Everywhere you look, you will see some type of marketing or advertising. Have you ever stopped and wondered…how did they do that and what is it called? Print shops have notoriously been known to print letterhead, envelopes, business cards, brochures, forms, and catalogs. But print shops have come a long way from these usual business products and have developed new services and products like making banners, promotional products (cups, pens, bags), booth displays, signs, and wearables. This week’s spotlight will go through different types of prints and formats that are available to help promote your business, service or product.

PRINTING

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN OFFSET PRINTING AND DIGITAL PRINTING?

Traditional offset printing is produced on a printing press using printing plates and wet ink. This type of printing takes a little longer to produce as there is more setup time and the final product must dry before finishing can take place. At the same time, offset printing traditionally produces the highest quality available on the widest variety of stocks and offers the highest degree of control over color. Further, offset printing is the most economical choice when producing large numbers of prints of a few originals.

The benefits of offset printing

Superior image quality that is reliable. Count on offset printing for clean, distinct type and images without streaks or spots
Better color fidelity, which refers to both the accuracy of the colors and their balance in the design. Because offset printing can mix custom color inks for each job, it’s naturally going to get the colors spot-on.
Works equally well on almost any kind of material.
For large volume jobs, you get more for your money. It costs a lot to start an offset job. You have to invest money into creating the plates, which takes time. However, once you’ve invested it, all of the materials are ready to go, and you’ll actually spend less on big offset jobs than a digital print, which is about same per piece no matter how big the job gets.

The drawbacks of offset printing

High cost of low-volume jobs
Longer timetable since plates need to be created
Worse fallout in case there’s an error. If you don’t catch a typo on a plate and ruin a batch it’s harder to fix and the process starts all over again

Digital printing used to be called ‘copying,’ but that term is now outdated. Today, instead of copying a hard copy original, most of the digital printing is output directly from electronic files. Digital printing is the quickest way to produce short runs, especially when there are many originals. The quality level of digital printing is now extremely close to offset printing. Although digital printing works well on most stocks today, there are still some papers and jobs where offset printing works better. There are also some stocks and jobs where digital printing will perform as well as, or better than, offset printing.

The benefits of digital printing:

Faster turnaround time
Each print is identical. You risk fewer odd variations caused by imbalances in water and ink.
Cheaper for low volume jobs. The price per unit drops for offset printing, so at some point they criss-cross.
Changing information within a single print job. For example, say you were printing out postcards advertising a concert. You could actually change the dates and locations for part of the batch to create two sets of cards for two shows.

The drawbacks of digital printing:

Fewer options in materials you can print on
Less color fidelity is possible with digital printing because digital jobs use standard inks that cannot exactly match all colors. Offset jobs use specially mixed inks, which will always be a closer match. Digital is improving and getting closer with blended inks, but those inks still do not match as well as a custom mix.
Higher cost for large-volume jobs
Slightly lower quality, sharpness and crispness

If you’re in the market for brochures, business cards, posters or other marketing materials, you already know that you’re going to need to come up with the perfect design, color scheme, copy and layout. However, even after you’ve checked off all of those boxes, there’s another very important decision to make: choosing between digital vs. offset printing.

SIGNS

Most print shops are known for sign services such as posters and foamboard exhibits, but these are not the only type of sign services available. With advances in technology, print shops are now able to make banners, retractable signs, vinyl prints for nearly any surface, wraps for vehicles, coroplast, and outdoor displays.

bANNERS

Banners are long strips of material bearing a slogan or design, with the intent of representing a company, organization, government, or other entity. They are not rigid, unlike traditional signs. Though the dictionary may describe banners as being made of cloth, these days a banner can consist of several different materials, all with varying degrees of thickness, pliability, and durability. Banners are differentiated from flags by how they are displayed, rather than by color, shape, or designs. A banner will be attached at both ends, whereas a flag tends to be attached on a single side to a post or pole.

Fabric Banners: Fabric banners, usually consisting of polyester or satin, provide stunning full-colored graphics that will captivate and awe. Machine-washable and crease-resistant (unlike vinyl banners), these displays are the perfect solution for any business that needs a high-quality banner with little or no setup time. The show-stopping radiance of a fabric banner can be tarnished outdoors, however, so we recommend using them only for indoor applications. But trade shows, sports event, grand openings, housing promotions, and presentations are all fair game.
Vinyl Banners: Vinyl banners are an old standby, and for good reason. It’s hard to argue with the durability of their material; they can be used both indoors and outdoors, and they are tear-resistant. Make sure you have the manpower to lift and transport heavier items. Vinyl banners can be quite heavy in comparison to their cloth counterparts, and they can crease if stored improperly or stepped on.
Mesh Banners: Vinyl is popular, there’s no questioning that. But mesh might just…mesh with your current advertising strategy. The weave of a mesh banner is more permeable, allowing wind to pass through without lifting the banner up like a sail or wing. The major benefit of such a construction is that it allows the banner to brave harsh winds and inclement weather outside, while still serving the primary function of branding or advertising. Mesh banners are often the choice for extra-large signage applications on storefronts, building sides or even as coverings for entire structures. When serving as building wraps and showcasing, for example, a new soft drink, mesh banners can make an impressive promotional impact. Contractors and developers also use mesh banners to mask the view of construction and instead showcase the finished project! It's much more attractive to all, especially among potential purchaser or leasers!
Retractable Banners: Pull-up banner stands, also known as roll-up, are an attractive, double-sided solution for tradeshow events and indoor retail signage. They tend to be around six-feet tall with varying widths dependent on custom specifications. Pull-up banners are easy to collapse and transport. As you might imagine, their retractable system allows for almost instantaneous setup, but this comes as a price: pull-up banners can’t be built much wider than five feet. If you have a smaller exhibition, or want to supplement your existing signage and displays, perfect; otherwise, you may want to investigate pop-up displays instead.
Event Banners: From city fairs, concerts and music festivals to trade shows, expos and business conferences, almost all events require a carefully thought-out system of temporary signs, including a-frames, yard signs, event tents and more. Banners are especially effective because of their size and visibility, allowing you to raise your message high above the crowds of eventgoers.

VINYL

Vinyl is an excellent material for signage. It has a broad range of versatility as it adheres to a variety of smooth surfaces, such as windows, mirrors, flooring tiles, walls and even pavement. It’s also flexible, durable and weather resistant. On top of that, you can customize the look of the decals extensively, from color and shape to opacity. The options are limitless.

Vinyl decals come in several designs and sizes, created for a variety of purposes. While they’re also completely customizable, you can order them based on where you intend to apply them. Large vinyl decals are perfect for window spaces and floors, while smaller varieties work well on vehicles and doors. No matter how you want to decorate or advertise, they’ll meet your needs.

The different types of vinyl decals include:

Vinyl Floor Decals

Any business or office is sure to have open floor space, whether it’s indoors or outside. Business owners often overlook floors as a space for advertising or branding materials, but they have a lot of potential with the use of floor decals. The vinyl adheres to most surfaces, and the flatter it is, the better the decal will stick. Floor decals have a unique purpose, but they’re excellent for a wide variety of applications, such as:

Wayfinding: You can use floor decals to creatively direct visitors to specific parts of your building. You can use footsteps or other shapes to lead guests to conference rooms. Decals also work well to mark doors or store sections, such as directing people through a line or to the checkout counter.
Sale advertisement: In-store sales can be a significant point of revenue for your business. But your customers need to know what’s on sale and how large of a price reduction you’re offering. You can use floor decals to signify sections where sales are and show a percentage off or deal with graphics, such as buy-one-get-one. The graphics can also include the dates you’re running the sale, the name of the event and bright colors to attract shoppers’ attention.
Visibility: When your business is independent of other buildings, it’s easier to see. But if you have a storefront on a busy street, it can be easier to miss for those walking on the sidewalk. A well-placed decal outside your door can draw people in and increase your visibility, even if they’re looking at the ground.
Branding: Placing decals on the floor throughout your store can help solidify your branding. If you apply your logo to the area inside your front doors, it’ll remind your customers of your business’ name and image, reinforcing your brand and providing an attractive focal point. You can also use it in your parking lot to brighten up the space and bring attention to your building.

Storefront Vinyl Decals:

For brick and mortar businesses, standing out is essential. Whether your building located on an independent piece of property or a tightly packed city street, you should focus on attracting the attention of customers, near or far. If you have the benefit of large front windows, especially on a busy street, storefront decals can catch the eye of passersby and increase your store’s visibility.

With vinyl window decals for businesses, you can decorate your front windows with many graphics and details. You can include your business’ name, logo, graphics, design elements and essential business details, such as opening and closing hours or social media usernames. There are many styles you may choose from as well, including cut lettering, unique shapes, full window coverage and more. You can even adjust the opacity of the design to give your business’ name a frosted or colored backdrop.

If you want to take full advantage of the space and want to shade out the sun, you can install transparent, opaque or perforated window wraps, which cover the whole window. They allow you to design the entire window with patterns, colors or graphics. The perforated variety will enable customers in your store to see out the windows but will appear as a solid graphic to those outside. Large custom vinyl decals allow you to display attention-grabbing graphics on the outside of your store, which helps with branding and attracting new customers.

VEHICLE WRAPS

There are many different ways you can use window decals. For example, if you have a company car that you allow your employees to drive to meetings or other business functions, you can apply your company’s name, logo and contact information to the back window. You can do the same with delivery vehicles, trucks and even your car, if you run a small business. Whenever you drive, your custom window vinyl decals will multiply your business’ exposure significantly.

You also have several options when it comes to window coverage. If you want to add the necessary information without covering too much of the car, you can use cut-out lettering. You can also do the opposite and completely obscure back windows with perforated vinyl. It allows you and any passengers to see out, prevents strangers from seeing in and shades sunlight. This shielding can be helpful for those who keep tools, delivery packages or other valuable or fragile items in their business vehicles.

Vinyl decals also work well on the sides of vehicles. They adhere just as they would on a window, and you can remove them easily without damaging the paint. You can keep it simple with a small logo or name, or thoroughly decorate the vehicle to catch more attention. It all depends on your preferences and branding.

COroplast

Corrugated plastic. Cor-plastic. Coroplast. This sign and plastic sheeting material has many names and even more uses. Due to its unique blend of durability and affordability, corrugated plastic board is an incredibly popular choice for short-term signage and containers.

Coroplast is the trademarked brand name of the world’s largest producer of corrugated plastic. Corrugated plastic boards are essentially plastic cardboard, and are made from three layers of thin, polypropylene plastic substrate. The product consists of a zig-zagged layer of plastic sandwiched between two smooth layers of plastic sheeting – also known as twin-wall plastic sheeting. Coroplast’s layered structure makes corrugated plastic incredibly lightweight and shock absorbent.

What are the advantages of using corrugated plastic boards?

Coroplast is a unique blend of durable, affordable, lightweight, and pliable. This combination makes it incredibly versatile such that it can be used in all sorts of projects and displays.

Durability – Coroplast board is not invincible and is not meant to be displayed forever, but it can take a serious beating from the rain, the sun, or human handling before showing any signs of aging. Coroplast also is impervious to damage from insects and rodents.
Affordability – Coroplast is the market’s most inexpensive material for outdoor display. Printing onto and cutting Coroplast is a straightforward and inexpensive process that doesn’t require highly specialized equipment.
Lightweight – Transporting, distributing, and displaying Coroplast is complication-free. You definitely won’t have to worry about the wall collapsing or anyone losing a toe should it fall.
Pliability – Coroplast is sturdy enough to lay flat on its own, but flexible enough to give you a lot of options. Cut it, bend it, staple it, punch holes in it for grommets… whatever you need to do!

Corrugated plastic is a fabulous material for printing. Either an image can be printed onto acrylic and then applied to the Coroplast, or the graphic can be printed directly onto the plastic. Because the plastic sheeting usually comes in a bright white color, the full color spectrum looks great on corrugated plastic.

outdoor displays

Feathered Banners (aka Feathered Flags) are the perfect outdoor and indoor banners for drawing attention to your business, product, promotion, or location. Of course, sometimes wind can be your friend, such as in the case of feather banners.

Lightweight, portable and economical, these roadside staples are often seen outside retail spaces, showcasing messages such as “Now Open” or “On Sale.” They’re often made from aluminum poles and polyester fabrics that are durable but also highly moveable, creating an animated, hard-to-miss signal whenever drivers or pedestrians go by.

A feather flag is a banner advertisement used to advertise brands, to promote products, business sales, trade shows, or outdoor events. The word Feather Flag is derived from the shape that is like the feather of a bird. Feather flags are one of the most popular outdoor advertising flag banners. They are a large colorful banner that sometimes has the appearance of a plumb mounted vertically on a pole. You have probably seen them in front of shops, churches, restaurants, for capturing drive pass traffics, and for delivering sales messages of promotional campaigns.

pROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS

Promotional products allow people to see your brand, associate your brand, and recognize your brand on various products. Branded giveaways and other promotional products have always been simple gifts: small promotional trinkets used by a company to promote a product or service. Think of them as a little souvenir that you can put on your desk to remind you of the company that gave them to you. Promotional products can range from pens, hats, cups, buttons, USB drives, lanyards, bags, notepads, etc. Promotional products are as effective today, if not more, than 10 years ago. In addition to being tangible, people love promotional items because they don’t cost anything to receive.

Some branded giveaway items will run you quite a bit more than simple promotional products, but you don’t need to spend big money in order to see a return. There are many promotional products you can purchase that can have just as good returns. Key chains, magnets, pens, and other useful items will remain staples of a person’s home or business and likely leave an impression on the user.

wEARABLES

Wearable promotional items are items that can be worn on the body. Whether it is a t-shirt, visor, or earbuds, if your logo is on it, consumers become a walking billboard. There are different levels of promotional items. The more expensive pieces can be reserved for employees and business partners. Less expensive items can be given to customers or passed out at events. Companies can also reward loyal customers with high-end items as a show of appreciation. According to a study, items with a company logo on it were usually kept for up to nine months, after receiving it. Here are the reasons why.

Brands Expand Your Reach: The more promotional items you hand out, the more potential you have to expand your reach. Let’s face it, there is no telling how many people will see your message on a t-shirt every time it is worn. This is why t-shirts will remain at the top of the list as a must-have promotional giveaway. Whether it is worn to the grocery story, the beach or to a sporting event, each time you’re reaching new audiences.

People Recall Brands They See Often: A person needs to see a message multiple times for it to resonate with them. The more your logos and taglines are seen, the more likely someone will recall it when they are in need of your product or service. You want products that can be easily seen by many people when in public spaces. This makes wearable promotional items pivotal to your marketing strategy.

Increases Your Likability: Who wouldn’t want the latest fitness tracker, a cool baseball cap, or wearable magnet buttons? When you giveaway cool promotional items you increase your popularity, which is part of what makes it such a good marketing method. When at conventions or utilizing vending opportunities, people migrate towards the tables with giveaways quicker than they will those with just a sign-up sheet. In branding, it is okay to be the cool kid everyone wants to be around.

More Effective than Business Cards: Let’s be honest, people love free stuff. Yes, business cards are free, but people are less likely to hold on to them if they do not have an immediate need for your service. You also can’t wear a business card. A good idea would be to give away promotional wallets that are convenient to use while out for a walk or run and insert the business card inside for good measure.

Employees will be Proud to Wear Your Gear: Why buy products that boost someone else’s brand when you can showcase your own. There are many ways to recognize employees and show your appreciation beyond the annual bonus. Windbreakers, hats, t-shirts, lanyards make great giveaways. Or you can get really creative by giving away customized USB flash drive key chains.

Build Customer Loyalty: People want to feel like they are a part of something great. Part of branding is building a following that feels like family. When you show your loyal customers they are important, they are more likely to refer you to others. As part of the family they will proudly wear your promotional merchandise items and gladly share with people how great your product or service is.

5 Reasons Why Printing Companies Are Important to Businesses

Did you know that the global printing industry is worth nearly a trillion in US dollars? For an industry whose growth is primarily driven by the printing of packaging and labels, this is really impressive. But do you know what else is even more impressive? It’s the fact that the global printing market is estimated to be 8 times larger than the video game industry and also rivals the massive auto industry.

The continuous growth of the global printing industry can be attributed to a variety of reasons, with one of the main ones being how the services and expertise they offer are essential to the success of businesses. If you’re still wondering the degree of how important printing companies are to businesses, here are 5 reasons to help you understand it better.

Tangibility: Posters, brochures, flyers, business cards, billboard advertisements, etc. – these are just some of the various types of print that businesses use for their needs, and they are indeed effective tools to impress and attract customers. In fact, studies show that most people find printed ads to be less annoying compared to those on the internet. That said, a business that uses printing has a better chance to make a sale than those who don’t.

Credibility: When a business uses high-quality printing such as a business card or a poster, it adds a certain level of credibility to their brand and agenda. Clients usually take notice to various forms of print, especially if it’s of high quality and contains good content, and they are more likely to interact with businesses that have credible-looking printing.

Establish: Whether it be through billboard advertisements, posters, or brochures, finely executed printing can bring your business to life and deliver your message to a wider audience in a creative way. In other words, high-quality printing can help establish your brand and help your business to get noticed by more customers.

Notability: Compared to online advertisements that seem annoying, printed materials are more notable and are therefore more likely to generate some interest to your intended audience. By utilizing the notability of printed ads and promotions to your advantage, your business would have a better chance of succeeding. Anything from marketing materials to printed advertisements to promotions are all effective tools to gain more acknowledgment and sales.

Engage: While it’s a given that the age we live in is technologically advanced, printed products, not the digital ones, are proven to give businesses a better chance at engaging customers and keeping them interested for longer. This is because internet users often spend as little as a few seconds on a web page before they lose interest and browse elsewhere, whereas readers are more likely to spend a couple of minutes reading the contents of a printed product and become enthralled by it.

A Look Into the Print Shop Industry