Author Archive for admin

The Making of a Book – 1947

This is an amazing video of the book printing process. The design and typesetting process at the beginning of the movie has changed completely mainly due to Steve Jobs’ Macintosh computer, the printing process has changed completely but the bindery part in many shops today looks very similar to what is in this video.

Printing a book in 1947 — »Making Books« from manu on Vimeo.

Popularity: 2% [?]

On-demand book printing for travelers has finally arrived

Have you ever been stuck at the airport with an iPad or a Kindle? You wanted to read that ebook but what you really craved for was the touch and feel of paper in your fingers. You yearned to lick your index finger and press it against the page sliding the edge of it just hard enough to generate that pleasant wood fiber against wood fiber grinding swoosh sound while the page flips over. Well, now you can. A printing company has installed a Mobile Print Kiosk at Pearson International Airport. You connect to it with your wifi enabled device, pay with your credit card and print the book out.

Never be without a paper book on an airplane again.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Google continues to use good old fashion ink on paper Direct Mail campaign

To some this may come as a surprise but direct mail is still the best way to get to your customer. Google is a prime example. I mean, they can target anyone they want with Adsense Ads. They have my gmail account, all they have to do is insert an email into my inbox that says Hi we’re Google and we would like to give you $100 free Adsense dollars just click on this link. Sure it may upset me that they are targeting me directly but if they’re giving 100 bucks my anger would not be felt for long especially if they had a clear and visible opt-in/out button and maybe a This is my last warning Google -button. Yet they choose not to do it. They don’t want to upset their users but also because they know that the real Inbox is still the Mailbox (if you try to get into your local client’s wallet, that is).

Mailer includes:

• Envelope – printed on FSC paper, full colour
• Letter – full colour, fsc 80lb offset paper, single sided. Obviously noone informed Google of the rule in Direct Mail: 2 pages of copy get you a higher response rate than a single page, 3 pages get you a higher response than 2 pages and 4 pages will get you even higher response rates than a 3 page letter but it tips at 4 pages.
• A flyer printed on cover stock, what looks like 2 colours at first is really full colour (digital) because the back has the Google logo in full colour. Looks okay but if you’re going to print in full colour, utilize colour on all sides because Xerox has proved it time and time again with all kinds of industry wide research that Colour Sells.
• A heavy card stock, round cornered, $100 coupon card is attached to this letter with a variable imaged code.

My two cents about the campaign:

My assumption is that this is not working out too well for Google. The idea is great. Direct mail is the best way to get to local businesses, however, neither the letter, nor the flyer tell the audience how to easily start a campaign with the $100 card. All Google keeps saying is that their ads are targeted, that it’s flexible, that the ad appears in this area of the search results, etc. These are all features and benefits of Google that we have heard from everyone around us. What the customer needs to know is: “Step 1, Step 2, Step 3 click OK and you’re ad is now seen by thousands and clicked by the customers you want, and based on our vast knowledge and expertise here are a few headline suggestions, and you should not hide your URL behind a shortener in your ad because people will not click, and …”

Tell the customer how easy it is to launch a campaign, lock it for only $100 and track all clicks. There’s plenty of unused white space on the back of the letter to shift all the necessary features/benefits from the flyer and turn the flyer into an easy startup guide.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Video Tuesday: Alexis Ohanian: How to make a splash in social media

In a funny, rapid-fire 4 minutes, Alexis Ohanian of Reddit tells the real-life fable of one humpback whale’s rise to Web stardom. The lesson of Mister Splashy Pants is a shoo-in classic for meme-makers and marketers in the Facebook age.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Video Tuesday: Rory Sutherland – Life lessons from an ad man

Rory Sutherland makes the daring assertion that a change in perceived value can be just as satisfying as what we consider “real” value — and his conclusion has interesting consequences for how we look at life.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Digital is Dead – Google chooses to “Print”

Don’t start getting all your ads off the internet yet– they are still worth something. But be advised that digital does not always work as well as you think. Even the elephant in the room who’s been telling everyone for the past 10 years that online advertising is the best way to get customers has recently come to the realization that the new Ink and Paper method is worth engaging to attract new customers when the old Digital way does no longer do the job.

This morning I have opened up my POBox to find an envelope with Google’s logo on it and my address plus FSC logo which is fashionable now. Inside was a 4 page postcard printed 4/2 on a 100% recycled paper and a business card sized 14pt card with rounded corners printed 4/4 digital with a variable code on one side and most likely AQ coating (it definitely looks like a shell card because the AQ coating goes only half way on one side to ensure that the variable code can be imprinted at any time). What surprised me though was the fact that there was no QR code on the card. Google actually wants me to type the 29 character URL into my browser and then type the 24 random character code to get a credit for my Adsense. Although, for me this is a little too much work I’m sure there may be others who will jump on this direct mail offer. Good for you Google. I’m sure others will follow realizing that Print is still King, for local businesses.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Best Buying Practice – Print 3/10

3)      ALWAYS demand to be billed and to pay at the time you pickup the job. The temptation will be great to get the invoice in the mail and pay in 30 days but here’s what you get when you pay at time of pickup:

• Cash Savings – you can get as much as a 2% price reduction if you pay at the time of pickup – just ask for it. If you print a lot in a year that 2% adds up to a good chunk of money. I get 1% cash-back from my credit card and I’m very happy when I get that check at the end of the year. I remember my first bosses pocketed tens of thousands in a year doing just that – demanding to pay right away for a little cash discount.

• Priority Service – most customers don’t pay at the time of pickup which means the printer has to wait at least 30 days to get paid for his work. Whom do you think he will offer greater favours – the guy who pays in 30 days or the guy who gives him cash at pickup? A recent project landed on my lap on a Friday afternoon at 2pm. It was an odd size 12 page plus cover coupon booklet with every page perf’ed. I had to have 7000 on Saturday by 12 noon. One phone call, and the following morning I paid cash, picked up my order and delivered to my customer. Because the saying does not go… Invoice talks…

Popularity: 9% [?]

Best Buying Practice – Print 2/10

2) Insist on getting a quote based on the specs you provided but be open and look well upon the printer that also offers alternative suggestions.

Printing is a custom manufacturing process and it has been around for over 500 years. Printers have “been there” and “done that”. They carry a wealth of knowledge. Be open to the printer who asks questions, more likely than not, that is the printer who will save you money and/or make you money.

A printer has printed your type of project for your type of company for your type of campaign in the past. Your type of company has given him feedback on the outcome, made tweaks to the project, reprinted it again and reported feedback again – and you don’t want to hear about it? That’s like trying to reinvent the wheel. My advice, get quotes from order takers but give orders to the printer who asks questions and offers advice, even if the final outcome will be exactly to your specifications.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Best Buying Practice – Print 1/10

1)      Give specs, Get quote – make sure you provide the right specifications to the printer when obtaining a quote and/or placing an order. The most basic information is:

• Specify what the product is, ie. Brochure, postcard, booklet
• Specify the number of pages if it’s a brochure or booklet  and whether it is self-cover or plus cover (Self-cover means that all pages print on the same paper; Plus cover means that the cover prints on a different paper)
• Specify if the job prints colour or black only, example
  i.      4/0 which means full colour on one side and nothing printing on the back
  ii.      4/4 which means full colour on both sides
  iii.      2/1 which means 2 colours (a PMS and a Black) on one side and Black on the back
• If it’s a booklet with a cover than you should specify what colour scheme the cover uses and what colour scheme the inside pages use, example
  i.      Cover – 4/4; Inside Guts – 1/1 which means the cover prints in full colour and the inside pages print only in one colour (ie black)
• Specify the Flat size and the Finished size of the piece
• Specify the type of paper to use and the proper weight, examples:
  i.      Weight – 70lb, 80lb, etc.
  ii.      Brand – specify the brand of paper, if you don’t , the printer will use his house stock meaning the paper that he orders the most of, which in most cases means most economical.
  iii.      Finish – Coated : Gloss, Matte, Silk or Uncoated/Offset: Smooth, Regular
  iv.      Type: Text weight (regular “flimsy” paper;
• Specify the type of finishing, ie. Trim, Fold,  Score, Stitch, Glue, etc.
• Specify how you want this packaged: Bulk in cartons, Shrinkwrapped in bundles of #,Banded in bundles of #
• Specify the quantity – number of finished pieces

Popularity: 7% [?]

Save money print 1 sided business card

Designers will tell you: “first impressions are important; therefore, create a double sided business card.” Benefit to the designer: Charge by the hour – make a little more.
Printers will tell you: “print double sided business card it’s not that much more expensive.”
Benefit to the printer: Extra side to print on – charge a little more.
Benefit to you: none. The first impression you make happens in the first 30 seconds you meet face to face with the person before you give the business card. The person takes the card and puts it in a wallet or rolodex with the contact information facing out; the back never sees the light of day. Don’t waste your money unless you are functioning as a bilingual organization.
Make sure the face of the business card is nicely laid out with the important contact information legible and readable. Try designing your logo so that it looks good using one or two colors only and you’ll create a good impression. Less is more.

Popularity: 62% [?]