19.07.2010
Printing Self-Help
Here at Heritage Printing and Quick Copy our Atlanta area customers often ask questions about how to prepare their artwork for printing on our digital and offset printers. In fact, we get so many questions that we decided to write a series of printing self-help articles to ensure your final results are of the highest quality and in the hands of your customers or prospects on time and on budget.
You see, when artwork comes to us in the wrong format or size, at improper resolutions, or created in the wrong color space it can greatly affect the time it takes to complete your print job. So, over the next couple of weeks we will share some tips that will help you prepare your artwork so you get brilliant results.
The Importance of Image Resolution in Printing
In order to produce top-notch professional printed products, artwork needs to be prepared at the proper resolution. Printing low resolution artwork on our high resolution printers will cause them to ‘pixelate’. It is caused by when the dots that comprise an image become visible. As a result, lines are not crisp, pictures appear fuzzy, and colors simply look dull.
Microsoft Word or PowerPoint Will Not Produce Professional Printing Results
Every now and again we receive files from customers who have prepared their artwork in Microsoft Word or PowerPoint and they are always dismayed when we advise them that final product will be less than impressive. The truth is we always recommend starting over again when we receive files in these and other office applications.
Why? Well, both products are great for producing office documents you print on your laser or inkjet printer, but they are not intended to produce high-quality, printer-ready files.
However, If all you’re looking to do is make a simple, letter sized flyer, with just words and maybe one little piece of clip art. Word will do the job in a pinch. Just be sure to PDF your finished file before submitting to print to avoid any upcharges.
But for business cards or postcards or trifolds, or any project that has lots of images, your best bet on a budget is to use Microsoft Publisher – a desktop publishing program that has templates made for printing. Publisher is capable of handling things like multiple page documents, images, bleeds, etc. Again, just be sure to save your final version as a pdf file and send that to us.
The main reason why Word, PowerPoint, and Excel native files are not recommend is because they compress images and clip art when they are embedded in the file. In order to produce high-quality printed materials, your text and artwork need to have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi or ‘dots per inch’ and Word and PowerPoint simply do not achieve that level of output.
Therefore, the reason we ask that you save your word, excel or power point files as a PDF file is because there is no way to outline fonts like in professional layout programs like InDesign. For example: if you create a flyer with a fancy font you have on your computer, and then send the word file to our graphics dept. we may not have that font, and our computer will replace it with a standard system font. Unless we have a hardcopy to look at, we would never know that there is an issue. And once everything is printed, you may not be happy, seeing that your original intended font has been replaced. Creating a pdf will immediately resolve this issue by embedding the font into the file and ensuring that we have the same exact file that you see on your screen.
If you have the skill and interest in designing your own business cards, letterhead, envelopes or other materials, and expect to be publishing items frequently we highly recommend you invest in Adobe Illustrator, InDesign or QuarkXPress.
Using Photographs in Printed Materials
Photographs ad impact and interest to brochures, flyers, booklets and other printed materials. In order to produce the best results you should only use images with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi.
Today all digital cameras are capable of capturing an image at 300 dpi and if you want to go that route, be sure to check your camera settings prior to snapping the picture.
Note: Images found on most web pages have a resolution of 150 dpi or lower so they can load quickly in your browser. That’s great for surfing the web, but using images copied from the internet in your printed projects is highly discouraged. And this is why printed images from the web look pixilated or blurry – especially if you try to enlarge them.
If you can capture the perfect picture you need, you might want to explore any of a number of online stock photography sites available. For instance, iStockPhoto has many thousands of images available, at reasonable prices, in resolutions suitable for the web and for printing. If you go this route, make sure you select images that are at least 300 dpi for your print projects.
Be Careful When Resizing Images
You have to be careful when resizing images, even if the original was 300 dpi when you started. In general, you should not have any trouble when you shrink a 300 dpi image for your project. However, expanding a 300 dpi photo or other image will cause pixellation to occur.
If you have high-quality 300 dpi images but not the tools to resize them, visit www.picnik.com, a free online photo editing tool.
So, what’s the bottom line? The resolution of the artwork you prepare for printing is critical to producing brilliant results. 300 dpi is the minimum we recommend for a high quality product. That means using a professional design and layout program and avoiding, at all costs, low-resolution images found on the internet.
Don’t have the time or skill to design you own print materials? Why not contact Heritage Printing and discuss your needs with our in-house professional graphic designer. Years of experience have helped her develop a keen eye for marketing and promotion. Plus, the opportunity to work on a new project will brighten her day. She utilizes the latest professional design software and has crafted hundreds of unique and effective logos, business cards, brochures, direct mail pieces and more. If you can print it, she can design the heck out of it. After an initial consultation about your project, she’ll provide you with a free estimate on your project prior to beginning any work.
We hope you found these tips helpful. Future articles in the series we will help you understand RGB, CMYK and Pantone (spot) colors , the advantages of offset and digital printing, why vector graphics are so flexible [and preferred], as well as explaining what a ‘bleed,’ ‘safe area,’ ‘crop marks’ are. But, if you have a burning question today, don’t wait! Give us a call or send us an email, or leave a comment in the form below. We’ll be happy to answer all your graphic design, printing, or direct mail questions.
22.06.2010
Services
Have you wondered if direct mail marketing is still a viable way to promote and grow your business in a Web 2.0 world? With all the hype focusing on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media and internet marketing is there still a place for direct mail? Does direct mail still work?
We have heard these kinds of questions from many of our Atlanta area customers considering direct mail and we are pleased to say our answer is an unequivocal YES. Direct mail still works.
We always follow up that answer with some crucial direct mail tips that we have learned here at Heritage Printing and Quick Copy over the years. Successful direct mail production embodies several disciplines – marketing strategy, design, print, and mail; all of which need to come together in harmonious unison for your direct mail piece to provide a suitable return on your investment. So, here they are – our top 10 direct mail marketing success tips.
1. Develop Your Direct Mail Plan
Start with a plan. It does not need to be complicated, but you should definitely write your plan down. Begin by identifying a few key factors –identify who you want to reach [your whole customer/prospect base of just a segment?] and what you want them to do. From there – consider what is the best time or season to them. If you have multiple segments of prospects, you may develop a direct mail plan that targets different segments, with different offers, at different times of the year. While you are writing this all down, begin thinking about how you are going to measure success. Think in terms of things you can see and easily track: calls, email inquiries, visitors to your web site, and new sales are all things you can count and track. What will spell success for you?
2. Think Direct Mail Campaign and Test, Test, Test
Too often we hear from clients who say they tried direct mail once and it didn’t work. Well the truth is a good response rate on a first time mailing; with a cold mailing list – one you have not used before, is about 1%. It is not until you refine your campaign over a series of mailings that it really becomes the most cost effective. So, plan to mail to your list more than once – think and budget for a direct mail campaign.
In the direct mail business, you need to think in terms of both impressions and conversions. An impression is when someone sees your brand and your offer. A conversion is when they buy what you are selling. Both impressions and conversions are valuable. Ultimately, if you want to translate impressions into conversions you need to keep your name in front of your customers. The more times a prospect sees your name and relates it with your service, the more likely they will become your customer.
3. Develop Your Direct Mail Budget
Naturally, you should plan a budget. Key cost items include design/copywriting, list rental [if you don’t have a list already], list management [de-duplicate, CASS Certify, NCOA], printing, and postage. If you just don’t know where to start, feel free to ask one of our direct mail specialists for a free quote.
4. Create a Call to Action
To get the desired response your direct mail piece needs to create excitement. So, focus on what you want your prospects to do and then make sure you ask them to do it in a creative way. Things like discounts, buy one get one free offers or something as simple as “Call Today for more details” helps the recipient understand how to take advantage of what you are offering.
5. Design a Super Direct Mail Piece
Will a postcard work, or do you need a sealed #10 envelope, will your budget allow for 4-color or just 2-color printing? These are all important questions. Equally important is the impact your direct mail piece has when someone sees it for the first time. You get about 2-3 seconds to grab and hold a prospect’s attention. So, make sure you contact a professional graphic designer like the one on staff at Heritage Printing. A good use of color, images, logo and other branding is vital and your call to action must be instantly visible.
Generally, in direct mail, postcards are your friend. They are inexpensive to print, cheaper to mail, available in a number of sizes, and the turnaround time is fast here at Heritage Printing. Of course, we do just as well with more complicated direct mail pieces too.
6. Build or Rent Good Mailing List
The best direct mail response rates always come from mailing lists a business or nonprofit has generated and cultivated over a course of years. If you are just getting started, or if you are looking to expand an existing business, you should consider renting a mailing list. Heritage Printing and Quick Copy can help you research available mailing lists and rent one to target most any demographic. Simply put the more targeted your mailing list is, the better the response will be.
7. Clean Your Mailing List and Get Postal Discounts
Once you have your mailing list – keep it clean by removing duplicates and old, outdated addresses of people or businesses that have moved. At Heritage Printing and Quick Copy we utilize leading software to ensure a list is clean before we put anything in the mail. Our software connects directly to the post office to CASS Certify your list to validate the ‘deliverability’ of the address while simultaneously checking the name and address against the National Change of Address [NCOALink].
To help you save even more on your mailing, Heritage Printing’s system pre-sorts your mailing to help you get all the postal discounts we can. In addition, we utilize the new intelligent mail barcode system that will enable you to qualify for even lower, automation, postage fees. Bottom line –you save money on your direct mail with Heritage Printing while also reducing waste by dramatically cutting down on returned and undeliverable mail.
8. Personalize Your Mail Piece
Have you noticed how you respond differently to mail that is address to “Current Resident” as opposed to your full name? For most people, ‘current resident’ is an instant turn off. We strongly suggest you personalize every piece of mail you send. Here at Heritage with can integrate all your variable data. Our system dynamically inserts your variable data when your mail piece is printed so the final product looks more natural and takes less time to produce.
In fact, you should consider moving beyond just personalizing the addressee name. For example, if your data includes other variable data – such as customer past purchases, the date of their last visit to your location, or even past donation amounts, we can easily integrate that data into your design and print run to produce a highly targeted and powerful mailing.
9. Give Prospects Multiple Ways to Respond
Everyone is a bit different – some like to email, some prefer to call, and still others want to research you before they do either. Make sure you provide multiple ways for people to contact you. Include your phone number, email address, and web site at a minimum. These days though, if you are on Facebook or Twitter – consider adding them as well.
10. Track Results and Make Improvements
Knowing your product or service and your market goes a long way toward direct mail success, but you never know exactly what your prospects will respond to until you try. The best way to increase response is by testing three elements of your direct mail campaign, one at a time in successive mailing. The elements are the headline (or opening sentence), the offer and the pricing. In successive mailings, however, you should split test your mailing. Send ½ of your list the same piece, and send the second ½ the new piece with the new headline, offer or price. Then, track which illicit the best response. By knowing and using what has already proven to be successful, future campaigns will be more efficient and will generate higher ROI.
There you go Atlanta, our top 10 Direct Mail Marketing Success Tips! In truth, we could go on for quite a few more but that should be enough to get you started. If you have questions we did not answer, give us a call, shoot us an email, or write it in the comment section below. Our Atlanta area direct mail specialists stand ready to serve all your design, print, and direct mail needs.
