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Tips for designing your
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There's nothing like having your own pictures or artwork printed on the cover of your laptop especially when that can be done without much of a fuss.
There are numerous companies that offer you the flexibility of uploading your images on to their sites or send those images across through e-mail. Then they check the compatibility of your images and contact you in case of any changes required. They give you a preview of your end product.
What exactly do I mean by the compatibility issues with laptop stickers ?
There are numerous things that might go wrong and the end product might vary a lot from the originally conceived one. Say when you design your logo/image for the laptop sticker it looks sharp and crisp. But that image would not be the same when it's printed on a sheet of larger dimensions. Thus the design should be made so as to make it appear perfect on the material where it is supposed to be printed.
When you opt for designing and editing your own images for laptop stickers, do take care of the certain things mentioned below :
Measurements
Proper measurement early on will save you a lot of time eventually. Moreover you need not do a lot of cutting later on which soaks on a lot of time and of course if gone wrong might make the laptop skin useless or may destroy it's aesthetic appeal.
The length and width are the two major concerns. Decide before hand if you want to paste the laptop skin only on the outer side or if you want to cover the inner side as well. Though a properly positioned skin would be enough to cover the laptop top still I have seen people who are bothered about covering those microscopic segments at the remote corners and sides. For such people covering both sides would be better. A word of caution though, it's going to take a bit more time than covering one side. But then the rewards are great as well, for the perfectionist in you.
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Graphics Program
While working with your graphics program, don't get carried away with the looks of the image on your system.
Usually on your screen an image at 72 DPI (Dots Per Inch) and 2" by 3" dimension might look satisfactory but when that image is printed on a space as big as your laptop case there will be a lot of distortion. For a sharp image on the laptop case you might need an image at 150 to 200 DPI. So it's better to use the highest resolution images available for your art work.
You might increase the size of the images to fill up the space, but remember that enlarging the images will lower the DPI, which will make the end result look more grainy. keep in mind the surfaces and obstacles that you will be applying the skins to on your case. It might so happen that the most important parts of your image on the skin be cut off to accomodate some obstacle. Avoid this by careful planning early on.
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Saving File
Files can be saved as pictures in numerous formats viz jpg, tif, png, bmp etc. Each of them has it's own advantages and limitations. Not getting much into the technicalities right now I would rather advice to save it as a high quality uncompressed jpg.
No hard feelings at all if you want to save it in some different format.
Next you need to mail your design to the company that you have chosen for the printing services. You must compress the file before sending it. Compress it in .zip, .rar or .sit format. This will help the file in transit.
All done...
Now wait for a few days to have your custom designed laptop stickers delivered to your home. Cut it as required and then paste it on your laptop to give it a brand new look and feel.
And don't forget to give me my share of the complements you get...just kidding.
Return from laptop stickers to laptop skins
