I am occasionally reminded that the terms that I use regularly as a designer and print buyer, while familiar to me, are not always familiar to you, my client. I feel it an important responsibility as your marketing partner to educate you about them as this knowledge helps you to understand why I am recommending [...]
Posted on September 10th, 2008 by Richard
Filed under: Design, Production | 1 Comment »
Have you noticed your cost to print your marketing prices has been increasing? This is, in part, due to almost continuously rising paper costs. Most common paper stocks have risen as much as 10 percent in the first two quarters of 2008 with another increase of up to 10 percent anticipated for the third quarter.
During [...]
Posted on September 2nd, 2008 by Richard
Filed under: Production | 1 Comment »
“83% [of consumers] trust a company more if it is socially and/or enviromentally responsible,” according to a 2007 Cone Consumer Environmental Survey. A BusinessWeek survey showed that “Consumers are 66% more likely to purchase a product if they believe the company is environmentally conscious.”
With growing demand for environmentally friendly goods and services, many companies have developed cost-effective ways of [...]
Posted on August 5th, 2008 by Richard
Filed under: Design, Marketing, Production | No Comments »
Research shows that static mail-piece response rates are about 1-2 percent. Variable Data Publishing (VDP) claims an 8 percent response and higher. Using specific consumer preference data, VDP can be an effective way to produce unique targeted communications that capture attention and inspire a customer to respond.
If you think VDP means a mailing that simply [...]
Posted on June 4th, 2008 by Richard
Filed under: Design, Marketing, Production | 3 Comments »
If a marketing piece only needed to look good on the designer’s screen, it would be a much easier job to design. Reality is that most designs are printed using one of a variety of techniques on numerous types of equipment. Each printing press and process has different capabilities and limitations.
To achieve the best results, [...]
Posted on May 27th, 2008 by Richard
Filed under: Design, Production | No Comments »
For a given design, I might specify that the printing be in spot colors or process colors. Sometimes, I might even specify process printing plus a spot color. The decision to specify a spot, process, or spot and process is made based on a variety of factors.
Process printing, using the familiar CMYK inks (Cyan, Magenta, [...]
Posted on May 19th, 2008 by Richard
Filed under: Production | No Comments »
The savvy purchaser of marketing services understands a novel concept — even in today’s economy — Price is not everything. While calling for quotes and comparing prices and quality provided are important, it is also important to realize the value in developing a long-term relationship with key vendors.
The relationship you develop with your designer, printer, [...]
Posted on May 9th, 2008 by Richard
Filed under: Design, Internet, Production | No Comments »
OFFSET LITHOGRAPHY
Offset printing — or offset lithography, as the process is officially called — is the most popular method in commercial printing. The offset lithography process was invented, accidentally, in 1906, but it wasn’t until the 1950s that it became the most popular form of printing. By then, offset plates, inks and paper had improved [...]
Posted on May 5th, 2008 by Richard
Filed under: Production | 1 Comment »
You have just worked with your designer and printer to produce your latest marketing piece on environmentally friendly, FSC or SFI certified papers. Is this all that you can do to make your printed piece more environmentally friendly? Most definitely not! What about the ink selection.
It is important to make sure that the printing ink [...]
Posted on April 15th, 2008 by Richard
Filed under: Production | 1 Comment »
“Consumers are 66% more likely to purchase a product if they believe the company is environmentally conscious.” — BusinessWeek
In a PREVIOUS POST, I explained the huge impact paper manufacturing processes have on our environmental resources. Additionally, there is not a person reading this who cannot find numerous ways that paper impacts their life. The choices [...]
Posted on January 31st, 2008 by Richard
Filed under: Production | No Comments »
