My Blog
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Should I use a commercial printer for small print runs?
You may only need a small number printed, for example 20 copies, so should you print them yourself or go to a commercial printer?
We believe that you should always opt for quality.
If you use a commercial printer for small print runs you will get a high quality job done at a professional standard and for a great price. It is your economical alternative.
Small business owners have to consider their costs and they sometimes think that in-house printing is a better choice than professional printing. The problem is that printed materials that are not of a high standard can actually end up costing you money and business.
The first impression is the most important and don’t forget that a lot of customers are initially introduced to your organisation through your printed material. What will they think of your business if your promotional materials do not look professional? Do you think they will have faith in you?
Often doing a quick print run on your office printer can result in a poor and unprofessional impression especially if you don’t have a quality printer or paper. For example, if you have graphs with a lot of detail, colours or even and small fonts, the office printer might not print these with the required clarity. If you have included photos then these are often poorly reproduced especially if you don’t have the right type of paper.
Commercial printers make it easier to compile print jobs with multiple pages as well as being able to bind the finished product. Anyone who has ever had to sort, compile and bind a multiple page report would know the incredible amount of time this can take so the amount of time saved by using the commercial printer is significant. In addition, being able to send files electronically to your commercial printer often means that your print jobs can be completed and picked up or couriered within the same day.
It is vital to present and maintain a professional image at all times, so contact our graphics design team or Account Manage. We will ensure your printed materials are excellent quality and represent your business well.
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The Power of Testimonials
Do you collect customer comments? Do you ask for feedback?
This is something you should do just as a matter of good business practice. How will you know what you do well and what you need to improve on if you don't talk to your clients? But there is another reason for collecting feedback.
Client feedback and testimonials are the best form of social proof that you can get. Social proof is evidence of your brilliance that is pointed out by your clients, not in your advertising. It's word of mouth and it's powerful.
Most businesses understand that adding testimonials to their company websites and social media pages is a good thing to do. You know what it's like. When you're thinking of buying a product or service, one of the things you do is to see what the feedback is like. The more good comments there are, the more you believe.
What very few businesses do is to incorporate testimonials into their print advertising. Why is that? People will be reading the material, so surely social proof is just as important on paper as it is on the screen.
The people who've got it right are the direct mail specialists. They know that by including client comments, they are more likely to make a sale, so they add dozens of them sprinkled throughout their marketing material.
Before you toss out the next envelope full of direct mail pieces, have a good look at them. Look at how they have used testimonials and see how they affect you and your thought processes as a consumer.
Take a tip from them. When you're working out your next print campaign, think about including testimonials.
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Why direct mail is a vital marketing tool.
With the advent of social media, online marketing tools and the power of networking is there a role for the traditional method of direct mail? The answer is yes. There are significant benefits that can be achieved with direct mail especially when they are incorporated as part of your overall marketing and communication strategy. Just have a think about these:
- Direct mail is tangible as it has a physical presence that can engage all the senses – sight, smell, touch, sound and taste. For example, this can be achieved through the inclusion of samples as well as the use of professional graphic designs for newsletters, reports and brochures that may be included in any campaign.
- With the use of technology you can personalised each individual message. This is more than just a name as you can easily incorporate preferences, styles, personal information and other unique information in each hard copy printed. As such, you can have the one direct mail campaign but each piece of direct mail is unique and personalised.
- Research supports the fact that direct mail campaigns are very effective and that they are opened, read and forwarded to other people. Have a look at this link for statistics on the effectiveness of Direct Mail and how they relate to different types of communications.
- As you can include coupons, application forms, telephone numbers and reply cards in direct mail campaigns it can make it easier to the recipient to respond.
- It is easier to measure the exact cost and therefore the return on investment for every response. The data collected with any campaign can then help to improve and better target future campaigns.
The above points have highlighted some benefits of direct mail and by knowing and understanding your market will help you determine the best strategy. Combining direct mail as part of your strategy can make the difference between a successful and unsuccessfully campaign.
We can assist you to implement your marketing and communication strategy as our design team can help you develop the printed material to get the best results.
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QR codes and Marketing.
Quick Response (QR) codes are a bit like a bar code except they contain a lot more text, data, pictures as well as links to other relevant information.
They look like this and you may have seen them in newspapers, magazines, on product labels and even billboards.
To access or read the information you can use the camera on your mobile phone, iPhone or iPad that has the QR code reader installed. This can be easily obtained online and downloaded quickly.
While there are a number of applications where they can be used they are ideal for a number of printed materials such as:
- Business cards. This makes it easier for you customers to get your contact details in their phone than having to type in the details.
- Brochures, flyers and pamphlets. While this material may contain general product information you can use the QR code against each product listed to provided, for example, specific technical details, links to a video demonstrating the products and special pricing offers and discounts.
- Posters and pull up banners. You may have QR codes on your posters or banners at a conference, trade show or product display making it easier for potential customers to get product information.
- Training Manuals. When you get training manuals printed you can include QR codes to provide access to additional information or even links to articles referred.
- Annual Reports and Prospectus. In your Annual Report or Prospectus you can include QR codes to link to videos of key projects being undertaken, detailed reports on operations, statements from directors.
While the above highlights some examples of how QR codes can be used for marketing, there are many more applications depending on your strategy and how you position yourself. Our design team can assist you to establish the best way to utilise QR codes on your printed material and gain that competitive advantage.
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Why print has to be part of your marketing campaign
anne in MyBlog on Mar 30, 2012
Tagged in: printing, print marketing, marketing campaign, business cards, advertisingWhen we hear people saying "print is dead" and 'why bother with flyers or magazine advertising" we smile to ourselves. We know that print is as important as ever, despite this being an online world.
We're not the only ones who believe that. Have a listen to Ryan Dohrn, internet marketing specialist and hear his opinion.
See? Print is important for many reasons and it has a direct impact on other forms of communication such as social media. If you'd like to read the case study Ryan refers to, go to the DynamicLogic page and click on the Tetley Tea case study.
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What is Offset Printing?
We at Aviva Print offer a complete range of printing services utilising the latest technology that allows us to meet all of your printing needs in quick time. The two main methods of printing we use are offset printing and digital printing. So what are the differences between the two?
Offset printing, also referred to as offset lithography, is one of the most common forms of printing and is mainly used for printing newspapers, brochures, magazines, stationery and books. It is the process where images are transferred on to thin metal, paper or plastic printing plates and then transferred (offset) to rubber rollers that are then applied to the printing surface. The image on the actual printing plates is not raised so when rollers apply an oil based ink and water, which don’t mix, the ink will only adhere to where the images are on the plates and not the non-image areas. Then the area covered in the ink is transferred to the rubber rollers that then print the image when the paper passes through the rollers.
The main benefits of offset printing are that it is quick, consistently produces high quality images and even though there are some time and costs associated with producing the plates, it is still relatively inexpensive for producing high volume large commercial print runs.
Digital Printing is where digital images are directly applied to the printing material. Often these images will come from desktop publishing programs and are printed to laser or inkjet printers. While there is a higher cost per page when compared to offset printing, this method is ideal for small print runs that require quick turnaround times.
Other benefits of this method are that it is easy to make changes as well as to do high volume personalised print runs that may be linked to a computer program such as Publisher, Office or PowerPoint that changes specific details for each item that is printed.
Whether you require business cards, letterheads, compliment slips to presentation folders, calendars or annual reports we at Aviva can meet your needs.
Call us for a quote or to discuss your printing needs.
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Pull Up Your Banners
Pull up display banners are a great way to advertise and promote your business. Whether it be at a trade show, conference, reception area or for a product presentation in a board room they are a great way to present your products or services.
They are light and portable, yet sturdy, quick and easy to set up and come in a range of sizes.
Prices for:
• Standard Retractable banner that is 850 mm wide are only $180 ex GST
• Premium Retractable that is 1 m wide are only $240 ex GSTThese prices include a sturdy aluminium frame, carry bag and delivery costs. These pull up banners are made from 400 micron polypropylene material which means they are strong and durable. Standard turnaround time is 3 days but can be done in 24 hours if needed.
These retractable banners can also be made in different sizes including double sided and ready for spot lights. We have a design service available so our graphic designers can assist with preparing a theme to support your next promotion or presentation.
Pull up banners are a great investment in your marketing and should be part of every marketing toolkit. They are so affordable that you can have one to promote the business and others to promote specific products.
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Is your business card working for you?
Your business card is still one of your most important business tools but how long is it since you took a good look at what is says?
Is your card doing as much for you as it should?
Many business cards still only hold a name, contact details, a logo and nothing more. That makes it more of a calling card than a business tool. Your business card is as much a marketing item as the most advanced flyer or banner but because it’s so simple, it’s often overlooked.
Have you ever thought about adding something more?
• A tag line
• A special offer
• Your photo
• Your USP or UVP ( unique selling or value point)
• Your best selling product or service
• A call to action
• An invitation to your next event
• A couponWhen you are designing your business card, don’t just make it look good, make it work for you as well. Forget gimmicks, forget fancy shapes and sizes. Start with your basic message and make that that thing that catches the eye of your market.
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What is bleed and why do I need it?
Wikipedia describes bleed as the printing that goes beyond the edge of the sheet after trimming. The bleed is the part on the side of a document that gives the printer a small amount of space to account for movement of the paper, and design inconsistencies. Bleed ensures that no unprinted edges occur in the final trimmed document.
We often have designs submitted to us that have print going right to the edge of the page. The problem is that paper moves during printing and moves again during the trimming stage. When printing something like a flyer or leaflet which has a background image that covers the whole document, it isn't a problem. It won't matter where the trimming occurs.
As a designer you will need to think about bleed if you are working on something like a business card or piece of stationery. To look good, the edges need to be consistent in width all around the page. Can you imagine what your design would look like if it was off centre? In fact, don't imagine. Let me show you.
This design is from Zazzle and you can see how the text and layout has 'moved' to the left in the image. This is what your card could look like if you don't leave room for bleed. Believe me, you might think it doesn't look too bad but it will begin to annoy you very quickly. If your text was even closer to the edge you might have had some of it chopped right off, making your cards unusable.
Before you begin your design, check with your printer and ask for a template or measurements. Printers do have different requirements so don't assume that your design will be right wherever you choose to have it printed.
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How long is it since you updated your business image?
Time passes very quickly especially when business is hectic. You soon outgrow your business cards and print materials. Phone numbers change, staff come and go and your special offers run out.
Even if nothing changes, no matter how well printed your materials are and the colour quality can fade over time. After a while you'll notice the edges of your papers looking tired and dirty, damaged by the oils in your skin as you pick the papers up and move them around month in and month out . That's not the image you want to give to your clients!
At least once a year you should review your print materials:
Are they current?
Do they give the right image?
Is the wording still correct?
Do you have links which have not been included? (eg. Facebook)
Has your logo changed?
Are your contact details still the same?
If you want to present a professional image to your clients, make sure that your print materials are supporting you and not holding you back.
That's enough for this month. Contact me if you need some advice on the look and feel of your print materials. I'd love to help you make them perfect.