Hi all,

Im wondering what people's opinions are on printing resume's directly on the back of pictures. Ive had trouble with my inkjet as the ink smears if any dampness at all gets on the back of the pictures.

Does anyone do this, and if you do, any particular printer/ink that you use? I was thinking of getting a cheap laser printer for this.

Also,

Any negatives to this? It would save me a lot of stapling time If I could just print on the back.

thanks,
Tom

From my experience with working with actors, I would say do not print it directly on the resume. The standard is normally, staple each corner with one staple and submit, what if you prepare a couple of resume and print it directly on and you get a job and have to change the resume or so..there is chance you would waste and have incorrect headshots, but you could wait job by job and print as you go..but i say, print and staple of the best way.
Ernest

most people I know do it. laser jets don't smear.

Most people I know DONT do it. Its a little more costly (even though it saves a bit of time). like stated above, you may get into a production and you can't add it to your res. I guess its ok if you do a small batch at a time, so that way you're not wasting any if you DO happen to get into a show. I guess what you could do if you DO get into a show, is staple an updated one on the back anyway to cover the printed res on the photo. I have seen smears and smudges before, but it was the fault of the printer, and not that of dampness. I dont like that, in the wrong light, you can see through the picture and see the res on the back.

I just feel I could print each time I do a mailing. I would never print more than 10 or so at a time. I just wondered if Casting people are put off by having the resume printed directly on the back. Is it less professional? Or is it harder for a CD to manipulate when they have a pile of pictures?

thanks for the thoughts on this.
Tom

To be honest, I don't think they care one way or another. They're still going to look at your pic if they're interested in ya, and they're still gonna flip that sucker over to see your experience and find what they need!

Someone mentioned that they like to separate the resume and picture so they can look at them together. Any validity to that?

Tom

yeah, there is, but honestly, if they are "too busy to flip the pic over", then they may not be the kinda people you'd want to do bizz with anyway. If someone gets annoyed that they have to flip over a couple times your headshot, they're more full of themselves than they need to be. But, thats just my opinion.

Hi tom33--The answer is--whatever you prefer. Some CDs undoubtedly prefer to separate the photo and res, some prefer printing on back of the pick, and some prefer your credits appear by skywriting above their office as they gaze at your 8X10...As long as you can keep your resume updated and securely attached to your picture, you should be in good shape.

I'm a print on the back guy. I had my headshots done on the heavier stock paper recommended by Reproductions and I use a good quality ink jet printer (which still only cost about $100 and scans and copies too). I remember reading somewhere that ink jets are preferable to laser printers because the laser printers heat the paper up and can affect the picture colors. Someone asked me about wet envelopes in mailboxes so, as an experiment, I intentionally spilled some water on the resume side and it didn't become a Rorschach Test inkblot. I was pleased.

I also print in small batches of 10 or so at a time; that was the whole purpose of doing it this way, to be able to update my resume on demand. I haven't had any complaints and I've probably saved some CDs some puncture wounds.

quote:

Originally posted by tom33:
Hi all,

Im wondering what people's opinions are on printing resume's directly on the back of pictures.

We used to do 500 monthly with resume printed at the back at Staples.

Xerox
photo front
resume at back
used to pay $25.00 TOTAL at that time

quote:

Originally posted by Jackie:
Hi tom33--The answer is--whatever you prefer. Some CDs undoubtedly prefer to separate the photo and res, some prefer printing on back of the pick, and some prefer your credits appear by skywriting above their office as they gaze at your 8X10...As long as you can keep your resume updated and securely attached to your picture, you should be in good shape.

Great answer, Jackie! My favorite is the skywriting idea! LOVE IT!

Thanks MIB! I love this from casting director Billy DaMota when I asked him this same question years ago:
"Preferences" can be good but in this case, it's much ado about diddly. There’s probably one casting director who prefers that resumés be attached with chewing gum or that the paper is made from bark of only California grown Knotty Pine. It gets pretty silly sometimes.”

I have heard the horror stories of CDs and casting assistants complaining about this or that method or resume attachment and it's just painfully yucky. Can you imagine the conceit it must take to moan about something this small?! Most CDs, and I'd wager all the good ones, are looking at the pictures and resumes--not the staples.