» Flyers

It’s All in the Ingredients…

admin — Wed, 30 May 2012 01:08:28 +0000

All Printing is the Same, Right? Leaflets from us are the same as leaflets from that bloke your brother knows. Business cards from that little shop on the high street are as good as ours, right? Wrong. They may sound the same, but it’s like comparing apples with whales. We give you a “business class” product at an “economy class” price.

How It Works…
You don’t have to understand it to appreciate it, but here’s a brief explanation if you’re the inquisitive type! Full colour (process colour) is a system which allows a multiplicity of shades to be created from just four primary printing ink – Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black.

Full colour means you can have virtually every colour of the rainbow, without worrying that you’ll need the pot of gold at the end to pay the extra costs. As many colours as you want. As many photographs as you want. One price. Simple.

Offset vs. Digital Printing
Now you understand how colour works it’s time for a little education about our two different printing processes we offer at printing.com North Shore and how to decide which is right for your needs.

Digital Printing
Digital printing eliminates many of the mechanical steps required for conventional printing, including making films and color proofs, manually stripping the pieces together and making plates.

Advantages of Digital

Shorter turnaround
Cheaper low volume printing
Customizable. Using information from a database, text and or graphics can be changed on each piece without stopping or slowing down the press. For example, personalized letters can be printed with a different names on each.

Offset Printing
In offset printing, the desired print image is burned onto a plate and is then transferred (or offset) from the plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. The process is based on the repulsion of oil and water. The image to be printed gets ink from ink rollers, while the non printing area attracts a film of water, keeping the non printing areas ink-free.

Advantages of Offset

High quality print
The unit cost goes down as the quantity goes up
Quality and cost-effectiveness in high volume jobs

Still not sure which is right to use?

Use this check list to help decide:

Quantity Offset printing has a front-end cost load. Short runs may have a high unit cost. But as quantities increase, the unit cost goes down with offset printing. Very short runs can be much more cost effective with digital printing; while larger quantities are likely to have a lower unit cost with offset printing.
Printing medium Do you need or want a special paper, finish or unusual printing surface, or unique size? The options are increasing continually for digital, but offset printing still offers the most flexibility.
Turnaround If you need it fast, digital usually offers quicker delivery.
Proofing Digital offers accurate proofs since you see an actual sample of the printed piece. Accurate color proofing for offset printing can be expensive.
Customization Without question, digital printing offers the most affordable way to customize marketing materials, direct mail pieces, letters, etc.

Well we hope that we have given you a little inside information on colour and the printing process and next time we talk or quote about digital or offset options you won’t stare blankly at us!

Heads Down – Bums Up!

admin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 00:36:13 +0000

So we have been rather quiet lately on the blogging front! We really have had our heads down – bums up this year. So we thought it was best to show you what we have been doing lately as we have been working on some exciting stuff for clients.

We have noticed a steady increase this year of new start up businesses, check out below some logo design work we have done.

Life-Story offers education and career counselling for young adults. We designed their logo and a business card for Val. Check Life-Story out online and on facebook.

Verve Training is a brand new venture for Lizzie Brandon. We designed her logo and a business card.

Construction HQ is a new venture for Aaron Dawick. We designed his logo and a business card.

HCG The Key is an exciting venture for Mary Coup who will help discover the key to your weight loss. We designed her logo and a business card. Check on HCG The Key on facebook.

CV Now We rebranded their logo and designed a new business card for Nikki. CV Now is a NZ based business that provides a personalised service. CVNow.co.nz is the first choice service provider to numerous Job-seekers in New Zealand when it comes to drafting a highly targeted CV to move between jobs or countries. Check them out on facebook.

Helicopter Me is the leading helicopter tour operator in Auckland, New Zealand. We are really excited to be working with innovative clients such as Helicopter Me that offer such unique services. We helped to put together their print material; business cards, flyers, banner and promo voucher.

The new year has also seen one of our great clients Sierra explore new design styles in their seasonal promotions. We have had lots of fun illustrating posters, so keep an eye out for a winter promo coming soon to Sierra Cafes.

And our latest news is that we meet NZ Masterchef 2011 Winner Nadia Lim and her husband Carlos. What a lovely team and we even managed to help them out with business cards, postcards and recipe cards for Nadia’s recent book and website launch. All the best Nadia and Carlos.

So we really have had a great start to the year, with building new and existing client relationships and designing and printing solutions for them. Give us a call as we would love to help you out!

Happy Easter from the printing.com North Shore team

Looking ahead to a booming New Year

admin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 23:47:23 +0000

I know, you’re probably swimming in holiday orders at the moment and are counting down the days until you can take a much needed break from production. But a funny thing happens between the end of December and January – the orders come to a screeching halt.

Instead of taking the month of January off, or sitting back with the understanding it will be a rough month, do something about it and plan ahead to get your customers back in the door for the New Year.

Spicy new ideas for 2012

Create a New Campaign
If you keep doing the same stuff, you’ll get the same results. Instead, come up with an entirely new idea – something you’ve never done before or have never seen anyone else do in your area.

Offer packages for recurring work
It may seem obvious, but if you only offer one-off services then your clients won’t have a reason to hire you again. Create a relationship with your clients through follow ups, VIP cards, loyalty cards etc. All these things keep you in front of their mind and stop them from just using the closest or the cheapest competitor.

Give your best clients special treatment
Always treat your best clients better than prospective or new clients. Best clients are those who have brought you the most amount of business or referred you to new clients.

“Special treatment” may include discounted rates or unannounced gifts. You can also offer exclusive services for them. Always make time in your schedule for last-minute requirements from existing clients.

Revive “zombie clients”
Haven’t heard from a past client for some time? Give them a gentle nudge. What about making up a “where have you been” letter, to ask clients why you haven’t heard from them…or ask for feedback. Worth a try

Mark important dates
Send existing clients a birthday card or another gift. While you’re at it, why not include a voucher. Or, you could do something similar on the anniversary of when you first started working together

Ask for referrals
Having a referral system in place can be good for your business. Aside from bringing you new clients, having an existing client refer a prospect to you increases her loyalty to you. You can offer incentives in exchange for referrals, such as a discount on a future project or an outright commission.

If you don’t offer an incentive, always send the referrer a simple, but thoughtful email.

I know, it takes work to keep track of these things. But, these details are what makes you stand out from your competition. You will notice there is a common theme running through these tips. They’re all about making your clients feel special, appreciated and loved. So always ask yourself, “What can I do to show my clients how much I value them?”

Christmas is the season of generosity so this December we are offering THREE fantastic specials so that you can get organised for the New Year. We are offering 40% off A4 3 Panel DLE Premium Brochures, 30% off Regular DLE Rack Cards and 25% off Starmarque Spot UV Business Cards helping you to hit the ground running in 2012.

Merry Christmas from the team at printing.com North Shore and all the best for the New Year!

Why are postcards useful to promote your business?

admin — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 22:32:18 +0000

Postcards are a hot topic for us this month at printing.com as part of our August Offer of the Month. Mail-out, hand-out or sell them, these say much more than “wish you were here!”

Postcards help you stand out from the crowd in a mailbox drop, or can be used as just a postcard for that handwritten touch! Postcards call for endless possibilities, with a shiny gloss front for vibrant colour and an uncoated reverse perfect for writing on.

6 Great Advantages of Postcards

1. Postcards are versatile
A postcard is not just something to send through the mail. You can use postcards for oversized business cards, hang tags for your products, mini-information sheets, invitations, thank you cards, new promotions and specials, referral cards and much more…

2. Easy to track your results
A postcard could include a call to action, or even a voucher, or a special discount. Your postcard could tell customers to bring the postcard into your store for redemption. Or even be a bit old school and they could reply back to you by writing on the backside of the postcard.

3. Postcards can “brand” your business
Your postcards can “brand” you and your business in ways that most marketing materials cannot. Rather than just a paper flyer, postcards are a fun marketing tool that can be more memorable with their card weight, quality gloss front and uncoated reverse. If you start and stick to a regular postcard mailing program, you and your business could gain quite a reputation.

5. Postcards free up time
You do not waste time stuffing envelopes and then your customer does not even have to open an envelope to read your message.

6. Postcards don’t take up a lot of space
Your customers can carry them in their pockets. Some of them might even display your postcard on their refrigerator door!

So don’t lose your customers – keep in touch frequently with postcards and take advantage of our August Offer of the Month - Free Xtreme Gloss Postcards! Buy 1000 or 2000 postcards and get another 1000 or 2000 FREE!

We LOVE to Design: Flyers

admin — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:50:56 +0000

Here are a few things to consider for the design of your flyer campaign, answers these quick questions to make your flyers work harder for you!

Who is your Target Market?

Who are you trying to reach
Are you selling to consumers or business?
Where do they live?
What industry are they in?
What age group?

What is your Point? Obviously you are investing in marketing to win more business, consider these questions.

What makes you different or special?
What problem can you solve?
What need can you satisfy?
What is your Unique Selling Point?
Why should they buy from you?

What is in it for me? There are a lot of flyers around that are no more than just a business card – a name and maybe a list of services on offer. When you get a flyer like that do you… save or bin it?

The most effective flyers use time-bound offers, a call to action!
“Half price this month”
“Free bottle of wine with every quote”
“Free consultation during November”
Think really hard about the offering an incentive. “25% OFF” may get you some interest but “50% OFF” would definitely do the trick.

What do you want me to do?

What is the next step? Once they have received the flyer…
Tell them what to do next. “Call now for a free sample,” “Bring this leaflet to…” or “Email us for a quotation.”
Spell it out! Make it easy for them to buy from you

How Will You Reach Me?

Consider how you will get your message out, as this is very important in terms of design and print.
Second class post is highly targeting, but quite pricey
Inserts in a local free newspaper
Local kids to do a flyer drop
Insert into a magazine read by your target market
Ask around at shops, cafes that your target market might visit to leave a few

What will it look like?

We recommend you spend at lead 30% of your budget on design
Design can mean the difference between success and failure
Design is our business, talk to us

Our design team at printing.com North Shore have many years of experience between our 4 in house graphic designers. Here are some examples of what we can do…

Whether you know what you want, have a rough idea or need some design direction we can help. Check out our artwork packages.