A brick and mortar print shop will have someone at the counter who can explain the terminology to you, or better yet, hand you a sample of each stock and let you decide which you want. That kind of service isn’t possible over the Internet, so it is worth your time to learn the language so you know how to make the best calls in ordering your printed supplies online.
Paper is the most fundamental piece of the printing puzzle. Weight and thickness are the primary indicators of paper type and quality.
Paper Thickness
The thickness of a single sheet of paper is referred to as its caliper. It is commonly measured in thousandths of an inch (mils or points), pages per centimeter (ppc) or pages per inch (ppi). Points will be the term used most commonly by online printing companies.
Bulk is a less-used term, but it also refers to the thickness of a stack of paper when it is under a specified pressure. Bulk is a consideration when you want the paper to give the appearance of substance or thickness, so it has more application in art paper than printing.
Paper Weight
A ream of paper is 500 sheets. The weight of a paper is expressed in the weight of a ream, but it is more complex than that because each kind of paper is produced in a different size, so comparing 500 sheets of big paper to 500 sheets of little paper does not produce a consistent measure. That’s why weight is usually expressed in pounds (#) followed by a paper type, e.g. bond, offset, text, etc.; and 50# cover is not the same thickness as 50# offset.
A much better measure is grams per square meter (gsm), which is consistent from one paper type to another, but the paper type still needs to be specified as it relates additional characteristics. Online printers often give measurements both as gsm and pounds.
Paper Type
Bond paper, or reprographic paper, is a variety of paper grades used for business, including mimeo and copier papers. Common writing paper is also bond.
Book paper is appropriate for printing books, catalogs, magazines and general use. There are three categories of bond paper:
Uncoated book paper is called offset paper.
Coated book paper (art paper, gloss paper) is best for ink holdout.
The third category of book paper is text, which has a textured surface. Linen is an example. Sometimes the best paper is referred to as text, even when it has no discernable texture.
Examples
While there is no direct correlation, 20# bond is approximately the same thickness as 50# text. You’ve probably seen the 20# indication on copy paper.
Paperboard or board paper is 80# cover (200 gsm). This is the typical postcard or file folder thickness.
Many printers use 200 gsm for printing business cards, but some online printing companies are using 350 gsm to make better quality cards, particularly those that involve photo printing.
As you become familiar with the numbers used, you will start to recognize the standard weights and thicknesses, and from there you will be able to determine exactly what it is that you need.
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Posters come in many sizes, and there are many uses for them. Kids tack posters all over their walls, and younger adults tend to frame and hang posters rather than paintings as art in their homes. Their usefulness doesn’t end there, however. Custom posters have several business uses and can be a very worthwhile investment. Here are a few ways to use them for business:
Decor. Framed posters showing you or your staff in some professional capacity hanging in your lobby can build credibility. Being on a poster, even though it is really an oversized photograph, can lend to the perception that you are a celebrity of sorts. That can make people more comfortable with taking your advice or investing in your product.
Giveaways. People love freebies. Make up posters for local events that include images from past events, the sponsors, well-known participants, etc., and be sure to include your logo and pictures associated with your business if possible. You’ll have people posting your ads in their own homes.
Announcements. Posters can be used just like signs. You can use them to announce new hours, new management, product lines, etc. Small posters can be distributed around town to places with display boards to get the word out about any kind of event you are having.
Product Display. You can print posters to show off what you have done or made. Artists have to sell their work, but they can keep photos and have them made into posters. Builders, architects, and anyone who builds or makes anything can have posters made showing what they have done. Potential clients can’t usually be taken all over the state to look at past projects, but it’s very impressive to see them. Posters are particularly effective when the picture itself is artfully done. Consider having a professional photographer take the photos that will become your promotional posters.
Humans are visual creatures, and we are strongly influenced by first impressions. Using posters to visually present your message adds to your marketing campaign without requiring any further effort on your part. Check out online printing services to find an expert at poster printing. You can usually get the framing done right at the printer, saving you the time and effort of finding a framer.
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Printing a book is an exciting step for an aspiring author. There was a time when it required getting an agent and a contract with a publisher. However, online printing services have made book publishing attainable for many more authors. Their low cost and ability to produce small print runs (some even “print on demand” – producing as few books as you desire whenever you want them) make self-publishing reasonably attainable.
Between writing and being ready to send your book to the printer, you have a lot of work to do which is known as pre-publishing. If you have some experience, you can do this on your own, but online book printers offer various services to assist with this process. They will all have somewhat different services, software, and packages available, so shop around to find the one that best meets your needs. To give you an overview of the process and an idea what you can expect from an online book printer, here’s what one such publisher, lulu.com, offers for their most basic pre-publishing package:
Primer Publishing Package ($369)
Support. Lulu will assign a project coordinator to manage your project through to getting the final version published.
Cover. Several templates are available, including some with a photo on the cover and an author photo on the back, if desired. You pick the layout you like the best and provide the picture(s) which must be the specified size resolution; photo editing is not included. Lulu provides a free ISBN if you want one for future retail sales.
Formatting. Lulu calls their formatting package “Advanced Manuscript Formatting”; the name and included services will vary depending on the book printer, but this particular service lets you choose from six layouts. The format allows for up to 15 images, which again have to be sized appropriately, no editing is included. Proofreading and editing is not included, but the physical layout aspect to get your manuscript looking right for book printing is covered. They will take care of headers and footers, page numbering, font corrections, paragraph indents, and updating the table of contents.
Product. Once you approve everything thus far, a galley copy (pages formatted and typeset with images in place but not bound) is provided, and you will get a PDF format download also.
So basically, for less than $400, you have access to a service that will pretty much walk you through turning your finished manuscript into a form that is ready for online book printing and binding. Packages go up into the thousands of dollars and include hardbound and softbound copies of the book, but these are the basic steps that you’ll need to do one way or another.
]]>In addition to the above list of print items, OverNightPrints.com has a few less common products:
]]>Bookmarks. Anyone who reads could use a bookmark. While Post-it® Notes and toilet paper scraps will do the job, marking pages with an actual bookmark contributes to the reading experience. Despite the fact that these things are printed cardstock cut to size, they sell for several dollars at bookstores, so make yours something people will want to look at, and you’ll have an inexpensive marketing tool that they see over and over again. Overnight Prints produces bookmarks on 15 point card stock with full four color printing on both sides. You have a choice of matte or gloss finish and can order gloss on only a specified part if you wish to make a photo shine, but keep the text portion as readable as possible.
Magnets. Full four color printing with a gloss finish make these magnets look really professional. There are two sizes available, 2 x 3½ and 4 x 6½. Refrigerator magnets may be an interior designer’s nightmare, but everyone has them because they are useful. Make yours one of the “keepers” by uploading an image that is either particularly aesthetically pleasing or very representative of your business so that it becomes an “at a glance” reminder that the customer can get in touch with you easily.
Self Inking Stamps. These stamps produce a clean image each time because when you press down on it, the rubber stamp rotates away from the ink plate and is pushed straight down onto the surface that is to be stamped, and then recoils back into the cartridge. Having the ink plate inside the cartridge means you don’t have to keep refilling a messy ink pad, and it should produce somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 impressions. For now they only offer black ink but have said they plan to have more colors soon. If you want a color other than black, let OvernightPrints’ customer service department know; maybe your request will be the one that finally tips the scale and gets it in stock.
Printfinity. MOO is a specialty printer with one very special feature, Printfinity. This is their process that lets you use as many images as you would like in one pack of cards. That means you can have a hundred different business cards if you’d like. Photographers and other visual artists can display their portfolio on the backs of their cards. Potential customers tend to be drawn to particular works, and with an assortment of your work on your business cards, they can take a piece home with them for nothing, yet they will never be left trying to remember which artist it was that did that one piece that they liked so much.
Quality. MOO’s great quality starts with the paper they use. Business cards, MiniCards, and postcards are printed on paper with a weight of 350 gsm (grams per square meter), which is slightly thicker than 120 lb. cover stock. That’s a lot thicker than the paper used for other business cards. Moo offers a “green” option for business card stock that is 100% recycled.
Guarantee. MOO wants you to be happy with your order. If you tell them that you are not, an agent will get in touch with you by the end of the next business day, usually sooner. They will try to find out what they can do to fix the problem. If there’s really no way to fix it, they will refund your money.
Free Samples. Unfortunately for us, MOO.com is not one of those companies that give away boxes of free business cards to attract customers. They will give you ten, but they are going to have a black band across the bottom of the back that says something to the effect of “Printed by MOO.com.”
The cool thing about their free card offer is that you get to use Printfinity. You can upload ten different images, and they will print one on each of the ten sample cards. They say the black band is there so you will remember where they came from, but it’s on the back so you can use the card in a pinch. It seems unlikely that you would forget where the cards came from, especially when each one is different, but MOO isn’t in the mass production business, and they’ve got to make a living too. Giving away boxes of free business cards wouldn’t serve them well since it can’t lead to sales of matching stationery, flyers, brochures, etc.
MOO does cards, period. Fortunately, for people who want top quality cards without high end prices, they do all kinds of cards.
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Free Business Cards sounds like a gimmick for suckers, but really, it isn’t. The online printing business is so competitive that when Vista Print got famous by giving away boxes of business cards free for the asking, a lot of their competitors started doing the same thing. Now if you go online and do a search for “free business cards,” you’ll find a slew of offers.
The Deal Gets Better
Vista Print’s standard offer is 250 free cards printed on one side from their limited selection of free templates and on the bottom of the back there is a single line promoting Vistaprint.com. There have been some complaints about the cards being on cheap stock and not looking like quality business cards. Some say the printer’s logo on the card makes you look cheap.
Other printers, such as Overnightprints.com have taken a hint from the feedback and they offer a box of 250 business cards free, printed on both sides on quality paper with a glossy finish and no printer’s logo on the back. You can also upload your own image for use on the free cards.
Tampaprinter.com is going for the big orders with their special offer. You have to buy the first 500 business cards, but then they will give you 500 free. The deal is continual; for every 500 purchased, they will give you another 500 at no charge. If you go through a lot of cards, this might be the best deal for you.
One thing you should be aware of is shipping costs. 123 Print does not offer free cards, but encourages you to purchase their low-cost cards with low shipping costs, and they claim that you will be better off than you would by ordering free cards and paying higher shipping. They offer 10,000 designs to choose from – you aren’t likely to end up with the same card as someone else you’ll run into that way – and they don’t charge for upgrades like some of the free card offers do.
Your business card represents you and your company. Often you meet people and your card is the only thing they take away that reminds them of you. You want that to be a positive reminder, so a cheap looking business card will not do, unless you are in a business that is not expected to invest in business formalities, such as a young person’s lawn service. Otherwise, look through the online business card designs and select one that looks professional, but also represents your particular business well.
When you get your free business cards, you can also order samples of other types of products. Most online printing companies have a sample pack that they would be happy to send to you. They know you can’t come in to the shop to check out their wares, so they will send them to you, and that way you can be fully confident about the quality when you are ready to place an order for printing services.
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In this age of Internet marketing, postcards are still a viable alternative. Direct mail marketing has been proven over time to be effective, and despite the many advantages to doing your promotions over the Web, there is still much to be gained from a postcard marketing campaign.
Unlike doing an e-mail blast, mailing postcards or business flyers isn’t free, so you’ll want to make the campaign as effective as possible. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
]]>Use First Class Mail. Bulk mail rates are cheaper, but you don’t get forwarding or address correction. Paying the extra for first class helps keep your list current and allows you to stay in contact with customers who may have moved since you last contacted them. Use an actual stamp rather than an inked impression for your postage because it helps to flag your postcard as a piece of personal mail, rather than junk mail.
Pay attention to postal regulations. If your postcards are too big, or printed on heavy cardstock that exceeds the standard for postcards, you will be charged the oversize price, which is significantly higher when you are sending out a large number of pieces.
Update the List. Using a list that is several years old will likely result in a lot of mail that does not get delivered. Make sure you do all that you can to eliminate bad addresses.
Choose Postcards Over Sealed Envelopes. Postcards get read more than any other kind of mail. Most people look through the mail and decide whether they want to take the time and effort to open each piece. Many envelopes end up in the trash unopened, but postcards are open when they arrive. There is no effort involved in reading them and they are already in hand, so most people go ahead and check it out right then. The size of a postcard as a mailer is a mixed blessing. Because it is so small, you really have to design carefully and not waste any space, but by the same token, since it is so small, there is no reason to put off reading it, which reduces the chance of it ending up in a pile of junk mail that eventually gets tossed without being read.
Make your Postcard Stand Out. Postcards are a visual tool. Design yours with something eye catching. If you aren’t the designing type, online printing services, such as 123print.com, come to the rescue. You simply go to their website and select a premade design, add your content, and order the cards. Many online printing businesses offer postcards, but 123 print has over 5,400 designs to choose from, so it’s a good bet that they will have just what you are looking for.
Don’t overpay. Running an overpriced marketing campaign can negate the results it produces. Check out online printing sources for your postcards (and any other marketing or office items that you personalize) and you will find a wide range of products available at good prices. Another advantage of the online printing services is that they typically have very fast turnaround times.
One featured marketing tool offered by 48 Hour Print is labels and stickers. Labels are part of any professional office mailing supplies, and they are quick and easy to use.
Stickers
When used for business purposes, stickers are a great branding tool that is quick to use and an easy way to get your brand seen and remembered. The stickers offered by 48HourPrint are rectangular, and sizes start at 1 by 2.685 inches and go all the way up to a full 8.5 by 11 sheet size. They are printed on 70# high gloss laser stock and have a permanent adhesive backing.
Use them on every piece of packaging you send out! Seal boxes and bags, gift wraps, even envelopes. If you have marketing material from a larger corporate structure, you can add a sticker to personalize it, and make your customers more conscious of your local office.
Design ideas include your logo and contact information (essentially creating a stick-on business card), a quotation or marketing slogan, and for use at special events, you could put your logo and the event logo together or include some other promotion for your business while supporting the event.
Labels
48 Hour Print’s label printing service recommends using their labels for return address labels, mailing labels, gift labels, and appointment reminder labels.
Labels are available in the same size and shape as the stickers, but labels are not as heavy as stickers, they are printed on 60# uncoated adhesive stock that is specified for indoor-use-only, and they also have a permanent adhesive backing.
Ordering
A template is available for each available sticker or label size so you can make sure your image is large enough to cover it, and you can see how your layout looks with image and text combined. Once you get your design the way you like it, you just upload it, and after approving the proof, your order will be printed and shipped out.
Both stickers and labels are on the 24 hour turnaround unless you buy 1,000 or more (and then they are on a 48 hour turnaround), so either way, you’ll have them very soon after placing your order.
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There is more to running a business than showing up at 9:00 am each morning. This is one of the first lessons new entrepreneurs learn when they set up their own company. There are seemingly a million details that need to be managed each day. Fortunately, your printing needs can all be fulfilled quickly and easily online.
Comprehensive Printing Services
What do you need printed? Do you need matching business cards for all of your employees? How about stationery? Planning on passing out brochures at an event? Need some address labels? The selection is extensive and the prices competitive.
All of these products and much more are available through a number of online vendors. Of course, there is more to this than meets the eye. After all, your reputation is on the line each time you use these materials, and when you choose cheap materials or get amateurish results, it shows. Make sure you work with someone reliable who offers quality products, such as Vista Print, U Printing or PsPrints, that way you know you will get what you pay for.
Color Printing Adds Pizzazz
There is a huge difference between the visual appearance of something printed in black and white and the same item in color. Color pops! It attracts attention and allows you to brand your company much more than a monochromatic scheme. The difference in price between color and black and white is insignificant when you consider the increase in marketing advantages color provides.
Think about the last flyer you saw. Was it color or black and white? Monochromatic flyers are much more likely to end up in the trash. Color products, especially well designed ones, get attention, and marketing is all about generating attention and directing it where you want it to be.
Today’s color is more realistic and brighter than it was even a few years ago. Offset printing means that just about every product can have smooth, professional color and still make it off the presses and to your door in a few days.
Printing Online Saves You Money and Time
Perhaps one of the greatest benefits you gain by printing online is savings. You save both money and time by working with an online printing service. With easy to use templates that help you set up any project, access to customer assistance nearly 24/7 and quick turn around, you save hours when compared to trying to do the work alone or at a local print shop.
Online printing is usually less expensive than anything you can find at an office store or local print shop; and since time is money, you double your savings right off the bat. No more trips to proof your copy, no need to head out to pick things up when they are done – everything is handled online and delivered to your door.
There is no question that busy entrepreneurs benefit when they choose to take all their printing needs online. With a quick turn around, helpful service and quality printing it all adds up to successful marketing at bargain prices; why go anywhere else?
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1. Design your Brochures
Designing a brochure is only the first part of a more involved marketing strategy. Your goal is to get those brochures into people’s hands so that they can do your work for you. There are two things you should consider when you order brochures; how you will use them and if they will be time sensitive.
Time sensitive brochures need to be designed quickly and that might mean using a premade template for speed and convenience. You can find many such templates available at an online printer’s website.
Your primary focus must be on content. The goal is to grab the reader as soon as they look at the front cover and to keep them reading all the way through. Keep content interesting and appealing with short paragraphs and plenty of action worlds. Additionally, you definitely want color since color attracts attention.
2. Determine your Goals for Brochure Printing
You might have different objectives when you print your brochures – a sales oriented packet isn’t the same as one designed to stimulate customer excitement. If you have more than one definitive goal, think about printing up more than one brochure so you can focus on the appropriate audience. If you are unsure of how to proceed, talk to the customer reps at the printing company and get some advice.
3. Printing Online – less Expensive, More Choices
Once you have determined what kinds of brochures you might need, and have the content ready, investigate the prices. There is more than just price per copy to consider. The quality of the paper, the printing process involved, how much is mechanical versus manual, are all issues that need to be considered.
Also think about how you want your brochure to appear. Do you want it to be folded, spiral bound, large or small. Will you have the whole brochure printed in color or just part. Working with an online firm will give you more options and it generally moves faster than if you use a local shop. Price several companies and select the one that offers the best over-all deal.
4. Place your Order
Some companies will take relatively small orders of only 50 brochures, others will want larger orders, and will be willing to make thousands upon request. Make sure you have proofed everything before the order is finalized because afterwards it is too late to change anything. Order a bit more than you think you will use, maybe 10% or so, in case you have an unexpected run on the brochures or find an additional use for them.
5. Disperse the Brochures
No brochure is going to be effective if you don’t have a distribution plan. Whether your goal is to mail your brochures, use them as part of a hand out packet for each person walking in your door or leaving them at various locations, you have to get them to your potential customers for them to work. Make sure you know who you want to solicit and how you will get the brochures to them before you go to print, so the money and time you invest in making your impressive brochures isn’t wasted.
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