Is this possible?

[Freddy_2040]

I own a small business and I design my own flyers, for years now.

I usually have door hangers printed at a printers, 3 per page, then I put the page through my own printer to do a mail merge and put addresses and prices on the door handles. I then take it back to get cut out. Viola! I have door hangers with addresses on them.

So now I have bought a colour laser printer and I want to do everything myself (the printing) but I can't figure out how to get my Illustrator art work, door hangers 3 per page, into word 2003. You see I want to be able to do a word merge and print the addresses and the flyer graphics at the same time.

I tried, format>background>fill effects then select picture but it tiles the jpeg and is the wrong size even though I photoshoped it to fit.:cool:


I got this feeling I'm going to have to figure how to design a half-way decent flyer with word 2003 and make that into a mail merge document.

anyway... does anybody know how to take a 8.5x11 illustrator CS2 rastor graphic (door hanger, 3 up) onto the background of a word document so that it can be used as a merge document?

[devil]

Are you on a mac or a PC? What version of word?

[Freddy_2040]

PC.
Word 2003.

I came up with the Idea to make my door hanger graphics to be a background because I couldn't insert word fields on a simple picture.

[devil]

Your right AI will not do a merge. Every time I place a file into word 2003 on the mac the file is 100% size with no tile. Trying to see if I can make it do the same thing as yours. Will get back to you. You might want to PM me. So I can give you an e-mail to try the file on my end.

[Freddy_2040]

I can't get anything to 100% with background on word. If the image is the proper size it goes a bit smaller and tiles, if the image is a real small one it just tiles like crazy like this example.

It doesn't seem to have the option to streatch like windows does in the desktop background.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/SubZero2040/tile.jpg

[Broacher]

Don't use Word background. Place the image/art instead on the Header/Footer page. If your color laser is a postscript one, you can even place the AI artwork as an EPS here and do your mailmerge on top of it in the regular page (it will appear ghosted, and low rez, but if you have postscript, it will work).

If you don't have postscript, if it's just an image-- any TIFF, JPG, PNG will do. Remember, it's all RGB in Word.

Just a follow-up question: are you sure this is cheaper than simply surprinting on top of offset printed sheets? It's not just the higher consumables of laser supplies-- but it's the time you need to learn, test, get it right. Sometimes people think it's 'cheaper' to do everything themselves without really calculating it all out fully.

[Freddy_2040]

Don't use Word background. Place the image/art instead on the Header/Footer page. If your color laser is a postscript one, you can even place the AI artwork as an EPS here and do your mailmerge on top of it in the regular page (it will appear ghosted, and low rez, but if you have postscript, it will work).I do have Post Script I'll look at this much closer tommorrow.

Just a follow-up question: are you sure this is cheaper than simply surprinting on top of offset printed sheets? It's not just the higher consumables of laser supplies-- but it's the time you need to learn, test, get it right. Sometimes people think it's 'cheaper' to do everything themselves without really calculating it all out fully.
Much cheaper I hope, I bought a lexmark 510 colour laser, it has no smart chips and the high yield toner refill kit is under $200 (5000-8000 pages at 5% I already bought one on ebay) I'm not going to drench the door hangers in ink just want to high light some things. I figure with 67lb card stock, 3 door hangers per page, (I got a paper cutter and 1.5" hole punch) and toner and replacement parts for the laser printer... there is no duty cycle with this printer but it can be serviced easily by anyone (or so they say) --- well you're right, I haven't worked out the real costs and I'm just guessin based on my experience with buying bulk ink for ink jets (I would refill for about 10% cost of new cartridge) for laser I est.

$260 in 67lb paper 8.5x11 = 5000 sheets
$400 in toner to print both sides.
$100 for maintence (photo whatever and new cartridges when necessary, you can only refill them so many times, etc.)

$760 for 15,000 (1/3 page) door handle flyers in full colour.


last fall I paid $500 for 6000 black & white door handle flyers and was disapointed with the quality of the actual door handle cut it was too skinny and I ended up telling the guys to just drop it in their mail box like a flyer.

Last week I was quoted full colour for 5000 sheets, one side only, 20 lb paper, $800. I'm sick of black and white flyers and door handles but I don't want to pay what printers ask.

Really the biggest cost is delivery, I have to pay guys and baby sit them all day to insure the door hangers are delivered properly because they have addresses on them. But in the end they are 10x more effective than flyers with no prices.

[Broacher]

CS,

If you're going to place the AI as EPS, be sure you're working with an EPS copy that has been 'retro-saved' to an earlier version, say AI8. I just don't know how robust the Word filter is. Speaking of which, you might have to go back to the MS Office install disks to install the EPS import filter.

Good luck!

PS: when you place a graphic in Word, you almost always have to format it's layout tab to eleminate auto-resizing. If you make the graphic go 'behind the text' and link both hor. and vert. position to 'Page', it will make your life a lot easier.

[n2design]

Please never use word as a design tool, word is just that only used for writing text. If you have your own business it will be a tax write off if you buy all the proper equipment. Buy a new computer with all the upgrades. Get Adobe CS and start learning the programs, you can even go to some classes and it will be a tax write off. Also if you refill your ink they will never look like the factory bought ink. You will be able to tell a difference in them. But I guess anything is better then B&W!

Remember: Printers need your work, never agree to the amount a printer first quotes you; if you don't print they don't get paid. Talk them down even if it is only $50 you have to get in the mind-set that they need you and you need to get something printed, you should have more then one printer where you live, make sure to remind the printer of that too. that helps with the price cut!

[PrintDriver]

^That is a very funny post.^
Especially when read by a printer.

"Go out and buy..." was not the answer Freddy was looking for. He's trying to set up a mail merge. (Yes you can do a data merge with InD but he has Word).

But I also don't think, judging by the breakdown that Freddy has here that he has figured in his own labor cost to babysit the printer and do the cutting. Add an hourly rate there Freddy and you may find that you come pretty darn close to your print vendor's cost.

["Technical" Terry]

Freddy,
If you are using Illy CS2 to design your door hanger, I have to assume that you also have InDesign CS2?? If so, place your file in it and do your mail merge within InDesign. I won't go into great detail as to all the steps since it is in the help file, but to get started goto Window>Automation>Data Merge

[Freddy_2040]

But I also don't think, judging by the breakdown that Freddy has here that he has figured in his own labor cost to babysit the printer and do the cutting. Add an hourly rate there Freddy and you may find that you come pretty darn close to your print vendor's cost.
Yeah I left that out.:D

I think I will pay to have the cut done but the hole I'll do myself, I have hole punch but I'm also looking into a paper drill. The thing is when I bring flyers to a printers they shuffle them around a lot and then I have to resort them to make sure the addresses are all in order and bundle them into streets. They can cut the card stock all in one shot without messing them up and do it while I'm there.

ALso I still get a big kick working on my flyers desiging and producing. I'm the only person I know that can produce door hangers with addresses and prices...not saying that I will do it forever but for now its my niche:)

[Freddy_2040]

Freddy,
If you are using Illy CS2 to design your door hanger, I have to assume that you also have InDesign CS2?? If so, place your file in it and do your mail merge within InDesign. I won't go into great detail as to all the steps since it is in the help file, but to get started goto Window>Automation>Data Merge
Terry!! Are you saying that I can bypass Word altogether and simply merge data from excel to an AI via InDesign??:eek:

Yeah, I got the whole CS2 package, I never even looked at InDesign yet though. I

I gotta lot to do this mourning regaurding this new info, I guess its a good thing business is so dead this time of year:cool:


Edit: well, I found this - very good. http://studio.adobe.com/us/tips/tip.jsp?p=1&xml=indcs2at_datamerge&id=101935

[Freddy_2040]

Oh Yes! my problem is solved. thanks to all esp. Terry.

I was able to make a source file for InDesign (comma-delimited .csv) and found out how to import the .ai grahics and was able to make a merge on top of it. ITS FANTASTIC. So much easier to set up the merge fields and move them around to the proper spots on my flyers than word ever was.

Thanks a lot guys.

["Technical" Terry]

Excellent. Glad it worked out. Have fun with InDesign!