Print Design TipsTips and Information About Printing

The online printing market is highly competitive with many sites offering services where the work is performed overseas and especially in China and the Far East.

Labor there is very cheap and this keeps the cost down but there are several disadvantages of using these outlets:

• printing quality is sub-standard and the finish and paper quality are usually very poor;
• sending work overseas means less work for American companies and their workers;
• Overseas printers use highly toxic and environmentally dangerous inks and toners which harm the environment while here in America we operate under much greater standards using environmentally friendly raw materials and recycled paper wherever possible; and
• turnaround time is usually a lot slower (by weeks sometimes).

Many free offers are nothing of the kind in any event – they are usually just a teaser to bring you onto the site and place an order which, if you commit to a certain minimum order value results in a “free” offer.  When you see “FREE!” make sure it is free – there are companies who do in fact offer free stationery or business cards for instance – and they are doing this with no obligation!

You provide the artwork or design you want, tell them the color scheme and how many you want printed off and they print them for  you – all you have to do is to pay the shipping and handling costs.

Now that is a free offer!

Why do they do this?

The answer is very simple – reputable priniting companies are not afraid to produce samples for you.  They use this as a test for themselves and a thank you to you for the opportunity to show you, the potential customer, just how good they are at producing the goods.

Obviously, the idea behind it all is if you are impressed with the service and quality you are going to come back for some more and how right they are

A customer newsletter is a fantastic method of keeping in touch with your customers and prospects as well as the market generally.  Do not underestimate the impact a newsletter has – your expertise is valuable and your business opinion on the areas you deal with will be valued much more than you may think.

Newsletters should be launched when you really have something to say – usually a monthly newsletter is the best option though if you are operating in a fast moving environment where there are industry or business developments occurring by the minute, you will want to consider a more frequent publication.  

Remember the whole point of the newsletter is to grab your readers attention and create some interest so make sure you have “news”!

The larger the newsletter is, the more success in gaining reader attention – you will find newsletter standard sizes are 8.5 x 11, 11 x 17, and 11 x 25.5 but choose your format carefully so it remains in keeping with the overall brand identity you are attempting to establish. 

Content is key and you are looking to make the conversation a two-way street between you and your readers – look to engage your readership and solicit their opinions and stories.  A newsletter is a great vehicle to show off how you helped a customer and you can make this into a case study with your customer getting some exposure as well as acting as a great testimonial in respect of how much money you saved them or made them, how great the quality of your work was and what fantastic customer service.

Another tip is to invite businesses who provide complimentary products and services in to write for you – again this will give you something to say and allow for cross-selling opportunities as well as demonstrating you are really delivering good information and advice through the newsletter which means it is likely to be read that more often.

Postcards are great for your business and personal use!

Moving home?  Simply tell everyone with a customised postcard of your new home with your new address and add the very personal touch to letting everyone know where your new crib is.

Have an announcement to make?

Using a postcard which is personalized for your special event or anniversary is a great way of applying your own individual style as well as showing everybody just who or what is behind the occasion with photographs or yoru own artwork.

How about an addition to the family?

What better way to announce the new arrival than a photographic postcard so everyone can get to see the new baby (or puppy or kitten!) and have all the important details included such as weight, color of eyes and whose nose and ears they have inherited!

Postcards are great for businesses too!

Customers like postcards because they can quickly see what it is that is being communicated and they don’t have to mess around with opening envelopes and dealing with more trash.  Using a postcard you also get to communicate your message to everyone who sees it and not just the recipient of the card.

Make your postcards LARGE if you want to maximize the response – there is a direct correlation between positive customer response and the size of the postcard although there are obvious limits!

Postcards are also cheap to design and produce and especially if you are mounting continuing campiagns they can be reproduced very cheaply so make sure you check with your supplier what the cost will be when you re-order.  Just be careful when you see a great offer for postcard production that this is not a teaser offer – many times the initial price you are charged is simply offered to suck you in with higher priced repeat orders and you then cannot move your order elsewhere without incurring all the set up charges all over again!

Your business cards are the most important piece of business stationery you possess – they say a lot about your company and you as an individual so take extra care when you have them made up.

To make a really good impression and stand out from the crowd there are some simple things you can do to highlight yourself and company through your business card.

Vibrant Use of Color and Images

Most business cards are simple black and white and these are boring but still are the most popular design and use of color.  When the recipient has your card they will keep it with all the others and a deck of white cards with black print do not standout from each other – you can make yours stand out instantly by using a different color paper and a good tip is to use a background image using vibrant colors such as tropical blue or lush green.  Your card will look very professional and original but at the same time, and more importantly it is going to stand out from the rest of the deck of business cards.

Use Non-Standard Shapes and Sizes

Using a business card size which is non-standard will make sure your card stands out but you have to exercise a degree of caution – too large and it won’t fit in a card holder or wallet while too small and you can’t read it.  Both examples are likely to get lost!

Using a different shape is also a good idea; circles and semi-circles demonstrate some independence and originality but again, you must bear in mind the card needs to fit into a wallet and if it doesn’t it is likely to get tossed somewhere.

Go Large on the Paper Thickness!

A thin card will feel cheap no matter what the quality of the printing and finish – use the thickest card you can afford and you will provide a feel of luxury and professionalism as well as making sure your card can easily be found when it is inserted into a deck of other cards.

Posters should be eye-catching if you are using them to promote an event, a product, service and your business though many are also used for decoration as well – the fundamental principle still applies, be bold and daring and make sure it stands out a mile away!

You can have a lot of fun with designing a poster and you ought to let your imagination run wild with the themes and ideas.  Obviously you will want the subject event or promotional item being painted large as well as your own identity though there are also several examples where you can lure the reader into the poster by engaging their curiosity with something completely different.  This is a snake eye approach but you have to be very good at pulling it off and frequently, customers simply want the basics – What, Where, When, Who and How much it is going to cost them.

Look to use large print with a bold font and very vibrant and contrasting colors – here the quality of the paper used will make a difference so while many poster printers will only use 80% paper, insist on them using 100% text weight paper – this will ensure that the design and colors come through to best effect otherwise cheap paper detrimentally influences the completed appearance. 

It doesn’t do you any harm to make sure the print on the poster makes it clear you supported an American business and American jobs by having “Made in America!” stamped along the bottom! You will find many of the online stores selling their print services are actually outsourcing the printing work to the Far East and this results in slow turnaround times, proofing errors and the production process uses old printing technology resulting in a poor quality finish plus, don’t forget, here in the US printers are compelled to adhere to far higher and stricter environmental protection standards and many inks used overseas are highly toxic.