“But I don’t need a logo to succeed.” Maybe. But it sure helps. It’s the centrepiece of your brand. If is wasn’t important, would the big boys spend so much developing theirs? We think not. We design logos day in, day out and we’ve got Corporate Identity packages to suit any budget – from a pigeon’s purse to a walrus’s wallet.

Your logo is central to your brand. Compare your logo with your competitors. If it’s not better or at least as compelling, then you need some logo surgery. Without a logo – or worse, with a poorly designed one – your organisation may look amateurish. You may be thinking “I can live without a logo.” But, a great logo will help your customers identify with you and is more likely to help you succeed.

It isn’t just about your logo though. Keep a similar “look and feel” through all your communications to help people become familiar with your brand. Familiarity leads to trust. Trust leads to sales. And we don’t have to tell you what sales lead to. Apply a consistent look and feel to all marketing material, products and advertising through a coherent use of colours, themes, design elements and typefaces. We’ll help you with this. Remember, if you can see it, you can brand it.

Good design sells. Fact. Bad design – or even just average design – may do more damage to your business than you might care to think. Trust us. We’d recommend you invest at least a third of your budget in sorting out some decent artwork. After all, it’s not about how many items you distribute, it’s about how many responses you get. Give us a call or pop instore at printing.com North Shore and one of our talented graphic designers would love to take care of you.

Now we are not suggesting your brand has put on a little “holiday weight.” Not at all! We are talking about a different kind of detox and one that does not involve a plastic tube and litres of water.

First things first, we need to find out if your brand is toxic?

What is a brand?
Let’s start by understanding what a brand is not. A brand is not a logo. Logo (short for logotype) is another word for trademark and means “word” in Greek. A logo or trademark is not the brand but a symbol for it.
A brand is the feeling and emotion an individual has to that particular product, service or company. This means that the brand is defined by the individual. (Don’t think you have/need a brand? Talk to us.) Or take our toxic brand quiz.

We are now 5 months into our own rebrand from Printstop to printing.com. We have detoxed our brand; our colours, our logo, even our name to become international and sophisticated while retaining our sense of fun, vibrancy and humour to stand out from our competition. So what do you think about our rebrand…?

What is a logo?
So we have established a logo is symbol for your brand. Logos will often include a name, a graphic design element, symbol or trademeark sometimes even a slogan. Your logo is the most important piece of graphic design your company will own, as it fronts as the face of the company and is the basis for all your marketing material; stationery, packaging, promotional materials and signage.

So we really hope your logo is not saying nasty things about you behind your back. Imagine if it was telling potential customers that you cannot be trusted. Imagine you caught it saying you were sloppy or unprofessional. We bet you would have some pretty stiff words to say to it. The reality is, your logo says a lot about you.

Even your choice of colours can give people the wrong impression. Some logos grow old gracefully. Some look dated before you have finished your first box of stationery. Sometimes you will simply outgrow your logo. It’s a common problem and it’s nothing to be ashamed about. Your logo is really important. It is the cornerstone of your brand. It is your signature. You should be proud of it. And we want you to be proud of it.

Maybe your logo is looking a bit tired and just needs a “nip and a tuck” or maybe you do not have a logo at all – we can help. Just drop by or give us a call – our talented team of designers will create a logo that you will love for years to come. Once we have crafted your new identity, we will save you a packet on your printing too.

PrintStop and printing.com has evolved over the years. Reading through the history of the franchise and company it is evident that things change over time to reflect the current market, the industry and of course, the customer.

PrintStop is a name you are familiar with, a name that is synonymous with well priced, fast turnaround, full colour printing. We are New Zealand’s only national retail printing chain, with 50 locally owned and operated franchises spread across the country.

This year we will continue to bring you everything you love about PrintStop, plus a whole lot more! We’ll be expanding the service and products we currently provide for you so watch out for some exciting new initiatives in the months ahead.

We live in a world of constant change, where things seldom stay the same, and we believe that’s what makes our world so wonderful.  That’s why we’re excited to be sharing our news about our future, where we will be staying the same in so many ways, but we’ll have a new name and be even better than before!

SAME great people

SAME high quality

SAME handy locations

SAME friendly service and

SAME delivery promise …

with a NEW name!

From 1 April 2011 it will be business as usual at PrintStop, but we’ll be called nz.printing.com. That’s the name that’s been powering PrintStop from behind the scenes for a number of years and also operates in England, Europe, USA and Australia. Through our ongoing association with printing.com we’ll be able to bring you more new products and other innovations that are already proving to be a huge hit in the global marketplace.

What is a brand?

A logo? Corporate colours? Stationery?

A brand is all of these and much more, a brand is everything from a customer’s perception of who you are, to the quality, the look, customer care, retail and web look, the voice of communication and more.

The relationship between consumer and brand is often emotional rather than rational.  Branding facilitates memory recall, thus contributing to preferred selection and customer loyalty.

Why bother changing our name?

Printingdotcom (PDC) are an established, progressive retail print UK based company who have “powered” PrintStop for the last five years.

We are going global – but remaining locally owned, future proofing ourselves and our customers with new initiatives, like on-line ordering, digital asset store and customer templates.