7) HIGH RESOLUTION If your using photographs, don’t cheap out and get your nephew to take them because he has an expensive camera. Use a professional photographer (especially for food) or use good quality stock photos. Spend some money, it will be worth it in the end. I use www.istockphoto.com & www.dreamstime.com for inexpensive one time use images. The cost per image ranges from $2-15 each. If you want full rights to an image and you know you are going to be using it multiple times and have a specific image in mind, Call me, I have a long list of photographers I use regularly.
USE A PROFESSIONAL PRINTER. B+W photocopies on fluorescent yellow paper aren’t going to cut it if you want to create a professional image. Competitive rates can be found for full colour digital printing. It is not cheaper to do it at home on your laser printer. KLC regularly source’s out to multiple printers, they in turn give me great deals to forward on to you, thus the cost of you walking in off the street and KLC making that call for you may save you up to 15-20% off your end price.
9) ILLEGIBILITY Use easily readable fonts and colours. (ie. Don’t use script fonts in all caps, or use yellow type with a black drop shadow. It looks cheap, unprofessional and you simply can’t read it easily).