FAQ ...
What is a FAQ?- A "FAQ" is a Frequently Asked Questions list. This, as expected, is a list of questions which we are often asked. The majority of these are presented and answered in this forum. This allows you to get answers to common questions asked of us so that we may both be better prepared, when you make your "official" contact with us. [top]
- What is the Procedure for contracting Graphics Applied?
- You have already taken your first step. If you want to talk to us, feel free to call (508.234.2915). If you prefer to use Email, we will respond to any of your questions/comments as soon as possible. GA is a small freelance business and is operated in addition to another full time occupation. We are very responsible though, and will not leave you hanging. If you want a simple price sheet click here [to be done]. (This will open an Adobe Acrobat PDF file, if you have the Acrobat Reader installed. If you need the Reader, you can download it from the Adobe web site.) [top]
- What types of Information do you need from me?
- If you are interested in having us perform work for you, we will send you a questionaire based on what type of service you may be looking for. If you want business cards, we will be requesting specific business information. If you have a logo for us to utilize, we would like a digital version of it. If you do not have a digital format, we can scan what you have and make any necessary modifications. If you already have a printshop who you would like to print your stock, we can work with them, providing them with whatever is needed to produce the final job. (If you don't have a printer, we can find one for you.) Generally, we would like to meet with you or at least converse with you, in some manner. Whatever job we are serviced to do, we will also ask you to sign a contract, once the proposal has been accepted. A link to a sample will arrive shortly. [top]
- Can you design a logo for my company?
- Graphics Applied would be more than willing to design your company logo. It will also be delivered to you on a CD or disk (which ever you prefer), so that you may use it in the future. Logo design can be very time consuming - or not - depending on what you have in mind. We can take your ideas and publish them for you - or else offer you some of our own - based on your company profile. Again, we would wish to communicate more personally with you regarding this type of service. (We will probably ask that we be able to use the logo as a means of displaying who our clients are and what we have accomplished for them.) [top]
- How much do you charge?
- This really depends on what you're looking for and how much creativity, or even just how much "running around" we might need to put into the "job". If you provide us with original artwork, for example, to be placed on a simple letterhead or business card layout - for delivery to your printer - our turn around should be quick and our price reasonable. On the other hand, if you want us to find and acquire print services, we would be involving a third party (a risk in itself already), need to provide them with all final press-ready copy, drop off the proofs, pick up and deliver the final pieces, and so on. This will certainly add to the cost. As another example: if you wanted a web site designed which utilized state-of-the-art programming, we might need to bring in an outside source, which could cause the price to increase somewhat. To put it in a nutshell it really all depends, but generally we bill by the hour. For simple pricing, a Cost sheet will soon be available. [top]
- If you design a WWW site for me, who will maintain it?
- Designing a web site can involve a great amount of time and effort - but maintaining it is the major chore. Depending on the type of layout you are interested in and how you expect it to change - we can do either; we can update it for you or else hand it all over to you for updating. If it is simply designed and the updates are minimal, and if you have no real knowledge of HTML, we can set you up with some basic editing techniques and tools, so that you can easily modify it yourself. (If you do know HTML - all the better.) If you choose to go this route though, and decide to maintain the files yourself, we will need to charge you, should the need arise for us to make "repair". (NOTE: We are NOT a hosting company. You will need to acquire your own ISP. We can only offer suggestions in this acquisition.) [top]
- What tools do you use?
- We are adept at a wide variety of graphic and development tools.
- For photo or "raster" image editing and manipulation, we use Adobe's Photoshop program (v5+) with final versions in TIF format. We also use Paint Shop Pro (v5) for some color depth modifications.
- For line art, typically logo design, we use Adobe's Illustrator program (v8) and supply the images in EPS format.
- If you have word processing or layout needs, we utilize either Microsoft Word (v7) or Quark Express (v4) for press-quality delivery. (Many people prefer the Word format so that thay can later modify the files themselves without having to learn/purchase additional software. We do not recommend this program though, for layout designs containing any form of difficulty.)
- Web design tools are changing and being updated quite rapidly. Sometimes we design simple web pages by hand using nothing but a program known as "Notepad". We are now, though, starting to develope HTML pages and sites using Adobe's GoLive program (v4) and depending on the final server type and OS, we can offer pages designed with Microsoft's Front Page 2000, utilizing ASP (well, we will eventually, anyway). [top]
- Out of curiousity, what type of system(s) do you run?
- We have two systems. One system runs Windows 98 on a P550 processor. This system contains a CD-R/W, a DVD, and a Zip drive with a 19" monitor hookup. It also is supplied with 128 MBs of RAM. Our other, older, system runs Windows 95 on a P120 with 80 MBs RAM. This system has a 17" monitor. We had an older Windows version 3.1 system (486 at 66MHz), but it had gotten so archaic that even we forgot how to use it. We passed it down to the kids to use, until they outgrew it too! (It was a great learning tool for them - kind of taught them about how far we've actually come; instead of trying to describe the dinosaur, we actually got to show them one!) [top]
- Where should we go from here?
- Continue to browse through our site and see some examples of what we are capable of doing. Even though we know we're qualified to be in this business, we are still amazed and so awed in our growing understanding of what this WWW and Internet can really do for us - and for you! ... As we continue to grow we will continue to share and introduce you too, to this ever expanding wide world of web! (Follow the links throughout this site, for more GA information.) [top]