Corporate Gift Firm Should Clear Up Fuzzy Transmissions With Art

By GRAHAM WITHERALL

April 9, 2001 12 AM PT

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Times have changed in the gifts and promotions industry. Longtime favorites such as pens and note pads carrying corporate logos are giving way to more elaborate items such as flashlights or handcrafted valet boxes.

The time frame to fill the orders is tighter too, said Christopher Reed, president of Logomotion Inc., a Malibu company that supplies items to dozens of corporate customers.

“It used to be that you would have 30 or 40 days to fill an order,” he said. “But today, it’s more like five or 10 days.”

Compressed deadlines and broader product choices require Reed, who has worked in the industry for 34 years, to rely more on technology than ever before. The electronic transfer of photos, logos and other graphic artwork is quicker but poses some significant challenges.

“When art is sent electronically, it can turn out to be fuzzy and difficult for our suppliers to use,” Reed said. “Another problem is that we deal with hundreds of vendors and many customers, and there are no uniform transmittal standards. The lack of uniformity can cause problems. Items can get altered in transmission or attachments don’t come out right.”

These problems can be solved quickly and inexpensively, said Valerie Shavers, creative director for Studio 8, a Los Angeles firm that specializes in multimedia and design.

After getting a firsthand look at some of the fuzzy artwork that Logomotion deals with, Shavers suggested a pair of solutions. First, scan all art at the highest resolution and percentage available. The higher the resolution, the more information a scanner will pick up from an original.

Be prepared to “streamline” the art it works with. In effect, this will transform photographic art to vector graphics. “This process is basically re-creating the artwork from scratch, but allowing the computer to do most of the work,” she said.

Specifically, she recommended an Adobe Products program appropriately called Streamline to help clean up the art. The $122 program is designed to allow users to convert scanned images into “line art” that helps improve its clarity. Shavers encouraged Reed to download a demonstration version at the Adobe Web site (https://www.adobe.com).

Solving the company’s second problem--transmission issues that can distort or lose artwork--will require a little more than simply purchasing software.

Logomotion now sends and receives e-mails and artwork from customers and vendors such as silk screen firms and embroidery outfits through Reed’s America Online account. Each of these suppliers and customers has different computer configurations.

“As one might guess, this approach is not always 100% reliable,” Shavers said. It’s not uncommon for art to become distorted during transmission.

For more reliable transfers, Logomotion needs to avoid using a third party--such as America Online--Shavers said. Most Internet service providers compress files that they transmit, raising the likelihood of problems.

Logomotion’s solution, Shavers suggested, is to create a Web site where customers and vendors can upload and download files directly, cutting out the third party from the process.

Logomotion does not have a site, and Reed, who has just a single employee, an administrative assistant, is not in a position to spend substantial time and money creating an elaborate Internet presence.

So Shavers recommended that Reed contact a host company that will help establish and maintain a site. Many of these services can cost as little as $20 monthly for the most basic sites.

Logomotion could put art on its Web site with a specific url designation. Reed then could provide this specific address to the appropriate silk screener or engraver and direct them to download off his site. They will click on the link, taking them to the art’s location.

If Reed is concerned about security, he can make arrangements with his Web host company to secure portions of the site.

Reed agreed that the time has come to try to inject some consistency into his transmission efforts. “The vendors are going in so many different directions, and there aren’t uniform transmission standards,” he said. “So I will probably give the Web site idea a try to see if it solves the problem.”

While it may not be as tangible as some of the items that Logomotion works with, clean art is a gift the company would certainly welcome.

If you would like to apply for a Business Make-Over, send a letter describing your company and its problem areas to: Business Make-Overs, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. Or download an application at http://161.35.110.226

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

This Week’s Company Make-Over

* Name: Logomotion Inc.

* Headquarters: Malibu

* Type of business: Promotional and gift items

* Status: Corporation

* Owner: Christopher Reed

* Founded: 1982

* 2000 sales: $1 million

* Employees: One independent contractor

* Customers: Variety of corporate clients

Main business problem:

* How to improve the quality of art transferred electronically between clients and vendors

Recommendations

* Scan items at highest resolution possible

* Use Streamline software

* Create a Web site so customers and vendors can upload and download art directly

Meet the Consultant

Valerie Shavers is the creative director for Studio 8, a Los Angeles firm specializing in multimedia and design for the entertainment industry. Shavers founded her company in 1995, and clients include a variety of entertainment and Internet firms.