Month: January 2019

A Preview at How Luxurious Spot Gloss Business Cards are Made

There is absolutely nothing wrong when you go with traditional business cards – but why stick with it when you can go for something extra special like spot gloss business cards? Just like

silk business cards and gold foil business cards, spot gloss cards has an extra layer of printing that makes colors pop and the design stand out. Here, we will have a quick preview of how these ultra-specialty business cards are made.

Outlining the Process behind Making Spot Gloss Business Cards

There are many companies specializing in printing business cards, brochures, flyers, rack cards, and similar products. When looking for one, make sure that spot gloss business cards is included in their products list, or you might not achieve the same effect.

Now, here’s a quick preview at how luxurious spot gloss business cards are made:

  • Offset printing is used, not digital.

Companies that specialize in printing brochures use state-of-the-art printing presses that apply the offset printing process, as well as features like Heidelberg color technology. Although there are cheaper digital printers out there, it is better to go with offset printing if you want superior and professional-looking results.

  • After the first layer of printing is done, a second layer of glossy printing is applied on specific areas of the card.

The first application of ink on the business card paper has a matte effect. Then, specialized ink to achieve a high-level of gloss is applied – but only on certain areas of the card. If you want to outline an image, the logo, or a specific part of the card, this is where the gloss is applied. The combination of matte and glossy ink raises the part of the card that’s printed in spot gloss, making the colors pop and highlighting the name, logo, or image.

  • Thick paper stock is used on standard-sized business cards.

Because there are two layers of ink applied, it is best to use thick paper stock for spot gloss business cards. Printing companies recommend using thick 16-pt. or super thick 17-pt. paper. You may also want to place your orders in advance to give the printing company plenty of time to perfectly finish the process.

Indeed, spot business cards are an excellent option if you want your brand name to really stand out.

 

Get that Super Cool Effect from Spot Gloss Business Cards

If you want to up the ante in representing your brand, why not distribute spot gloss business cards? This is a super cool printing effect that can only be achieved using the offset printing method from companies with state-of-the-art printing presses. If you’re going for something cheaper like digital printing, it might be difficult – if not impossible – to achieve the same luxurious effect.

How is the Spot Gloss Effect Achieved?

Just like gold foil business cards, a specialized printing process is used to achieve the spot gloss effect. As the name implies, gloss is applied to certain parts of the business card. If you have a standard-sized 3.5” x 2” card, for example, a high-gloss layer can be applied to the logo. If the design is black-and-white, gloss can be applied on the white parts of the card to highlight certain aspects of the design. The application of a glossy layer makes the colors pop. Since the rest of the surface has a matte effect, running your fingers through the parts with the glossy layer makes the business card feel extra luxurious. It adds another dimension to the design, making your brand stand out.

Here’s a quick list of other things to remember when ordering spot gloss business cards:

  • Consider adding gloss to logos, illustrations, a name, or just the parts of the card’s design that you wish to highlight.
  • The spot gloss effect works best with a thick card stock, so go for thick 16 pt. or super thick 17 pt. paper.
  • The ‘gloss’ part is a combination of matte and glossy layers, making the area raised – which is something that you need to consider when creating the design. If you want to highlight a name, for example, make sure that it’s in a large font – otherwise, the glossiness of the design might be indistinguishable.
  • Similar products are silk business cards, silver or gold foil stamped business cards. All these add that extra layer of dimension to otherwise plain contact cards.

All in all, if you want your brand to stand out, you really must consider going with super cool spot gloss business cards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Printing Professional Brochures? Here’s How to Make the Design Stand Out

When printing professional brochures, the first thing that you need to determine is its purpose. Marketing is the general answer, but what exactly is it that you are trying to sell? Are you launching a new product line or a new service that you want people to know about? Are you a new company working on creating brand awareness? Are you attending a trade show and you want to print brochures that does a good job of representing your company? Upon determining your purpose, you can come up with a suitable design that will suit your needs to a tee.

Next, to get you started on the design, here are a few tips on how you can make your brochure’s design stand out:

  • Choose the right folding type.

There are several sizes and folding types to choose from when you’re printing a brochure. Choosing the right one again boils down to the purpose. If you’re attending a trade show, for example, trifold brochures will give you six pages – enough so you can include a brief history of your business, as well as a preview of the products or services you’re offering. Half fold brochures will give you four wide pages to use, which is perfect when incorporating other features into the brochure like a discount coupon for marketing purposes.

  • Make sure there’s a right balance between text and images.

Brochures will instantly give you multiple pages as a layout base, but you still need to make sure that there is a good balance between text and images. Having an image-centric brochure is good but to make it effective for marketing, you still have to include a short description of the image to sell it. On the other hand, having a brochure that’s too wordy might turn off most readers – so there has to be just the right balance between the two.

  • Go for high-quality print.

If it’s your first time distributing brochures, you want to give customers a good impression of your brand. This means that you must pay close attention to the paper stock you’re using, as well as the print quality. There are many printing companies that use state-of-the-art printing presses along with an offset printing method. As compared to digital printing, offset printing will deliver more excellent results, so the extra investment will be well worth it in the end.

By taking these factors into consideration, you can design a brochure that will leave a lasting impression to your customers and help you achieve your marketing objectives.

 

 

 

Get to Know the Most Popular Folds for Professional Brochures

Professional brochures are an effective and non-costly marketing tool. Whatever type of product or service you’re offering, you can let customers learn more about it through brochures. If you are trying to build brand awareness, a brochure has enough space for you to include a brief history of your company, along with a short description of what you have to offer as a business. This is precisely the reason why you should include brochures in your print marketing campaign. Here, we will take a look at the most popular brochure folds that you can choose from if want to promote your brand using printed materials.

Top 5 Most Popular Brochure Folds

Before choosing between half fold brochures and trifold brochures, you must first look for a good quality printing company. Make sure that they offer offset printing using state-of-the-art printing presses, and that they have a variety of brochure sizes to choose from.

Next, here are the top five most popular brochure folds that you can go for:

  1. Half Fold

The sizes of brochures range from 4.25” x 11” to 11” x 25.5”. Your first option for any of the available sizes is half fold, which gives you four pages to work with. This is perfect for when you are introducing your company to clients and you want to give them a brief history of how your business started.

  1. Trifold

Trifold brochures give you six pages back and forth, which is plenty of space. This is suitable if you are introducing a new line of products and you want to incorporate images with descriptions on the brochure.

  1. Double Parallel

Double parallel-folded brochures have a total of eight panels. For this option, make sure to carefully plan how you will assemble or layout the pages. Should you place an image on the cover, or leave it for the backmost page? Incorporate a good balance of image with text so the brochure doesn’t read like a book – unless that is your intention in the first place.

  1. Single Gate

A single gate-folded brochure has one back-and-forth page which is twice wider than the front cover. It literally does fold like a single gate, and it gives you four narrow and two wide pages to use as a base for the brochure.

  1. Z-Fold

A Z-fold brochure looks like a letter Z when viewed from the top, giving you six pages to work with.

Other brochure folds include: double parallel, double gate, roll fold, accordion, half then half, and half then trifold.

 

 

 

 

 

Make Your Takeout Menu Print Look as Delicious as it Sounds

As the owner of a food business, how can you go about the task to takeout menu print while making your dishes look and sound sumptuous – and also upping the ante in your profits? It’s all about learning the tricks of the trade. Restaurant owners have long used these techniques to enjoy maximum results, so let’s take a look at a few tricks:

  • Not using currency signs or two zeros at the end.

There’s absolutely no sense in putting a $5.00 sign opposite the cheapest item in your menu. The two zeros at the end might be mistaken by a customer for something more expensive than it actually is. You don’t want to emphasize the fact that they’re spending money while dining in or ordering takeout from your restaurant. If you must include prices in your menu, use 9.99 instead of $10.00 – almost the same price, but entirely different impressions on paper.

  • Using descriptive labels on food items.

It’s okay to simply list the highlight ingredients but to give your menu some spice, vary the lengths of the food descriptions. Use more appetizing words to describe the house specialties, or use intriguing terms that will trigger a conversation between the server and the customer during the ordering process.

  • Highlighting your most profitable dishes.

Use red and blue colors on your menu, or find a color palette that’s consistent with your restaurant logo. It’s fine to simplify the layout but make sure to also highlight your most profitable dishes. You can put a bestselling dish inside a box, or use a font that’s bigger with a brighter color.

When you print pizza menus, for example, highlight the pizza flavors which are most profitable. If you’re offering a variety of food items, set apart the dishes which are profitable but quick to make. You don’t want to frustrate hungry diners by encouraging them to order a complex dish that takes a long time to prepare.

It really is quite easy to design a menu that’s profitable for you as a business owner, while also looking sumptuous as far as a customer is concerned. Follow these tips when designing your takeout or dine-in menu, and make sure that the quality of print is high quality as well. Doing so will ensure that you’re giving hungry diners a preview of what’s in store for them when ordering items off your well-designed menu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maximize Your Profit by Following these Takeout Menu Print Tips

It’s tough to be in the food business because of the sheer amount of competition, Instagram food trends, and everything else in between – so it helps to use dine-in and takeout menu print. There’s actually a psychology behind how people select items off a menu, and there are many factors that each individual considers. A man may be too worried about impressing his date that he fails to properly pore over a menu, so he just orders whatever dish is listed first. The cost, ingredients that one may be allergic to, food cravings – all these will determine which dish a customer orders off your menu. For your part as a business owner, you must know how to tease the mind and palate of hungry diners by giving them a drool-worthy menu.

How Can I Get Customers to Order More Using the Menu?

So how can you get customers to order more, and have your profits soar by using to go menu printing? Here are a few tips:

  • Think about menu layout.

You don’t want to incorporate too many items on the menu that it looks intimidating, but you don’t want to leave customers with very few choices, either. Ideally, six to seven items per category is a good  balance between the two – depending on whether you’re fine dining establishment or a casual dining joint. Design-wise, keep the layout simple. A too-complex layout will turn off most customers.

  • Pay attention to how you describe your dishes.

If you need to print pizza menus, for example, how will you describe the dishes? Highlight the factor that makes your pizzas different. Is it the hand-rolled pizza dough, fresh ingredients, or unique flavor combinations? Vary the length of food descriptions to make it more palatable – and use simple words but still give customers a preview of how the food items would taste like.

  • Ditch the dollar sign.

People don’t want to be reminded of how much they are spending when dining in or ordering takeout – so ditch the dollar sign when creating your menu. Strategic pricing also helps – $9.95 looks less expensive than $10.

  • Go for set menus or bundles.

Yet another way to maximize your profit using your menu is by incorporating set menus or bundles. This makes it easier for customers to select multiple food items in one go, while also making them feel like they’re getting the best value for their money. If you want, you can also feature bestselling yet high-profit dishes inside boxes or highlight it in the design using a different color or font. This draws the eyes away from the rest of the items on the menu.

Follow these tips when designing your takeout menu and watch your profits soar in no time.

 

 

Takeout Menu Print: How to Write Yummy Food Descriptions

Is takeout menu print part of the to-do list that you must cross out for your food business? If yes, then you do have your work cut out for you. If you have a long, boring, too-short, or ineffective menu, customers may very well walk out of your diner or restaurant even before trying out your supposedly delicious dishes. Just like the sumptuousness of the food that you serve, the words used on your menu must be enticing enough to tempt a hungry diner to order a full course meal, or as many items off the menu as their stomachs can handle.

Top Tips for Writing Good Food Descriptions

So how are you supposed to come up with a good menu? It’s all about having good copy, and here are a few tips on how you can accomplish such a challenging feat:

  • Don’t hire a professional copywriter.

If you have a mom-and-pop diner, the recipes are probably handed down to your family from previous generations. A copywriter won’t do the dishes justice, so come up with the descriptions yourself. The words should evoke nostalgia while tempting the customer’s palate at the same time.

  • Know which words to use in the first place.

There’s really no list of correct or incorrect words that you can use when creating a menu, but knowing which ones are pleasing to the eyes and the palate helps. Start with terms like: aromatic, tasty, drizzled, organic, home-grown, pan-seared, grass-fed, infused, encrusted, broiled or grilled to perfection, juicy, moist, locally-sourced, fresh, zesty, yummy – the list is practically endless!

  • Vary the length of the food descriptions.

Focus on the ingredients. If you need to print pizza menus, for example, give the customer a list of what’s in the pizza that makes it different from the rest. Also vary the length of the food descriptions so the reader won’t get bored. Give lengthier descriptions to house specialties, and use shorter sentences for the more straightforward dishes.

  • Make sure to print good quality menus.

Finally, look for a to go menu printing company that specializes in printing menus and similar advertising material. Offset printing is always a better option than digital printing because of the professional results provided by the former. With offset printing using state-of-the-art printing presses, you can impress customers with one glimpse at your takeout or dine-in menu.

No matter which dishes you specialize in, it is important to describe the items in detail through your menu, so follow the above tips when creating one for your food establishment.

 

 

Ways to Print Postcards Based on Your Specific Industry

If you are looking for new marketing techniques, why don’t you print postcards? Almost everything is digital nowadays but surprisingly, a bigger percentage of consumers still respond to old school marketing techniques  like print advertising. For this, you can use business cards, postcards, rack cards, and similar materials. In the next section, we will take a look at how you should print postcards online based on the specific business that you’re running.

How Specific Businesses can Use Postcard Marketing to their Advantage

Almost all businesses can benefit from postcard marketing, and here are a few tips to remember based on your industry or profession:

  • Dentists

In the middle of the year 2000, email marketing became huge. Dentists and other medical professionals benefited from it because no-shows at doctor’s appointments drastically decreased. There was also greater name recall and better patient retention. But now that people are having a hard time trimming the junk mail they’re receiving in their Inboxes, email marketing has become less effective. Postcard marketing is a better option now. Receiving physical mailers produced the same results: better name recall, higher appointment completion rate, and smoother operations overall.

  • Veterinarians

Vets who have a list of pet owners within the vicinity of their clinics can greatly benefit from postcard marketing. They can personalize it and use it as a way to remind clients of pet vaccination appointments. Postcards can also double as discount coupons and holiday greeting cards, something that will boost customer loyalty.

  • Beauticians

Those in the beauty industry can send clients postcards that offer women discounts when having their nails or hair done.

  • Store Owners

No matter which product or service you’re offering, you can use postcard marketing to your advantage. Turn a portion of a large postcard into a detachable business card, which is beneficial if you are just starting to introduce your brand to your target market. Turn the postcard itself into a discount card so that when a customer brings it along, he or she can be qualified for a certain percentage off.

One last thing – it is important to look for an experienced color postcard printing service provider if you want to use print advertising to market your wares. Just like everything else about your business, you will leave a lasting impression to your clients if you will mail out postcards with high-quality print. More importantly, you will achieve the desired marketing results out of your print promotional campaign.

Apply these Top Marketing Tips when You Print Postcards this 2019

As an entrepreneur, you may already know that to print postcards is one way to boost your brand name through print advertising. While you’re at it, you should be aware of what the latest marketing trends are. The result is that you can apply these trends to make your ad campaign more effective.

Let’s say that you are launching a new product line and you want to use print advertising. The first thing to do is look for a company that provides color postcard printing service. Make sure that they offer offset printing using state-of-the-art printing presses. This way, you will get the highest-quality print possible.

Next, here are a few marketing trends that you can apply when creating the design and writing the copy of your postcards:

  1. It’s still about excellent customer experience.

If you’re just starting out in launching a print advertising campaign, remember that customer is king. Instead of just printing out a plain postcard, turn 1/3 or a portion of the card into a discount coupon. Offering customers such a benefit will increase the results of your marketing efforts.

  1. 65% retail, 35% online.

This coming 2019, majority of consumers do online shopping – but there’s still a huge chunk that go inside physical retail stores. Surveys show that 65% of buyers opt to still physically see the items before purchasing, while the remaining 35% are satisfied with a completely online buying experience. This means that you can print postcards online and use them as mailers so that customers can have a tangible promotional material from you.

  1. Millennials do respond to print advertising.

If you think that the only customers who belong to the older age bracket will respond to print advertising, think again. Despite the fact that millennials are pretty much born with a tablet computer or mobile phone in their hands, they do respond well to mailers. More than 60% pore over their mail as compared to scanning their Inbox so if they are your target market, you will get great results with a dynamic postcard marketing campaign.

Again, a postcard marketing campaign will be even more successful if you can integrate useful features like a detachable business card, coupon codes, or scannable QR codes. Combine this with awareness of the latest marketing trends to give your print ad campaign a boost.

 

 

Tips for Getting Started When You Print Postcards

If you want to print postcards but have no idea where to start, here are a few option to choose from:

  1. Customize it.

Color postcard printing service providers may offer you the most popular sizes: 4” x 6” and 5” x 7”. But if you’re just getting started and you don’t want your postcards to be drowned among similarly printed promotional materials, it is better to go for customized ones. If you’re a real estate agent, for example, you can order a 6” x 9” postcard. It can be a personalized postcard which shows the recipient the value of his or her property. This is an excellent way to target new clients and get you the leads you need.

  1. Go for what’s tried and tested.

On the other hand, you can also go for the most popular sizes. These are tried and tested printed advertising materials that will let potential and existing customers know about the product or services you’re offering.

  1. Think of something that will make you stand out.

If you’ve long been in the real estate industry but haven’t tried postcard marketing yet, think of something that will make you stand out. If you have a listing to share, you can incorporate that on the postcard design.  Featuring such an achievement will impress your clients and increase your listings.

When you print postcards online, look for an experienced and specialized printing company. It is best to go with one that has a wide range of products like brochures, business cards, door hangers, envelopes, folders, letterheads, rack cards, and the like.

The printing method is another thing that you must consider. Does the printing company use a digital or an offset printing technique? State-of-the-art printing presses apply the Heidelberg technology to make the colors pop.

As you can see, even if you are a newbie when it comes to postcards printing, there are many techniques that you can apply to make your brand stand out. Combine this with high-quality printing and you are bound to get the results that you want from your print advertising campaign.