Presentation folders are extremely cost effective to produce, and presenting something to your client that looks professional and organised will speak volumes about your business before the folder is even opened. They are an excellent marketing tool but can be used for many other purposes within your business such as company handbooks or for business seminars.

Do you have a lot of marketing literature which is relevant to specific markets? Then a presentation folder is the way forward. You can select which marketing material you need dependant on who your target market is and if your company literature and marketing materials constantly require updating a presentation folder is the ideal way to keep your print budget down. By printing short run up to date folder inserts you can save yourself considerably on brochure printing costs.

These days image is key and information contained in inserts, flyers, leaflets, brochures etc which are presented in a neat, professional manner will grab the attention of your potential client and give them a sense that your company has their effects together and really knows what they are doing.

There are many different types and style of presentation folder available and they can be customised with your company logo and information. Have a chat with your graphic designer or print manager as they will be able to help you with the various options available to you from pre-manufactured and assembled, to flat and ready to fold. They will discuss with you the different finishes available from matt/gloss lamination, to embossing and spot uv etc. but always remember, these additional finishes can increase your folder cost considerably, they look great but before adding these on always consider who your potential client is whether what they will bring to your company is worth the additional cost.

And lastly, presentation folders retain a large quantity of your business information within them as well as printed on them so always ensure that your contact details are clearly shown on all literature.

Recycling Paper around the Office

As a print manager it is strange that I am always babbling on to people about how to save paper, you would think that would be the last thing I would be passionate about.

As much as I like to see words and pictures actually printed rather than on screen and to be able to hold a magazine or brochure and read at my leisure I am still concerned about how this paper is disposed of.

I have written a previous blog about the affects of paper in our landfill sites and would like to see that reduced significantly; so I have put together the following hints and tips to enable us to be more eco friendly with our office paperwork.

1. Re-use. Turn your scrap paper into note pads by stapling or bulldog clips. If you have printed something that you no longer require, keep it in a box on top of the printer so non essential office information can be printed on the reverse.

2. Organise your office, pool together all office supplies before submitting your next stationery order, you may find that you do not require everything on your list.

3. Opt for a supplier who is committed to providing a choice of environmentally friendly products and will take back packaging for reuse.

4. Choose paper and wood products which are FSC certified to guarantee they come from certified sustainable sources.

5. Re-use envelopes, cardboard packaging and especially jiffy bags as these usually have a high plastic content and are not suitable for recycling.

6. Set your printer to double print so that both sides of the paper is used.

7. For all internal mail use reusable envelopes and provide clearly marked storage containers for these, cardboard and jiffy bags.

8. Provide recycling bins around the office for all paper and plastic.

9. Reuse shredded waste as packaging material

10. Encourage all communication to be made by email and ensure that they are only printed if absolutely necessary.

Brochures the Why? What? Who? How?

Why?

Most companies these days have a website so I can hear you asking why do I need a brochure? A website cannot replace the immediate visual impact of placing a brochure into a prospective clients hands.

A well designed brochure will give your company credibility, clients like to see that a company has invested in itself and a well written and presented brochure will show just that.

As all of us business owners know, it is extremely difficult to get in front of your prospects and so most of our contact is made over the phone or by mail. A cover letter to a prospective client will only present a fraction of the information they require and whereas a letter may be read quickly and binned a brochure can contain all the relevant information and is typically kept by a prospect to be looked over at a later time.

What?

What is the purpose of my brochure?

Firstly, you need to define what your brochure should be doing and then carry out some research.

Do you need one or many? Are you going to have one brochure listing all your company’s products or a separate brochure for each product?

Who?

Who is going to be receiving your brochure? Are they for new or existing customers?

Is it for a specific campaign or for general use throughout your business?

You may require an initial lightweight sales brochure to draw in new customers and then a heavier information led brochure for requests for further information.

If you decide on two or more they will each need to be targeted to the different audiences because if you send out the wrong brochure you are just wasting your money.

How?

There are many thoughts on the best way to go about producing your brochure, the first is to employ everyone you need from copywriters, to marketing experts, to graphic design agencies and stock photo libraries but if your budget won’t allow for that you will need to decide what you can and can’t afford.

Have a look at some online brochures, speak with graphic designers/graphic design agencies and get some ideas of the price for design and print. If design does not fit into your budget there are many online templates which may be of help to you.

Always know who your target audience is and what message will get their attention. Find out what type of brochure and level of sophistication is crossing your target audiences desks, there is no point in sending out a tri-fold leaflet if your competitors are sending out glossy 32 page brochures, with matt laminated and spot UV cover.

Early research will save you time and money when it comes to getting down in writing what you want to say and you know your company better than anyone else. Take a look at your competitors, how are they selling themselves and is it effective? What approach have they taken and does any part of it jump out at you?

Do some customer analysis – think about what your customers want to know and then answer this in a logical sequence, speak with your existing customers and find out why they bought from you. Any testimonials are always great to include in your brochure.

For the front cover, think of the benefits of your product or thought provoking statements which will motivate your prospect to pick up your brochure and read it.

If you are using the one brochure for many products ensure you have a contents page as your clients will not want to be wasting time flicking through your brochure to find the relevant information.

Remember AIDA see previous post on “How to utilise your leaflets effectively”

Attention – Interest – Desire – Action

Ensure that you have included all key information in your brochure, your mailing address, telephone numbers, email address and website and get someone else to proof read it.

Do not include any information which is likely to change in the next 12 months, there is no point in spending several hundred possibly thousands of pounds if the information becomes obsolete before you have managed to distribute them all.

Have an idea of your print budget and how many your require and then with the help of your printer/print manager you can work out what you can achieve for your budget.

Remember you don’t have to have a standard size, depending on your budget you can change the size of your brochure to make it stand out from the crowd. However, if your brochure is going to be mailed out anything of an unusual size will cost more in envelopes and postage than a standard size brochure and so must be taken into account when working out your budgets.

Always ensure that your graphics are the highest quality possible (at least 300dpi – dots per square inch) so they will print satisfactorily. Make sure your text is enthusiastic and stay away from clichés, technical jargon and crowded text.

Use the right paper, if you are unsure ask your printer/print manager for some samples.

A brochure is not the end of your marketing material but should be used in conjunction with other advertising material such as direct mail, online promotions or as a tool by your sales people. A brochure will not close the sale; that is for you to do, so always remember to follow up sending out your brochure with a call.

The difference between Print Management and Print Brokering and how both work within my business.

A print manager can work for their clients in two ways:

They can operate for their clients as an internal resource or employee without the need for ongoing salaries:

If this client is you, before our meeting I would ask you to go through all the printed items your company has produced over the past 12 months and I then carry out a print health check. This health check enables me to thoroughly understand your needs and business goals and to transform these into effective and efficient print procurement strategies. Together we will then produce a forecast of your print projects which I will review with you regularly over the next 6 to 12 months and at all times focus on the profitability of the projects and to provide hassle free solutions for you.

Or

They can work for a client on an ad hoc basis providing print as and when the client needs it, finding the most efficient and effective way to accomplish each printing task.

If you are not looking for the full print management service because you have local printers for your run of the mill print items, business cards, stationery etc. when you are looking to produce your glossy catalogue or brochure or you require help with the production of your literature folders and inserts you can call on me for help. I am happy to work with your graphic design team to advise on the most cost effective but print efficient way to produce the required item or alternately I have a number of great graphic designers who I am more than happy to refer to you. This early advice can definitely save you hassle later on and will certainly save you money in the long run.

A Print Broker matches their client’s requirement with the right printer for the job and really their responsibility ends there.

As a print manager I also broker print as I work for a number of graphic design and marketing agencies and they do not require the full management service. In this instance I still continue to monitor the job throughout the print process and ensure that it is delivered in a timely manner and acceptable quality as I do with all my clients.

If you are interested in anything I have written above please give me a call.

Business Cards and how to stop them getting binned

Your business cards are a reflection of your company but you would be surprised at how little time some business owners put into the design and style of their business cards. A little thought beforehand will enable you to have a business card which promotes you and your company effectively.

Firstly, your business card should tell people what you do and give a meaningful benefit, anything less will just confuse and your card will end up in the bin. Get rid of the tagline and put your USP on there, tell everyone what makes you different from the rest.

Always make sure you use both sides; yes a single sided card is cheaper than a double sided one but what a waste of space, and £100 well spent is much better than £60 spent badly. This space could and should be used to further promote your company, why not list the services you provide or you can place a couple of testimonials on there, what better way to sell your company than letting others do it for you. Another idea is your photograph, if like me you attend a lot of networking meetings, by the time I get back in my office and go through the cards I have forgotten who they are for, but you can guarantee if there is a picture I will remember them. Also, what about about putting on a Do you remember statement as in “do you remember me, we met at …… and discussed………” this can be a great memory jogger.

When it comes to the design of your business cards, you need to ensure that your message is the same across all of your company literature. If you have a logo make sure it is reproduced on all stationery and your stationery design should match your business image, for example, if you are a designer and your cards are a simple black and white design this is not going to help you promote your creative side.

Ensure that the fonts you use are easily readable and legible and that your card is not crammed with information. Having white space on your card helps the information get absorbed much easier.

Ensure that all your contact information is on the cards, your prospective clients should have as many means as possible to contact you so make sure you list your telephone numbers, landline and mobile, fax, email and website address etc.

One of the biggest problems when it comes to print is typo’s, leave yourself plenty of time to proof read your cards properly and if you can, let someone else do it for you, it is commonly known that you cannot proof read your own work.

Make sure your cards are of regular size, if they cannot fit into a standard business card wallet the chances are they will end up in the bin, standard size business cards in the UK are 85 x 55mm or 90mm x 50mm.

Ensure that your business cards are printed on a good quality card, at least 350gsm. Many of the free business cards sites only print on 250gsm or lower which is not a good reflection of your business. Have a chat with your printer/print manager about the different types of card available and what you plan on printing on them as they can be an invaluable source of advice. Do not print your business cards yourself, your desk printer although it may be “photo” quality is not designed to print on thick card stocks and you are likely to get inconsistencies of colour and trimming if you do these yourself. And stay away from the perforated business cards you find in most stationers as they just scream out that you do not value your company enough to produce professional business cards.

You only have the one chance to make a good impression and in most cases your business cards will be that first impression so make sure they are of the best quality and design you can afford.

How to Utilise your Leaflets Effectively

Leaflets are one of the most popular ways of promoting your business; they are great to boost sales by getting your message out in a hurry.

But leaflets should also be used as a part of an on going marketing plan as they are a cost effective way of disseminating your information.

It has been proven that most customers will only make a purchase after they have seen a company’s marketing message 6 times and by specifically targeting your potential clients and tracking the results you should be able to increase the normal low response rates of leaflets from 1-10% to 25% and above.

Before you go any further you will need to think about how you want to disseminate the information. Are you going to business shows, networking, door dropping, magazine inserts or just handing them out in the street?

Who is your target audience and where are they based? Think about who your ideal client is.

Design and layout used to be the realm of a professional graphic designer but these days there are many pc based design programs such as Word or Publisher. These are great for a basic leaflet design but please be aware that most printers prefer print ready pdf (portable document format) files set for CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) and most home PC programs do not have this capability. If you are unsure it is always worth having a chat with your printer as they can help you with this as well as give advice on size and paper weights along with colours and fonts etc, and If you don’t wish to go down the self design route they should be able to put you in touch with a reputable graphic designer in your area.

Make sure if you are taking your own images that you use the highest resolution your camera allows. Be aware that most camera phone images are not of sufficient quality for printing. Always check the resolution of all images used as they must be at least 300dpi for printing (your printer can help you here if you are unsure), just because an image looks good on screen does not mean it will print correctly.

If you are stuck for relevant images you can download royalty free images from websites such as istockphoto.com usually for a small fee.

When designing your leaflet always think AIDA

Attention – does your leaflet grab your audiences attention, open with something that pulls them in not pushes them away such as a question:

“Are you paying to much for…”

“Have you ever…”

“Can you see…”

Interest – now you have their attention you need to sustain it by getting them interested.

What is your USP?

Convey the benefits of using your services, if you don’t know then ask your existing customers why they use you.

Cut out jargon and waffle

Desire – now you have their interest you need to make them desire your services:

Obtain customer testimonials.

Show them how what you have to offer will solve some of their problems and appeal to customers by always using ‘you’ and ‘your’ in your text.

Can you offer a guarantee – money back/lowest price/100% satisfaction/quality etc.

Action – lead your customers towards taking a specific and measurable action:

‘Call now, on ….’

Give a discount if you are contacted before a certain time.

Have a voucher with a deadline etc.

….and make sure you track your results.

By having different special offers or leaflet designs going out to different areas/target audiences you can track your results and concentrate on areas that work and discard those that don’t.

Remember to include all the important information such as phone number, email/website address and always allow plenty of time for checking and editing. Let someone else do the proof reading as it is commonly known that you cannot proof read your own work. Check and double check all contact details, and finally, make sure you have permission to use all images and quotes.

How Your Business Could Save Money With Print Management

Orange, the mobile and cellular communications giant owned by France Telecom, is well known to UK consumers. This is not least because of the large scale advertising and marketing campaigns it runs, just like any major brand. Advertising and marketing in print format (ie on actual paper) forms a big proportion of this budget. This includes things like leaflet printing, booklets and pamphlets, consumer magazines, billboard posters and direct mail marketingmaterials. It is completely feasible that such a huge company would spend vast amounts on this type of work.

But a recent news story in the print indusrty press revealed that Orange also spends £7 million every year in the UK on 'print management'. Not a penny of this is actually spent on ink or equipment or printing costs - it all goes into the strategic planning of that printing. It might seem a little OTT to spend this much on a third party service merely to oversee printing. Yet if you understand what is meant by print management, you might begin to see why such sums are justified. The basic fact comes down to this. Companies which spend money on a print management specialist actually tend to save money compared to those who try to manage their printing by themselves.

A large part of these savings comes down to reducing wastage. Millions of dollars are lost every year by mistakes such as incorrect color calibration, problems with paper stock and simple typos which were ignored before sending to print. If you consider unwieldy and complex print marketing strategies this is quite often the case and these costs are written off as 'inevitable'. It is because commercial printers needed to find an efficient solution to these that the discipline of print management was born.

Aside from reducing waste, another thing print management is able to achieve is planning the logistics of all the varied print campaigns so that resources and time are used most efficiently. Print jobs and schedules are planned in scientific detail to reduce the cost associated with electricity use, overheads and purchase of unneccesary equipment. For example if you are using a large number of printing machinery units during peak times, by planning ahead and spreading the load you can use less machines, and less power, at any one time. Do the math and the outcome of this is that your printing costs come down. So you can either achieve the same amount of output for less money, or reinvest the savings in more print marketing and ultimately more ROI.

Here's the good bit: print management is no longer the exclusive domain of huge enterprises like Orange. In the past decade the gains in digital printing technology have meant smaller scale print management solutions are possible for small to medium enterprises, meaning that the rest of us can enjoy the same kinds of cost savings the 'big guys' have been enjoying for years. Is your business taking advantage?

Sourced from www.printerscentralonline.com/blog/How-Your-Business-Could-Save-Money-With-Print-Management

Why use a print management company when you can do it yourself?

If you have the knowledge of print that you know where to go to get a cost effective price, the knowledge of design to know that your images are the required DPI to print clearly or the knowledge of paper to know that what you are printing will print exactly how you want it to look and feel, then you don’t need a print management company.

If however, you don’t have this knowledge, and these points are just a few of thousands of different specifications which set your print project apart from the next one, then you do.

Why not go straight to the printer? I hear you ask.

You can go direct to the printer but do you know what print presses they have and are they geared to print your project cost effectively? Each print company has a unique tool and skill set and will only be able produce a limited number of projects cost effectively.

A Print Management company is independent and has the flexibility to represent several different companies, they will be able to give you best advice at all times and ensure that your project is delivered to you ontime everytime. So if you work in a busy department which deals with a variety of print products then the right Print Management company would be a valuable addition to your team.

VAT on Print - could it be more confusing?

The rules and regulations on VAT on printed items is a minefield, even after working within the print industry for over 10 years now I still have to refer to the HMRC website from time to time.

A client of mine only last week said that she isn’t bothered about vat as she isn’t vat registered when in reality she is exactly the person who should be concerned about vat. Depending on what she purchases she could find an additional 17 ½ % charged on top of what she was originally quoted.

She asked me why printers couldn’t quote all prices with VAT and I can see where she is coming from. It would benefit the smaller non vat registered business to know whether the item is vatable or not before they purchase and it is definitely something I will be looking at in the very near future.

Anyhow back to the regulations – I don’t want to bore you with this as I am quite aware after spending a lovely couple of hours last week refreshing my memory on the minutiae of VAT rulings in the UK how sleep inducing it is so we will just look at the most commonly printed products.

The rules and regulations regarding VAT on print are dependant on what the item is, what it is to be used for and what it is printed on.

Most print items as classified by the HMRC are standard rated (which means you are liable to pay standard rate VAT, currently 17½%) and where it gets us business owners is on our stationery e.g business cards, letterheads, compliment slips, posters, postcards and envelopes.

However there are exceptions to the rules and they are for the following:

Books and booklets

Restricted to goods produced on paper and similar materials such as card and are usually bound with a cover. Goods containing text in other formats such as audio or video cassettes or CD Rom are classed as standard-rated.

Brochures and pamphlets

Brochures usually consist of several sheets of reading matter fastened or folded together, but are not necessarily bound in covers. They usually contain advertising material in the form of text or illustrations.

Pamphlets are similar, but are usually comprised of material of a political, social or intellectual nature.

Leaflets

Leaflets normally consist of a single sheet of paper not greater than A4 in size. They must be intended to be held in the hand for reading, convey information and must be supplied in a minimum quantity of 50 to permit general distribution. They must be printed on limp paper and designed to be read a few times and then thrown away. Items printed on stiff paper and card are not automatically excluded, however the use of stiff card indicates that the item is to be kept and would then be excluded from the leaflet classification.

If an item has an area to be completed, as long as that area is under 25% of the total area then it may still be classed as Zero rated.

Whatever the area for completion, a publication which is designed to be returned whole after completion is always standard-rated.

Here are some more items not covered above and their VAT liability:

Accounts (fully printed)	Zero-rated
Albums	Standard-rated
Annuals	Zero-rated
Appointment cards	Standard-rated
Articles of association (complete in booklet form)	Zero-rated
Badges	Standard-rated
Bags, paper	Standard-rated
Calendars	Standard-rated
Catalogues	Zero-rated
Certificates	Standard-rated
Circulars	Zero-rated
Colouring books (children’s)	Zero-rated
Comics	Zero-rated
Company accounts and reports	Zero-rated
Delivery notes	Standard-rated
Folders	Standard-rated
Holiday and tourist guides	Zero-rated
Instruction manuals	Zero-rated
Invoices	Standard-rated
Labels	Standard-rated
Magazines	Zero-rated
Mail order catalogues	Zero-rated
Manuals	Zero-rated
Membership cards	Standard-rated
Memo pads	Standard-rated
Menu cards	Standard-rated
Music	Zero-rated
Newspapers	Zero-rated
Note books, pads and paper	Standard-rated
Order books and forms	Standard-rated
Orders of Service	Zero-rated
Painting books (children’s)	Zero-rated
Picture books	Zero-rated
Price lists (fully printed leaflets or brochures)	Zero-rated
Printed pictures	Standard-rated
Programmes	Zero-rated
Rag books (children’s)	Zero-rated
Receipt books and forms	Standard-rated
Reply-paid coupons and envelopes	Standard-rated
Sports programmes	Zero-rated
Stickers	Standard-rated
Tickets	Standard-rated
Time cards and sheets	Standard-rated
Timetables (in book or leaflet form)	Zero-rated
Trade catalogues	Zero-rated
Trade directories	Zero-rated
Travel brochures	Zero-rated
Vouchers	Standard-rated
Wall charts	Standard-rated

Please note the above is not all encompassing and for more information go to the HMRC website www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat

Recycled paper is certainly the ethical way to go when it comes to printing as it is a practical resource which preserves energy. Recycled paper typically uses 70% less energy than virgin paper*.

In the past recycled paper has, in quality and cost, been the poor relative when compared to virgin pulp paper, but improvements in recycled paper production and the combination of mixing virgin pulp with recycled pulp has meant that it is now almost impossible to spot the difference between the two. And because of this the cost difference has been brought down to approximately 10% difference between recycled over virgin pulp paper.

Recycled paper advantages

Every year more than 11 million tonnes of paper and board are consumed in the UK and a considerable amount of that ends up in landfill sites

The breakdown of bio-degradable substances in landfill (which includes paper) causes the production of methane gas. Methane gas remains in the atmosphere for approximately 9-15 years and is over 20 times more effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, so if we can avoid putting paper into landfill we’ll be doing our bit to prevent global warming. According to the environmental charity Waste Watch for every tonne (about 2 pallets) of 100% post-consumer recycled paper purchased instead of virgin fibre paper, we save:

1. At least 30,000 litres of water.

2. 3000 - 4000 KWh electricity - enough power for an average 3 bedroom house for one year.

Much of the UK wood pulp used in the paper and board making processes comes from Scandinavia and the majority of natural forests in that area have been converted to intensively managed forests where the natural flora and fauna in that area struggle to survive. There is only about 5% of Scandinavian old-growth forestry remaining and each day more and more is being logged and as a result, hundreds of plants and animal species are becoming endangered*.

We also have to consider the increased carbon footprint to get that paper pulp from Scandinavia to the UK paper mills. Paper pulp used for recycling, particularly office paper, tends to be based around our cities. The UK could produce much more of its own paper and not have to rely on expensive imports if the market for recycled paper increased which could save us up to £800 million on balance of payments. This saving could then be reinvested into more recycling centres countrywide and publicising recycling, so that there is an increased participation by residents.

About 20-25% of paper cannot be recycled, as the fibres degenerate each time they are recycled. Typically paper can be recycled approximately 5-7 times before the fibres become too small (the smaller the fibres the lower the quality of paper produced) so we must be aware that there will always be a need for virgin pulp, although we can reduce the amount required through using recycled paper.

So - should you choose Recycled Papers?

As said before it is an ethical issue and is up to the individual or organization, but the main advantages are:

1. Reduced landfill sites- our landfills are rapidly becoming full and fewer sites are available – who would want one of these on their back door step?

2. The more we recycle the higher the demand – we currently recycle because there is an end market, if that end market is not there then we cannot recycle.

3. Paper recycling optimises the use of a valuable material and reduces the amount of virgin pulp required. Although forests are increasingly managed in a sustainable way there is a need to reduce wastage by using more recycled content.

* Source Friends of the Earth.