Color printers Articles

Putting Digital Colors in a Different Hue

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:43:48 +0000

Putting Digital Colors in a Different Hue

by: Lala C. Ballatan

Nowadays in the digital technology world, consumers are getting more inclined in the digital imaging market. As compared before, digital imaging tools like digital cameras, color printers and color scanners became less expensive, thus more accessible to eager users. Digital colors, along with their inherent complexities accompany the boom of digital imaging technology.

With due consideration to the complaints of typical end-users that the colors on the monitor do not match with the printed item, there is a need for proper understanding and the right color model to go around the intricate behavior of digital color. Very few people understand the theory of how digital color works even with much technological advances in it. A printer?s inability to go around the intricacies of these new color technologies can lead to a general decline of consumers.

Ways have been made in order to fully comprehend and tap the great potential of digital color as a new color technology today. We have Spittin? Image Software to thank for an introduction of a new ?low-tech? invention that lay down the principles of digital color and sheds new light to digital colors. This is aptly named COLORCUBE.

The Colorcube is just recently patented in the United States. It is a three-dimensional model wherein one can understand and even teach the digital color theory. Through this elegant color representation, the gap

Spittin' Image Software introduces a new "low-tech" invention designed to explain the principles of digital color. This recently U.S.-patented device, aptly named the COLORCUBE, serves as a physical model of how color is stored, manipulated, and reproduced using digital processing. Colorcube can be a solution in order that the gap between additive and subtractive systems of color can be resolved. It could also define the computer technology methods by which colors are stored, manipulated, and reproduced.

How do Colorcube puts color in a different light for us?

Not everyone may know this ? There are 10 steps in understanding digital color. These steps are introduced in the Colorcube Digital Color Model. And we definitely won?t leave you with just a brief introduction of what Colorcube is?Here?s a list-down of Colorcube?s features and advantages as the latest color model.

How the Human Eye sees Color
Identifying Primary Colors
Additive and Subtractive Color
Color Models
Storing images in computers
Visualizing a color space
Color Mixing
Color selection
Color manipulation
Color mapping and calibration

As industries reputed in art and science converge to the digital domain, a unified vision of color must emerge. Colorcube can give a definitive model for that vision. It is a positive step that Color cube international patent has been arranged and pending. Wouldn?t it be a delight to discover color anew? -30-

About The Author

Lala C. Ballatan is a 26 year-old Communication Arts graduate, with a major in Journalism. Right after graduating last 1999, she worked for one year as a clerk then became a Research, Publication and Documentation Program Director at a non-government organization, which focuses on the rights, interests and welfare of workers for about four years.

Book reading has always been her greatest passion -- mysteries, horrors, psycho-thrillers, historical documentaries and classics. She got hooked into it way back when she was but a shy kid.

Her writing prowess began as early as she was 10 years old in girlish diaries. With writing, she felt freedom ? to express her viewpoints and assert it, to bring out all concerns -- imagined and observed, to bear witness.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit http://www.digitalprintingcompany.com

carla@rushprintingservices.com

Drop On Demand Printers

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:27:43 +0000

Drop On Demand Printers

by: Bill Smith

Most HP and Epson printers are drop on demand printers. They use electrical pulses to fulfill requests for ink. The ink is expelled out of the print head by a bubble which forms as a reaction to being heated. Once the ink is propelled out of the cartridge, the bubble cools, contracts, and forms a vacuum of sorts, which pulls more ink into the nozzle.

HP DeskJets and BubbleJets are popular examples of printers that use this technology.

Epson printers work on the same principal with the exception of a minor twist ? they use a transducer to produce the droplets in what is referred to as piezoelectric DOD.

So what about the ink ? does it matter what kind you buy as a replacement?

The answer is yes, it does matter.

The ingredients that go into ink play a huge role in the quality of your printouts. All ink manufactures work to strike the delicate balance between print quality, time it takes to dry, and nozzle performance. As you might have guessed, as the print quality improves, the dry time increases.

Manufacturers have to be careful that the ink does not dry too quickly ? there is the danger that it will actually dry on the nozzle. This can ruin your print head, definitely clogging up your nozzle, and reducing the print quality.

About The Author

Bill Smith is an expert on printers. Read more about printer and ink at http://www.castleink.com. You can reprint this article as long as you provide a link to http://www.castleink.com.

PS - Keeping your Printing Costs Low

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:54:14 +0000

PS - Keeping your Printing Costs Low

by: Karen Nodalo

If you have a low budget for your printing project, whether it is a business card printing services or postcard printing services, there are better alternatives that you can do in order to keep your costs to a minimum. Listening and gathering tips from the experts will be helpful to you.

If you have your own printer, you can ask for some recommendations in order for you to minimize paper costs and waste. Sometimes, people keep on buying papers thinking that it is suitable for their printers but soon find out that they do not actually fit.

Therefore, to make sure that you will not waste your money over papers, you need to do a little research first.

Using one color is always the cheapest way to have your printing services done. On the other hand, one color does not have to be black only. The single color can be used as varying tints from lighter shades to darker shades.

A skilled designer can adjust the different shades of a single color. For example, he can use darker shades for text lighter for the designs or photos.

This can add life and enlighten the document even if it has only one color. If this can be done properly, a customer can request for two colors and pay for only one. This can be a good way to lower your cost.

Of course, fewer colors will cost less and it will save not only on inks but also on film and other plate expenses too.

If you are running CMYK jobs, this may be cheaper to run compared to a full-color job compared to a two to three color because it calls for the biggest cleaning press and it entails mixing the custom inks.

If you have a one color job or a two-color job, you can consider to have it printed on a colored stock in order to add further interest in your prints. Your readers or customers can fully appreciate this kind of print.

You can choose jobs without colors and images that are run off the page because it will typically cost more.

You can ask the printing company if they have extra paper left and if it will not be used further because you can use it. This will keep your costs low.

You can also ask the printing company for choices and alternatives, which will keep your printing costs low but at the same time, maintain quality.

For more information regarding the author and the article please visit http://www.printingshoppers.com.

About The Author

Karen Nodalo has graduated from the Bicol University specializing in Computer Science, she graduated with flying honors being one of the top notch students of the graduating class. She has been into writing for almost 5 years now, and has been into different topics. She has also been into student publications since her elementary years, giving her the much-coveted exposure that writers of her kind battles for.

An Analysis of Lexmark (LXK)

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:00:34 +0000

An Analysis of Lexmark (LXK)

by: Geoff Gannon

In 2005, Berkshire Hathaway bought about a million shares of Lexmark. I haven?t followed this story closely, but I assume the stock was purchased by Lou Simpson rather than Warren Buffett. I have only two reasons for believing this: the total purchase was small relative to Berkshire?s investable assets and the Lexmark purchase is typical of Simpson?s investment philosophy (or at least, what little I can glean about his investment philosophy from his past purchases). Regardless of who actually makes the purchases, a new Berkshire holding always draws a lot of commentary.

The commentary on Lexmark has been almost uniformly negative. Even many value investors have a very dim view of Lexmark at these prices. Now, I am not a contrarian investor. Psychology and sentiment do not enter into my considerations at all. I?ve bought stocks trading near five year lows, and I?ve bought stocks trading near five year highs. I just try to be rational. I?m not afraid to agree with the consensus, if it?s an accurate representation of reality. Here, it isn?t. The model of Lexmark that has emerged in my mind over the past few weeks bears little resemblance to the Lexmark I?ve seen described elsewhere.

Most of the negative comments about Lexmark have focused on the consumer segment. Yet, more than 75% of Lexmark?s profits come from the business segment. The business segment is Lexmark?s franchise. There, the company has managed to build a moat, not a very wide moat, but a moat nonetheless. Lexmark is the only focused, integrated printing company of any consequence. It understands its business customers? needs, and provides specially tailored solutions that none of its competitors can offer. Worldwide, some very large companies use Lexmark?s products for some very specialized tasks. Among these are retailers, banks, and pharmacies. Lexmark has complete control of their product including the printing technology itself and the software used to manage its printers (i.e., to interface with the user?s computer). Businesses that care about getting these specialized tasks done right (and getting them done cheap) use Lexmark.

Even Lexmark?s competitors have to concede the fact that Lexmark knows printing better than anyone else. Lexmark is the only company that develops its own ink ? jet, monochrome, and color laser technologies. It is a vertically integrated printer business like no other. The two competitors most often mentioned as threats to Lexmark are HP and Dell. While everyone will suffer from deep price cuts; I think it?s HP and Dell who should be scared.

Lexmark has the much stronger competitive position. For years to come, it will be launching the best printing products for high ink consumption tasks. Lexmark hasn?t been focused on competing directly with these companies in the consumer segment; that?s going to change because of the emerging photo printing market.

Lexmark isn?t interested in selling hardware. It?s interested in selling ink. Now that there is real demand emerging for high quality printing within the home, Lexmark is going to start going after the consumer market. Over the next few years, Lexmark will be selling more printers in this segment. A few years after that, the company will see strong recurring revenues from ink sales.

Generic ink cartridges are the biggest threat to the high margin printing business. However, I believe, of all the players in this industry, Lexmark will be the least affected. Its highest margin sales are its most insulated sales. Its lowest margin sales, in its least dominant businesses, are where generic ink will hurt the most.

There is also some concern that Dell could always move away from using Lexmark printers. Let them. From what I can see, sales to Dell will not be a particularly significant high free cash flow margin business. There?s no benefit to the Lexmark brand either. That brand is going to become stronger over the next decade, because the quality is already there. Lexmark simply hasn?t been that visible to consumers. The Dell deal doesn?t help build the Lexmark brand. Honestly, I wouldn?t be terribly troubled if Lexmark?s sales to Dell dropped to zero tomorrow. Such an occurrence would not materially affect my valuation of Lexmark.

As far as I can tell, Lexmark?s management is excellent. They understand the printer business better than anyone (they also happen to understand the science of printing better than anyone ? CEO Paul Curlander has a PhD in electrical engineering from MIT). Lexmark?s management also sees highly profitable opportunities in printing long ? term, despite a very competitive situation short ? term. I agree with that assessment.

Within the printer business, there is a real danger of ferocious price competition. However, I do not believe there is a real danger of prolonged ferocious price competition. Lexmark is the company best positioned to weather the storm. It will generate tons of free cash flow, none of which has to be siphoned off to other lines of businesses, as it does at all of Lexmark?s competitors. Lexmark?s high free cash flow margin recurring revenue stream will supply it with more than enough ammunition to outlast its competitors. They may be deep pocketed, but eventually, they will have to answer to Wall Street. Long ? term, they can?t compete with Lexmark. It will take them some time to realize that. But, Lexmark has the time.

That?s my assessment of Lexmark on qualitative grounds. How does the stock look quantitatively?

The stock is selling for about 15 times earnings and 10 times cash flow. Right now, a dollar of Lexmark?s stock buys you a dollar of sales. I think that?s a bargain. Not many companies of this caliber sell at a price ? to ? sales ratio of one.

For the last ten years, Lexmark?s return on equity has not fallen below 20%. During the same period, the company?s return on assets never fell below 10%. The free cash flow margin has generally been in the 5 ? 10% range.

I wouldn?t be surprised to see Lexmark?s ROE and free cash flow fall substantially in the next few years. However, long ? term, I believe a return on equity of 15 ? 20% and a free cash flow margin of 8 ? 10% are sustainable. In fact, if I was forced to pick an exact ROE that Lexmark could sustain I would pick 20%. But, I would also caution you not to expect that for the next five years or so.

The important estimate is the 8 ? 10% free cash flow margin. That?s the best way to value Lexmark. At one times sales, you have an 8 ? 10% yield, if you think sales can be sustained. If you think sales can grow, you have to factor that into your analysis. At present, a discount rate of 8% seems appropriate.

I never do a discounted free cash flow analysis on this blog, because I feel the variables that go into are something you have to decide on for yourself. I don?t want to slap an exact figure on the value of a company, because I don?t want to suggest that kind of precision. But here, you can clearly see how I?d value Lexmark. I gave you what I think Lexmark?s free cash flow margin will be (8-10%), you know what Lexmark?s sales are ($5.4 billion), and I gave you the discount rate I thought was most appropriate (8%). The only necessary variable I haven?t provided is a sales growth estimate, and I?m not going to provide that, because I don?t want you to think it has anything to do with the next five years.

It doesn?t. I?m looking at this company well beyond that point, and I like what I see. Lexmark will strengthen its brand (with consumers), and people will still be printing. So, yes, I am projecting revenue growth for Lexmark; and yes, it is enough to suggest Lexmark is worth substantially more than $5.5 billion.

About The Author

Geoff Gannon writes a daily value investing blog and produces a twice weekly (half hour) value investing podcast at www.gannononinvesting.com.

geoff@gannononinvesting.com

Save Money On Printer Ink

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:13:21 +0000

Save Money On Printer Ink

by: Jeff Lakie

If you are near your printer, look at it for a moment and think about the last time you had to replace the ink cartridge. Was it a hassle? Was it expensive? Was it time-consuming? Was it confusing? Probably the answer was yes to all four questions!

People often consider printer ink as a curse rather than a useful product since it never seems to be full when you have a big print job, and it can be very expensive to replace. After all, everybody knows that the printer manufacturers take a loss on their printers and making huge profits on their printer ink! There are alternatives however, instead of having to go out and buy a replacement cartridge each and every time. Here are some options for you.

You can choose to fill the printer ink yourself, which can be messy, but is probably the most cost effective method. Kits are available in most department stores and office supply stores. All you do is remove the cartridge and use a syringe to inject ink into the cartridge? then you put the same cartridges back into your printer. Easy! Messy, but inexpensive and easy!

Alternatively, you can take your printer cartridges to a mall kiosk and they may be able to refill or replace your printer cartridges at a very affordable price.

The only challenge to refilling or replacing your ink cartridges is if you use cartridges that are not made by the manufacturer. They claim that installing off-brand printer ink cartridges will void your warranty. Some people argue, though, that printers are so affordable anyway that it is cheaper to chance the loss of warranty than to replace the ink cartridges.

Another option is to order your ink supplies online. If you find an printer ink supplier online, you may find one who can conveniently offer you inexpensive on-brand ink cartridges that won't void your warranty, or very inexpensive ink cartridges that may void your warranty. The nice thing, though is that many place offer free delivery if you have a minimum order. This takes part of the hassle out of buying your printer ink cartridges.

Printer ink can be a very annoying and expensive process. But it doesn't have to be. There are alternatives for the person who is diligent enough to look around and see how they can save some money and time and aggravation.

About The Author

Jeff Lakie is the founder of http://www.cheap-copier-toner.info and http://www.cheap-ink-cartridge.info websites providing information on Printer Ink.

Discount Ink Cartridge, Toner Cartridge

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:21:10 +0000

Discount Ink Cartridge, Toner Cartridge

by: Kwan Lo

Economical and environmental concerns change consumers? buying pattern. Discount ink cartridges and toner cartridges invade the market of OEM cartridges.

Discount ink cartridges and toner cartridges are in great demand these days. Due to the drop in price, many families and small business owners can buy an inkjet / photo printer for under $100 and a discount laser printer for under $200. Increased number of printer ownership means that there is a larger aftermarket for printing supplies.

Nevertheless, consumers who bought a cheap printer would soon find out that their spending did not end there, but rather have just begun. For examples, many OEM laser toners are selling at $100 a piece, the same price of an inkjet printer or one-half of that for a discount laser printer. A family who print a lot of color photos with their photo printer can easily spend more than $100 on OEM ink cartridges in several months. Think about this, it is absurd that one would spend more on replacement cartridges than on the printer itself in such a short period of time. As a result, many consumers are looking for economical alternatives to expensive OEM cartridges.

There are two main groups of discount ink cartridges and toner cartridges in the market these days: compatible cartridges and remanufactured cartridges. Compatible cartridges are also called generic cartridges. They are manufactured with the same specification of name brand cartridges but without the brand name. These cartridges are offered at one-half or one-third of the price of OEM cartridges.

On the other hand, remanufactured cartridges are name brand cartridges which have been through one cycle of service. They are usually disassembled, cleaned, repaired and refilled before releasing to the market again. Consumers who buy remanufactured cartridges are not only concerned about the price, but their benefit to the environment as well. One consumer was quoted saying ?I buy the remanufactured cartridges because it is good for the environment. The lower price is just a bonus?.

It is a well known fact that printer manufacturers cut price in printers but maintain a very high profit margin from cartridge sales. Instead of lowering the price of OEM cartridges to make them more competitive, they use different tactics to ban the use of compatible and remanufactured cartridges from third-party manufacturers. For examples, printer manufacturers may install software in your computer that warns you of the use of compatible cartridges as if they could damage your printers. Some manufacturers incorporate smart chips into their cartridges so that consumers cannot refill or recycle their cartridges. Others have sued the third-party manufacturers of printer cartridges or smart chips claiming that they have violated patent technology.

Consumer advocates have pointed that that these tactics only serve to protect the profits of printer manufacturers but provide no benefits to the consumers at all. In fact, consumers should have the freedom to choose the replacement cartridges they use.

There are many compatible and remanufactured cartridges in the market today. Be a smart consumer, you should always compare an apple with an apple. For example, some manufacturers produce compatible cartridges without the smart chips. These cartridges are usually cheaper than 100% compatible cartridges with new replacement chips. However, compatible cartridge without new replacement chip may have problem communicating with the computer as the latter would think that the cartridge is always low in ink. It is also wise to shop only with vendors who can provide a good refund policy and extended warranty.

To learn more about different types of printer cartridges and to see if they are available for your printer model, please visit http://inkjets.4reviews.net/.

About The Author

Kwan H Lo is the owner of http://inkjets.4reviews.net, an online review site promoting high quality discount ink and toner cartridges.

Your Graphics- Are they really working for you?

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:49:13 +0000

Your Graphics- Are they really working for you?

by: Andrew Eaton

(Making Your Graphics Work For You)

It?s no secret that a picture is worth a thousand words or that people really do judge a book by its cover. Effectively using graphic headers, e-covers and background graphics can send your profits soaring. Amateur looking graphics are worse than no graphics at all.

The graphics you use on your website should intensify the screen?s message. Correctly used graphics will activate the prospects emotions into a buying mode. This can be effectively accomplished by incorporating a few simple marketing strategies into your graphic designs.

For example, when choosing the color of your graphics don?t simply choose your favorite color. Identify your niche market and target the color scheme of your graphics to that market. Let?s use a gardening site as an example. You wouldn?t want to use colors like purple, gold or silver, as they aren?t very prevalent in nature. Greens, browns, and orange colors are much better suited to display the intent of a gardening site.

Too many graphics can clutter the screen and slow the time it takes a screen to load. Since smaller graphics download quickly, your graphics should typically be smaller in size. Using too few graphics can cause the site to look empty or incomplete. Neither of which sponsor sales. The entire theme of the site should come together in a happy medium fostering a smooth flowing effective decision ?making process for your prospect.

The background graphics of your site are equally important to your site?s effectiveness. Backgrounds should not interfere with the readability of the text. Again, they should complement and support the desired effect of your site. Color plays an important role in choosing background graphics. Choose wisely.

When designing e-covers for your e-books or software products make sure they powerfully steer the attention of your prospect to the emotion that will trigger the sale. Make the picture fill the promise your product will deliver. Remember people make purchases based upon emotions. Next they justify the purchase with logic or benefits. Your graphics should satisfy the emotional desire.

About The Author

Andy Eaton is one of the most sought after graphic designers on the web, not only does he create quality graphics, but he also teaches you how to create quality graphics; check out his latest graphic project designed especially for creating professional mini-site header graphics in minutes. Get 13 header graphics for free when you visit http://www.amazingheadertemplates.com/go.php?t=6

Face Painting Tips for Your Kids Party

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:52:43 +0000

Face Painting Tips for Your Kids Party

by: Patricia B. Jensen

If you can apply your own make-up or doodle a simple design, you can learn to face paint for a kids party. With these easy tips and techniques and a little practice, you'll be turning out all sorts of colorful characters. Find out how to achieve spectacular results and the admiration of children and parents alike.

First and foremost, inform parents that there will be face painting at your party. Check for any skin allergies. Do not paint children with open cuts or rashes.

Prepare by obtaining the correct paints and materials. Use water-based paints which clean off easily with wet wipes or mild soap and water. Whenever possible, Use paints that have FDA approval for cosmetics. Acrylic paints are not meant for use on the skin and should be avoided.

Have lots of sponges and brushes handy, as well as a container of water. Use a different sponge or brush for each color to minimize the need to clean frequently.

When brushing on color, use only enough water to allow the paint to flow on smoothly. Use even less water when sponging color on large areas. Apply as you would shoe polish, dabbing to even and smooth the color.

The easiest way to get comfortable face painting is to apply color to the entire face and then add simple accents or sparkles. For example, for a Spiderman party, sponge on an all-over red background, then with a fine brush paint a spider web on the cheek or around one eye. Red works well for a ladybug party too, just add a couple of large black spots on each cheek.

For a Shrek or Hulk party, green faces alone can convey the character and mood of the day. White with dark under-eye shadows makes a great Halloween mummy face, pink and glittery is perfect for a princess party, lavendar with a few well-placed flowers for a garden party. Clowns are easy - white face with red cheeks and nose, blue crosses over the eyes.

When you're ready, practice a few simple cheek designs. Many face painting books are available with designs from simple to spectacular. Use these to inspire you and practice, practice, practice. The more you practice, the quicker you will be able to complete a design, and your confidence will grow.

Try these quick and easy cheek designs:

Girls: hearts, stars, flowers, slogans, butterflies, ladybugs, smiley face, dolphin

Boys: spider, spiderweb, scars, mustache & beard, snake, shark

Face painting stamps are also available online to make the process even easier. These rubber stamps allow you to stamp a design on the child's face and simply color it in!

Invest in a good quality facial glitter, which adds pizzazz to any face paint design.

Supplement your face painting by making available some temporary tattoos for kids to choose from. Many different themes are available.

Have a mirror handy to show kids the result of your handiwork. They'll get excited about your handiwork, and that enthusiasm will spread!

Plan other games and activities for kids to do while you take them one at a time for face paint.

Remember that everyone is capable of sponging on face color and making simple designs. That's all kids really want. Once you've conquered the basics, you can always graduate to more intricate designs.

You might just enjoy face painting so much you'll decide to hire out your services for other kids parties, too!

About The Author

Patricia B. Jensen is a mother of three and kids party enthusiast. She is the webmaster and owner of Kids-Party-Paradise.com - a complete resource for kids party ideas including invitations, cakes, decorations, games, costumes, favors, and food.

For all the latest party news, read her Kids Party Blog.

kids-party-paradise.com

7 Ways To Save On Your InkJet Printing Costs

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:38:44 +0000

7 Ways To Save On Your InkJet Printing Costs

by: Mark Idzik

Inkjet printers are not only getting better, they're also getting less expensive. Why is that?

The inkjet printer manufacturers have built their business around the supplies rather than the printer itself. They make the printers as inexpensive as possible, sometimes selling them at cost, or less and making long term profits from the inkjet cartridges.

Manufacturers regularly warn about using generic cartridges, and highly recommend their own. Truth be told, there is very little difference between the two and you can regularly save over half of your current manufacturer branded cartridge purchases.

To help keep your inkjet supply costs low, here are seven tips that will keep you under budget:

1. When printing inter-office, internal, personal or draft documents, use the "draft" and "grayscale" options in your printer settings. This will save on both black ink was well as color ink. Save color and standard black for your final document print.

2. Select inkjet printers that use separate black and color inkjet cartridges like the Canon "i" series. Many of these printers have 2 black and 4 color cartridges that allow you to replace only the colors that are running low, not just the one 'color' cartridge as many printers often do. This saves on long term cartridge costs and lengthens the time between cartridge replacements.

3. Purchase "generic" cartridges made for your printer. These are of similar quality to the manufacturer's brand, and often at less than half the price.

4. Purchase "remanufactured" cartridges compatible with your printer. These are cartridges collected from the original owner, cleaned and re-filled with the same ink.

5. Purchase a cartridge "refill kit". You'll receive a kit that will allow you to refill the ink in your cartridge rather than a new cartridge. This is a great way to recycle and the quality is high and costs low.

6. Purchase your cartridges in bulk to save on shipping costs and discounts are sometimes available on larger single purchases.

7. Order your cartridges online to save time and money. Many local stores don't carry the generic versions and costs are normally substantially lower online.

Using any combination of the tips above will save you both time and money and help you manage your inkjet printing supply needs easily.

About The Author

Mark Idzik is a technology specialist and assists small businesses to use the web effectively. He runs www.ReviewInkjets.com where he reviews online inkjet supply companies. Find out more at: http://www.reviewinkjets.com.

mark@soundsleeptips.com

What a Five-Year-Old Taught Me About Decorating

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:33:10 +0000

What a Five-Year-Old Taught Me About Decorating

by: LaJoyce Kerns

My 5-year-old grandson is getting his own room. He?s very excited at the prospect and quite determined to put his own personal stamp on the decorating process. I like to listen to him explain why certain things must be certain ways; it?s an entertaining and charming view of the world through his eyes. I listened when he shared his decorating ideas, and this is what he taught me (my poor adult interpretations are in parentheses):

You should use your favorite color a lot (if you like pink or green or red, don?t be afraid to use it as much as you can).

If you don?t like a color, don?t use it (doesn?t matter what anyone says is popular, if you don?t like it, don?t use it).

You need room to put all your good stuff out where you can see it and play with it (don?t store your treasures away, display them).

When you get tired of something, hide it somewhere, and then when you find it again, you won?t be tired of it anymore (rotate your treasures so you can admire and enjoy them equally).

Moms like fancy pillows. Kids don?t unless they can throw them, and then you get in trouble (decorate a room for the person living there)

You should be able to push your cars on the wall without messing up the paint (buy good washable paint).

What?s wrong with jumping on the furniture (what?s wrong with jumping on the furniture)?

You have to have a light by the door that you can turn on to check for monsters at night (good lighting is very important).

Flashlights are cool and you need someplace to put one where you can always find it if you remember to put it back (organized storage is effective if you use it).

If you put too much stuff in your closet, you don?t have room to sit on the floor with your flashlight and hide (plan for all uses and don?t overstuff the closet).

If the drawer on your dresser keeps getting stuck, put your clothes on the floor (maintenance matters).

Sometimes you change your mind about what you like (and that?s okay).

Actually, these are pretty good ideas, whether you are decorating a room or contemplating life. Maybe I?ll go jump on the bed.

About The Author

LaJoyce Kerns is the creator of the website: http://www.decorate-bedrooms-for-less.com where you can learn how to decorate a bedroom on a budget.

lajoyce@glensannah.com