Printing Product Descriptions

Brochures Brochures are available in four standard sizes, 8-1/2 x 11, 8-1/2 x 14, 11 x 17 and 11 x 25-1/2, and many custom sizes. An unfolded 8-1/2 x 11 is often used as a flyer or product sheet or tri-folded or half folded for a company brochure. There are numerous paper choices and are printed with 4-color on the front side and blank, black only, or 4-color on the back.

Business Cards Business cards are ordered in increments of 500. Cards are printed 4-color on the front, and blank, black-only, or 4-color on the back. Paper choices are 14pt 120# gloss (with optional UV coating), 120# dull/matte or 100# uncoated cover stock, 160# 18pt gloss cover and Magnet Stock for magnetic business cards. Folded business cards can be printed in both horizontal and vertical formats for twice the marketing power.

Catalogs Customers demand information, and product catalogs and booklets can generate orders. Catalogs come in two sizes, 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 and 8-1/2 x 11. Front and back covers are printed 4-color, and inside front and back covers are blank, black-only, or 4-color. Cover paper can be 80# gloss, 80# dull/matte, 100# gloss text or #80 gloss or dull/matte cover. Inside pages can be 4-color or black, on 80# gloss text, 80# dull/matte or 100# gloss text.	Postcards Postcards are printed on high-quality 14pt 120# gloss, 120# dull/matte or 100# uncoated, and 160# 18pt gloss cover stock with four-color process printing on one or both sides or blank or black only on the back. Sizes are 4.25 x 5.5, 4 x 6, 5 x 7, 5-1/2 x 8-1/2, 6 x 9 and 6 x 11.
Presentation Folders 9 x 12 Presentation Folders are printed on 14pt 120# Gloss Cover and are available with your choice of 1 or 2 4-inch pockets with or without business card slits. The outside is printed 4-color, and the inside may be blank, black-only, or 4-color.	Letterhead and Envelopes You can order custom letterhead and envelopes together, both printed 4 colors on one side. Our featured stock is 70# uncoated text. This ultra-smooth stock shows off your 4-color design beautifully, and is guaranteed laser-safe. Letterhead and envelopes can also be ordered separately.
Rack Cards Rack cards are a great way to promote your business to out-of-town visitors. We use a 4 x 9 size, with 4-color printing on the front side and blank, black-only, or 4-color on the back. Paper choices are 14pt 120# gloss cover, 120# dull/matte cover or 100# uncoated cover, and 160# 18pt gloss cover with optional UV coating available on the gloss covers.	Newsletters Newsletters come in three sizes, 8-1/2 x 11, 11 x 17 and 11 x 25-1/2. We can print up to 8 pages (or more by special request), and offer a choice of economical 70# uncoated stock, 80# or 100# gloss or 80# or 100# dull/matte text stock. Multiple fold types are available.
Greeting Cards Greeting cards are printed 5 x 7 (folded), 4-color on the outside and 4-color, black, or blank on the inside. Paper options are 14pt 100# uncoated or 120# dull/matte cover, which are best for writing on the inside. 14pt 120# gloss cover is also available. Cards can be ordered folded or unfolded, and printed or unprinted envelopes are available as an option.	Note Cards Note cards are printed 4.25 x 5.5 (folded), 4-color on the outside and 4-color, black, or blank on the inside. Paper options are 14pt 120# dull/matte or 100# uncoated cover which are best for writing on the inside. 14pt 120# gloss cover is also available. Cards can be ordered folded or unfolded, and printed or unprinted envelopes are available as an option.
Bookmarks Bookmarks keep your customers from forgetting their spot, or forgetting about you! Two sizes are available, 2 x 6 and 2 x 7, and bookmarks are printed full-color on the front, and blank, black-only, or full-color on the back. 14pt 120# gloss, 120# dull/matte or 100# uncoated cover, and 160# 18pt gloss cover stocks are available.	Buck Slips and Statement Stuffers Stuff your message into the minds of your customers with our statement stuffers! We offer 3-1/2 x 8-1/2, 7 x 8-1/2, 10-1/2 x 8-1/2, 5-1/2 x 8-1/2, 3-1/2 x 7, 7 x 7, and 10-1/2 x 7 sizes. Half-folds, tri-folds, and z-folds are available. Fronts are printed 4-color, and backs are blank, black, or 4-color. Papers include 70# uncoated text, 80# or 100# gloss text, 100# uncoated cover, and 14pt 120# gloss or dull/matte cover.
Door Hangers Door hangers come in 4.25 x 11 and 3.5 x 8.5 sizes. Front sides are printed 4-color, and back sides can be blank, black-only, or 4-color. Paper options are 100# Gloss Text and 14pt 120# gloss cover, 120# dull/matte cover or 100# uncoated cover, and 160# 18pt gloss cover.	File Folders File Folders are printed on 14pt 120# Gloss Cover stock. Ink format options are: 4-Color Outside/4-Color Inside, 4-Color Outside/Black Inside, 4-Color Outside/Blank Inside, Black Outside/4-Color Inside, and Blank Outside/4-Color Inside. They are shipped unfolded.
Posters Posters are printed 4-color on one side, with a maximum size of 17 x 24. Paper is 100# gloss text or 80# gloss cover stock, with optional UV coating.   We also offer full color Large Poster printing in 22″ x 30″ and 28″ x 38″ sizes mounted on foam core board.	CD Covers CD Covers are printed on #100 Gloss Text (industry standard) with a single-panel front cover and a perforated inlay card. The outside is printed 4-color, and the inside can be 4-color, black-only, or blank.
Calendars Get a custom calendar made with your photos! Calendars are available in two sizes, 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 and 8 1/2 x 11, and are printed 4-color throughout, with a 1/8″ drilled hole for hanging. Cover paper options are 80# gloss text, 70# uncoated text, 80# dull/matte text, 100# gloss text, and 80# gloss or dull/matte cover stock (8 1/2 x 11 only). The inside pages are printed on 80# gloss text weight, 70# uncoated text, 80# dull/matte text, or 100# gloss text.	Large Envelopes Large Envelopes are available in two sizes; 9 x 12 and 9 1/2 x 12 5/8. The front is printed 4-color on either 28# Uncoated (70#) paper or 24# Uncoated (60#) (9 x 12 only). Options for the seal are glue or Peel & Seel® (28# paper only).
Carbonless Forms Carbonless or NCR Forms come in 2, 3 or 4 part sets and can be shipped loose or padded, with our without chipboard in pads of 25, 50 or 100. They can also be made into invoice or receipt books with a cover wrap. They can be printed with 4 color process, PMS colors or black on one or both sides.	Notepads Notepads are available in 4¼ x 5½, 5½ x 8½ or 8½ x 11, and other sizes by request. The front can be printed in 4 color, 1 or 2 PMS Colors or black. The back side can be ordered blank, or printed with black, PMS inks or 4-color process. They can be padded with or without chipboard in pads of 25, 50 or 100 sheets.
Plastic Cards Plastic Cards come in 3-3/8 x 2-1/8 (credit card size), 3 x 5, 3-1/2 x 2 (business card size) or 4 x 6 inch sizes. They can be printed with 4 color process on the front and four color, black or left blank on the back. 30 mil and 20 mil plastic thicknesses are available. A lanyard slot is optional on either edge.	Post-it® Notes Post-it® Notes pads are available in 2-3/4 x 3, 3 x 4, and 4 x 6 inch sizes. The front is printed in 4 color process. They are printed on white Post-it® paper and can be ordered in pads of 25 or 50 sheets. Other paper colors and inks can be custom ordered.

Table Tents Table Tents are available in Standard A-Frame, Standing Triangle and Pyramid types in three sizes each. They can be printed full-color or black on the front on 14pt 120# gloss, 120# dull/matte or 100# uncoated cover stocks.

Literature Holders These patented custom brochure holders and rack card holders are made from fine white micro-flute corrugated board, printed with 4-color process on one side with coating. They hold approximately fifty pieces and stand approximately 10″ high with a base that measures 6.25″ wide by 4.25″ deep.

Hang Tags Hang Tags are available in half inch increments between 1 and 10 inches. Standard options include full-color on the front, and blank, black-only, or full-color on the back on 14pt 120# gloss, 120# dull/matte or 100# uncoated cover, and 160# 18pt gloss cover stocks. UV or Soft Touch coating. They can be scored and round cornered and have optional hole sizes and placements with a variety of string types and colors.

Banners Vinyl Banners can be ordered in one foot increments from 1 x 1 to 5 x 48 feet. They are printed on one side with full color 5 year rated eco-solvent ink and come with extra strong weld hemming on all sides and punched metal grommets for hanging. Other options can be custom ordered.

Designing your own marketing materials with low-cost graphic design programs

Things have gotten a lot easier for businesses looking to design their own marketing materials. Gone are the days when Adobe’s Photoshop and InDesign were the only real options for creating professional looking promotional materials. A Google search will find plenty of free or low-cost graphic design programs that can help you craft the perfect logo or brochure.

It all sounds easy enough: your marketing budget can’t take the pressure of hiring a graphic designer, so all you have to do is download a program and spend a night putting something together that you can send to your printer tomorrow. But, while the abundance of online resources does make things easier, the process isn’t quite as effortless as you might think.

The fact is, it’s a world of plenty out there when it comes to the do-it-yourself approach to designing marketing materials. The real challenge is finding the right application for your needs. And in many cases, you may need to utilize more than one program. The key is to choose wisely. You don’t want to sink several hours into learning the ins and outs of an application only to discover it doesn’t fully meet your needs.

How do you choose wisely? Doing a bit of prep work prior to diving in will save you time and effort in the long run.

First, develop a set of preliminary questions that provide the groundwork for evaluating the software that’s out there.

What Marketing Materials Will You Create?

Before exploring software options, you need to know what types of promotional materials you want to create. You are building a toolkit of software solutions and no toolbox has just one tool. You will use different solutions depending on your marketing needs.

Most of the material you will be designing will likely require the same program—something that provides you with layout or template options, for example—but others might need you to learn the ropes of a completely different application.

For example, if your first project is to design a logo for your business that you’ll be able to use both online and in your print materials, you may want to use a vector graphics editor like DrawPlus, or you might want to try one of the many online logo creators, such as the free Canva.

Will You Create Your Own Design or Use Something Else?

If you’ll need to create your own images to use in your marketing materials, you’ll have to add more tools to your graphic design toolkit. For example, if you’ll be creating your own images rather than relying on stock photos, you may want to check out image creating programs like Inkscape, a vector graphics creator and editor that’s a free alternative to Adobe Illustrator. And if you already have images that need to be edited, Pixlr is an image and photo editor that comes in both Web-based and desktop versions.

Other applications which might find their way into your toolkit? If you’ll be working with images, you’ll probably put a color tool like Adobe Color CC to good use occasionally. And maybe you’re planning on adding an interactive element to your print materials by using Quick Response (QR) codes. In that case, a QR code generator such as Kaywa QR Code or GOQR.me will come in handy.

Where Will You Work?

This question may seem a bit strange until you consider the range of devices available to most of us these days. Chances are, you’ll be working on your desktop or your laptop, but if you’re an aficionado of the iPad Pro, for example, or like to take advantage of the mobility offered by your smartphone, you might prefer to have a selection of mobile apps at hand as well, preferably ones which sync to the cloud so you can continue working when you get back to the office.

For example, the app Word Swag, available for both iOS and Android, lets you transform your images by adding text to them. While it’s a tool you’d use predominantly for creating images for social media sharing, it may also come in handy when you’re in need of graphics for print promotional materials. Or if you’d like to be able to do some photo and image editing while you’re out and about, Pixlr, mentioned above, also offers Android and iOS versions.

Even if you plan to work entirely on your desktop computer or your laptop, unless you’re opting for a web-based application, you’ll also have to take into account your platform. While many programs are cross-platform, you’ll also find an assortment of programs which are only available for one platform. So the fact that you’ll be working on a Mac or Windows computer may make a difference in the options available to you. For example, the free image and photo editing program Paint.net is available only for Windows, while the relatively low-cost image editor Pixelmator is available only for Mac.

Web-based vs. Desktop: What’s Your Preference?

Graphic design programs come in two flavors today: web-based and desktop. In the first category are applications you access from within your browser. One key advantage of using web-based applications? You’re not platform dependent, so if you have a Mac at work but use a Windows computer at home, you can easily go back and forth between the two environments. And whether you save your work to the cloud, or to a portable storage device, using an online program means you don’t have to worry about having specific software installed on all the computers and laptops you are using.

In addition to Pixlr, Canva and PicMonkey are examples of Web-based graphic design programs.

A desktop program, however, often has the advantage of being more fully-featured. While Adobe’s Photoshop and InDesign come to mind, there are other, low-cost or free, alternatives available which offer an in-depth set of features. The open source, cross-platform program Gimp, for example, is a great free alternative to Photoshop that provides the user with much the same feature set as Photoshop; it comes with a large library of plugins as well, so you can pretty much create any type of effect you desire.

How to Choose Graphic Design Programs

Once you’ve gone over these preliminary questions, you’ll have a better idea of the type of program that will be the most appropriate for your particular purposes. When you dive into your Google search results, though, you’ll find yourself faced with quite a few applications that might be suitable. Evaluate the potential ones by considering the following factors, and you should be well on your way to choosing the best programs for your needs.

Ease of Use

Let’s face it: you’re tackling the design of your own promotional materials because your marketing budget just can’t be squeezed any further to hire a professional designer. But you also need to factor your time into the equation. The cost-saving advantages of doing it yourself may be greatly reduced if you find yourself spending more time than you anticipated to come up with a professional looking result.

A program that has the ability to handle everything you throw at it, such as the full featured Gimp mentioned above, will likely also present you with a steep learning curve. An application like Canva, on the other hand, while not offering you quite as many features, has been designed to be extremely easy to use.

Availability of Tutorials

Even with an easy-to-use application, you may occasionally need to learn how to do something in order to achieve a certain effect or result. A graphic design program with a number of tutorials available will prove helpful if you do run into a design issue down the road. Take some time to see if tutorials are available for the application you’re considering—and make sure to check the quality of the tutorials as well. A tutorial that’s difficult to follow might be even worse than no tutorial at all.

Your Marketing Budget

While a number of good, free graphic design applications exist, many of them also offer a “premium” option. Some programs may also have low-cost templates which can reduce the time you spend on laying out your particular project. If you’d like to work with a template but can’t find a suitable one, you also might be able to purchase one from a designer who’s experienced with working with the particular program you’re contemplating using.

If your marketing budget has enough room for you to take advantage of some of these premium options or to purchase a customizable template, it’s worth the time to check out what you can get for your money. In many cases, you may be able to reduce the time you’ll end up spending on a design project because the program you’re using offers you the elements you need at a price your budget can absorb.

Long Term Support

Good graphic design programs, both free and low-cost, will come and go. The ones mentioned in this article are currently among the most popular, but a few years down the road, some of them might not even be around. It is very unlikely that established, popular software like Photoshop will go belly-up any time soon. If you need ongoing support or just want the security of knowing the application you like will always be around, maybe low-cost or free solutions aren’t a good idea for you.

If you find yourself facing the prospect of creating your own print marketing materials, and your marketing budget is placing restraints on the tools you can utilize, a careful evaluation of your own needs and the features offered by the current free and low-cost tools available online will guide you in choosing the right tool for your specific purposes.