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GLUE, Make a Stronger Connection with Your Customers!

Upgrade your marketing materials by increasing interaction with your promotional piece. How? Try using sticky glue to attach a plastic or paper discount card, coupon, or offer. The process, referred to as Tip-On, places tacky, easy to remove glue to your base piece, attaching the extra element. The glue is strong enough to hold the detachable part securely, but slides off easily with a slight rub of the fingers. It is clear, clean, does no damage, and leaves no residue.

This is an ideal, cost-friendly method for making a stronger connection with your potential customers. Printing for Less customer, Rivet Software, designed this piece to reach out to a specific audience. The piece was a direct mail campaign that incorporated a glued on, plastic gift card. The entire project was well executed with a top-notch design that grabs attention. The upscale offer was complimented by the clean design and tip-on gift card.

Here is the 5X7 postcard that Rivet Software printed as the base of this multiple piece direct mail project. Notice the bold coloring and direct messaging. The white space is the area that received the glued on, plastic gift card.

This is the plastic gift card that they had Printing for Less attach to the base piece. It is removable and provides an excellent “take-away” from the original direct mail piece.

Feel free to get creative and apply this glue on option to your next promotional mailing to get greater engagement. Printing for Less specializes in printing high-end quality marketing materials. We can help you with the actual mailing as well. Contact us to learn about our targeted mailing list and direct mailing services. We are dedicated to helping your business grow. Call 800-930-7978 to speak with a friendly printing expert.

Avoid the No-Go on the Logo: Logo Design Tips

So, you’re launching a new business. You have a well-articulated business plan and projections for your rate of growth. Now comes the fun part, branding your company.

The company logo; we’ve all seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. Before you can order business cards and company promotional materials, you must choose a logo that provides strong visual branding.

Here are a few pointers before you commit to a design that will be a permanent representation of your brand.

Take Your Time: The busyness of getting your business launched is going to put some major time constraints on you. Don’t rush into a logo commitment that you will regret months or even weeks later. Slow down. Avoid letting excitement about promoting your new venture rush you into the wrong choice.
Get Feedback: We all have blind spots. Show your logo options to numerous people you trust both in and outside of your industry. You don’t have to be swayed by every opinion, but extra eyes may see a failing you missed, saving you time and money in the long-run.
Try This Free ‘Font Logo Maker’: With free tools such Adobe’s “Font Logo Maker”, you can instantly generate quality logos that can be shared across all your printed and digital platforms. It only takes minutes with pre-designed templates and professional font choices already done for you. Free use forever and no credit card required.
Consider Hiring a Professional: When the budget is tight, you may be tempted to skimp on logo design. However, consider that your logo will have long-term impact on your company image. It is worth the investment. Make sure you get both black and white and full color versions in vector and other file formats.
Avoid Boring or Common Concepts: A logo should brand your company. Meaning, it should differentiate you from the market place. Ideally, it will reflect upon your company personality or compliment the product or service you offer. Generic logos litter the commercial space and do little to make you memorable. This blog about overdone logo concepts provides samples of what to avoid.
Keep it Clean and Simple: Logo’s need to be quickly recognizable. Simple lines that allow for clean reproduction in every medium are important. For example, a detailed logo that incorporates tree branches might look great in print, but when you need to embroider it, you’re in trouble.

The logo collage below should help spark your thinker! When you are ready to make your logo official, contact one of our friendly print experts who will help you get the professional printed products your business needs. We can get you started with business cards, stationery, brochures and promotional pieces.

Talk to a live print expert today

Careful! Contents are HOT!

The majority of American’s love a cup of joe or tea to get a kick-start every morning. That means there are thousands of businesses dishing out these steaming cups of comfort, not to mention the many wholesale suppliers who provide their inventory. That’s why one of our standard die cut business card shapes is a to-go cup! It’s a hot new way to keep your business from looking like the same ole’ grind.

Our customer, BriteVision Media, is a cup sleeve and café marketing company that printed these memorable business cards with us. They provide custom hot cup sleeves for coffee houses, cafes, and restaurants across the nation. Get your business cards from Printing for Less and your sleeves from BriteVision. They also have a great program, Ad-Sleeve™, which enables advertisers to target consumers where they work, play and live. You can capitalize on this innovative advertising concept both regionally and nationally. BriteVision can help you. They even provide creative options like heat activated inks and coupon attachments to enhance your Ad-Sleeve™ campaign.

You can get standard die cut business cards that cost significantly less than custom die cuts and offer a much quicker turnaround. We provide a broad range of pre-fabricated die cuts including guitar pick, animal paw, and coffee cup shapes.

Get creative with your die cut business cards. You could even make the uniquely shaped cards into customer loyalty cards to make it a cup-o-coffee giveaway game. Take a look at our other standard die cut options that may be a perfect fit for your business model.

Thank you BriteVision for your business. We wish you continued success in 2013.

Need help with your print? Talk to a live print expert today: 800-930-7978.

When it comes to PRINTING, You’ve got options!!

So you want to do something that stands out from the crowd….GOOD, we support you one-hundred percent. Advancements in printing techniques, improvements in inks, and upgrades in paper manufacturing have created limitless options for print materials today. All the options available to produce commercial grade print materials can seem daunting. That’s what we are here for. We think print is exciting. It is a powerful tool in promoting and informing for both business and private enterprise. We will work with you to do something out of the ordinary that will grow your business.

Let’s get those creative juices flowing; here are three examples of clever marketing materials some of our customers have printed.

Creative folding can be used with almost any printed product to increase engagement, offer more content space while keeping the piece small, and add visual and tactile interest. Folding can be standard or custom. The business cards below incorporate folds that add pizzaz.
Die Cuts (with Original Folds): Professional design can make all the difference. This piece from Yvonne, with Tag Your Brand.com, incorporates a simple, round die cut with a triple gate fold that grabs attention. The combination of great design work, die cut and specialty fold, render an interactive marketing piece that is not easily ignored.

We are focused on building long-term customer relationships so you will get our best effort every time you call. We love to try new things and are ready to help with your specialty printing project.

Need help with your print? Talk to a live print expert today: 800-930-7978.

Warning: Boring Business Cards Can Kill your Image

There are so many boring business cards floating around the universe it makes me cringe. Several months ago I was on a business trip and boarded a plane from Kansas City to Denver. I usually like to zone out while in the sky, but was in a boisterous mood, so I struck up a conversation with a fellow traveler. He was an intelligent and engaging business owner. His zeal for his business was contagious, making him memorable. You know the type. After visiting for a while, I was motivated to find a way for my company to do business with his. As we departed the plane, we exchanged business cards. I took one look at his and was astounded; it was so boring. It did not reflect his personality or company branding, at all. If I had not spent a two hour plane ride getting to know him, I would have thought this company lacked passion and relevance. Wow, how wrong that would be.

I guess it could be argued, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” But, think with me for a minute. When attending a fast-paced business event you won’t have time to sell yourself and your company to every person, so your business card should be an accurate and engaging representation of what you, as a business, have to offer. Whether we like it or not, the “cover” can make or break you. I know that when you are working to build a business, that little piece of paper may be low on the priority list, but it really shouldn’t be. In fact, the busier you are, the more that little tool needs to work for you.

Consider using a professional designer to achieve your ideal card. If you need a more cost-friendly option, try our robust online business card design tool. It provides over 1,200 stock images, a logo builder, and thousands of layouts. We can customize your cards with die-cuts, embossing, custom shapes, pop-ups and more. Get creative and put the proper “cover” on your business. Or, if you’re the creative type and already have the perfect design in mind, take a look at our business card specification guide to make sure your design fits standard business card dimensions.

You don’t have to get too fancy to have a great business card. We are privileged to see amazing business card ideas coming off our manufacturing floor on a daily basis. For instance, the business card we printed for Michael Bishop, Owner of Bishop Billiards is a great example of a memorable business card that is simple and clean. He has developed a good “cover”. Playing on his last name, the logo stands out and immediately makes you connect the business name with the service it provides.

This family owned business is run with a passion for excellence and provides a 100% satisfaction guarantee for risk free online shopping. They love the game of Billiards and are driven to help their customers enjoy years of gaming with the best in both products and service. Take a look at their huge assortment of Billiards and accessories, including darts. Bishop Billiards ships anywhere in the contiguous 48 states or to any APO/FPO US Military Base.

Bishop Billiards is a prime example of excellence in American business and we wish them all the best in the year to come. Thank you for turning to Printing for Less for your custom printing needs Michael; your business card is a perfect example of sharp design that reflects a terrific business model.

Lesson: Don’t kill your image with a poorly conceived business card. Give yourself and your business the best possible start with a quality printed, original business card design. Need help with your print? Talk to a live print expert today: 800-930-7978.

Lettering Our World…Now That’s a Job!

You have probably not heard the name Gerard Huerta, but you have definitely seen his work. This designer’s resume reads like a World’s Most Recognized list of iconic logos. His career was launched at CBS Records in New York, after graduating from Art Center College of Design. While with CBS Records his work focused on letter forms and logos. He completed work for Boston, The Charlie Daniel’s Band, Blue Oyster Cult, and Bob Dylan to name a few. Entirely too cool! This designer is the real deal!

As his career progressed he designed album covers for AC/DC, Foreigner, Firefall, and The Outlaws. While I was rocking out at the concerts, Gerard was somewhat more productive, helping develop their iconic images. But don’t get the idea he is the “geek behind the image”! Gerard is a guitar player in his own right, playing in several bands over the years.

His unique style and creative renderings have opened doors for him across all industries. Gerard has designed logos for Swiss Army Brands, HBO, Pepsi, Spelling Entertainment, Nabisco, Calvin Klein’s Eternity, and Arista Records. But this isn’t even digging into the meat of his work. He has also designed mastheads for People Magazine, Time Magazine, Money Magazine, PC Magazine, Architectural Digest, and Conde Nast, to, yet again, name only a few.

Most designers search for that perfect font to compliment a client’s design. However, Gerard creates those original fonts with an eye for subtlety that has become an artistic signature on all his work. In fact, his letter work is a far cry from your average font work. Letter work is his specialty, making Gerard a bit of a designer’s designer. Elevating the alphabet to an art form, he is currently a part of the “Letter as Image” exhibition that has traveled from coast to coast. He is a self-described “old-School” designer who still starts much of his work on paper before moving to the computer.

“When you are stuck, walk away from the computer and draw. It will teach you how to see.” Gerard Huerta

When you need artistic lettering and a traditional “font” won’t do, we suggest you contact Gerard. His talent can help you get a truly original logo and the look you are envisioning.

We appreciate your business Gerard and wish you continued success in your career! Need help with your print? Talk to a live print expert today: 800-930-7978.

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