Keep Your Type Sharp

Posted on February 29, 2012 by swerner

The power of your printed piece is usually conveyed most strongly through your type. If your type is sharp, it best communicates whatever message you want to send to your audience. Here are a few tips to make sure that your type remains crisp and sharp.

First, make sure you’re using the Type tool in whatever program you’re working in. If you are sending your applications files to your printer, use the Package feature (InDesign) or Collect for Output feature (QuarkXPress) if it’s available, to send your original fonts.

Don’t inadvertently rasterize (turn into pixels) the type. This softens the type, and it loses its crispness. The stair-stepping on the left letter indicates it has been rasterized.

If want to place type you’ve created in Photoshop into a program like InDesign, save it as a Photoshop PDF file. Unlike Photoshop PSD format, this keeps the sharp edges.

If you’re creating a PDF file, be sure to embed your fonts. If you’re using an Adobe application, or using a Macintosh, this usually happens automatically. If you’re using an older version of Microsoft products, you may need to look for the option to embed fonts.

If the fonts are not embedded, they may be substituted. The original font, Stone Sans, is shown above, and the substituted font, Adobe Serif MM, is shown below.

Quarter Fold Brochure Campaign – “Stack Saved!”

Posted on February 24, 2012 by twatkins

Check out the Quarter Fold Brochure PFL printed for The Greater Reedville Association to get the word out on the “Save the Stack” effort.

In Reedville, VA “Save the Stack” was the phrase on everybody’s lips during 2010 – as an historic 1902 landmark steam stack faced ultimate destruction. Since then the Reedville community has pulled together through a combination of fundraising efforts to save their beloved “Stack” and restore its original beauty.

Designer Matt Smith of Smith Gifford Advertising created this awesome design with historic pictures that solidified the importance of Reedville’s historic landmark. The Reedville Association said the Direct Mail brochure was a key element in the campaign to “Save the Stack!”

If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of Direct Mail and awesome designs like this cool Quarter Fold Brochure – call PFL today!

Luna Die Cut Brochure is Out of This World

Posted on February 18, 2012 by twatkins

Check out the Die Cut Brochure PFL printed for Sound Therapy experts Ohm Therapeutics.

Ohm needed a print piece that would promote their Luna series Sound Therapy tuning forks – and also literally house the product. Their solution was a unique Die Cut brochure with tons of great information. The brochure also utilizes the openings to mount and display the therapeutic forks.

Serving as the packaging, instructions, and marketing materials – this brochure is a one of a kind design!

If you’d like to learn more about unique Die Cut Marketing materials for your business, call PFL today!

Winners: PFL Make Work Fun Blog Contest!

Posted on February 9, 2012 by twatkins

Among our many entries, PFL is excited to award first and second place winners of our ‘Make Work Fun” blog contest!Thanks to everyone who gave us a unique view of how you make your work place your ‘happy place.’ Here are a few tactics we learned from our contestants on how they have fun at work – as well as a couple of PFL’s own strategies:

Interrupting your day with random 10 minute NERF wars: multiple contestants cited this as a regular occurrence in their work place – and an awesome way to move around, get your blood flowing, and recharge your focus.
Ongoing daily trivia contests: these small, but exciting competitions between coworkers give everybody something fun to look forward to during the work day.
Make it memorable: taking a unique, innovative, and get this…FUN approach to small things (like memos and meetings.) This will get everyone’s attention – and won’t be forgotten. For example, one contestant issues all their memos in comic book form!
At PFL, we allow 15-20 of our employee’s dogs to roam freely about the building! This gives everyone a chance to enjoy their antics, and take frequent mini-breaks to visit their favorite pups during the day.
PFL also promotes an open floor plan. This is somewhat of an “anti-cubicle” policy, with coworkers desks out in plain view of each other. This allows increased communication for both work and fun!

And the winners are…

First Place Winner – Prize: iPad 2

Element X Creative

Element X truly went above and beyond here, with a plethora of awesome pictures and detailed descriptions. Check out their post, and you’ll see that Element X takes having fun at work to a whole new level!

Second Place Winner – Prize: Amazon Kindle Fire

American Training, Inc.

American Training gave us the rundown on how they live every day in the “WOW Philosophy” – and it rocks! Check out their post, and see how WOW makes every day “outrageouslymemorable.”

Be sure to stay tuned, there will be more awesome blog contests to come!

Direct Mail, Direct Success: Gate Fold Brochure Campaign Gets Results!

Posted on February 2, 2012 by twatkins

When Heating and Cooling Experts Watkins Mechanical wanted to increase their exposure, they invested in an aggressive direct mail campaign in the Dayton, Ohio area.

Check out the Gate Fold Brochure PFL printed for Watkins to help spread the word. This piece featured an enticing coupon offer, while also solidifying Watkins’ existing 30 year brand recognition as an industry leader in their community.

Following the campaign, Watkins noticed a significant increase in both service calls and web traffic – and the company plans to take advantage of Direct Mail’s excellent ROI again soon.

If you’d like to hear about what Direct Mail can do for your business, call PFL today!