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Using Takeout Menu as a Primary Selling Tool

If you think that menu printing simply involves listing down the dishes offered in your restaurant, think again. Since menus are your primary selling tool, you need to carefully plan every aspect of it – starting from the material used to the quality of print, the readability of font to the color palette, the number of items included on the menu to the layout of the names of the dishes. Your dine-in menu will be used by walk-in customers or those with reservations, while takeout menu printing is more for marketing purposes.

Important Aspects of Takeout Menu Printing

Takeout menus are a must-have because they are a great way to increase sales. A lot of people like the convenience of having restaurant-quality food without having to prepare the dishes themselves and clean up afterwards. Some simply don’t have time to cook, and are willing to pay extra for good food. Others don’t have time for a sit-down lunch or dinner, so takeout is the next best thing. Fortunately, you can always rely on online printing services to print such menus for you.

Here are some of the most important aspects to consider for takeout menu printing:

The overall theme of the menu

This can be based on the look and feel of your restaurant. Is the vibe formal because you serve several course meals? Or is it more family-friendly since you’re popular for brunches? Based on the look of your restaurant and your business logo, you can create a similarly themed takeout menu. Make sure that it appeals to your target market so that your advertisement hits all the right spots.

The size and folding style of the menu

Choose the size and folding tyle based on the number of items that you have. An 11” x 17” tabloid sized menu with an accordion folding style, for example, gives you eight panels or pages to write your content in. This is perfect if you have a lot of items available for takeout or delivery.

The grouping of the menu items

This is important because your goal is to increase sales. As such, the menu items should be grouped in such a way that the most profitable but easy-to-prepare dishes are highlighted. You can also group the items based on food type or specialties while still making sure that the menu is easy-to-read.

By knowing which aspects of menu design and printing you should pay attention to, you can use it as a primary selling tool for your food business.

Corporate Brochure Printing 101

Your corporate website can contain as much information as you want it to have. But if an online user would browse away from the page because they find the content overwhelming, boring, or confusing, then that is not really helping your cause in making them learn about your business. To counteract this, you need to have a supplemental source of information, which is where brochure printing comes in. Brochures are the perfect medium for corporations to introduce their brand to prospective clients, business partners, suppliers, customers, and other contacts. Through brochure printing, your business contacts can have a one-stop-shop source of information about your corporation.

Design Tips for Corporate Brochures

Fortunately, there are many brochure printing services online that you can book if you want to have these printed marketing materials for your business. Look for an online printing with plenty of experience, that uses state-of-the-art printing technology, and high-quality materials to make sure that you will impress clients with your brochure.

Next, here are some design tips to keep in mind when creating your brochures:

Decide on the size and the number of pages, then create a layout from there. 4.25” x 11” is the smallest size for a brochure while the biggest is 11” x 25.5”. Depending on the folding style, you can have anywhere from four to twelve panels which equate to pages. If you will have twelve panels on a map size brochure, how will you lay out the content? There should be a cover page, and introduction, your Mission and Vision statement, a description of your products or services, and a back page which includes your contact information and call-to-action.

Have a good mix of images and text. Nobody wants to read long paragraphs, so make sure that there is a good mix of text and images. If you plan to include photos, they should be professionally shot and placed strategically in between the text.

Highlight the benefits that customers will enjoy by doing business with you. Your goal in creating the brochures in the first place is to convince people to do business with you. What benefit will they enjoy from booking your services or buying your products? This should be the highlight of your brochure’s copy.

Include a call-to-action and your complete contact information at the last page. After reading through all the information in your brochure, people would want to know more and this is when they will get in touch with you.

By creating a corporate brochure that stands out, you can increase inquiries about your products or services, increase your profit, and enhance your brand’s image all at the same time.

The Basics of Travel Company Postcard Printing

People are slowly going back to travelling and if you have a travel company, now’s as good a time as any to jump right back in. So how can you tell travellers about the services that you offer? One of the best yet cheapest ways is through postcard printing. Here, we will look at the reasons why you should advertise using postcards, what to look for in a printing company, and how you can effectively distribute these mailers.

Why Should I Advertise Using Postcards?

First, why should you advertise using postcards? If you’re a travel company, here are some reasons to consider:

Everyone is going digital these days so print advertising is actually a novelty. Instead of clicking links from email advertisements, some of which go straight to spam folders, having a printed postcard that is tangible will make people remember you more.
The message on the postcard can be read instantly since there is no need to open an envelope.
If you will include a time-sensitive offer (example: 10% off if you will book by a certain date), you are bound to get immediate results from your marketing efforts.

Second, custom postcard printing is very affordable. At a few cents per piece, you can have a set of postcards printed out, ready for mailing to your travel-addicted clients.

What Should I Look for in a Printing Service Provider?

Next, what should you look for in an online printing services provider? Aside from the per piece price of the postcards, ask if they offer direct mailing or EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail) services to make distribution easier. With direct mailing, the postcards can be sent to your mailing list if you already have one. If you don’t have a mailing list, EDDM mailing is easier because the print shop will partner with the USPS to send your postcards to every door within a zip code, or a more specific group of addresses if you have a niche market.

Also check on the length of experience that they have in the printing industry. Make sure that they use high quality materials, that they offer good quality customer service, and ask about the turnaround time.

For the postcard design, keep the message short but succinct. Include high-definition images that will make the reader want to instantly book a ticket with you to a dream destination. By learning the first thing about postcard printing, you can use this marketing material to entice travellers back onto discovering different destinations in the world.

Rack Cards Printing for Fashion Retailers

Perhaps one of the most fun industries out there to have a business in, aside from food, is fashion. A lot of people love buying clothes, dressing up, and making sure that they look good. If you are in the fashion industry, whether you are selling retail street clothes, wedding dresses, formal gowns, if you are into tailoring or alteration, you need to tell people about your products and services. The best way to go about doing this is through rack cards printing. These are handy 4” x 9” or 3.5” x 8.5” cards which are displayed on brochure or rack stands. They are meant to be picked up by people passing by, so that the information printed on the rack cards can be read. Here, we will look at how useful rack cards are in the fashion industry

When to Use Rack Cards in Fashion Retail

Since rack cards are very handy, they can contain just the right amount of information to tell people about your products, services, or an event. Here are the instances when you will find rack cards to be extremely useful:

When inviting customers to try out your wares

If you have a ready-to-wear store, you can use rack cards to tell people about your location and the selection of clothes that you have. There is limited space in rack cards so make sure to include high-definition photographs of your clothes samples. Keep the copy short but fun and exciting. The design of the card should be eye-catching, and use the same colors as your business logo if possible.

When holding a big sale

If you’re changing the displayed clothes and you want to get rid of majority of your stocks, hold a big sale. Use rack cards to invite people to the event and give them substantial discounts. Distribute the rack cards a month or so before the actual date so that customers can have plenty of time to prepare their pockets for spending money on your store.

When hiring new staff

If you need a sales clerk who is knowledgeable about fashion, you can print rack cards to let possible employees know that you are hiring.

When offering new products or services

If you own a retail store and you want to also offer alteration services; or if you have wedding dresses but you would like to expand your stocks with casual wear, rack cards are the best way to advertise the fact. Include a description of the new products or services that you offer to entice customers to try it out.

Look for an online printing services provider that specializes in rack cards printing. Compare the packages offered by different companies, make sure that they offer good quality prints, and order from the print shop that you think will do the best job of printing those rack cards for you.

EDDM Mailing for Security Companies

EDDM mailing or Every Door Direct Mail is a print marketing strategy that works for security companies. If you are offering any of these services, you can easily get clients through EDDM:
– Installation of security cameras, automated gates, and access control
– Commercial guarding services
– Residential guarding services
– Security services for special events
– Technical services for security companies

EDDM works because you are essentially partnering with the United States Postal Service to get the names and addresses of clients on every door within a zip code, for example. This means that there is no need for you to put together your own mailing list. If you are offering security services to either residential or commercial clients, you can even narrow down the mailing list because the USPS also has address groups based on demographics. The goal of the EDDM program is to help local business owners, so it’s something that you should definitely take advantage of.

Steps to Follow for EDDM Mailing

To get you started, here are a few steps to follow for EDDM mailing:

Design your postcard mailers.

If you are newly introducing your security company to prospective clients, keep the message on the postcard short – but include a QR code or a link where they can get more information. Design the postcard in such a way that the company logo is present, the photos are high-definition, and there is an attention-grabbing headline. For instance, say something like “Did you know that 80% of home robberies go unsolved each year?” This is a good headline if you are selling and installing security cameras.

Look for an online printing company that offers EDDM mailing services.

You can go through the steps of EDDM mailing yourself but since you are ordering postcards for a print shop anyway, why not simply pay for the postage fee and let them do the rest of the work for you? After printing, the print shop will bundle the cards, complete the USPS requirements, and deliver the postcards to your local post office for individual mail distribution.

Decide which address group to send the mailers to.

Before the print shop can go through the USPS requirements, you do need to identify which address to send your postcards to. If you’re offering residential security services, choose a zip code and a mailing route which does not include business addresses. On the other hand, if you offer commercial security services, you can narrow down the mailing list to only the business establishments within a five-mile radius of your operations, for example.

All in all, EDDM is an ideal advertising solution for security companies.

Brochure Printing Essentials for Health Care Providers

Do you provide health care services for the sick, elderly, disabled, or patients who need special care? If yes, you may want to invest in brochure printing. As you may already know, brochures are paper documents like pamphlets or leaflets which contain an introduction of business, brands, products, services, or even events. Unlike business cards, postcards, or rack cards, brochures have more space so you can include extensive information about your health care services. If you’re introducing your brand to prospective clients, you can include a page with your Mission and Vision, how your business started, and maybe a complete list with description of the health care services that you provide.

Essential Information about Designing Health Care Brochures

To create brochures for your health care business, you must first look for an online printing company to order from. Check on the packages that they offer, the printing process, and the materials available. Also ask about the turnaround time, and the quality of customer support they offer. After deciding which cheap brochure printing package to get, the next thing to do is design the actual brochure. Here are a few steps to follow:

Decide which size and folding style to use.

There are different sizes of brochures to choose from: 4.25” x 11”, the standard size of 8.5” x 11”, 8.5” x 14”, 9” x 12”, 11” x 17”, and 11” x 25.5”. For the folding options, take your pick from trifold, Z-fold, half fold, single or double gate, double parallel, roll fold, accordion, French fold, and half then trifold.

Create a layout of the content.

Since you can have anywhere from four to 12 panels or pages to fill with content, you need to create a layout of the copy. What will you include on the cover page, the second and third page, and so on? Also determine the purpose of your brochure so that you can properly lay out the content. Mix illustrations, images, or photos with text. Make sure that the paragraphs are not too lengthy – people do not like reading through blocks of text.

Include a call-to-action.

For the last page of the brochure, include a call-to-action. Your contact information should be complete, up-to-date, and accurate. Those who are thinking about booking your health care services should be able to get in touch with you using the information in your brochure.

Distribute the brochures effectively.

You can display the brochures in your clinic, in other health care establishments, tourist centers, hotel lobbies, and other local businesses. By effectively designing and distributing your brochures, you can let people know about your business, and have them get in touch with you should they have a need for your health care services in the future.

Online Tools to Help Choose Addresses When You Print EDDM Postcards

If you are thinking about launching an eddm mailing campaign, choosing the addresses is crucial. EDDM stands for Every Door Direct Mail and it’s a service provided by the United States Postal Service to help local business owners. The idea is that entrepreneurs can mail postcards to every door within a zip code, for example, for marketing purposes. Only specific sizes of postcards are allowed, and you can either work with a print shop or fulfil the USPS requirements yourself. The main advantage of this type of marketing is that you do not have to put together your own mailing list. With the online tools available, you can ensure that you are only sending postcards to the people who are part of your target market.

Choosing Which Addresses to Send Postcards? These Tools Can Help

To make your print advertising campaign easier, it is best to work with a print shop that offers eddm mailingservices. When they print eddm postcards, they will ask you where you would like to send the postcards to. Let’s say that you have a restaurant. Everyone can be your target market because your product is food. Thus, you can have a ‘general’ address group, which can be the zip code of your restaurant’s location. You can also choose an individual mail carrier route, or all the addresses within a five-mile radius of your food establishment.

On the other hand, if you have a more niche market, you can narrow down your list so that you will send postcards only to those who will buy your products or services. If you are manufacturing women’s products, you can choose the category households with women of a certain age bracket or income bracket. This way, you would not have to spend money on postage to household where no women reside. To help you better choose which addresses to send the EDDM postcards to, here a few online tools available:

USPS.com

The website of the USPS has the EDDM Online Tool where you can search for neighborhoods where your customers live. You can search for routes, use filters to target customers, or search by demographic. This makes it easier for you to decide where to send your marketing postcards.

Melissa Lookups

This website has a Carrier Route Map lookup which allows you to search a zip code, view the mail carrier route maps, and boundaries. By simply typing a zip code, you can view the route, the number of businesses in the route, the average household income, average property value, and other essential information.

After deciding where to send your postcards, the print shop will take care of the rest of the process for you. You just need to pay the postage fee then they will bundle the postcards, fulfil the USPS requirements, and deliver the postcards to your local post office for individual mail box distribution.

Takeout Menu Printing? Organizing Tips to Remember

If you haven’t already done so, takeout menu printing is a must if you are in the restaurant business. Whether you’re selling pizza, fusion food, snacks, drinks, desserts, or any other food item, a takeout menu will boost your sales. People are willing to pay for convenience. With takeout food, they don’t have to prepare meals at home or wash the dishes. Even if they don’t have time for a sit-down dinner at your food establishment, they can still enjoy restaurant-quality food with takeout or delivery. The good news is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money on to go menu printing. There are digital or offset print shops where you can order takeout menus from. These can be mailed out or distributed personally in areas where there is high foot traffic, with the aim of primarily boosting your sales.

Tips for Organizing the Items in Your Takeout Menu

Let’s say that you have already chosen which online printing services provider to go with. The next thing to do is choose the folding style and menu size. Then, design the menu itself. There is actually a science behind how people read and interact with menus, so you need to be aware of how to organize it properly. This way, you can attract the eyes to the high-profit items; make the menu look well-balanced and not complicated; and satiate the appetite of hungry diners.

Here are a few tips on how to organize the items in your takeout menu:

Categorize the menu items.

The classic way to categorize menu items is listing the appetizers, main dishes, desserts, and drinks. This still works but if you want to maximize profit, you can group the items on the menu like this:
– Popular and profitable
– Popular but not so profitable
– Very profitable but not popular
– Not popular nor profitable

Highlight the popular and profitable dishes, keep the popular but not profitable, and also keep the very profitable but not popular. Ditch the last category for your takeout menu, and attract the reader’s eyes to items which are profitable yet quick and easy to prepare.

Limit your takeout menu items.

You may have a lot of items available for dine-in but for takeout, you can limit the choices to seven per category. This is a magic number so customers won’t get confused or overwhelmed with the variety of choices.

Know which parts of the menu a customer reads first.

The eyes typically go to the middle of the page when reading a menu. Then the pattern travels to the top right corner, then to the top left corner. Group complementary items and don’t miss the chance to upsell. Make sure that the font is easy to read, the colors should be contrasting for more readability, and the overall design should be cohesive and pleasant to the eyes.

By taking the time to design your takeout menu carefully, you can maximize profits and use this printer material to attract more customers to order your food.

Use Promo Codes to Save on Rack Cards Printing

If you have a bar, tavern, coffee shop, pub, grill, catering, or any similar business, you should consider rack cards printing to advertise your business. Rack cards are 4” x 9” or 3.5” x 8.5” cards which aim to advertise businesses, events, etc. They are usually displayed in areas where there is high foot traffic. For passers-by, they can simply pick up one of the rack cards from the brochure display. If they find the information interesting, they can bring the rack card home to use as reference for attending the event, visiting a store, or trying out a restaurant.

What’s good about using rack cards to advertise pubs or bar owners can simply display them in high-traffic areas and they are bound to get great response rates. As long as your rack cards are well-designed with a time-sensitive call-to-action, you can invite people to one-time events or entice them to try out your food or drinks establishment.

Rack Cards Printing Promo Codes

Let’s say that you have decided to include rack cards in your print marketing arsenal. How can you save money during the ordering process? Here area few ideas:

Look for promo codes online.

When having rack cards printed, you can choose between offset and digital printing. Some print shops offer both – the method that they will use is based on the volume of your order. When you visit the website of the online printing shop, immediately look promo codes. For instance, a promo code XYZ20 on a website can entitle you to 20% discount on all print jobs. This means that if you will order 100 pieces of 4” x 9” rack cards, you will save a significant amount of money.

Ask the print shop for discounts.

If you are visiting an actual print shop instead of simply visiting their website, just ask for discounts outright. Tell them that you did your research and a website you visited is offering a 15% discount. If they can match that, then you will place your order with them.

Order more to save more.

For offset printing, it is only the initial setup that is costly. Once the design has been set, the printing presses can make hundreds to thousands of copies of your rack cards in minutes. This means that the more pieces you order, the lower the per piece price gets. As such, 500 copies of rack cards will cost more than ordering 1,000 or 2,000 copies.

With rack cards, you can effectively advertise your business without having to spend a lot of money.

Print To Go Menus: Biggest Mistakes to Avoid

Whether you’re offering pizza, Mexican food, gourmet dishes, street food, or any other sumptuous dishes in your food establishment, it is a must to print to go menus. You might be offering dine-in only options but if you fail to consider customers who usually order takeout or book food deliveries, you are missing out on a huge chunk of the market. To make the most out of your food business, you should print to go menus and use it as a primary advertising tool, just like your dine-in menu.

Biggest Takeout Menu Printing Mistakes to Avoid

The first thing to do is look for an online printing company that specializes in takeout menu printing. Take your pick from digital or offset printing, and check on the prices of the packages that they offer. Make sure that they have quality customer service and the length of experience in the printing industry.

Next, when working on the design of your to go menu, here are the biggest mistakes to avoid:

Not considering the folding styles on the menu design.

A half fold takeout menu has four panels while a half then trifold has twelve panels. When designing your takeout menu, consider first the folding style because this dictates the number of pages or panels that you have to list down the items.

Not paying attention to the placement of menu items.

Your takeout menu can actually be just a slight variation of your dine-in menu. However, do not forget to pay attention to the placement of the menu items. For takeout or delivery, you have to serve customers quick and easy to prepare dishes. It won’t hurt to highlight the most profitable items, too, so that you can boost sales. Proper placement of menu items means highlighting your bestsellers, and categorizing the individual items in such a way that they draw the eye to that part of the page.

Failing to upsell.

While you’re at it, grab the chance to upsell by including add-ons to your bestsellers. Give customers options like “More cheese, please!” and put the price next to it. Also include vegetarian or organic options with a brief description in your takeout menu.

Overcomplicating the menu design.

Finally, do not overcomplicate the design of your takeout menu. You can group together similar items, making sure to highlight the most profitable dishes. Use easy-to-read font and contrasting colors. Include your restaurant’s logo in the design, and do not overcrowd the pages.

By knowing which design mistakes to avoid, you can have a takeout menu that hungry customers can’t wait to order from.