Business Card Printing: Making a Strong First Impression

Whether in your personal or business life, a strong first impression is priceless.

The question you will likely want to ask yourself when designing marketing materials for your business is:  am I making the best, possible first impression on my clients?

One of the first forms of marketing that will fall into your clients’ hands will likely be a business card. Does your business card evoke a sense of creativity and professionalism, or does the low quality poorly reflect on your business’ image?

One of the most important things to consider when designing a great business card is making it a clear reflection of your profession or business. Here are a few types of business cards you may want to consider:

• Traditional business card – A traditional business card is no muss, no fuss. In other words, it is ideal for clients who simply use business cards as a way to convey simple facts and contact information about their profession or business. Traditional business cards are usually white with black lettering, as it will likely give businesses more bang for their marketing dollar. A traditional business card will likely have a simple message or business logo, along with contact information.
• Designer business card – If you are in a creative field, you will likely want your business card to reflect your flair for design or style. The colors, images and even the shape of a designer business card will be eye-catching and appealing, and it will speak to the creative field in which you are employed.
• Multi-purpose business card – Business cards can do more than just serve as contact information for your business. Many businesses get additional use out of their business cards by printing information on the reverse side of the card. From appointment cards and directions to surveys and coupons, consider getting more bang for your marketing buck by using both side of your business cards.
• Photo business card – Many small businesses choose photographs for their business cards because they add a personalized touch to their marketing materials. Real estate agents, for example, often use their photos, while an interior designer may use a photograph of a beautiful home.

Bookmark Printing: 4 Ideas to Consider

One of the easiest ways to stay visible in the marketplace is to produce a number of high-quality marketing materials. If your marketing budget allows, why not consider bookmarks?

Bookmarks may not seem like an obvious choice for marketing materials, but the truth is that the intrinsic value afforded by bookmarks is often overlooked. Consider that a bookmark used by a reader will be looked at every time the reader opens and closes his or her book. In fact, bookmarks are a great way to achieve the all-important marketing concept of brand imaging.

If you want to explore the idea of bookmarks for your business’ marketing efforts, you will likely need to consider the following:

• Decide upon the size of your bookmark. Printers should be able to offer you a number of bookmark sizes, although the size of your bookmark will largely depend on the image on your bookmark, the information you want to include on your bookmark and, of course, your budget.
• Consider the type of paper stock your printer will use in your bookmark printing. Of course, the higher the stock, the more expensive your bookmark printing costs will be, but a better stock will also produce a better-quality product that will likely be used longer by your customers.
• Consider the design and message you want for your bookmark printing. The number of images or words found on a bookmark is a bit of a tricky proposition; this is because you want to convey your message or your business contact information and its products or services, but you don’t want to cram too much information into one small space. The best rule of thumb is to think simple in terms of bookmark design, but to also get your message across loud and clear.
• Consider adding something valuable during your bookmark distribution. Many small businesses will offer discounts, coupons, promotions or even giveaways with their bookmarks, thereby ensuring that their bookmarks are making a lasting impression on their customers. Other things you may want to consider include: attractive photographs, pictures, designs or sayings, as this will better ensure your customers will use your bookmarks for a longer period of time.

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Booklet Printing: How to Make a Strong Impact

Booklet printing is the ideal way to produce quality marketing and business materials for your business. Booklet printing can be anything from your company’s annual report and newsletter to marketing materials, such as magazines, sales booklets and product catalogues.

Although your business’ needs will be highly individualized, there is something that all businesses have in common: a goal to produce quality, printed materials, and that includes booklet printing.

Regardless of whether your business’ booklet printing is for business objectives or a creative form of marketing, there are a few things to consider when it comes to booklet printing:

• Consider what you want to achieve with your business booklet.
• Consider your intended reader.  Who is this booklet targeted to, and how will your design compliment your target reader?
• Consider how you will accomplish a booklet that will stand out from the competition; this usually means creating an original, eye-catching design.
• Consider how many booklets you will need printed. Most of the time, printing more means saving money, so give this idea some serious thought.
• Decide how you will want your booklet to be bound. Your printer will be able to show you a number of binding ideas (spiral, cerlox, saddle stitching, gluing and stapling), but keep in mind that prices can vary between binding options.
• Decide the paper stock you will use to produce your booklet. Of course, a heavier paper stock will produce a more professional image, but will also come with a higher price tag, so it is important to keep both of these factors in mind.
• Consider whether you want or need a full-color booklet or a black-and-white booklet. Remember: the more colors you choose, the more expensive your booklet will be, so choose your colors carefully.
• Consider the size of your booklet. Your printer will likely be able to produce your booklet in a multitude of sizes, so ask about pricing when it comes to booklet size.
• Consider turnaround time. Make sure to check with your printer regarding turnaround time, and ask if there are added fees for a rush job.

With these considerations and decisions in place, you will have a booklet that shines with professionalism and converts prospects into customers!

Your 2011 Guide to Green Printing

We all want to make environmentally sensitive decisions these days, whether in our personal lives or our small business affairs.  There are a number of ways we can promote our small businesses while making smart choices that are kind to the environment.

Enter the world of green printing!

What toll does it take on the environment to produce virgin paper and chlorine-bleached paper? Razing forests, leaking carcinogens into ground water and adding toxins to the environment, for starters.  However, there are ways for us to embrace the concept of green printing so our carbon footprint is reduced.

If your small business can reduce the amount of paper you use, you’re the lucky few, as most small businesses rely on printed marketing materials to effectively run their business and make money. However, printing green can send a strong message to your clients and customers.

In addition to doing something good for the environment, green printing can do wonders for your business reputation, and it may even be able to save you on your printing costs.

Here are just some of the ways in which you can turn green printing into a positive endeavor for your company:

• Choose printing paper that is made from 100 percent post-consumer waste. This paper should be chlorine-free and should be uncoated. In addition, there are also several paper companies that use renewable energy sources to produce their paper, thereby further helping the environmentally friendly cause.
• When printing, choose vegetable-based inks or soy inks instead of their petroleum-based counterparts. Vegetable and soy-based inks are not only VOC-free, but they are often easy on the wallet.
• Consider eliminating bindings, adhesives or foil stamps in your packaging.  The fewer resources you use in your marketing materials, the greener the result.
• Save paper (and money in the process) by asking your printer to use standard, press-sheet sizes.  Both your budget and the earth will thank you.
• Reduce the number of inks you use in your marketing materials. Choose a design with just one or two colors; this will save the amount of ink used to produce your marketing materials and will also likely cut down on your printing costs.

Who knew that being green could also add more green to your bottom line?  Talk to Avanti Printing today to learn more about how you can enjoy greener printing.