Oh, is that how it is suppose to look?

Many desktop publishing software packages offer consumers the ability to design anything from flyers and business cards to catalogs and that first Great American Novel. But, everything that starts on that computer screen does not necessary end up the same way when the disk or CD is delivered to the printer. The larger the project, the more complicated the layout. Or a design with a funky font may end up being printed in ugly plain Courier because the printer did not have that particular font in their computer system. Before you receive some unpleasant surprises when you pick up your project, stop and check: 1) Does the printer have your software on their system and more importantly, know how to use it? 2) Ask what the printer requires from you when the project file is brought in on disk or CD. Do you need to supply fonts or graphics with the file? 3) Print out a draft of your project to create a mockup of what it should look like. 4) Ask about paper as some absorb more ink than others.