How to Decide Which Press is Right for Your Printing Project

Get straight answers -- once and for all -- about the advantages, economics and drawbacks of the three major commercial printing processes, sheetfed, web and digital.

NewPage's great printing site sheds light on this and other topics that will help you successfully manage your print projects.

Posters, Door Hangers and Booklets... Now Available

Poster Printing Puts Your Message Front and Center

Use A four color poster as a highly visible marketing tool that gets your message out to many people -- with a single piece and at a cost that is far less than many other marketing mediums. In fact, in high-traffic areas, there's no better, more affordable way to promote, advertise or inspire.

Door Hanger Printing Services Make It Easy for You to Target Your Prospects and Customers

Whether you're introducing a product, announcing a grand opening or just reminding your audience that you're eager to have their business, there's no more direct way than with a door hanger. And, you can easily target neighborhoods and geographic areas without having to buy lists or collect names. For business to business marketing, you can distribute door hangers to office buildings and even in hotels.

Outclass Your Competition and Make Your Products Shine with a Custom Booklet

Imagine your customer with two items in-hand. One is a full color booklet, printed on glossy, bright white paper and peppered with photos that practically pop off the page. The other is flimsy, dull, and utterly forgettable.

Which booklet do you want associated with your company? Let us show you how our color booklet printing services can energize this major promotional piece.

What You Need to Know About Commercial Printing Inks

Priced Right Print uses state-of-the-art Heidelberg presses to produce vibrant, four-color (a.k.a. full-color) pieces, with or without aqueous coating.* Choose from the following options:

4 over 4 color -- Full-color printing on both sides of the sheet of paper

4 over 4 color with aqueous*-- Same as "4 over 4 color" with a protective, water-based coating

4 color over black -- Full-color printing on the front of a sheet with black ink only on the back

4 color over black with aqueous*--Same as "4 color over black" with a protective, water-based coating

4 color over none -- Full color printing on the front of a sheet with no printing on the back

4 color over none with aqueous*-- Same as "4 color over none" with a protective, water-based coating

*About Aqueous Coating

Aqueous is a clear, fast-drying, water-based (and environmentally friendly) coating that is used in offset printing to protect finished pieces. It provides a high-gloss surface that helps prevent fingerprinting and scuffs, and improves the durability of pieces that go through the mail or are subjected to other types of wear and tear. In addition to protection, aqueous gives extra "pop" to color and imagery, and makes any piece look more impressive.

Commercial Printing: How to Reduce Your Print Project's Environmental Impact

When it comes to commercial printing, a few small steps can go a long way toward minimizing the impact your printed piece has on the environment:

• Whenever possible, choose papers that are certified for sustainability. Your printer can help you identify options that are right for your project, right for your budget and right for the environment.

• Go with an aqueous coating instead of one of the traditional UV coatings or laminates. Water-based aqueous coatings provide the same resistance against scratches as other coatings, but without the harmful impact on the environment.

• Ask for a "soft proof" instead of a traditional proof. You'll save yourself time and money while reducing the use of energy and materials used to create a hard proof.

• Recycle outdated and unused print materials, and encourage your audience and associates to do so, too.

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The Ultimate Business Tune-up for Times Like These

Want insight from some of the nation's leading entrepreneurs?

See Inc. Magazine's list of "23 things you can do right now" to energize your employees, wow your customers, and get your business back on track."

Simple Steps for Good Graphic Design

Professional design strikes a delicate balance between text, artwork and white space. Without that balance, you can confuse your reader and turn out a marketing piece that fails to do its job.
Whether you design your marketing collateral yourself, or hire someone to do it for you, keep in mind these simple guidelines:

• The typography you select helps set the tone for your piece, and its size and color create an information hierarchy that lets the reader know what's most and least important.

• Imagery, whether it's photos or illustrations, should do more than decorate; it should pull the reader into the piece and convey information that supports your copy.

• White space is a good thing; use it generously. Let your printed materials breathe, so as to not suffocate the recipient with information overload.

• Never compromise on photo quality. A picture is only worth 1,000 words if it’s a good one. Quality printing helps your photos look great and lets you stay true to that premise. For more about images and resolution, see Design Tips.

May We Share Some Good News?

We're not usually ones to brag, but we got this unsolicited email that simply made our day.

The brochures are beautifully done. I’ve had the same brochures done using another online printer and you blew them away with higher quality, excellent service and better pricing. I’ve already recommended you to three of my friends. Thanks again!

Robin Santos, Vice President

Rick's Music World

Raynham, MA

P.S. Feel free to use my comments.

How to Create Copy That Sells

All great marketing materials start with a sound editorial concept and well-written copy. Make your printed pieces as effective as possible by following these basic copywriting guidelines:

• Consider the audience you are trying to attract; "get inside their heads"

• Focus on benefits, not features; show why whatever you are promoting is the right choice for your reader

• Write headlines that command attention

• Use strong leads that will “hook” the reader

• Keep it short; be sensitive to the fact that people are busy

• Write in an active voice. Correct: The man called the dog. Incorrect: The dog was called by the man.

• Use a conversational tone with simple language anybody can understand

• Stay away from industry jargon and too many “buzz” words

• Include a call to action, such as “buy now,” “visit our website to order,” “get a free sample”

• Make sure your marketing piece is “skim-able,” meaning there should be plenty of white space, brief-yet-informative headlines and subheads, bullet points, etc. People are looking for "nuggets" of information, not the great American novel.

If you've got tips of your own, please comment and I'll include them in future entries.

Purple is Hot and Blue is the New Green

Graphic designers, fashionistas and design gurus in every field already know that The Color Marketing Group has picked purple as the must-have color of the year. For those of us to whom the news trickles more slowly, check this out http://www.colormarketing.org/Media.aspx?id=1095 and find out which colors lead the pack in "challenging economic times," and which ones convey the optimism we all crave.

Recycling Quiz: How Much?

Despite all of the talk about recycling, a relatively small percentage of all catalogs, direct mail, magazines, envelopes and copy/printer paper are being recycled.

What's your best guess? 50 percent? 40 percent?

According to the Direct Marketing Association, only 30 percent of the most common printed pieces are being recycled. And, these materials could be used to make new newspapers, notebook paper, tissue paper, grocery bags and other paper products.

We think there's room for improvement...don't you?

Uncertain Times Demand Embrace of Social Media

Want to learn more about social media's role in business communications? See what PR Week has to say in this new article: http://www.prweekus.com/Uncertain-times-demand-embrace-of-social-media/article/127718/

Green Printing: The Graphic Designers Field Guide to Sustainability

Check out this green design resource from Lunar for information that will help graphic designers produce projects that are as environmentally friendly as possible. Designers are encouraged to consider these questions: 1) What is it the piece trying to accomplish? 2) How is it brought to life? 3) How is it used? 4) Where does it end up?

(Also, see PRP's green printing initiatives for paper, proofing, coating and other green options we can all feel good about.)

Which Printed Piece is Best for Your Marketing Goals?

Whether you're a corporate marketing manager, agency staffer, small business owner or real estate agent, these economic times demand that you get the most impact for you marketing dollars. That's why, when print materials are part of the mix, choosing the right piece for the right audience is key.

Brochure

The beauty of a brochure is that it can be read on the spot or taken along for perusal at a later time. And, that it can be mailed, handed out, left in a visible spot, and passed along from person to person.

Use a brochure when you want to:

• Provide an overview and/or highlight crucial information about your organization, product or brand

• Attract new customers

• Drive people to your website

Business Card

No single item says more about your business than your card. Include your business card in marketing mailings, letters, bills and leave-behinds. Have plenty in-hand whenever you attend meetings, trade shows, conferences and social gatherings.

Make sure your business card includes all of the information a recipient might need:

• Your name and title

• Company name, logo and tagline, if you have one

• Complete address, office phone, fax, cell phone

• Email address

Catalog/Booklet

When you need to showcase multiple products -- or if you have a lot of information to convey -- a product catalog or booklet is your best choice. Printed in vivid full color on your choice of premium papers, your catalog or booklet:

• Offers plenty of space for imagery and text

• Provides a user-friendly format

• Helps differentiate your offerings from your competitors

Mail your piece to current and prospective customers, distribute it at trade shows or meetings and make it part of your media packet or sales kit.

Flyer

A flyer is a simple, economical marketing tool that's perfect for advertising your event, promoting a sale, or raising awareness of an issue. Because it typically isn't intended to have a long life span, its one-time impact should be powerful. To get your audience's attention, use a strong headline, and a compelling design that makes the most of four color printing.

Create flyers to:

• Hand out at conventions, trade shows or promotional events

• Post in businesses or community “hot spots"

• Deliver door-to-door or include with mailings

Newsletter

Your company's or organization's newsletter is a valuable tool for conveying timely information, creating a "community" or enhancing your credibility. But with so much media competing for your audience's attention, your newsletter has to work hard to get noticed.

Be sure your content is current and relevant, and that your design makes it easy to read. Pull readers in with well written headlines, blurbs and sidebars, and with professionally printed color graphics and photos that complement your most important articles.

Use a newsletter to:

• Communicate with your organization's employees

• Create confidence among investors, clients and prospects

• Garner attention from the media

Press Kit/Presentation Folder (Pocket Folder)

A press kit or presentation folder is an all-purpose “shell," which you can use anytime you need to present materials in an organized, attractive, efficient manner. Its versatility makes it a marketing collateral mainstay; simply include different materials for different audiences for a targeted, customized approach.

Create a pocket folder, printed with your organization's identity, for:

• Press kits

• Meetings and trade shows

• Sales call leave-behind

• Promotional events

• New employee orientations

Postcard

A postcard is the print marketing equivalent of a tap on the shoulder. They're both targeted, direct and hard to ignore. And, like a tap on the shoulder, a postcard produces an immediate response and a great return on investment.

Send a postcard to homes or offices whenever you want to:

• Inform customers about sales and special offers

• Invite guests to presentations or openings

• Announce staff changes within your organization

• Convey routine information, like an address or phone number change

Sell Sheet/Product Sheet

Whether you call it a sell sheet or a product sheet, this key sales tool is basically a one-page catalog. It's the perfect marketing piece to introduce or promote new products or services, or to highlight the strengths of your company and its offerings. Print it in color on both sides for a cost-effective, compelling way to communicate detailed information.

You can use sell sheets in several ways:

• As a stand-alone mailing or as support to a marketing letter

• To make price or product updates to your company's existing catalog

• As part of a sales presentation or as a presentation leave-behind

Rack Card

A rack card is a two-sided printed piece that is defined by the fact that it is almost always distributed via a rack or display. And, by the fact that it sits alongside scores (maybe even hundreds) of competing pieces that are all vying for your audiences' attention.

To make sure your card "jumps off the rack," write powerful headline copy, incorporate quality photos or illustrations, and choose quality, four color printing.

Place your rack cards in:

• Designated, high-traffic spots at hotels, airports and car rental agencies

• Tourist information booths and chambers of commerce
• The lobby of your own office or store

To learn more about each product, check out What We Print.