What are Mailing Services and How Can We Use Them?
Direct mailing services are great solutions for the business owners who are looking to increase the sales and expand loyal customer base for their company. It achieves both the purposes of increasing the sales as well as building physical connection between the customers and the company. It has been seen that marketing emails often land up in the spam folders of your mailbox. But when a mail is sent by post and directly delivered to the customers they feel interested in taking a look through. Another impressive aspect of direct mails is that they address the customers by their name. This offers a feel good factor for the recipients.
Direct mails increase the visibility of the company among the customers and make them aware of the products or services the company has. This is a major reason behind the usage of direct mails in the form of brochure, postcard, etc. Even after the recipient has finished reading through the direct mail they usually keep it in their home or office and are constantly reminded about the need of buying the products or services that a company has to offer. Email marketing does not have the same staying power as direct mails. A key aspect of direct mailing for customers is repeated action. At times the direct mail might reach the customers when they do not need the product or services. But there is no need to give up hope. If you keep sending them direct mails now or later a requirement will arise and they will buy from you. Even if the recipient does not buy the products or services himself/herself there is always a chance that they might refer some friends to your company.
Direct mailing using customized postcards is one of the leading ways for effective direct mailing. There are various online printing services providers offering various sizes of postcards and envelopes. You can get your postcards printed in the way you want to, include your company logo, and other information about the company along with the marketing messages to be delivered. Most of the reputed printing agencies online accept designed artwork defining how the direct mail should look like and what content should be used. So get the promotional messages stuffed into the mails and then upload the completed artwork in the mentioned format at the sites. You will also have to provide a mailing list with address and names of the recipients. If there is any other specifications needed mention the same to your printing services provider.
Getting the postcards printed and then been sent to the list of recipients mentioned by you does not cost a fortune. The prices charged by the printing service providers such as PrintPapa do not include the postage prices for the direct mails. PrintPapa offers UV coated full color postcards that are printed on 14 point Gloss and 110lb Matt Cardstock. Apart from postcards other promotional materials such as Flyers, Labels & Stickers, Rack Cards, Letterheads, Banners, etc. are also available at PrintPapa.
This entry was posted in Marketing and tagged direct mailing services, direct mails, Email marketing, online printing services, printing agencies, printing services provider on September 3, 2011 by ulki.
How Online Proofing Can Save You Time?
Let us take a flashback to the times before online printing services came into existence. Printing promotional materials was a quintessential part of marketing even back then. Marketers were more dependent on printing the postcards, business cards, brochures, posters, banners, etc. back then. But the problem was they had to select a printing press in close vicinity and could not make an independent choice based on the quality of work. Proximity of the printing press had to be close to the office or home of the marketers, for they required visiting the printers from time to time to check the progress of their work. They had to check the proof by physically being to the printers. This was taxing, taking into consideration the busy schedule of the businessmen even back then. They had to either cut on their business time or leisure time to pay such visits.
Now come back to the era of the Internet and online printing services people can order for their choice of promotional materials sitting within the comforts of their home. They can select the items just as they would do from the physical printing service providers. With the popularity of the concept for online printing services the reputed stores are coming up with new ways to make the online order placing, proofing and delivery procedure for their customers simple.
Proof checking is an essential part of promotional materials. Promotional materials signify the professionalism and the core values of the company. Often people form a favorable impression about a company based on the quality of prints and the messages they deliver. With such high stakes even a minor mistake can cause significant drop in sales. From the designing to content used in the promotional materials everything should be thoroughly checked to make sure it is picture perfect. With the online printing service providers you can check the proof sitting back at home in time which best suits you.
Online printing service providers have a well designed website that has options of uploading the artwork and selecting the exact sizes for the promotional materials. You can also add some extra specifications to further customize your printed product. There are tools at the websites whereby you can go through the proof and make the desired changes online. Just save the file after making the change. All the changes made during proof checking will be used while providing the end result. Reputed printing agencies such as PrintPapa offer 3 levels of proofing to make sure the customers get the exact design and content they had desired for. There are various types of promotional materials that you can get printed from PrintPapa such as calendars, greeting cards, letterhead, postcards, rack cards, etc.
This entry was posted in Marketing and tagged online printing services, printing agencies, printing press, printing service providers, promotional materials on September 2, 2011 by ulki.
Why You Need to Update Your Logo Every 5 Years?
Large organizations changing their logo designs have become a common occurrence. Most of the companies change their logos after every five years or so. Last year two popular companies decided to change their logos. Logo change of Gap and Starbucks made headlines. While the new logo of Starbucks was well received by their fans, Gap attracted quite a lot of criticism. Thus modifying a corporate logo requires a lot of deliberation. The corporate logo is not only displayed in the product packages they are also essential to elucidate what the company is all about without speaking a single word. Though some companies seem to be in frenzy about changing their corporate logos (at times even thrice in as many years) but too much change can distract the loyal customer base. Changing the logo once every five years is an inevitable fact for businesses.
Growth: With every passing year businesses will invariably grow and have higher profits. There are many ways in which a company grows. Some companies opt to merge with other big names in the industry to create a stronger brand entity. While some other companies grow by acquiring other smaller companies to add more value to its current business. Some companies might grow independently without taking recourse to the above mentioned steps. Whatever be the situation, the company has to change their logo to signify the change or growth.
New Values and Practices: Sometimes the logo change might not be due to the financial prosperity. Logo design change may also be triggered by change of vision and mission. Logo change often brings out the true business objectives and helps in brand positioning. While some companies go for an entirely new logo to signify their change other companies try to make some required changes.
New Services, Products or Technologies: Companies always look to expand their list of services or products. You can make the customers aware of the latest changes in the company with logo change. Though updating the logo each time you introduce a product or service is not a wise idea, but if some of the products or services have been popular among the users then the same can be used in the logo design.
Bad Press: Many times companies make enormous mistakes that cause their disrepute. You have to take quick steps in such instances before the situation gets out of hand. May be you are harming the environment in some way, you can reboot your brand image by adding a green colored logo which will say that the company will take environment friendly measures in the future.
So changing corporate logo is important in many ways for the corporate houses. A company goes through many changes in five years and thus it is a fitting time to think about the logo change. Reputed printing service providers such as PrintPapa can help you create a catchy logo and then use the new logo in all your promotional materials. You can promote your company effectively with the new logo and various promotional materials available at PrintPapa such as Brochures, Envelopes, Business cards, Banners, Bookmarks, etc.
This entry was posted in Design Tips and tagged brochures, Business Cards, corporate logo, envelopes, printing service providers on September 1, 2011 by ulki.
Why Should I Buy My Printing Locally?
As printing services have become essential marketing aids for the businesses, thus they are found in every locality. But there is a general misconception among the business owners that only the big names can yield them good results while the local printing services are made for frauds. This is not the truth. There might be some printing agencies in your locality which might deliver the same results as big named companies. When you measure the pros and cons of getting printing locally, the pros definitely outnumber the cons. There are two choices while making a selection of local printers. You can either opt for the physical printing services or search through the Internet to find best online printing services in your locality. Physical printers may be an attractive proposition for some as you will not have to wait on the printers schedule but it is a bit high costing if the number of documents to be printed is not low. Online printing services on the otherhand can provide full color prints of large volumes at cost effective rates. There are various paper size options available with the online printing service providers. Moreover, the online printers are specialized in printing of various types of promotional materials such as letterheads, brochures, posters, business cards, etc.
When the printers are placed in locality, you can visit the print press anytime you want to and check the proof and adjust the colors for your promotional materials. This saves you from the hassles of traveling or having to wait for extended periods to check your proof.
You can sit with the professionals employed at the local printers and plan the layout and design face to face.
You can check the quality of paper and make sure that it meets your expectations. Paper is an important aspect in getting flawless prints.
Though many online printing service providers will provide you significant discounts, but those will affect the quality of the prints. Though you might have to spend some extra bucks for getting local printing services but that will help your printing promotions significantly, as a print promotion solely depends on the quality of the paper and prints. You will not have to wait for the prints to arrive. When you take up the services of big named printing service provider there are chances that your work will be in the queue and thus will take some time to be delivered. In terms of the local printers you can expect personalized handling of your orders. If you are looking for a local printer in Santa Clara, California then PrintPapa is the best option you can opt for. They have wide experience in printing promotional materials such as envelopes, doorhanger, poster, rackcards, greeting cards, etc.
This entry was posted in Marketing and tagged brochures, letterheads, local printing services, online printing service providers, posters, printing agencies on August 31, 2011 by ulki.
When you are self publishing book there comes a moment of truth for which you have been waiting both as an author and publisher. You get the printed proof delivered. Before this, all your creative work has existed in word documents, in the layouts and typography. It is the first time that you see and hold your work in hand. Many authors are carried away by the situation and rightly so! Most first time self publishing authors are excited along with frightened. But do not give the go ahead to the printing service provider just yet. You have to proof read the book before it goes for printing. Checking proof for the book ensures that the book is correctly printed. Make sure all the misalignment, weird spacing, wrong fonts and typographical errors are carefully removed. Not only the newbie, many experienced self publishing authors are still bugged by the problems regarding proof checking. You should check the proof like your job depends upon it. And indeed that is the truth; no reader likes to see silly mistakes in a book!
Are the fonts used consistently through the book?
Whether the quotation marks are curled and they are not inch straight?
Whether the hyphens are properly mentioned? Hyphens can change the meaning of a word.
Is the line spacing between the paragraphs consistent?
Are some lines looser while others tighter? Also check whether there are forced line breaks.
You may also ask someone else to read through the book, who hasn’t seen the work before. Independent observers can often uncover many flaws that might have gone unnoticed.
Windows/Orphans: Get rid of the single lines at the bottom of top of a page.
Running heads should be consistent and have proper information. The headlines mainly include the chapter and part titles. Often these are the most overlooked parts of the book.
Check whether all the chapter openers start from the same place on the page. Also check whether all the elements in the page are similar.
Make sure that the pagination is properly done. All the odd numbered pages are on the right side.
Page references should also be checked for.
Paragraph indents should always be consistent whatever be the style used.
To check the alignment of the pages you should hold the book in one hand and flip the pages quickly using the finger. This will bring to your notice whether there are any misalignment or not.
Are the color and design elements in the cover just as you had planned?
Is the book’s title clearly visible?
Are the words typed on the spine of the book straight and clear?
None of the important information should be close to the trimmed edges.
Make sure the ISBN or bar code in the back cover of the book matches with the information in the copyright page.
Check whether the category and price included in the book are correct?
Proof read the content on the back cover of the book too.
With the help of the above given steps you can check proof of your book effectively and make the changes that will make self published book look more professional. If you have any further troubles you can contact a reputed printing agency such as PrintPapa. They have a wealth of experience in printing various types of promotional materials such as Brochures, Booklets, Calendars, Presentation Folders, Business Cards, etc.
This entry was posted in Tips & Tricks and tagged booklets, brochures, calendars, printing agency, printing service provider, self publishing authors, self publishing book on August 30, 2011 by ulki.
What is Online Printing Anyway?
In the fast world of the times everyone wants solutions to their problems without leaving their homes. If you have started a business you would require printing service providers to get the key promotional materials such as Letterheads, Business Cards, Brochures, Posters, etc. printed. You can get the best printing services for such promotional materials without having to move an inch from your home or office. There are many reputed printing agencies offering online printing. Online printing is affordable and convenient and the printers mete out best quality and timely delivery. You should check with the printing service provider whether they meet the above mentioned criteria. In the traditional printing services the customers had to visit the press again and again to monitor the quality and progress of work. The busy professionals had to cut down upon their relaxation time to pay such visits to the printing press. It is very difficult for the new business owners to dedicate such time as they have to look into various key business aspects such as legal matters, recruitment, decoration/renovation of the office, etc. So with the help of the online printing services you can now have some time to relax.
If you have certain designs and content that would be implemented in the promotional materials, then there are special arrangements at such sites. The online printing service providers have special sections where you can not only order for the items but also upload your artwork based on the specifications mentioned at the website. The payment gateway used by the leading printing service providers such as PrintPapa is totally safe. Once ordered for the items get delivered in quick time. All the promotional materials are created strictly based on your preferences. So there is no place to complain. But it is important to learn about the file format for the files that need to be uploaded by the clients.
There is no need to worry about the date of delivery. It generally does not take more than few business day to deliver the order.
Vast options are available for online printing with PrintPapa whether it is business card, rack cards, poster, banner, or any other type of promotional materials you want to get printed you will get plenty of options.
This entry was posted in Marketing and tagged business card, online printing, printing agencies, printing service providers, rack cards on August 29, 2011 by ulki.
Should I print it 2-color or 4-color?
If you still lived in the early days of printing then this question would have never crossed your mind because two color offset printing was the only option available in those times. With the growth of digital printing technology there are new options available now for commercial printing. Four color digital printing is a viable option for all the marketers in today’s times. But the availability of the two color and four color printing process has left many people confused. This is the reason, understanding the advantages and disadvantages of both these color printing processes is important.
Two color offset printing is one of the most common processes for high volume commercial printing. In this process the image to be inserted is placed on a plate and then transferred from the plate to a rubber blanket, which again is moved to the printing surface. Two color printing is mainly based on the use of oil and water. Ink rollers supply the required ink to the images while the non printed area attracts a film of water. The film of water keeps the non printing area free of any ink. In four color digital printing process the mechanical steps such as manually stripping the pieces to create a plate and making films for color proofs are not needed.
It provides a shorter turnaround as it does not require much manual work.
All the prints have same color. There are lesser wastes, accurate counts and the color remains constant as there is no need to balance the ink and water during digital printing.
It costs lower for high volume of printing. Though the per unit cost of each piece is higher than in offset printing, but when you consider the set up costs, you will find that four color printing costs much less nowadays as the there is no setup cost in digital printing.
There are customization options in four color printing without slowing down the print speed. The information stored in the databases can be used to provide unique copies every time, such as ones for the personalized letters used for marketing. This process is called Variable Data Printing.
It will work on many types of surfaces other than paper such as cloth, metal, wood, plastic, leather, etc.
If you order for a large quantity of prints then per unit cost goes down.
Modern two color or 4 color offset presses use computer to plate technology which assures higher quality.
Are you still not able to make up your mind? Then use the below given checklist.
Quantity: If you are ordering for a large number of prints then the cost per unit would be considerably less for two color offset printing, while if you are looking for short run printing then four color digital printing is your definite choice.
Printing Medium: If you need unusual printing surface, special type of paper, unique size, etc. then offset printing is a good choice. Though the options are gradually increasing with four color printing too.
Color: If you require only black and white prints then the two color process is a choice you can make. While if you want many colors to be used in your prints then the four color or digital printing is your cup of tea.
Turnaround: Four color printing is totally automated and controlled by the computers so it will give you faster turnaround. So if you have a time constraint, four color printing should be your choice.
Proof Checking: Four color digital prints offer better proofs as they produce a sample of how the actual printed piece would look like.
So make the choices based on your requirements. You may also ask for suggestions from the experienced printing service providers such as PrintPapa. They have expertise in offering high quality printing for various promotional materials such as rack cards, greeting cards, posters, short run books, NCR forms, etc.
This entry was posted in Design Tips and tagged commercial printing, digital printing, Four color printing, greeting cards, printing service providers, rack cards, two color printing on August 26, 2011 by ulki.
PrintPapa, which initiated its journey from being a mailbox store franchise offering copying services, has quickly become a full service graphic production and printing company. One of the key factors behind the phenomenal rise of the company has been attributed to the use of the Presstek DI digital offset.
In 2003, the whole saga started when Shawn and Paul Nag left their software engineering jobs in a leading firm to start their own business. The duo started out with a mailbox store franchise to begin with. They sold black and white and color copiers in the initial years. As the amount of business grew, the Nag brothers found out that their business was primarily focused on copying and printing. So, they started outsourcing large works to other printers. But this strategy was not reaping the profits the brothers were hoping for. Then there were many other issues with quality and meeting schedules. So, Shawn and Paul started their own printing business and PrintPapa was formed in 2004.
In order to give their business a head start, the Nag brothers bought two presses – a small format two and four color presses. For prepress they used the new Presstek Dimension Excel chemistry free CTP system. The metal plates used in these presses gave great results.
But as the business grew there were various problems with the yield of these printers so that the Nag brothers turned to Presstek again. In a trade show they got acquainted with Presstek 34DI digital offset press. After using this press there was no looking back for PrintPapa. The owners of the company felt that with the use of Presstek 34DI they have got a lot of business even in the recession hit economy. This printer has also allowed the company to charge affordable prices from their clients.
Shawn and Paul Nag now feel that investing in the Presstek 34 DI digital press was the wisest decision they made!
This entry was posted in Print News and tagged color copiers, copying, prepress, printer, printing company on August 26, 2011 by ulki.
To get attention of prospective buyers and earn profits you need to promote and market your products well. But as marketers you might not have enough marketing budget for big or mega events, print ads and TV commercials. If you are stuck in such a situation then promotional printing at Print Papa is your answer to all advertising needs.
At PrintPapa we can Design, Print and Mail your postcards! There are various uses of the postcards whether they are used as RSVP Cards, Announcements, Direct Mailing or Handouts provided at Trade Shows. As these are important products for promotional campaigns we offer fast turn around and best quality. You can save your time and money even further by letting us Print, Design and Mail the postcards on your part.
• Send the mailing list in the proper format by downloading the format and template available at the website.
• Name the file mailing.xls and save the file in Excel or csv file format.
• Upload the address details file and the artwork after you have placed the order.
• As per the USPS guidelines the address block in your postcard should be white.
• Order at least 50 cards more than your address count; this will save you from running short of stocks.
• 2 extra production days will be added to the turn around time chosen by you.
• Postage costs are not included in our service. Thus you will have to pay extra for that.
• The unused postcards will be shipped to your location after the mailing process is completed.
• If you want to recycle the remaining postcards, just let us know we will do it for free.
• Low minimum order limit has been cut down to 50 postcards. This will allow our customers to order postcards exactly per their needs.
• Corner Rounding Option has also been included for postcard printing and designing. This is one of the latest trends in postcard marketing and we will let our customers get the best benefits with corner rounding postcards.
• With our discount offer all through the month of August all the customers can save on their print marketing budgets.
• We have brought more choices in terms of size, design and dimensions of postcards.
• Same and next day delivery is available for low as well we high amount of postcard printing orders.
This lucrative discount offer is available for the month of August only. So register with Print Papa today!
This entry was posted in New @PrintPapa and tagged Coupon Codes, direct mailing, Mailing Service, Post Card Printing on August 16, 2011 by ulki.
Which are the Latest Trends in Catalog Printing?
There are various types of promotional materials used to elevate marketing and advertising campaigns. Though there are many types of promotional materials used by the business owners but catalog printing is still a key component in the marketing strategies of many companies, whatever be their size. Catalogs are considered as a reference material for both customers and prospective customers and they provide the business owners with the opportunity of cross selling and keeping the products or services at the ‘fingertips of the customers’. With the use of this promotional material business owners can expect to get high return on investment. Thus the business owners are using it more and more in their promotional campaigns.
But like all other promotional materials, catalog printing has also evolved and there are many new trends that have been noticed. These trends provide an edge to the businesses. So you should be well aware of these recent trends as all the other competitors might be reaping the benefits of these recent trends. Some of the key recent trends include the use of extra large catalogs, full color catalogs and coupons. Let us take a closer look at all these trends so that you may make a wise choice when it comes to catalog printing.
Extra Large Catalogs: In the earlier times the standard size of the catalog was 8.5X11 inches but nowadays more and more businesses are using 12X12 and even larger sizes of catalogs. Though there are larger costs associated with the catalog printing projects but the number of pages required is less too. With this format you will have more room to fit in more product related information in one page only. Though the costs increase with the need for larger pages but it is neutralized by the need for lesser pages. Larger format of catalogs catch the eyes of the customers faster and this is the reason why more businesses are inclined to use these.
Full Color Catalogs: These are a requirement for companies having a large list of products. All the customers expect color pictures and graphics in a catalog and anything less then that looks cliché and sub-standard. Most companies nowadays are using the 100# high gloss paper to provide the best appearance to the catalog.
Coupons: Another latest trend in catalog printing is the use of coupons or tear away stickers which can be redeemed at the retail store. These can be included with ease in your catalog printing project. So the business owners do not have to worry much about their designing or printing charges. These coupons have the sole purpose of improving the return on investment dramatically.
Catalog printing is one of the best methods for marketing around. With the utilization of the modern trends in this promotional material businesses are getting better return on investment. Whatever promotional materials you look to print, one of the key considerations is the choice of the printing service provider. You should always opt for a renowned printing agency such as PrintPapa. PrintPapa has huge experience not only in printing catalogs but other promotional materials such as business cards, banners, posters, notepads, rack cards, calendars, etc.
This entry was posted in Marketing and tagged catalog printing, catalogs, printing agency, printing service provider, promotional materials on July 1, 2011 by ulki.