargodivision.com , register with them, and get back to me when you have done that. Also read their pages so you know how they work. I will start a transaction with them as soon as you agree. They will take care of the shipping and of our transaction.
I will explain you how it works in steps :
1. I give them the tickets for packing and shipping
2. You send them the money
3. They send you the tickets
4. You receive the tickets and you will have a 3-30 days inspection period to inspect them and check the name on it ( i will receive the money ONLY if you agree to keep the tickets , if not you will be fully refunded by the shipping company )
5. If all is OK and you decide to keep the tickets I will receive the payment

Thanks ,
Robin

They refuse to use any other escrow service, also a red flag!

aheadcargodivision.com - SCAM & FRAUD

Has anyone ever heard of or used aheadcargodivision.com ? From the best I can tell this is a scam website as well. They claim to have the name a registered trademark, but the US Patent office search does not support this. Any reviews of A.D. - Ahead Division (PVT) LTD would be helpful. Thanks!

***UPDATE - THIS SITE AHEADCARGODIVISION.COM IS AN ELABORATE SCAM
***READ THE UPDATED POST HERE:
http://digitalprinter.blogspot.com/2008/07/aheadcargodivisioncom-scam-fraud-escrow.html

IT Supplies - David Saffir Fine Art Printmaking Seminar

IT Supplies is hosting a Black & White Fine Art Print Making seminar Wednesday, June 25th, 2008, with David Saffir (www.davidsaffir.com) on the HP Designjet Z3100 series. The cost is $25, and includes lunch and a full day of instruction, covering the entire process from taking images already on a computer, converting them to black and white, to printing them on fine art and photo paper. More information can be found at IT Supplies' website:

Registration for David Saffir Event - ITSupplies.com

Wizard Graphics - Great Deal on Business Cards

I get a lot of questions if I can print business cards or if I can recommend someone who can. Here's who we currently use for our business and recommend: Wizard Graphics, www.wgiprint.com. They are a company out of California, they have excellent support, and have provided a great product to everyone I've recommended them to. No, they didn't pay me to write this, but they will give you a $25 gift certificate if you link to their site (I did collect on that one).

$25 for 1000 business cards, coated, on recycled materials.

http://www.wgiprint.com/special.html?cc=1

Easy and Affordable Nesting software - ImageNest

A new alternative to using Photoshop to compile multiple images for printing onto a single piece of paper has emerged -- ImageNest by BlueCubit. This program works only for Mac computers and simply compiles images together to print on a single piece of paper or roll. This program can save you a lot of time and money, it starts under $100. Check out the more in depth review I wrote covering more features and information at the link below:

The Perfect Printing Blog - Review of BlueCubit's ImageNest software

http://elevateprinting.com/blog/2008-06/bluecubits-nesting-program-mac-imagenest-review/

Another Banner Scam Email from Ghana - "God is Great"

Some people obviously don't read my blog. I am blocking all traffic from the Nigeria and Ghana IP blocks the coming days (the printing business is not typically economical to outsource from overseas). Below is another scam message I received from Rev Daniel Larry. At least this time what they are requesting printed on the banner is spelled correctly (not much else is).

From: Rev Daniel Larry Reply-To: revdaniel_larry@yahoo.com Subject: Banner Order Good morning !My name is Rev Daniel Larry.i am intrested in some " banners" to purchase and i believe you do carry some instock for sale.I will appreciate if u get back to me with the cost for the following sizes 30 inch by 20 inch .I need 2 colours wich is white as the text colour, black as the backgroud and print"God Is Great" on the banners.the banners should be 1 sided card. I will appreciate if u get back to me with the total cost of 100.00 quantity and what do you accpet as a payment.Wish u all best in business and hope to hear from u soon . Best regards....... Rev Daniel Larry

After my first quote of $10,000 USD he wrote back the following: (notice they have changed to flyers from banners)

Hello Michael,
Thanks for your mail back and i appreciate it,I want you to
contact Dalex Shipping Logistic's and mail them the sizes and weight of the products so that you can get the shipping cost for me.I will be donating the flyers to a
Orpahanage in Ghana and the delivery Address is

Osu Kid's Home
440 Airport 100 Rd
Osu, Accra
Ghana,00233

Contact person for the shipping company is Brad Miller and their email address is dalexsh@gmail.com When you get the quote i want you give me the total cost of both the products
and freight cost so that i can pay with my Mastercard and you front the funds to the shipping company cos i will busy with a Church Conference which just came Asap..Get back to me with the prices so that i will give arrange my Credit Card for the payment
of the Products and the Freight Cost..Thank You

In Him,
Rev.Daniel

--Michael

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

UPDATE 01/23/09:

If you are worried that you may have received a fraudulent request or a scam email, read the follow up article I wrote on Signs to look for to prevent Fraud on International Orders and Other Redflags

At http://digitalprinter.blogspot.com/2008/08/international-fraud-signs-and-order.html

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

New Firmware for HP Z2100 and HP Z3100 (Finally)

HP has released (April / May 2008) a new version of firmware (Version 6) for both the HP Designjet Z2100 and the HP Designjet Z3100. This is the first significant update I have seen for the Z2100, it is definitely worth the upgrade. The firmware can be downloaded from HP's website.

Make sure you download the latest drivers as well to interact with the printers correctly after you have updated the firmware. Download the drivers here - HP Designjet Drivers.

Online Vinyl Banner Printing Myths and information - Part 1

When looking to having a custom vinyl banner printed, the internet can be your best and worst friend in the search. A quick online Google search for Vinyl Banners will show over half a million results and as of this article, no less than ONE HUNDRED advertisers bidding on that keyword. Thats ten pages of sponsored results for Vinyl Banners alone. How do you search through all of those providers to find the best one to fit your needs? Use the follow rules when choosing a print shop or sign shop to print your custom vinyl banners.

High Resolution -- vs -- Low Resolution

Most print shops and sign shops offering custom vinyl banner printing under $3 per square foot are printing at low resolutions, 180 DPI or 360 DPI. The reason the banners are so cheap is because the printers they use can quickly spray the minimum amount of ink needed to create a low resolution print. This resolution is acceptable if you are not going to be looking at the banner from more than a few feet away, such as a billboard, banner for a building, etc. For Tradeshows, store displays, businesses, and other corporate use these low resolutions will allow you to see noticable resolution "dots" and when up close the image will appear fuzzy.

For high end banner applications, high resolution is needed, such as 720 DPI or 1440 DPI. The higher DPI, or dots per inch, your Banner contains the more clear and photo-realistic the image will look. For banners containing background images or photographs this is a must! 1440 DPI is photo quality for all intents and purposes and will yield an excellent result with deeper, more saturated colors.


Full color vinyl banners -- vs -- four (4) color vinyl banners
Four color vinyl banners, or printers that offer 1/2/3/4 color vinyl banners, are generally not a wide enough color gamut to correctly produce all the colors that most current banners need. Now new printers offer up to 12 inks to produce colors never before available and colors and shades significantly better than any four color banners. When printing background images and photographs onto custom vinyl banners, generally at least 6 inks are recommended -- 8 inks or more preferred!

MOST IMPORTANTLY - REQUEST SAMPLES
Always request print samples if your project allows time to do so. This can give you a night and day experience of some of the differences in quality out there in the printing world. The samples should be free or you should pay a nominal fee to qualify yourself (to prove you're really interested) and cover shipping costs. If they will print a sample for you of your exact image, that is the best but not always an option.

Online Vinyl Banner Printing Myths and information - Part 1
Online Vinyl Banner Printing Myths and information - Part 2

Online Vinyl Banner Printing Myths and information - Part 2

Eco-solvent or Solvent Vinyl Banners -- vs -- Inkjet Vinyl Banners
Inkjet Vinyl Banners are only good for indoor use or short term outdoor use. They are not designed to be durable, scratch resistant, or UV resistant. Neither pigment inkjet vinyl banners and dye based inkjet vinyl banners are acceptable for heavy use. Inkjet vinyl banners are easily scratched, no matter how many coats of protection are used on them. If they are laminated they can be acceptable, but usually the cost of laminating and the higher cost of inkjet vinyl material makes this economically impractical.

Beware of Old Machine and Cheap Ink
Make sure you are working with a company using machines not older than 5 years old if they are printing digitally. Ideally, check for someone who has the latest model or one generation behind that to be sure that you are getting a print off of the latest technology. This is especially important if you are printing something with gradients, photos, pictures of people, company logos, etc.

The use of Proper Color Management and ability to match Pantone Colors
Properly calibrating the equipment, computers, and monitors are crutial in getting outstanding performance when printing wide format banners. The ability to use Pantone Colors is another thing you should inquire about, even if you do not need them. Pantone colors are a book (swatch book similar to ones used for choosing Paint colors) of universal colors across all possible outputs. For example, Coca Cola has a pantone color for their logo's red that must be the same no matter where it is printed or what it is on. The ability of a shop to match Pantone colors is a good indication they have an effectively color controlled workflow.

Check the printers Reputation, Clients, and References
Many shops use referrals as a major source of new customers and depend on their reputation to grow their business. Many others do the opposite, leaving unsatisfied customers and moving on to the next number in the phone book. To prevent against ending up the latter, do some research on the prospective company. A good Google search on the company name and domain (i.e. Search for "Company Name" and "companyname.com") to find out if anyone is ranting and raving about their service. Don't be put off if you find a few bad reviews out of overall positive ones, but if people are only saying negative things you should avoid that company. You can also ask the company for a list of clients and references if the job size and cost are significant enough to warrant it.

The $.99 per Square Foot Banner Companies Advertising Online
I receive a lot of questions about why some companies are significantly more expensive than companies offering vinyl banners for 99 cents a square foot. Often times these are "Billboard" Quality printing -- prints made on machines designed to quickly products printing that will look good from a distance. If your application is such that people will never approach the banner (like a billboard), these banners will work great and I would highly recommend them. If you will have people approaching your banner, such as at a trade show or inside an office, I would not recommend this printing type as you will be able to clearly see the different pixels and it will not look very attractive from a few feet away or less.

Online Vinyl Banner Printing Myths and information - Part 1
Online Vinyl Banner Printing Myths and information - Part 2

Elevate Printing - Vector Banner Creator for designing online Vinyl Banners

Elevate Printing has just announced the release of its Vector Banner Creator™, an online application to allow anyone to design vinyl banners online and have them instantly printed. Creating a professional quality vinyl banner in minutes is simple with this application. It currently works with vector files (.ai or .eps) to make sure your image can be scaled to create banners up to 10 feet wide. The program allows you to resize your image or logo and reposition it on the banner. While the Vinyl Banner Creator is still in Beta version, they are offering free stuff and coupons if you send Elevate Printing your comments, bugs, etc. Future updates are due to support adding text, changing background colors, and adding multiple images. All their banners are created with high resolution printing onto top grade 13 oz vinyl.

More information and banner printing specs can be found here: Printing Information - Vinyl Banners.

Try out the Vinyl Banner Creator HERE.

Comparison: Photo-tex media vs Fab-tac media (Part 1)

Magiclee (by intellicoat) has a new product out named Fab-tac as of late 2007 due to compete directly with Photo-Tex media. Photo-tex is a removable and reposition able adhesive fabric that works wonders for a wide variety of creative marketing purposes and specialized display needs. We will post a comprehensive comparison between photo-tex and fab-tac in the upcoming week after we have the initial tests and comparison completed. So far, having used both, here are some initial thoughts on photo tex vs fab tac:

Fab-tac is porous, allowing air to escape through and easily get rid of those unsightly air bubbles. Photo-tex is more difficult to apply, very similar to applying adhesive vinyl (but with the chance to start over, at least).

Photo tex specs are extremely difficult to find. The Photo Tex Group's website is horrendous. So bad I can't even link to it. Fab Tac is manufactured by Intellicoat, and at least they have a spec sheet on there Magiclee website (here).

Fab Tac doesn't seem to be for sale online. This makes price comparisons challenging. Photo-Tex, although expensive, is available from a wide variety of places and can be purchased online.

More Photo Tex versus Fab Tab comparison information later this week!

HP Z3100 - more paper loading tips (part two of incorrect load trick)

Another use for my Designjet Z3100 Tips and Tricks post the other day.

Part One - Post on HP Z3100 Paper Loading Trick (avoid the error message)

The most hated HP Designjet Z3100 error message I see is the “Rewind the roll until the front edge is visible” message. Seriously, this is the most frustrating message I could get after I just spent time feeding paper into the back of the printer and dealing with the auto paper detection (and if you have it against a wall like our set up, you have to slide it back up against the wall). If it is ever telling you to do this, the work around or paper loading trick will work here. Lift the paper release, pull the paper forward to match the blue dotted lines, and set the paper lever down. Now press the Red X button a few times until you see “Lift Lever” on the screen. Press the X a few more times until you get back to the home menu screen and at the top it displays “Paper loaded incorrectly. Remove paper”. If you can’t get back to the home screen, try pressing the menu button and that should work (depends on what version of the firmware you have).

Now continue on with the rest of my tip (Paper Menu // Paper Load) and you should be good to go. If you missed it, read Part One - Post on HP Z3100 Paper Loading Trick (avoid the error message)

Strive for Perfect Printing!
-Michael

HP Z3100 "Paper loaded incorrectly: remove paper" work around and fix

I just spent 10 minutes trying to autoload the paper, I have no intentions of removing it. If you have this issue with your designjet Z3100 or Z2100, there is an easy fix to this. This also works if you would like to manually load the paper by lifting the paper release lever and bringing the paper to the blue dotted lines in front. Once the paper is aligned, lower the paper release handle. The dreaded error "paper loaded incorrectly: remove paper" will pop up. Ignore this, Press X instead. Once the menu pops up again, choose Paper >> Paper load. It should read the paper back in and you should be able to continue as normal, avoiding the hassle of starting the auto load over again. This has saved me a great deal of time since I figured this out. There are many other practical uses for this, such as if the front of the paper is slightly damaged and won't auto feed through the printer normally or if the cut isn't perfect along the front edge.

Happy Printing.

*Update: Part Two of Incorrect Paper Load Trick has more useful info on this.

What's the Difference between US & Foreign version of Wide Format Printers & ink?

Last week while replacing an ink cartridge on the Epson 9880, I looked on the blue sealed bag and it said "For China Only" and "For Japan Only" on the same bag. I've heard of people complaining of receiving "Chinese" ink in their printer (which they were worried was not genuine Epson ink due to the bag and the new clear / white cartridges) but never of this. So after a little digging, I discovered that basically the allocations between the countries for certain printers is constantly changing based on estimated sales in that location. The main difference between different versions of printers are the power cords, manuals, and thats about it. Most printers now accept both 110V and 22oV, much the same way computers can accept both. The only difference being the cord that connects the printer to the outlet, which is obviously country specific.

Before you start thinking about driving across borders to pick up a great deal due to the exchange rate, remember that once outside of their home countries many printers no longer are covered under warranty and often times you can not claim rebates once they've left. Just a fair warning. In response to those getting printers with ink inside marked for other countries, this is no big deal. Most of this inks are in fact universal.

I know that the Canon IPF X000 and X100 series, the Epson Stylus Pro '880 Series, and the HP Designjet Z3100, Z2100, and Z6100 automatically will switch between 110 V and 220 V and work fine with either.

Epson announces 64" Eco Solvent Printer - Stylus Pro GS6000

Epson released details to the public regarding its newest printer, the 64 inch Stylus GS6000, earlier this week in Orlando. The GS6000 is an entry level eco-solvent printer aimed at the sign, display, and decor industry. Epson has developed a new inkset, the UltraChrome GS inks, which are both Nickel free and allow a wider color gamut than existing solvent printers on the market. Since the UltraChrome GS inks also contain very low volatile organic compounds (VOC's), which allow the Stylus Pro GS6000 to operate in rooms without a special ventilation system. The only ventilation requirement is that air can both enter and exit a room.

In keeping with its reputation for cutting edge technology and vivid colors, Epson has added Green and Orange to the typical six inks in solvent printer to blow the competition's prints away in addition to matching countless more Pantone (PMS) colors. Epson's new Advanced Cleaning System also simplifies printer cleaning, reducing overhead and labor costs for sign shops. The waste from the GS6000 is also disposable into standard sewer systems, eliminating the need for special waste handling procedures.

The Epson GS6000 sports hot swappable 950mL inks, 1440 x 1440 print resolution, ink droplets as small as 3.7 picoliters, and print speeds up to 25 Square Meters per hour. Epson is working with Avery and 3M to continue to develop groundbreaking solvent media for the GS6000. Epson's GS6000 will undoubtedly change the way commercial signage, retail displays, art decor, banners, and billboards will be created. Epson is scheduled to start shipping the GS6000's in Summer to Fall of 2008.

HP Designjet Z3100 Printer vs Epson Stylus Pro 9880 Printer

Some quick pro's and con's as well as a comparison between the two digital wide format printers. This is not meant to be a complete list, simply some lesser known points I feel would be helpful if you were considering buying either of these. These would also apply to the Epson Stylus 7880 vs the HP Z3100 24" printers.

Epson Stylus 9880 Printer

The Epson 9880 printer is not much harder to operate than a desktop printer. It can simply be plugged in to a computer with a USB cable and up and running in minutes. The driver is very straightforward as well.

The Epson 9880 printer can print true 4 side borderless using the double cut feature in the driver on both glossy and matte material.

This Epson printer is still superior in the colors purple, brown, green, and in terms of photorealistic prints. One disadvantage of the Epson 9880 is that you can not have both Photo and Matte black inks at the same time. A work around to this Matte and Photo black issue for the Epson 9880 is using Phatte Black ink and the Imageprint RIP.

The Professional edition of the Epson 9880 / 7880 / 4880 printer is mainly targeted towards Graphic Designers with added Pantone, SWOP, and Postscript abilities.

HP DesignJet Z3100 Printer

The HP Z3100 printer is better at certain colors than the Epson 9880 printer, especially Reds and Blues. Having the additional black and gray inks allow for true neutral black and

The Z3100 printer can only print ** 44" ** borderless on glossy or luster material. This is not a well publicized fact but can be very important for certain applications.

Designed with basically a computer inside, the Z3100 printer is more complicated to install, network, and connect to your computer. A higher level of technical knowledge is required to operate the Z3100.

The Z3100's build it spectrophotometer can be a big advantage if you are using a lot of third party medias and need a simple way to make good profiles. Maybe not the highest quality profiles possible, but at least as good as the canned profiles the Z3100 comes installed with. By far the biggest advantage of the spectrophotometer embedded in the device is that you can return to the factory specs.

The Z3100 printer's semipermanent printheads also extend the useful life of the device, as often with Epson wide format printers when the printhead becomes unusable the device should be scrapped as it is often worth less than the cost to fix it.

--Michael

Photo Tex Printers, Photo-Tex Paper, and Where to buy Photo Tex

We've received a number of questions regarding Photo-tex paper, the re-stickable material that can be used for trade shows, posters, temporary displays, and much more. We've had great success using Photo-tex at trade shows either on the floor in front of our booth or to wrap around columns our booth is near. The possibilities with Photo Tex paper are endless. People have also reported using them as "fathead" or fat-head like posters for their rooms. The picture on the right is an application at a tradeshow, using the Photo Tex material to create a display in front of the exhibit booth.









Here are responses to some commonly and frequently asked questions we get:

PHOTO-TEX FAQ

Where can I find a Photo-Tex printer?
(Where is a commercial printer who can print on Photo Tex paper?)

Elevate Printing can print on Photo Tex for you at a very reasonable price: http://elevateprinting.com/

What is the best Photo-Tex Printer?
(What brand/model of printer should I print Photo Tex with?)

We have printed and tested Photo Tex using Epson, Canon, and HP Printers. If you would like the ICC profiles we use, please contact us. We can recommend the following printers:

• Epson Stylus Pro 9800 / 7800 / 4800 / 3800
• Epson Stylus Pro 9880 / 7880 / 4880
• Epson Stylus Pro 9600 / 7600 / 4000
• Canon ipf5100 / ipf6100 / ipf8100 / ipf9100
• Canon ipf5000 / ipf8000 / ipf9000
• HP Designjet Z3100
• HP Designjet Z2100
• HP Designjet Z6100
• HP Designjet 5500 (UV) / 5000 (UV)
  

We have had bad results using laser printers due to the heating process when it prints, the toner does not adhere well to the media. Since the Photo Tex material is a thicker media, with a canvas like texture, any printer designed to handle fine art paper or canvas should not have any problems.

Where can I buy Photo-Tex Paper?
(Where is the best store or supplier to purchase Photo Tex media from?)

Check out IT Supplies -- www.itsupplies.com/static/PhotoTex.html
They have a good price on Photo-Tex and offer free shipping.

“Feed the Children” Banner Printing Scam - Part 1

PART 1

Warning and information on the West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria) "Food for Children" Banner Printing Scam. Beware of this if you are a sign shop, copy shop, or printing company.

This is a scam originating out of Ghana (West Africa) regarding an overseas organization needing banners. Variations of the scam involve wanting custom printed glass sheets, signs, vinyl banners, or other typical sign shop product.

The organization, claiming to be a charity based in Europe, contacts your company via email (usually to info@yourcompany.com or web form) requesting a quote for around 50 items to be printed. This is the first part of the scam. What they want printed is typically simple, such as “Feed the Children” or “Food Needed for Child” in blue text on a white background. This seems to be legitimate up to this point, as most people would have no use for “Feed the Children” banners, and the whole charity aspect gives them some credibility. You should simply ignore these requests, as it is NOT cost efficient to ship such banners overseas (regardless of the value of the dollar).

If you reply to the RFP, or their request for quote, the scammer will send you a very kind email accepting the bid and requesting payment information. This is the second part of this scam. The scammer will ask if you can please take their Visa, MasterCard, or other credit card as payment, regardless of whether or not your quote clearly contains information on your payment policy. This is another red flag.

Banner Printing Scam Part 1
Banner Printing Scam Part 2
Banner Printing Scam Part 3

“Feed the Children” Banner Printing Scam - Part 2

PART 2

Warning and information on the West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria) "Food for Children" Banner Printing Scam. Beware of this if you are a sign shop, copy shop, or printing company.

If you let them know you will accept credit cards, the scammer will write back to request a shipping quote from their preferred shipping company (a fake shipping company), telling the fake shipper the number of packages, their weight, and your location. This is the third part of the scam. The scammers will tell you that this (fake) shipping company will make sure they don’t pay any taxes or import fees on the product, and / or is the only shipping company that can locate their church / compound / refugee camp. This is another blatant red flag, as it is highly unlikely that only one company in the whole world has figured out the horribly complex international shipping and tariff situation from your country to theirs.

When you contact this shipping company, they will reply with a quote and also offer services such as crating and packaging the shipment. Once you reply to the original scammer what their total price of product plus shipping is, the scammer will email you their credit card information. They will send their name, billing address, 16 digit card number, expiration date, and CVV but no other supporting documentation (red flag). The scammer will also instruct you to charge the entire amount to their card and send them an invoice or receipt when you have done this. Usually, if you process the compromised or stolen credit card the scammers gave you it will be approved by the AVS system. This is the fourth part of the scam. Once you have charged the card, the scammer will coerce you to proceed with the shipment as soon as possible, citing some rush or critical date.

Banner Printing Scam Part 1
Banner Printing Scam Part 2
Banner Printing Scam Part 3

“Feed the Children” Banner Printing Scam - Part 3

PART 3

Warning and information on the West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria) "Food for Children" Banner Printing Scam. Beware of this if you are a sign shop, copy shop, or printing company.

The fake shipping company will tell you that you must pay them for the shipment before they will schedule delivery. This is the fifth part of the scam. The fake shipper will tell you that they only accept credit cards for domestic shipments, and for international shipments you must prepay with a wire transfer (red flag). They will recommend you bring cash to Western Union and to email them the confirmation number from the wire transfer so they can schedule a pickup. If you contact the original scammer and ask to use another shipping company, they will insist they use their fake shipping company or cancel their order entirely. What is a better policy in dealing with international transactions is that both the buyer and the seller request quotes from their preferred shipping agents.

Once you have irrevocably transferred thousands of dollars overseas to their fake shipper, you will most likely never hear from anyone involved up to this point again. When the owner of the credit card receives the bill in 15-30 days they will dispute the charge with their credit card company and most likely win. This is the sixth step of the scam. This is typically were the scam ends, with you losing the money wired for shipping plus your time and cost of producing the products. If you find yourself with 50 “Feed the Children” banners, go ahead and contact your favorite charity and donate them, please.

OVERVIEW AND REVIEW OF
THE FEED THE CHILDREN BANNER SCAM

1. You Receive email from overseas requesting price on ~50 items valued around $3,000
2. Scammer asks if you will take their Credit Card as payment
3. You contact fake shipping company requesting a shipping quote and they send you a shipping cost. You send total to original scammer.
4. Scammer emails their Credit Card info and you approve their card for total amount
5. You wire the shipping money overseas via Western Union and never hear from either of the two parties involved again
6. The true owner of credit card disputes their charge (See #4), they win, and that money is automatically deducted from your account

Banner Printing Scam Part 1
Banner Printing Scam Part 2
Banner Printing Scam Part 3

Mountain Dew Gallery - Green Label Art Review

The Green Label Art Gallery, featuring Chuck Anderson of No Pattern, went off flawlessly at Country Club Chicago on the North side of the city. Thanks to everyone who came out, despite the horrible snow and weather conditions. Thanks to Mountain Dew and Seed Communications for the amazing give aways (including a silk screening kit for everyone there, with stencils, t-shirts, and paint) and all the Mountain Dew you could drink from the awesome Green Label bottles.

Pictures:

http://elevateprinting.com/chicago/2008-mountain-dew-green-label-gallery/

http://everyoneisfamous.com/pizza/013108/1.html