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Has there ever been a cozy little hole-in-the-wall restaurant that you like to think of as your own? You love the food, the owners know your name, and since the place is never very crowded, you are always entitled to your particular booth of preference. Other regulars also seem to have this same camaraderie with your eatery. Then one Saturday night you pull up to enjoy another great meal at your restaurant, when you realize the windows are dim, the interior is desolate, and a “For Sale” sign looms over the locked door.
Although this situation is unfortunate, it is quite common. Small business owners have a tendency to get so comfortable with their usual customers, and the daily process of maintaining their establishment, that advertising and branding fall by the wayside. Proprietors rationalize that they enjoy status as the local “mom and pop shop” and don’t want to handle a larger business. Big or small, every business likes to keep afloat, and that is near impossible without branding.
The point of having a business in the first place is to provide services for end users. In exchange, consumers will fund the means for more services and you will hopefully make a profit. In other words, this economical cycle is dependent on the customers. Therefore, as a small business owner your main goal is the bring in more customers.
Every business person has the luxury of having spent time on both sides of the cash register. As a customer you know you have numerous shopping options for the array of products you need and desire throughout your daily life. The merchant who gets your money will usually be the one who has best sold you on the combinations of factors which are important to you. Location, price, product quality, service, convenience, etc. are all possible determinants of your buying behavior. You will be affected by your past experiences. You may also be affected by the past experiences of those you trust. This is called word-of-mouth advertising. Overall, if you are unfamiliar with a business, or have heard negative remarks about a business through word-of-mouth, you probably will not trust that company.
Now let’s flip the coin. Say you own a hair salon. A woman comes in for her hair appointment explaining that she’s never had bangs but she wants to try them out. You cut her hair the way she asks and she ends up hating bangs on her face. In an emotional uproar, she rants to her friends and family, berating your hair salon. With a little bit of a domino effect, your hair salon could sink quickly.
Now apply that same unjust situation to your business. It could easily happen to you. In fact, it may be happening as I speak. This is why it is imperative to brand your business. The purpose of branding is to give your company a voice and an image that paints your business in a positive and desirable light. Custom promotional printing such as custom post card printing and brochure printing for example, will allow you to associate positive colors, images, words and feelings with the services of your company. Branding allows you to counteract any negative image that may be created over the years, so that you can reach and appeal to your potential customers.
The goal of branding is to get your company name everywhere, through corporate identity printing. Custom business cards for all your employers are a must. Investing in business card printing is a valuable endeavor. Let’s say you own a home remodeling business. you’re at a friends barbecue over the weekend and two couples happen to be discussing the remodeling they want done on their home. You engage them in conversation and give them your card. You just scored two potential jobs.
Branding helps you establish trust with potential customers. As I mentioned before, trust is an important factor in the buying decision. We want to buy products we trust, from sellers we trust. A recognizable and reputable company image will ensure more customers. This is especially true for product categories which satisfy sensitive needs, such as health products and self image products, as well as big ticket items. Banner printing services, such as indoor banner printing and outdoor banner printing, will allow you to place your company name and logo in areas highly trafficked by potential customers. This positive company reinforcement will hammer home the message so that the next time the customer needs a product you offer, your services are in top-of-mind awareness.
A distinct corporate identity will distinguish your business in the marketplace. It is very rare nowadays to have a business that stands completely alone in its industry. If you happen to own a business that solves a particular customer problem which no one else has ever solved, this is even more of a reason to brand your business! The people must be informed that they have this problem and that you have their solution. Most likely, though, you will have a slew of competitors offering the same type of products. If you do not establish a corporate identity to break through the clutter of the marketplace, your business will be disposable. There is a good chance you will lose customers, and you may ultimately go bankrupt.
Filed under: Uncategorized, Education on March 15th, 2008
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Many scholars refer to the printing press as the single most important invention of the Middle Ages. The printed word is the basis for all quick and efficient communication between human beings. Print development gave way to an explosion of cultural and societal power and freedom; as ideas and thoughts were recorded and passed on. In fact, there is much argument suggesting pivotal turning points in history would not have occurred without the ability to mass-produce words in print. What follows is a general time line detailing the development of print and how this ingenuous invention changed the way people see the world.
7th century – 13th century: Prior to the creation of the printing press, manuscripts were transcribed by hand, mostly for the purpose of religious worship.
13th century – 15th century: In this time period, manuscripts became secularized. The focus was no longer on piety, but rather on passing along knowledge of the observable world.
End of the 13th century: Mass-development of universities throughout Europe fostered strong relationships with books and the knowledge that could be extracted from them.
- Unfortunately access to books was not readily available at this time. In order to balance out the demand, universities implemented stationers which housed books. Students could come to these stationers to copy books by hand, or pay book copiers to copy books for them. (A stark difference from the easy online custom printing access we enjoy today.)
1440: German Goldsmith, Johannes Gutenberg, combined elements of paper, oil-based ink and the wine-press to create the printing press process of movable type, which quickly replaced block type as the standard for print.- Although many before him were making discoveries with movable type, Gutenberg was the first to make type from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony, which produced the most durable high-quality print.
15th century – 16th century: The first printed books were created. These were very traditional works, such as the Bible and other prayer books, as well as religious calendars.
- 1501: By this time, there were 1,00 printing shops in Europe, which produced 35,000 book titles and 20 million book copies.
16th century – 17th century: Printed book content expanded outside of religion and began to explore European life and society. This is when the idea of promotional printing first came about.
1796: Lithography was invented by Bavarian author Aloys Senefelder. This was a method for printing on a smooth surface using a chemical process to create an image.
1818: Senefelder introduced colored lithography, known as chromolithography, the first method for making true full color fine art printing.
1907: Samuel Simon took out patents on his concepts for screen-printing, which had its origins in stenciling, most notably derived from the Japanese.
1960s: Xerox introduced Xerographic office photocopying, which gradually replaced copies made by Verifax, Photostat, carbon paper, mimeograph machines, and other duplicating machines over succeeding 20 years.
1969: The laser printer was invented at Xerox by researcher Gary Starkweather. The idea was based on a modified xerographic copier, and became a multibillion-dollar business for Xerox.
1970: Creation of the Dot Matrix printer, a computer printer with a print head that runs back and forth on the page and prints by impact.
1979: Thermal inkjet printing (or giclee printing) was invented in HP Laboratories.
1993: Digital C Printing came about. This was the first reproduction of digital images on a physical surface (common or photographic paper, film, cloth, plastic, etc.)
Life Magazine referred to the printing press as, “the greatest invention in the last 1000 years.” The creation of movable type had an extreme impact on the social, political, and scientific evolution of Europe. Gutenberg’s movable type printing press provided the foundation for the printed word, and remained as the principal means of printing until the late 20th century. While, today we are accustomed to receiving quick full color digital c printing, and other online custom printing services, with the click of a button, we have traveled quite a distance to get here.
Filed under: Uncategorized, Education, Technology, Digital C Print on January 30th, 2008
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Color printing is the act of reproducing an image or text in color, as opposed to black and white or monochrome (one color). Nowadays, color printing is a commonplace task that most people perform on a daily basis. In fact, full color online printing services are now readily available if you’d rather not deal with such a chore. The process of full color photo printing and full color fine art printing is a precise and detailed science.
Have you ever pondered the symbolic relationship between the computer and the printer? How is it that colors we designate on screen are able to so accurately replicate on paper? Equally as fascinating is the color copier; which is able to instantly clone and multiply our original color pieces. Who is the man behind the curtain making all of these features possible? Today’s technological machinery had the power to print custom pantone colors in full range, due to a method known as four-color process printing.
Four-color process printing is, exactly as its name suggests, a process of full color fine art printing which uses four colors—or three primary colors and one shade—cyan, magenta, and yellow, plus black. The commonly accepted abbreviation is CMYK. While four-color process printing is most typically used, six-color process printing is the new trend in full color giclee printing. Six-color adds orange and green to the CMYK model for a larger palette of vibrant color resolution.
In order to print a color image in CMYK, a series of steps must occur.
Color separation process
First, the original color piece is separated into three gray scale images of red, green, and blue (RGB) components. Next each of these components is inverted into their negative counter part. CMY are subtractive primaries. Each component of CMY represents two of the three additive primaries (RGB) after one additive primary is subtracted from white light. In other words CMY represents negative images of RGB. When inverted red transforms to cyan, green transforms to magenta, and blue transforms to yellow.
Cyan, magenta, and yellow are the three main color properties used for color printing. When these three colors are combined the result should fall fairly close to the original piece. Due to the shortcomings in ink pigments, however, the darker colors of the pieces become muddled. Black is then used to fine-tune the shadow and contrast of the image. The letter “K” is used to represent black in the CMYK model. The “K” stands for “key,” because black is the key color or shade used in the RGB printing conversion process. The black separation allows accurate colors within a color model to be obtained. This is called color matching.
Screening
The next step in the custom pantone color printing process is screening. Screening essentially accounts for the fine details of a color image. In screening, lighter shades are represented as tiny dots rather than solid sections of ink. A printing press on its own cannot determine the variations of ink needed to detail an image. In the process of screening the screen grids are set at different angles. The screening dots create tiny rosettes, which, through the power of optical illusion, appear to form a continuous-tone image.
And this is how you get your finished color image in print. Now you’ll know, the next time you hit the “Print” button, exactly what’s going on amidst all that humming and whistling of the printer.
Filed under: Uncategorized, Education, Technology on January 24th, 2008
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Guerilla marketing refers to using unconventional means to push your product of business. The goal is to place your company name, logo, and/or advertisements anywhere that your target market will not only see them, but be receptive to them.
Unlike traditional marketing (such as television, radio, and print), non traditional marketing can be a cost-effective alternative that will yield much higher returns. As a society, we have become accustomed to traditional marketing. We expect to encounter ads in the middle of T.V. shows and between the pages of magazines and newspapers. In fact, consumers now have many options to negate run-ins with advertising. TiVo and satellite radio are two examples of popular new-age technology which blocks out ads.
This means businesses and advertisers must work extra hard to reach consumers. Using guerilla marketing tactics affords your company presence and visibility in an area where consumers don’t expect it. The surprise of guerilla marketing is often intriguing and entertaining.
If you own a small business you might feel doubtful and assume you don’t have the finances or resources to engage in guerilla marketing. While large-scale nontraditional advertising efforts might be reserved for the corporate big boys, local businesses have unconventional capabilities at a lower cost. Promotional printing allows your small company to get its name out there, without falling captive to bland and passive advertising.
Local businesses often make the tragic mistake of attempting to piece together T.V., radio, or print ads, in-house, on a low-budget. These advertisements usually come off as very amateur, which lowers the credibility of the company. Most novice-crafted advertising gets lost among the clutter because it is cliché and does not stand out. Instead o throwing out dollars, put your advertising expenses towards corporate identity printing and promotional printing.
Nowadays, printing shops can print your company name and logo on any item you request. Make a long list of outrageous but relecant items that can be used as premiums. Then contact a promotional printing company and let the printing begin.
There is nothing the consumers enjoy more than free products. If it’s free, they will take it. And if your business name is boldly printed on you giveaways, then all the more reason to get them into customer hands.
Brochure printing and business card printing are two popular ways to gain presence in other related location. Once you receive custom brochure printing services and business card printing services, you can contact a full list of local businesses selling products complimentary to yours or dealing with your target market. Propose a brochure and business card swap, where you display their promotional printing and vice versa. This will allow you to establish relevant business partnerships. These partnerships can additionally provide you with word-of-mouth references, and therefore, more customers.
Additional corporate identity printing solutions include custom post card printing, letterhead printing, and stationary printing. Post card printing can be used for direct mail pieces. Promotional printing through direct advertising allows you to single out your specific target audience. You can use previous customers and their friends and family, as well as business partner contacts to develop a post card printing mailing list.
Stationary printing pieces and letterhead printing pieces can be given away at point-of-purchase they can be used as add-ons to other corporate identity printing pieces. Additionally, if you have any type of company-sponsored event, stationary printing and letterhead printing will come in handy.
Expanding the promotional printing of your business is a smart move towards success.
Filed under: Uncategorized, Education on January 23rd, 2008
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Color bleeding, as its name connotes, is a negative thing. When colors “bleed” in painting and dyeing, it often means that a single color is running down the paper or the fabric. Color bleeding in printing is a little different. In printing and graphic arts, colors are formed b dots. When two adjacent dots of different color mix before they dry, it is called color bleeding.
In order for a print to dry, the ink must absorb into the substrate. When the ink is wet, it is susceptible to bleeding. Unless it is done for effect, color bleeding will often reduce the quality of the print because it will produce unattractive work.
Whether of not your print experiences color bleeding is based on a number of factors. The type of paper you use can have a large effect on preventing your print from bleeding. Proper full color fine are printing paper is usually bright. Custom RGB printing, set on bright paper, shows strong contrast and accuracy of colors.
Additionally, suitable paper holds as much ink as possible near the surface of the giclee printing page. Our eyes only perceive the color near the surface. Full color fine are printing paper, which allows color to seep through the back of the sheet, will prevent visibility of dyes on the front side of the page. the more ink held at the surface of the paper, the stronger the paper’s print density. This is usually the case in thicker paper such as ink jet poster printing boards. The paper’s level of absorption is referred to as its level of capillary action or capillarity. This term is used to describe a substance’s ability to draw another substance into it. In this case, paper drawing in ink.
Another sign of strong custom RGB printing paper is that it is water-resistant. As ink is a water based solution, it has a tendency to move around the page if the page gets wet. Water-resistance will prevent the liquid from smudging or washing out images.
Final factors affecting the chances of color bleeding, include ink type and the properties of ink type, such as speed of ink drying, and printing technology, such as nozzle design and spacing with ink jet printers.
Filed under: Uncategorized, Education on January 23rd, 2008
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Ah, the age-old question whether to choose photo printing with a gloss finish or a matte finish. Personally, I am ridiculously indecisive and often spend a great deal of time deciphering between finishes. In fact, I am in the middle of an online custom printing order as we speak. I have stepped away to map out the options, and hopefully by the end of this blog entry, both you and I will come to some kind of conclusion on our individual custom online printing projects.
Glossy Pros
- Photo printing will have a shiny finish. This can be attractive to the eye.
- Colors are vibrant. Since glossy makes print shine, your colors will shine as well.
- As long as the original photo is in focus and not blurry, images with glossy print will typically appear crisp and sharp.
- Glossy finish refrains from creating a textured look when scanning and converting to digital c printing.
Glossy Cons
- Very likely to attract fingerprints and smudges.
- In order to remove fingerprints and smudges, you need to use a photo cloth and/or a liquid solution and be extremely gentle. Rubbing or scrubbing photo printing, no matter how delicate the cloth, can produce scratches.
- Glossy photos produce a glare, making them difficult to see from certain angles and uncomfortable to the eye.
- If the original is of poor quality, producing work with a glossy finish might accentuate the flaws.
Matte Pros
- Matte custom online printing services will conceal visibility of fingerprints and smudges.
- The majority of professional giclee printing is printed on matte-finish paper. This means that matte giclee printing will have a more professional look. This is especially true with black and white photo printing.
- Glare is significantly reduced with matte-finish prints.
Matte Cons
- Matte finish textures often make photos look grainy.
- Since matte finish is dull as opposed to lustrous, matte photo printing colors are less vibrant.
- When the photograph is scanned or converted to digital, matte-finish prints may produce a distracting pattern or texture.
So, overall it seems that photo printing finish should depend on the project you are handling. Glossy finish accommodates a more artistic display. If you are using very detailed and clean original photos, they will translate well to glossy. Also, if you are using plexiglass mounting, or another type of protective display case, susceptibility to smudging will be kept at bay.
On the other hand, if you are looking for a much more buttoned-up professional appeal, then matte-finish is the way to go. Matte-finish can be used effectively for promotional printing and corporate identity printing.
I hope this has helped you plan out your project and successfully complete your online custom printing order. As for my own custom online printing purchase – I am on my way to checkout right now.
Filed under: Uncategorized, Products, Education, Digital C Print on December 31st, 2007
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When it comes to giclee printing paper, size just matters. Believe it or not, the thickness of your printed page can affect the impact of your promotional printing piece. Although there is very little noticeable difference in quality of print from thin paper to thick, a weighty page will speak for itself.
How can any text be taken seriously on a flimsy piece of computer paper? If you’re expecting to get your brochure printing or letterhead printing done on the same type of paper that little Johnny used for his 3rd grade book report – well, it’s time to reconsider.
Heavy paper has an air of importance that is crucial in professional promotional printing. The feel is more sturdy and substantial. Custom RGB printing on thick paper will also translate visual weight to the eye. The appearance is much more serious and business-like than a thin piece of paper.
This paper is especially detrimental in business card printing. This is the case because business cards are typically small squares of paper, usually no larger than 3 inches by 5 inches. If you go flimsy on custom business card printing, it will just resonate cheap. You don’t generally hand a business card to someone whom you are acquainted with already and in handing it to someone you have not before, the first impression rule comes into play. People don’t want to pay for legit products and services from a business that can’t even spend the time, effort, or funds for anything more than amateur business card printing, created with a home desktop.
Thick papers hold up well, especially against heavy ink coverage, which is also a better design choice. Even when it comes to photo printing, thicker paper just looks better. Full color photo printing should be done on thicker inkjet photo printing papers.
Taking your project to a promotional printing company is your best bet for thick paper giclee printing. If you’d rather chance it on your own home destop, understand that you’re taking the risk of a major paper jam. Many commercial printers do not handle thick paper well, especially if they don’t provide a straight paper path of printing.
Filed under: Uncategorized, Design, Education, Digital C Print on December 19th, 2007
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Sometimes in life it is better to choose the more difficult path. For example, perhaps you’d rather visit a friend face-to-face, as opposed to talking to him or her on the phone or through the computer. Also, you’d probably rather attend a concert or a sports game, than watch it on television.
Passing up the ease and simplicity of online custom printing, to order your promotional printing at a printing store, however, is probably not a good idea. It barely makes sense when you can probably find more options and capabilities online. I understand that there are many people out there who just aren’t technologically-inclined. So, the concept of going through any type of computer-related process is daunting. However, the steps are mapped out for you on most custom online printing sites. Specifically, the one you’re at right now. Each specification is a matter of a mouse-click.
But what if you’ve never purchased corporate identity printing materials before? Honestly, this is a non-issue. Online custom printing affords you time to click around and try things our before you make your final decisions. All of the specifications are laid out for you. So, all you have to do is select.
If you’re a first-timer in the printing industry and you actually go to the giclee printing company, you may feel intimidated by the printing lingo. You may also find that the representative may be too busy or not a good instructor when it comes to explaining the giclee process. This may propel you to make a quick decision without thinking it out. This site was built on the principals of educating our customers and in turn offering productions to customers who know the difference.
Also, who wants to lug all of their promotional printing materials to a printer? With custom online printing you can upload as many files as you need and receive soft on screen PDF proofs or hard proofs back to you at your location for approval before your work is produced. Virtually the same process that you go through in person. If the word “upload” scares you, and you feel that I’m getting too technical, not to worry. Upload just means that when you click on the “upload” button, a little window will come up with access to all of the files and documents on your computer. Once again, all you have to do is click.
So, as you can see, the advantage of online custom printing strongly outweigh the option to order in-store. Happy ordering!
Filed under: Uncategorized, Proofs, Education, Technology on December 19th, 2007
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RGB (Red, Green, Blue) is the color scheme used in computer graphics. CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black or “Key”), on the other hand, is the standard for printing color images. The computer screen displays light. As colors are added in RGB, light is added as well. Alternately, the CMYK color scheme is used in combining inks. Therefore, as more colors are combined, the resulting color becomes darker.
If you are working in RGB, you must convert your promotional printing files from RGB to CMYK so that they can be printed on a printing press. Unfortunately, not all colors can be replicated in the transfer process. While some colors may be out of the CMYK gamut, it is usually difficult to tell the difference in full color fine art printing.
So what the differences?
RGB uses the colors red, green, blue which are the primary colors of light. The secondary colors to these are cyan, magenta, and blue, which can be found in CMYK. Therefore, CMYK is opposite RGB.
Both RGB and CMYK modes use 8-bit channels for each of their colors. Since RGB includes 3 colors, RGB is a 24-bit model. CMYK, on the other hand, uses 4 colors, and therefore it is a 32-bit model.
The RGB process of color is additive. The colors throughout the color spectrum are created in RGB by adding different intensities of red, green, and blue light to black. Black is equivalent to no light on the computer screen. The intensities of RGB light can be as weak as 0, or as strong as 255.
The CMYK process of color is exactly the opposite. As RGB light is striking an object, CMYK colors are absorbing the light and reflecting back appropriately. The amount of light absorbed depends on the amount of CMYK color present. Therefore, CMYK is considered a subtractive process. The colors displayed by CMYK are the result of subtracting varying amounts of red, green, and blue light.
When your promotional printing project uses custom RGB printing, the eye sees the varying light of red, green, and blue (and all the colors they produce) before they are absorbed. When you produce Giclee printing in CMYK, however, we are seeing the color lights that have been reflected back to us after absorption.
This is just more proof that full color photo printing is an amazing and intensely detailed process.
Filed under: Uncategorized, Design, Education, File Preparation, Technology, Digital C Print on December 19th, 2007
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Thank you to all of you whom had entrusted us with their Graphic Communications in 2007.
We look forward to serving you in 2008 with new products such as direct mail and an expanded line of business stationary that steps away from the commodity printers and offers your brand a distinctive appeal.
It’s all about reaction and response.
Thank you,
The staff and management
Filed under: Uncategorized, My Account, Education, Home Page on December 18th, 2007