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Filed under: Uncategorized, Home Page on December 4th, 2008
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The Importance of Custom Banner Printing
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Throughout our daily lives we are inundated with countless outdoor and indoor banner printing advertising messages. From a business standpoint, custom banner printing is a smart investment.
As with most human beings, if you put something interesting in front of me I will glance over it, at the very least. Depending on how receptive of a physiological state I’m in, I might skim it, stare at it, study it, or ever analyze it. This is the general return rate for advertising in allmediums . With banner printing services, however, a business is afforded the power of location and grandiosity. This can be a potent advantage, particularly for local businesses.
Have you ever had this supermarket experience?
You enter the store armed with a structured shopping list which you plan to stick to. Yet, somewhere between isle 1 and the checkout lane, you manage to pick up 5-10 extra items you didn’t realize you needed until you were face to face with the product. We are all occasionally guilty of rash buying behavior.
The purpose of outdoor and indoor banner printing is to stir up this same level of impulsion.
For example, on my tedious day-to-day work commute I pass an array of billboards, many within one or two feet of one another. There are two banners on my drive which both advertise the coffee at a particularconvenience chain directly en route to my office. Having never been a patron of the coffee at this convenience store, I held true to my loyal obligations as an aficionado of one of their competitors. For a mere few days, that is. Within a week of repetitively reading the signs, my defenses crumbled and I was doing exactly as the copy instructed – buying their coffee; enjoying it too.
This particular convenience chain used outdoor banner printing, placed in a highly trafficked area (the main highway), in a location relatively close to multiple stores. In this manner, they elicited a desire for their product, and then satisfied that desire with conveniently accessible locations where I could purchase their product.
The great thing about custom banner printing is that people are already out and about, in their cars or on their feet, when they are exposed to your company banner printing. This means they are more likely in a state of ready willingness to buy.
Custom outdoor banner printing and indoor banner printing are great opportunities to bring large visibility to your company’s name and purpose. The amount of people viewing your banner printing could be very high at any particular time. This means you have a stronger chance of reaching your target market with custom banner printing. Additionally, you may reach more people outside of your target market simply due to the power of suggestion and convenience.
Overall, the benefits of custom banner printing are way too great to pass up. If you own a small business, banner printing services are definitely something you need to look into – the sooner, the better!
Filed under: Uncategorized on March 26th, 2008
Brand your Business: Creating Corporate Identity
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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
A Brief History of the Printing Industry
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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.
- 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.)
- 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.
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
A Lesson in Color Printing
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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
Expand the Promotional Printing of your Business
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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
What is Color Bleeding?
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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
To Lamintare, or Not To Laminate
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That is the question. And the answer is laminate, and laminate with fervor. Many people assume they can get away with not laminating. For some reason, people believe that lamination is a waste of time and money. On the contrary, laminating is actually a cost-effective time saver.
If you plan on receiving promotional printing services from a corporate identity printing company, there should be a laminating machine in your near future. Lamination can be used with custom banner printing, full color photo printing, post card printing, stationery printing, and even business card printing.
Remember all those bulletin boards in elementary school, and how everything on them was laminated? That wasn’t just a silly little compulsive quirk of the entire education community. Those posters, explaining why “reading is wondrous” and “sharing is caring,” have made the cycle from classroom wall, to storage closet, and back again, since the down of time. The only reason they’ve survived eons of school days is the two plastic sheets they are sealed between.
What does this mean for you? The main point is that lamination preserves and protects. If you spend time creating any type of corporate identity printing display, and they get it printed in quantity, you are going to want to maintain these pieces for multiple and maximum use. Or, you can suffer the alternative of allowing your custom promotional printing to go uncovered. This means it will be susceptible to a laundry list of harmful mishaps.
Let’s now discuss all the things that could go wrong with a non-laminated piece. Even simply in transportation from one location to another, a poster could become torn, creased and dog-eared. Are you planning to roll up printing for trade show panel displays? If your posters aren’t covered, you’ll have to think of a better way to transport them. Unless, of course, you don’t want your posters to ever lay flat again. Lamination maintains the original shape of your poster printing. So if you need to roll up your posters as a space saver or for transportation, you will not have a problem with a laminated piece.
Lamination can guard your promotional printing pieces so that you don’t have to worry about the hypothetical what-ifs. In addition to creases and wrinkles, lamination will protect from spills, rain, grease and chemicals, smudges and fingerprints, abrasion, and the sun.
Attracted by shiny objects? Shimmer isn’t the only visual plus of laminating your custom banner printing. Lamination can improve the appearance of your display by giving a deeper and brighter look to your colors and enhancing contrast. Additionally, as with custom online printing options, you can choose from gloss, matte, or satin finish; all of which allow for easy removal of dirt and grease. Laminating your projects makes them look cleaner and more professional.
But why would an extra purchase of laminate save you money? In the long run, laminating your projects is a more cost-effective solution because your work is conserved for longer. You will spend more money re-printing all of your ruined displays, than you will spend on long-lasting lamination. Plus, laminated materials can be reused because important graphics are protected. Promotional printing often includes the extra cost of backing materials for banner printing and poster printing. However, laminate will stiffen your display so backing is not needed. Laminated outdoor banner printing can serve as a low-cost sign, with the ability to stand up to treacherous weather conditions.
Filed under: Uncategorized on January 22nd, 2008
What is Lambda Printing?
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Lambda printing is a form of large format printing with digital c printing technology. This process uses photographic output from a digital camera, scanned print, or transparency, rather than an original negative. As a result of lambda printing, you will receive superior quality photo printing. Lambda printing can be done on all types of mediums including photo printing paper, duratran printing paper, or film. Lambda printing produces sharp photo printing images with a continuous tone and full color fine are printing graphics.
In the process of lambda printing, images are exposed to three lasers – one red, one green, and one blue – merged into a dingle beam and directed through the photographic material, without the use of a negative. The image is produced quickly and efficiently. After this digital c printing technique, the photo material is created using the same methods as traditional photography. At this point the photo is developed in a “wet” film processor. The lasers make for a tighter, cleaner, more exact piece. This means there is no distortion and no blur.
With stronger color, sharpness, saturation, and overall caliber of print quality, lambda printing of promotional and corporate identity materials will give you a professional advantage over your competitors. Crisp and precise images not only appear more sophisticated, buy they are also more attractive to the eye. Once you use the techniques of lambda printing on one project, you’ll never want to settle for less. Remember, though, that digital c printing is a meticulous are and should only be left to the skilled hands of trusted professionals.
Filed under: Uncategorized, Technology, Digital C Print on January 17th, 2008
Newest Trends in the Printing Industry
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Promotional printing has acted as a staple form of communication since the early 1600’s. Over the centuries, we have grown and evolved our methods for interactions, reaching quicker and more efficient message delivery. The advent of the internet, and similar technology, has created an extensive arena for instantaneous communication. As thoughts, feelings, ideas, and words are mass-marketed on the screen, at the world’s disposal, the printing industry is alternately rivaled. The boom of the Slashdot effect has printers on their toes trying to keep afloat with their target markets.
Prior to the web, newspapers and magazines provided consumers with a scope into the daily goings-on of the world. Due to the popularity of these mediums, advertisers and marketers geared their budgets towards print. Nowadays, many see print as unnecessarily timely and costly. Why purchase a newspaper or magazine and take time out of your day to read it? Instead you can read news on the internet which you’re already paying for, in the middle of shopping, checking e-mail, conversing with others, etc.
If the audiences are flocking to their computers, then advertisers must follow suit in order to get their ads seen by the masses. But, what does this mean for the printing industry?
While online advertising does give print a run for its money, one is not replacing the other. Instead, promotional printing and corporate identity printing are driving to push harder in order to reach more creative and effective solutions. Previously, custom promotional printing pieces, such as business card printing for example, attempted to squeeze in every fact and detail about a company. Nowadays, print advertising should be used to direct a consumer to the company’s website, where he or she can read all about the company at leisure.
Another point to consider is the fact that all demographic age groups still do the majority of their shopping in-store. This gives the print industry a competitive advantage in many ways. Outdoor banner printing and indoor banner printing can be used to provoke the buying devision at a time when consumers are much closer to th point-of-purchase. If you are an in-store shopper who is exposed to an online ad for a clothing store, it is likely that this ad will not have much of an effect on you. However, if you are exposed to an indoor banner printing sign selling a particular clothing store within the mall you’re currently in, you are a lot more likely to act.
Additionally, in-store shopping affords you the opportunity to place your company’s business card printing and brochure printing in locations highly-trafficked by your target market. These promotional printing materials, places on a counter or a windowsill, are a lot less intrusive than a pop-up ad, for example. This type of internet advertising slows down your computer while you’re trying to surf the web.
Finally, print advertising is composed of tangible products that users can have live interaction with. Although virtual life is becoming more popular due to social networking sites and the like, these experiences are still essentially phony, unlike print. For example, if you invest in stationery printing for your business, and give it away as free samples, consumers can immediately get their hands on the product. On the internet, “free samples” are often gimmick promised by pop-ups requiring you to enter a wealth of personal identity information. There is much more validity with promotional printing.
Overall, online advertising has spurred a trend in promotional printing and corporate identity printing. The rule for every type of material – brochure printing, business care printing, banner printing, letterhead printing, envelope printing, pocket folder printing, and stationery printing—is to keep pieces simple, make them stand out, and always direct the consumer to the internet for more information.
One final benefit of the conjoining of print and the internet is the user’s ability to access promotional printing services, quickly and more efficiently, through online custom printing. Overall, the World Wide Web has provided a platform for the re-creation of promotional printing.
Filed under: Uncategorized on January 17th, 2008