Small Business Design Resources

How to remove the background of an image in Photoshop using the Magic Wand tool

It’s best to use the “Magic Wand” when you’re working with an image that has a high contrasting color between the main graphic and the background. It works best when the background is a solid color.

Before we get started, you need to rename the “background” layer.
This is the most important step to get this process right.

When you open your image you’ll notice that your layer in the Layers pallet is named “background.” You need to rename this layer to anything else besides “background.”

Here’s how to do this:

Double-click on the “background” layer, a pop-up window will appear, name the layer anything that you want or just leave it as Layer 0 and hit OK.

Ok, now you’re ready to remove that background layer.

Choose the “Magic Wand” tool and then start selecting the background. In our case it’s the blue sky behind the yellow flowers. Hold the shift key to select multiple areas at once.

NOTE: If you’re image has the high contrasting colors between the image and the background like we have, it’s best to set your “Tolerance” level to 100 and keep Anti-alias and Contiguous boxes checked. This will let you select the background easier.

After everything is selected, hit delete on your keyboard and your background will be removed. Notice instead of your background you see the checkerboard pattern; in Photoshop this means that the background is transparent.

That’s it you’re done!
Just don’t forget to save your hard work.

If you want to practice with this same image, you can download a copy at http://www.flickr.com/photos/77682540@N00/3414300515/

Who Needs a Website These Days?

Your business is small, you’re just starting out and you don’t have any employees. You may be asking yourself if you really need a website. After all, not all businesses are destined for internet selling. The fact is, today, more and more businesses both large and small realize that having an internet presence, even if you don’t directly sell through the internet, is vital to doing business in today’s market place. Ever since the early 80s when the internet first took hold, the importance of the medium has been steadily growing. Today if your business doesn’t have a website it’s not taken seriously, it’s the first place most people turn when they are looking for information about a company be it their address and phone number, their price list, opening hours or inventory.

Staying Ahead of the Competition.

In an article dated July 9, 2007, AdvanceMe Inc, a leading provider of funding for small and mid-sized businesses, reported on the findings of the Capital Access Network Small Business Barometer:

http://www.capitalaccessnetwork.com/documents/SurveyResultQ22007.pdf .

AdvanceMe distilled the results and made the following statement about small business owners:

“The results reveal an understanding of the importance of promoting their business presence on the Web with 68 percent utilizing first generation search engine optimization tools to help drive traffic, and another 58 percent using some form of online advertising.”

http://www.advanceme.com/press/2007/press_release070907.aspx

Having an internet presence sets you up as a first class provider and lets your customers have access to your store to answer simple questions even when your brick and mortar store is not open for business.

What are these small business owners doing with their websites?

If you have a business that is not built around internet selling, like many of the business owners in the survey, you may be wondering what these small business owners are doing on their websites. Here are some of the things they are accomplishing:

• Setting themselves apart from the competition

• Providing information about hours of operation and inventory to their customers

• Providing email access via their “contact us” page so customers can ask them questions

• Providing an opportunity for partners and affiliates to sell their products

• Advertising promotions, sales and new products or services

• Reaching customers who do not live in their local area

• Letting customers see pictures of their products

• Blogging – providing information on a weekly basis – staying in touch with customers

Reach More People, Offer a Better Service

People turn to the internet more and more frequently. A decade or two ago, people looking for a local business would turn to the yellow pages of their local telephone directory. Today, more and more people turn first to the internet and do a search on businesses in their town. Let’s say you have a dry cleaning service which really cannot be done over the internet. You may think having a website is a waste of time. But if your competition has a website, and their name comes up in the search engine, they are likely to get more business than you from travelers, new residents, and people who simply want to change dry cleaners.

Coin Laundry image from Flickr

If you have a website you can not only reach your dry cleaning customers, you could develop an email service to let people know when their dry cleaning is in, let them know about special offers. You could use the website to advertise extra services such as alterations, tailoring or shoe repair.

No matter what your business, with a little imagination, you will be able to think up several ways that you can improve or enhance your service with an internet presence even if all your customers are local. You could even use the website to increase income by using advertising for similar products on your site.

Social Media Marketing Success – Three Steps on How to Maximize Your Efforts

Social Media.

Social Media Marketing.

THOSE 2 things has been written and talked about the last 2 years a LOT. But believe it or not, not a lot of small businesses or home businesses are using this powerful business and marketing “Zone” yet. Many people, because it is on the internet, shy away for it as if it were the plague.

“I am not a geek” people tell me. Well, we have “ungeeked the geek” for many small and home business owners, and made social media make sense to them

But there are exceptions.

I was talking with a business owner the other day and she made the comment, “I don’t go to those kind of sites. I don’t have time to do that as my business is struggling and I need to go and find more customers.”

That says it all.

That shows a total lack of understanding of what social media/web 2.0 is really about, and what it can do for the average small business and home business -even on a local basis. If people really “got it” about social media marketing, they would be running to the social media zone and staying there.

There is a lot of talk that it is not “proven” as it is too new and the jury is still out on it being a viable marketing process.

I totally disagree. The social media marketer is paving a path for those to follow through a jungle that has never been explored, nor walked. People like proof. People like results. But it is the social media marketer that will create the way that will birth new millionaires with business folks who do “get” the Web 2.0 world. It is not that hard to understand either.

If you can send an email, you can “do” social media marketing. You can master twitter, facebook, myspace, blogs, wikis, podcasts, article marketing, and all the other parts of the new media, if you can send an email. Yes, there is a learning curve, and yes, it does take a little effort-but what doesn’t? We have expanded our business tremendously with social media tactics, and everyday, we wake up with dozens of new leads for our training and consulting business in our email box. How would you like to have that happen to you?

You can. You can tap into an endless pool of leads that will just keep increasing, if you decide to jump into the Social Media zone. And we will be glad to teach you how to maximize for maximum Success with your Social Media efforts.

All you need to do is make a decision that you will take the time and study and learn social media a little at a time, and learn the culture, and the processes of each website.

Here are 7 websites that you must register with to get started in social media if you have a small or home business. Each have “help” tutorials or videos about how to use them properly, and also there is a LOT of information on the web as well on “how to”:

1) http://www.facebook.com
2) http://www.twitter.com
3) http://www.mashable.com (A GREAT website for learning generic social media.)
4) http://www.stumbleupon.com
5) http://www.digg.com
6) http://www.youtube.com

And then do three things after learning how the site works:

1) CONNECT.
2) COMFORTABLE.
3) CONSTRUCT.

1) CONNECT.
The main thing you need to do is connect with people on these sites, and become a friend with them. Most of these sites have a process to befriend folks. Follow their process. Sound easy enough? But there is a type of friend that we teach that you must become. An “Addition Friend.” This is simply a friend that ADDS to people’s lives, not takes.

On the social media scene, most people are looking to Add, Enhance, Increase, and Enlarge a part of their life. YOU must help them do that with connecting with them and showing them new information about what you do, and how what you do can help them and change them for the better. It MUST not ever be a sales pitch, but simply information that will impact them enough that they may want to connect with you further about that in their life.

If you are a real estate agent, give them info on the 5 Biggest mistakes made while buying a home. If you are a CPA, give them some info on the 3 biggest mistakes made on tax returns. If you are in skin care, give them the 7 best ways to keep your skin healthy. You get the idea. You can find this type of information all over the web. Just send them the web address (url) to the article or blog post with a short note saying you thought of them when you ran across this.

We call it “Connection Marketing” and it WORKS when you allow it to.

CONNECT with the person –> CONNECT with their goals –> then CONNECT them to valuable information that will help them achieve them. Then most of the people Will then connect with your interests and be willing to help you with yours.

2) COMFORTABLE.
You must get the people on the social media sites COMFORTABLE with you.

How?

Talk about them, and how you can help them reach their goals and dreams- either with what you do, or with what you know. We call it “Comfortable Conversation(TM).” You must hold online “conversations” with people and get them comfortable with you, and comfortable with staying connected with you. You do this by talking about what THEY are interested in, and then you PROVE to them you are serious about adding value to their life.

It is ALL about Value in the social media arena. People expect Value in your messages and communication, and if you give them things that will help them in their endeavors, (blog posts on their industry, articles on doing what they do better, etc,) they will get very comfortable with you, and even helping you with YOUR endeavors. They will be moving towards you quickly if you practice that focus in your social media efforts.

3) CONSTRUCT.

Simply, in Social media Marketing, you must Construct a bridge between you and the person that eventually leads OFFLINE and onto the telephone.

THAT is the secret to Success in social media marketing. We call it the “TIO Factor.” Take It Offline and let the personalization begin.

You have connected with the person- in person-at least in voice.

You have gotten them comfortable with you by your interest in helping them achieve their goals.

Now you must construct a path that allows you to say, “What is your contact number? I would love to chat with you for real over the phone.” Then just do that. It may take a few days or a couple of weeks. But if you could pick up 10 new customers with this conversation would it be worth it?

Of course it would be. And how would you do that?

Ahhh–That is another article on Social Media Marketing Success.

blessings…doug

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/social-media-marketing-success-three-steps-on-how-to-maximize-your-efforts-620359.html

About the Author:
Doug Firebaugh is one of the top MLM Network Marketing Trainers in the world. Over a million people a month read his training ezine. He spent the last 7 years traveling the world speaking and training on Success. He lives in Birmingham Michigan, and you can receive a FREE subscription to his training ezine- The MLM Success HEAT- at: http://www.passionfire.com/pf_heat_4.html http://www.passionfire.com

Adding Images to Your Website

Pictures and images make a web page pop and add color and visual interest to your web page. They illustrate your products so that customers can see what they are buying, they attract and entice people to stay on your website and they provide helpful clues if you are describing a “how to” process.

Finding good graphics for your site can be time consuming and costly. It is not as simple as searching on Google Images and downloading whatever you find. Most pictures, images and in fact any content that is visible on the internet, is protected either explicitly or implicitly by copyright. We do not recommend downloading pictures that you find on the internet unless you have either paid for them or the site explicitly tells you that they are available for public use. Just because you don’t actually see a copyright notice on a web page or image does not mean that anyone can use it. There is a wealth of information available about copyright laws, but for the best information, go straight to the source at www.copyright.gov

There are some good websites that publish photos and pictures expressly for public use. Some of these require payment. The cost of graphics can vary widely from completely free to hundreds of dollars. Purchase price depends on size but you can find great photos for just a dollar or so. Try www.istock.com for some great pictures at reasonable prices.

Here are some handy links to free image sites (but be sure to check their rules also), or you can go to www.everystockphoto.com which searches multiple free sites for you.

Free sites for images:

www.sxc.hu
www.morguefile.com
http://flickr.com/creativecommons
www.stockvault.net
www.photogen.com
www.freedigitalphotos.net
http://public-domain-photos.com
www.freerangestock.com

Taking your own pictures:

While it is convenient to use pictures that already exist there is no reason why you shouldn’t also incorporate your own. The most obvious reason you would do this is if you want to include a photo of yourself or your team on your web site. With today’s digital cameras taking great shots is not as hard as it used to be. Here are a few tips for taking great pictures

• If you’re going to use the photo you take only for web purposes, make sure you set your camera to the lowest megapixel resolution (no less than 1MP). This will prevent you from uploadling large files that can slow down the loading of your website.
• Keep the background simple with no clutter and a single color that contrasts well with your foreground image.
• For faces, don’t get too close and experiment with taking shots from different angles, not just straight on.
• Don’t zoom. Using the zoom can produce a fuzzy picture unless you are using a high quality camera.

4 Color Printing and Understanding Color Management in 5 Ways

Majority of the print materials is done through offset printing that is integrated with 4 color printing or four-color process printing. It has gained a following of many small businesses and entrepreneurs who are looking for high-quality prints in the most cost-effective means.

It produces photographic quality full color prints at cheaper cost per unit, compared to inkjet printing, and other printing processes.

However, as popular or common this process maybe, some people still fall into certain pit traps. Some people set certain expectations to find they have actually been asking too much.

Things to Consider with Color Management

Think about how colors work. Think how the colors you’ve worked on will actually appear on print. There is a discrepancy with what you see and what you may get. Computer screens and prints are different media. Think about these and other things that would affect your prints.

1. Color limitations
The CMYK can only but closely match itself to the closest possible colors projected on the computer screen. The color gamut of CMYK, although relatively large, is not enough to encompass the thousands of color hues there are.

2. Monitor Calibration
What we see in our computer screen is different from what will be printed out on presses and even in desk jet printers. The computer monitor has a different color profile and produces color through RGB. Prints that are printed in CMYK cannot fully capture the colors present in RGB although it can match accurately up to a certain point or degree.

3. Machine Calibration
To maintain colors or color profiles of your design, from the pre-press department’s computer to your print out, a printing companies machines and computers are calibrated. This means it will preserve the original look and colors of your design throughout.

Added to this, whatever the material you choose, be it a 100 lb. Gloss Text paper or a 14 pt. Gloss Cover stock, the presses are still calibrated to maintain consistency in the print output. The presses are configured to recognize the properties of these paper stocks to produce prints in premium condition.

4. File Conversion and Compression
Some or part of your data can get lost along the way in the process of translation. Your files for offset printing works differently from that of your desk jet printer. The latter can process your RGB files and print it out automatically. In offset printing, you need to work in CMYK mode or convert your RGB files into CMYK.

For file compression, you may risk the image quality of your file because data compression like files saved in jpeg may lose some information. In return, the image quality of the file may be affected or compromised. Avoid this problem by saving in lossless files such as .tiff or .eps.

5. Paper finishing.
Matte paper has a polished but dull surface that gives it a natural feel. Because the paper surface is different from the standard gloss and high-gloss, matter paper absorbs more light without reflecting it back.

Gloss paper, as the name indicates, has a polished smooth surface that possesses a soft gloss. The High Gloss coated stock or UV coated gives your prints a striking and reflective surface with the sheen or gloss it has. It also has the ability to make colors more vibrant unlike the two other paper stocks.

Manage and know the issues concerning color management. And let your 4 color printing companies find the best suitable conditions to bring out the richness and vibrancy of your colorful prints. Contact your printing company now and work with the experts who can capably make your prints more brilliant.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/printing-articles/4-color-printing-and-understanding-color-management-in-5-ways-279178.html

About the Author:
This writing provides information to the readers about 4 Color Printing processes and the products and services provided with the use of this printing method. To know more about Offset Printing you may visit Color Printing Wholesale