A design print blog for creative types
These useful, creative articles help you market your business. Our blog posts cover topics that can help marketing professionals, designers and agencies grow their own and their clients’ businesses online or via traditional marketing methods.
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Brochure design tip: calculating brochure spine width
If your brochure or catalogue is to be perfect bound, it’s possible you want to add text to the spine. Perhaps your brochure / catalogue might need to fit inside something else – a presentation folder or an envelope? Perhaps you’re concerned about direct mail restrictions and you need to ensure your brochure will mail for the lowest cost?
Direct marketing tip: Should I be using QR codes?
Possibly... What's your call-to-action? What do you want people to do as a result of seeing your marketing materials? What are you selling? To whom? If a QR code makes it easier for your prospect to do the thing you want them to do, you should include it. For example,...
5 ways to work better with your graphic designer
If your business outsources or is considering outsourcing your graphic design, these 5 tips should help you to get the most from your relationship and avoid frustrating (and costly) mis-communication: 1. Build a partnership One of the first things to realise with a...
4 tips for choosing a graphic designer. Where do you start?
If you're in business, and your business relies on convincing prospects to buy a product or service, you'll need a graphic designer on board. If you're not a graphic designer yourself, you'll make better use of your time focusing on what you're good at rather than...
Scratch card campaign tips: 5 things every marketer ought to know about printing scratch cards
As you may have already discovered, printing scratch cards can be a bit more complicated than your everyday marketing challenge.
For starters, you’ll have more to think about in advance in order to be able to confirm costs. This quick list should set you on the right path and help you get up to speed in the fastest possible time. It might also be the fastest way to help you decide that printing scratch cards just isn’t right for you – but if that’s the case at least you can make that decision quickly and move on with your next project.
5 tips for outsourcing graphic design
Outsourcing your graphic design can benefit your company by freeing up your time for other business tasks and ensuring a cohesive marketing message. Perhaps because graphic design is often outsourced, many graphic designers work on a freelance basis, which can make finding the right designer a tricky exercise. Here are five things to look for when outsourcing your graphic design.
Printed scratch cards can help you generate amazing results
Printed scratch cards aren’t just another promotional item - they can be a powerful marketing tool too By planning a scratch card promotion around a target audience, you will attract new customers, influence your existing customers to take action, and build word of...
5 reasons you shouldn’t try and do your own graphic design
We’ve mentioned it before, but we believe that for clients to make the most of their marketing budget, design should only be attempted by professional graphic designers. Poorly designed materials can break a marketing campaign from the start. Let’s review the top five reasons that attempting design without professional guidance is a false economy.
Folder printing simply explained in 3 minutes flat
If you've set out to print presentation folders you're going to need to know a few basics. The following folder printing tips will have you up to speed in a flash. We've only got 3 minutes, so here goes: CMYK: this is the abbreviation printers use which means 'full...
In business everyone wins with scratch card printing
If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to engage your customers and make the most of your marketing budget, hiring a printer to print scratch cards to promote awareness and involvement with your brand may be an option. Scratch cards are easy to integrate with existing promotions or can be used as a promotion on their own. The instant results of a scratch card have customers and prospects excited about you and your offers before they walk away, expanding your company’s reach and creating sales.
5 reasons you should be using a graphic designer for your marketing
Occasionally, businesses without design experience attempt to design marketing materials on their own – and meet with disaster when the resulting printed materials are not up to standard due to design errors, causing time and money to be lost. These businesses learn...
Exhibitions, trade shows and scratch cards – a winning combination
With the spring trade show season approaching, it’s time to start planning how your exhibition stand will attract attention. Your prospects will be navigating a maze of flashy advertising, sales pitches and complimentary chocolates – so what can you offer that’s innovative and intriguing? Printed scratch cards may be the answer. Using a professional printers to print scratch cards for your company’s promotions is a unique way to attract footfalls to your stand and keep prospects excited – even after the show closes.
Direct marketing can make life easier for your customers
I have no sympathy for companies that deliberately set out to make life difficult for their customers. Yesterday I started researching a project for one of our clients. I searched a few websites and nobody seemed to supply exactly what I needed so I started making a...
How to brief a graphic designer – 6 easy steps
A graphic designer’s goal is to provide clients with marketing that materials that get results while working within budget and deadline. To do this, graphic designers need as much familiarity as possible with their clients’ goals and expectations, obtained through a...
Choosing graphic designers to unlock the best project results
Every business has its own areas of expertise. Even businesses that have an internal designer frequently find it cost-effective to outsource their creative work to a business whose areas of expertise include graphic design.
Printed presentation folders: First impressions last!
In the battle for customer attention, would-be customers must be impressed by you, your company and what you have to say. Customers form their opinions in a split second and often without conscious effort, so from the outset everything you do and say must demonstrate your commitment to being the best that you can. One of the most cost-effective ways to make that good first impression is by printing presentation folders.
Printing scratch cards – A win : win for our business and your customers
If you're looking for an inexpensive way to engage your customers and make the most of your marketing budget, then designing and printing scratch cards to promote awareness and involvement with your brand may be an option. Scratch cards are easy to integrate with...
11 tips for printing envelopes
1) Wallet or pocket? All envelopes are split into either wallets or pockets. Put simply, wallets open on the long edge and pockets on the short edge. 2) What size? Envelopes are measured in ‘C’ sizes that correspond to the standard ‘A’ sizes for paper. So a C5...
9 reasons to design and print presentation folders
This post has been updated. With current squeezes on corporate budgets, printing presentation folders can be a much more cost-effective way to present your marketing message than a corporate brochure. Infinitely more flexible, when you print presentation folders you...
7 tips for printing your marketing materials
1) Choose the right paper. To many people, paper is paper. Simple as that. However there are actually thousands of different brands of paper, from many different manufacturers. They vary hugely in price, with each having its own benefits. Consider the overall...
Marketing trends: The importance of printing in today’s media mix
With so much attention being paid to the ever-changing world of technology and the digital era, online marketing can demand so much of your attention just to keep up. However, it is important not to overlook the proven, established marketing methods that can boost...
Creating artwork correctly 11 free tips you’ll really want to know
Creating artwork correctly is simple if you follow the advice below If you think your creating artwork correctly for print, have a quick read of this blog post as a quick refresher and see how many of these tips you can put a tick by. So, your boss has asked you to...
Communicate ideas better with a clear graphic design brief
All graphic design and print specialists should pride themselves on listening to their clients needs and specific requirements on every project they undertake. Creating the perfect logo or designing a stunning brochure can only be achieved by listening and...
Seasonal printing a great way to engage with customers
Sunny? Great! But that’s for now, Christmas is around the corner so put down the shades and get your seasonal printing skates on! Seasonal printing is a must have for your Christmas marketing plan. With the advances of the digital age it is easy to be swept up into...
Why designing in microsoft publisher will cost you money
We get lots of calls from new clients asking for a print quote, saying they are able to provide a print-ready file. Further down the line, when we’re ready to jump to action and they’ve left it until the last minute to send their artwork, we hear the dreaded words “I’ve designed my project in Microsoft Publisher, is that ok?” If you fall into this category, please bear in mind the following:
Full colour printing – CMYK? RGB? Spot colours & pantones?
One of the most common reasons for artwork being rejected is because it (or components thereof) are set up in RGB. Experienced graphic designers may wish to stop reading here - this will be covering old ground for you (however you're all guilty of this crime on the...
How to tell how many printed pages (PP) are in your brochure
Page numbers are a constant source of confusion for less experienced graphic design customers.
Exhibition Stands, large format printing and graphic design
A high quality exhibition graphic will wow your customers every time! If you have an Exhibition coming up in the next few months you need to start preparing now (well yesterday actually!). Here's a checklist of the types of things you should be considering when you...
Direct mail mistakes guaranteed to upset customers
If you make direct mail mistakes it could leave your customers out of pocket Last week we received a note from Royal Mail in our post. Someone had sent us a letter and not paid the correct postage... could we please go to the sorting office to collect, or call to...