Tom The Printer

How 'on demand' printing can benefit your business

2008-05-05T09:15:00.020Z

Although digital 'on demand' printing has only been around for a few years it has revolutionised the print industry and changed the way businesses promote themselves. It's responsible for slashing the cost of printing, reducing turnaround times, practically eliminating wastage and enabling businesses to approach customers with highly targeted (and therefore highly effective) marketing messages.

Small business marketing in a recession

2008-04-27T13:46:00.005Z

According to the 'experts' we're not in the grips of a recession just yet. However, many of my customers own small businesses and the feedback I'm getting from them is fairly consistent... everyone is feeling the pinch. At times like this, people are naturally inclined to reduce their business overheads and typically one of the first casualties is the marketing/advertising budget. However,

Direct mail and the golden rule of 6

2007-10-17T17:41:00.004Z

Direct mail - the art of mailing out advertising literature to a specific individual or organisation - is one of the most effective forms of advertising. If you need proof, you need look no further than your front door mat. Almost all major companies invest millions of pounds each year in direct mail. Why? Because it works! Most companies experiment with direct mail promotions at one time or

Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps. Part 7: Use Takeaway Selling to Increase the Urgency

2007-10-15T08:13:00.000Z

When you limit the supply of a product or service in some way (i.e. takeaway selling), basic economics dictates that the demand will rise. In other words, people will generally respond better to an offer if they believe it is about to become unavailable or restricted in some way. And of course, the opposite is also true. If a prospect knows your product will be around whenever he needs it, there

Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps. Part 6: Write To Be Scanned

2007-10-13T18:07:00.000Z

Your layout is very important because you want your leaflet to look inviting, refreshing to the eyes. In short, you want your prospect to stop what he’s doing and read what you’ve got to say. If he sees a leaflet with tiny margins, no indentations, no breaks in the text, no white space, and no subheads… if he sees a page of nothing but densely-packed words, do you think he’ll be tempted to read

Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps. Part 5: The Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

2007-10-10T14:54:00.000Z

Also known as the unique selling position, the USP is often one of the most misunderstood elements of a good sales leaflet. It’s what separates your product or service from your competitors. Let’s take a quick look at some unique selling propositions for a product itself:Lowest Price – If you can produce your product cheaper than anyone else then flaunt it. Personally, I’m not convinced about

Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps. Part 4: Incorporating Proof and Believability

2007-10-08T08:37:00.000Z

When your prospect reads your leaflet, you want to make sure he believes any claims you make about your product or service. Because if there’s any doubt in his mind he won’t bite, no matter how sweet the deal. In fact, the ‘too good to be true’ mentality will virtually guarantee a lost sale… even if it is all true. So what can you do to increase the perception of believability? Because after all

Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps. Part 3: Push Their Emotional Hot Buttons

2007-10-06T13:11:00.000Z

This is where research really pays off. Because in order to push those buttons, you need to first know what they are. To demonstrate what I mean, let me tell you a story: Once upon a time a young man walked into a BMW dealer’s showroom to check out the new 3-Series. He had the money, and he was ready to make a buying decision. But he couldn’t decide if he wanted to buy the BMW or a similar

Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps. Part 2: Focus on them, not you!

2007-10-05T04:01:00.000Z

When someone reads your leaflet the one thing he will be wondering from the outset is: “what’s in it for me?” And if your leaflet doesn’t immediately tell him, it’ll land in the recycling bin within seconds. A lot of people make this mistake. They focus on themselves rather then the reader. They bang on about how long they’ve been trading, who their most impressive customers are, how they’ve

Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps. Part 1: Test, test and test again!

2007-10-04T16:43:00.000Z

At one time or another all organisations produce a leaflet to promote a product, service or event. Some leaflets are hugely successful. Others a complete waste of time, effort and expense. How can you make your leaflet campaign as effective as possible? Read on… The best method is to test, test again… and then test even more. If leaflet 'A' receives a five percent response rate, and leaflet 'B

Printing glossary

2007-05-11T13:46:00.000Z

Printing experts love to dream up weird and wonderful names for even the most basic print processes. I think it must make them feel important. Anyway, I've started a glossary of printing terms which I'll update as and when I get inspiration. Let me know if I've missed anything! Art Paper See 'Coated paper'. Backing Up Printing the reverse side of a sheet already printed on one side. Black and

Resolution - your essential guide

2007-04-27T08:28:00.000Z

If you're creating artwork for print, you'll only get decent results if you've got a basic understanding of image resolution. Don't worry, it's actually quite a simple concept - nowhere near as complex as some people seem to think. So stick with me here, I'm going to try to make this as painless as possible...What is resolution?As you probably know, when you view a photograph on your computer

What is printing bleed?

2007-04-24T10:55:00.000Z

'Bleed' is an essential part of creating artwork for print. Professional designers will always extend (or 'bleed') background elements and images beyond the edges of the document by an additional 4mm or so. This prevents unwanted white borders around the edges of a printed document.The full storyWe've all been there. We've slaved away for hours creating a design masterpiece. Everything looks A-OK

What is full colour (or CMYK or Process) Printing?

2007-04-22T19:52:00.000Z

You may be surprised to learn that when the jewellery brochure above was printed, all the colours - from the deep green and burgandy backgrounds to the delicate skin tones of the model - were created by combining just four different inks:C - cyanM - magentaY - yellowK - key (or black)CMYK is the colour model used in full colour printing (which is also referred to as four-colour printing and

Proofs - never, ever print without one!

2007-04-20T13:03:00.000Z

Unlike many of my colleagues, I didn't go to college. I didn't even serve an apprenticeship. I learnt my trade the hard way - by trial and error. As a result, I've experienced first hand most of the problems which can crop up when preparing artwork and supplying it for print. However, I'd like to think that over the years I've learnt from my mistakes and these days I have a pretty good idea of

Choosing paper for your print project

2007-04-17T17:58:00.000Z

Paper (or 'stock' as printing geeks insist on calling it) takes many forms. So which type should you choose for your project?Firstly, I should probably explain the difference between the various paper types:Coated vs UncoatedAs the name suggests, coated paper has a coating, usually of china clay, which gives it a smooth finish. Coated papers are available in a gloss, silk (sometimes called satin)

Creating artwork - what are your options?

2007-04-15T18:10:00.000Z

Whatever you want to print, before you can start to think about putting ink on paper, you'll need some artwork. 'Artwork' is the image or design you want to reproduce - it could be as simple as a couple of lines of text or a complex design featuring illustrations, photographs and logos.Depending upon the complexity of your project and how 'polished' you'd like the final result to be, you have

Folding and creasing

2007-04-13T19:05:00.000Z

Printed documents can be folded in a number of different ways. The most common folds are shown below. Paper of around 200gsm and above needs to be creased to prevent it from 'cracking' (tearing). This involves scoring the paper before it is folded.

What is trimming?

2007-04-12T14:00:00.000Z

Trimming is the process of cutting a document down to its finished size.Commerical printing presses cannot print to the very edge of a sheet of paper. In order to achieve this effect, your design is usually printed onto a larger piece of paper. The white, unprinted border is subsequently trimmed off using a guillotine. If you are creating artwork for print, you will need to add an area of bleed

What is lamination?

2007-04-11T16:45:00.000Z

A laminate is a thin sheet of clear plastic which is applied to one or both sides of a piece of paper. It provides protection from handling and prevents ink from smudging or coming off on the hands (this does not apply to most digital printing processes which use a dry ink toner). Lamination is commonly used on the outer covers of prestigious brochures and corporate folders.Be aware that, in the

What is encapsulation?

2007-04-10T12:22:00.000Z

An encapsulate is a sheet of clear plastic - you can choose from a range of thicknesses or 'grades' - which is applied to both sides of a piece of paper. It extends beyond the edges of the paper, usually by around 5-10mm, sealing the paper within. It offers far greater protection than a laminate and, as long as the plastic seal remains intact, is waterproof. Encapsulation is usually reserved for

The hidden cost of printing your own leaflets

2007-04-07T15:37:00.000Z

One of my regular customers rang me this morning wanting to cancel their leaflet printing order. They we're working to a tight budget and decided it would be cheaper to print 250 A5 leaflets using a HP inkjet printer they'd borrowed from a friend. What they hadn't considered was the true cost of inkjet printing. I recently came across a test report in Computer Active Magazine which found that

UK paper size guide

2007-04-05T11:29:00.000Z

Don't know your A5s from your DLs? Here's my essential guide to UK paper sizes...The most common system of paper sizes in Europe is the ISO standard. Most people are familiar with the A series which includes A4 (the size of a standard letterhead):A0 - 841 x 1189mmA1 - 594 x 841mmA2 - 420 x 594mmA3 - 297 x 420mmA4 - 210 x 297mmA5 - 148 x 210mmA6 - 105 x 148mmClick to enlargeAnother popular size

Identify your target audience

2007-04-02T17:21:00.000Z

A 'target audience' is the main group of people your organisation wants to appeal to and communicate with. Speak to any marketing expert and they'll always stress the importance of identifing your target audience before you begin any marketing activity. Although it's tempting to try to sell to anyone and everyone, it's an expensive approach which is almost always less successful than restricting

No-one cares about your logo

2007-04-01T16:54:00.000Z

OK, OK. The title of this article may be a bit of an exaggeration but bear with me here... When designing a leaflet or an advert, a lot of people make the mistake of using their logo or company name as the most prominent element within their design. It's placed centre stage, big and bold, acting as the first thing potential customers see. Now that's fine if your target audience is made up of