Frequently Asked Questions ISU Extension Marketing

Powerpoint questions
I want a Powerpoint template with just the red bars and the ISU wordmark (no photos). What do I do?
To create a slide master that has only the red bars, without the photos or the background gray shading, first save your template file with a different filename. In the renamed file, from the menu bar select View/Master/Slide Master. On the slide master screen, click once on each photo and delete it, using the delete or backspace key. Select Format/Background from the menu bar. In the Background window that opens, use the scroll arrow to change the background from gray shading to white. Then click on the Apply to All button. When you return to View/Normal from the menu bar, you will see slides with the red bars, a white background, and no photos.

What if I want to create a screen background using the Powerpoint template?
You can change the background shading on each slide in your program individually, or on all slides at the same time, by selecting Format/Background from the menu bar. When you make this selection, you will see a background window with a scroll arrow near the bottom in the center. You can use this scroll arrow to select other background colors, and to set shading styles, textures and patterns. After making your choices, click OK, which will return you to the background window. In the background window you can preview the changes, and you can choose whether to apply the changes only to the slide you are working on, or to all slides in your presentation.

Wordmark questions

The ISU Extension wordmark does not print correctly on our office printer. What can we do?
The templates certificate1.doc, postcard2.doc, postcard3.doc, and newsletter.doc include an ISU Extension wordmark. The wordmark is a .tif file, a graphic image placed into the word template. (The wordmark is not included in the one-page templates that are designed specifically for the preprinted red bar paper stock that is available from Extension Distribution Center.)

This often is an issue of printer quality. The graphics in these documents are 300 dots-per-inch (dpi) files designed to print on vector printers such as the HP Laserjet printers that ISU Extension specifies in its equipment recommendations. Many non-vector printers, including some of the low-priced inkjet printers on the market, can print these graphics only at 72 dpi (the same resolution as your computer screen). You should be able to achieve the same sharpness as you see on the screen, but the technology of the printer will not allow you to achieve the higher resolution of the original file.

Both .eps and .tif formats of the ISU Extension wordmark are available from the wordmark Web site. It is difficult to predict which graphic format will work best in every situation because there are so many variables in software, computers, and printers. Reserve some time to experiment with the wordmarks. You will need to determine which format works best for you and your equipment.

If you are having difficulty printing the wordmark, your options include:
* Upgrading to an HP printer for best results when printing the wordmark.

* Using the templates without wordmarks and the preprinted red bar paper stock with your current printer.

* Opening the template and saving it to your hard drive with a new name. Delete the wordmark that is in the template and replace it either with a wordmark that you've already used successfully with your printer, or go to the wordmark Web site and download another copy.

The new brochure pre-print paper has the University Extension wordmark. If we send the brochures out to our clients, doesn’t it have to read Cooperative Extension?
The Cooperative Extension wordmark is to be used ONLY on letterhead, penalty mail letters/buckslips, and brochures or newsletters that penalty mail. The Cooperative Extension wordmark is not to be used on marketing/promotional items or reference items.

The new design was not intended to be used for letterhead -- only for handouts, inserts, brochures, etc. The new red bar pre-printed paper stock is designed for marketing your educational programs. Thus, the stock features University Extension, not Cooperative Extension. For brand name awareness, we try to use the words University Extension in all cases in which we don’t have to comply with penalty mail regulations. This paper stock is not penalty mail eligible. In many cases, a cover letter or enclosure slip is used when mailing a brochure. If you want to use penalty mail for an item you create using the red bar pre-printed paper stock, then mail it with a penalty mail eligible cover letter or enclosure slip.

Paper stock/red bar questions

Does the red bar paper stock replace the official letterhead?
NO. The red bar paper stock is NOT letterhead. Please continue to use your official Extension letterhead for letterhead purposes. The red bar paper stock is for brochures, fact sheets, certificates, and other program marketing items.

I want to include the “red bar” in my Word template and print it on my color printer rather than use the red bar paper stock. How do I add the red bar to my Word template?
DO NOT attempt to recreate the “red bar” in Microsoft Word or other word processing program. The red bar paper stock was created so that county-produced Extension materials would have a uniform look – in the same Pantone 186 red whether that brochure was produced in Dubuque or Council Bluffs or any point in between, rather than being at the mercy of an extension office’s color printer. If you are going to print brochures, fact sheets, etc., for a meeting, print them using the red bar paper stock.

How do I create a fact sheet as a PDF file with the red bar on it?
DO NOT put the red bar in a pdf file. If you are creating a fact sheet for the Web, include the regular wordmark in your pdf file. The red bar paper stock was created so that county-produced Extension materials would have a uniform look – in the same Pantone 186 red whether that brochure was produced in Dubuque or Council Bluffs or any point in between, rather than being at the mercy of an extension office’s color printer. If you are going to print brochures, fact sheets, etc., for a meeting, print them using the red bar paper stock.

I’m working on a several page newsletter. I want to use the “style” of the red bar on white, but the reproduction will be in black and white. What is your recommendation or rules regarding black and white reproduction of the red bar?
If you want to use the “style” of the red bar, then order the red bar paper stock from Extension Distribution (EDC 250, 5 cents per sheet) and use that paper stock for the first page of the newsletter. If buying the paper is out of the question for this project, then don’t use the red bar style. DO NOT create a white ISU Extension wordmark in a black bar across the page. You could use the regular black ISU Extension wordmark flush left at the top of the first page of your newsletter or perhaps flush left at the bottom of the first page (similar to Extension educational publications). Please use the actual graphic image of the wordmark; do NOT recreate it in type. You can download the wordmark from the Web.

Please use the University Extension wordmark unless this is a self-mailing penalty mail newsletter (in which case you’d use the Cooperative Extension wordmark).

I prepare several newsletters for the Web that are downloaded by individuals in their homes or in county ISU Extension offices. If I design the newsletters to use the red bar, either individuals will have nothing on the top of their newsletters (since they won’t have a stash of special paper to insert into their personal printer) OR it will be a white wordmark in a black bar if I put the red bar on the Web page. Currently, I put the ISU Extension wordmark in the lower left corner of the first page.
The Word templates and red bar paper were meant to be used together for items that county and field staff would actually be printing hard copies of. For your Web-posted newsletter, it’s OK to continue to place the Extension wordmark in the lower left as you have been. Or, consider placing the wordmark in the upper left hand corner so that is it seen immediately when the user opens the Web page.

Should I use the “red bar” look when I produce materials with several agencies/partners? In the past I used to strive to have Extension’s wordmark and the logos of the other partners be of the same size.
The “red bar” look is meant for Extension program marketing materials and likely isn’t appropriate when there are multiple partners/agencies involved. Use the regular Extension wordmark and work to keep it the same size as the other partners’ logos.

If I don’t use the pre-print stock, what paper colors are preferred?
The short answer -- use the pre-printed stock. It’s available from Extension Distribution and the new Word templates are designed for it. When using the pre-printed stock is not appropriate (such as, in a project with multiple agency partners), the safest bet is to use white or off-white.

Ink color questions

What are Pantone colors?
Pantone, Pantone Matching System, and PMS are Pantone Inc.’s check standard trademarks for color standards, color data, color reproduction and color reproduction materials, and other color-related products and services, meeting its specifications, control and quality requirements.

How do I find the “official” ISU ink colors to use in my county brochure? Where do I get a copy of the color pallette?
You can see samples of “Web versions” of the official ISU colors at http://www.iastate.edu/guide/build/color.shtml. This color palette lists Web-safe colors (they will display well on Web browsers) that are comparable to ISU’s official Pantone colors. For a complete list of ISU’s Pantone colors appropriate for print publications, contact University Marketing, (515) 294-9624, or Carole Custer, cacuste@iastate.edu. The Iowa State University Visual Identity Program guide in your office also lists the colors.

Other questions

We want to order magnets using the new look. What do I give the vendor to create the “red bar?”
Give the ISU-approved vendor the ISU Extension wordmark as a .tif or .eps file. Then:

* Option 1: tell the vendor to print the wordmark in white with a “full bleed” of red for the rest of the magnet. (Full bleed means the red “bleeds” off the edges – the red goes to the edge of the magnet all the way around. If you don’t want to pay for a full bleed – it usually costs more – but you want a similar effect, tell the vendor to leave a white margin around all the edges of the magnet, say 1/8 or 1/4 inch on all sides. Any other type would also print white. You’d end up with a red magnet with a white wordmark and white text.

* Option 2: Print the wordmark in red on a white magnet. Print any other text in red as well. This “red on white” adaptation is acceptable.

What about new business cards and nametags?
The design for business cards has not changed. Name tag stickers (with the red bar) are available from Extension Distribution. A new design for Extension name badges is being investigated.

I want to create nametags for the participants at my meeting, but I don’t want them to have to stick labels on their clothing. What can I do?
Use the nametag Word template to print names on the red bar nametag labels. Tear the labels apart along the perforations. Next, use a scissors to trim the labels slightly smaller than the perforated edge – then they will fit into the clip-on nametag covers (PDO 39) available from Extension Distribution. Or, if that sounds like too much bother – use the nametag stickers as originally intended – as stickers (the adhesive isn’t permanent – the stickers can be easily removed from clothing).

I understand the blank space on the wall calendar is for putting in our county location, phone, etc. Is there a suggested format? What material works best for this?
Use Univers (or Arial if you don’t have Univers) in a large enough size so that your county name is readable across the room and the information you want to display doesn’t look crowded in the space. Use your judgment. Avery labels are available in a variety of sizes.

Whom do I contact with questions or to share ideas for additional marketing items?
Contact your local External Relations Specialist (see Contact External Relations section at upper left).