One of our customers, Frank Guerrieri is the President and CEO of Preferred Care at home, a growing senior home care franchise company with 38 locations across the country. Since 1984, the company has built a reputation offering quality service at affordable prices, providing the extra care needed to maintain independence and dignity in the comfort and security of home.

 As Frank’s business grew he found was spending more and more time acting as a print coordinator rather than managing his business. Each franchisee would go through him to order marketing materials like brochures and business cards. It just wasn’t efficient to have Frank stuck in the middle of this administrative nightmare, yet he wanted to make sure he had consistency of trademarks and messaging in Preferred Care At Home’s materials.

 Our web-to print solution, or Private Print Shop, turned out to be the right solution for Frank. Frank manages the development of the content and art for his materials. Then the design templates are placed online on a Preferred Care At Home custom website where franchisees can easily choose, customize and order exactly what they need.  According to Frank, PFL “freed us up to do what we need to do; run our business and build a franchise organization.”

 We have built custom web-to-print solutions for a wide range of business from franchises to manufacturing to chains of clinics.  Their needs may be slightly different but in all cases they share the need to easily accesses, customize, and order printed material on a frequent basis in the most efficient way possible.  Besides Preferred Care At Home, we have profiled five other companies that are reaping the benefits of custom-web-to-print solutions. To read their brief success stories click here.

Recently, PrintingForLess.com unveiled their new Special Printing Effects piece, which provides an excellent example of all of the techniques I discussed earlier.  This piece is beautifully designed and includes everything from die cutting to foil stamping.  My personal favorite is the sculpted embossed butterfly which provides a wonderful example of a highly detailed embossing technique.

The other benefit to this piece is that it provides all of these examples in comparison with the standard 4-color printing process.  This allows you to see the differences you can expect when using custom techniques in place of, or in combination with, standard 4-color process.

Although you can view images of the piece online, the only way to get the full impact of this piece is to see the physical sample.

You can request one here:

http://www.printingforless.com/samplesrequest.html

Once again, these techniques can be invaluable in creating a stand-out piece and this set of examples can be used to get the ideas flowing.

I, like many moms, receive a varied collection of parenting magazines each month. Each of these magazines has the usual articles mingled lightly among the boundless print ads. As I am sure is the case with many magazine readers, I have become somewhat immune to these ads, and, with few exceptions, my brain passes over them without a thought. But in a recent magazine one marketing insert made a lasting impact on me.

It was for a simple product, tissue. The full four page insert was similar to other magazine inserts at first (although the paper quality was outstanding). But when I opened it up, the ad showed a picture of a full size tissue box with a hole in the top and a sample of the tissue popping out. The sample, also printed, invited me to feel the softness of the product. I was able to pull out the piece and make use of the product immediately. I got to sample their product without even asking. Now, almost a week later, I remember the name of the product. I know what the packaging looks like. I know that the tissue is soft and has a touch of lotion. I know that this is a product I would buy when I need tissue.

This was an effective print ad. A real, tangible, memorable marketing piece that did exactly what print media does best. It drew me in with multiple senses, sight, touch, smell, and made the piece more real and more important to me.

Now, don’t get me wrong, email and web marketing are tremendously effective and creating a marketing piece with the kind of impact described above is a challenge. I am not a marketing expert by any means and I may have a greater appreciation for an ad like this because I know what it takes to create it. But I am reminded that with a creative approach the power of print goes unmatched as a marketing tool.

• Pantone Inks- Pantone inks are commonly used to match specific colors and they can be used to create a dramatic look. Using a metallic Pantone can give you a more subtle option than metallic foils and comes in a large variety of colors.  You can also use Pantone colors to achieve results that cannot be reproduced in the CMYK color space, such as bright blues and oranges.  The cost of using Pantone ink varies depending on the number of Pantone colors used.
• Spot Varnish- This technique allows you to add contrast by applying a gloss varnish to a specific design element.  This is an appealing way to add a touch of shine to a specific component of the design and is particularly effective when combined with an uncoated or matte paper stock.
• Custom Folds- Changing the placement of a standard fold is an easy way to increase the overall effectiveness of your piece.  For example, creating a shorter front panel on a tri-fold brochure can create a sophisticated and unique look that will be more eye-catching to your customers.  The good news about custom folds is that in most cases the cost will be the same as a traditional fold.  They only challenge can be properly setting up your design to accurately represent the fold panels.  Your printer can assist you on where to place the fold lines to achieve the desired result.

I hope that some of these options have given you ideas for your next marketing piece.  Remember, your printed marketing materials may be the first way you represent your product or business, so don’t be afraid to experiment with these and other design elements.  By incorporating new and distinct features into your piece, you can grab that extra bit of attention that sets you apart from your competitors.

Well known blogger Furqan Nazeeri raved about a piece of software called Flowchart.com. Which got me thinking. Once in a while someone comes up with a piece of software that is intuitive, useful, and priced right. I think great software should be usable with little or no instructions or training. Guessing as to how to do something should get you the right result most of the time. BaseCamp doesn’t quite meet that standard, but it is pretty good, and a heckuva lot better than MS Project for anything but the largest projects. And the price is right.

I started using SnagIt a year or 2 ago, and it absolutely rocks. A great use is including screenshots in emails about website changes, or even Excel snags when discussing numbers. I probably dump snags into 3 Word, ppt or emails a day. And no, I have nothing to do with the company, I just love their software. 90% of the time I use it instead of Photoshop or Illustrator. Before you flame me, I want to be clear that I’m a businessperson, not a design professional, and I realize SnagIt doesn’t replace Photoshop, AI, etc. It is just a handy tool for everyday business tasks.

Using a snag for quick, clear email communications.

• Die-Cuts- Using a die-cut is a great way to add interest to your piece and the possibilities are limitless. Think of a die-cut as cookie cutter that cuts your printed piece into a specific shape. Each die is made and ordered to your specifications so you can create a die to represent almost anything. Die-cuts are generally used for simple to semi-complex outlines and pieces with fine detail may require a different process such as laser cutting. Pricing varies based on the overall size of the die and your printer should assist you in creating a file to accurately represent the die cut shape.
• Foil Stamping- Adding foil to your design can help to draw attention to certain areas of your piece. Foils come in a myriad of colors and styles, but the most popular foils are the metallic colors which cover every shade from gold to green. There are also standard matte and gloss foils, and specialty foils that include options such as glitter and prismatic patterns. Again, the cost will vary based on the overall size of the piece and number of foil colors used.
• Embossing/Debossing- Using embossing or debossing to emphasize an area of your piece is a subtle and sophisticated way to add drama to a specific element. This technique is commonly used to emphasize a logo, company emblem, or important text. Embossing creates an imprint of a design into the paper itself and can be done alone or in combination with printed elements. Embossing impresses the design toward the viewer so that the element appears to rise from the paper. In contrast, debossing, impresses the design element into the paper so that the element appears to sink into the piece. The cost will vary based on the overall size of the embossed area and your printer will assist you in creating a file.

These are just a few of the custom elements that you can use to give your marketing materials a bigger impact. And don’t be afraid that you won’t be able to afford the extras. In many cases the additional cost is less than you might think.

Make sure you consult with your printer as you begin to design your piece so you can receive any set-up instructions as well as an accurate quote. Your printer should also be able to consult with you on which design elements may work best for your end use. See some samples of die-cutting, foil stamping, and embossing work here.

Next time I’ll cover several more custom printing elements that provide interest to any marketing piece.