The prints that you rely on to sell your business really start out in the design process.  Many times, in an effort to save money, we have business owners bring in self-designed promotional materials.  As a note on marketing and design, a graphic designer will be trained in layout, typography, and many other aspects of pleasing design.  These skills are developed over years of practice and critique.  

Having started a small-business with very little start-up capital, I understand the temptation to shortcut this cost in favor of "something that will work for now."  However, this can be very detrimental to your purpose, which is to gain new business.  Presentation is everything to a potential client.  If a brochure or printed product looks "cheap," you open the door to all kinds of assumptions about your business, including your potential customer assuming that you will deliver a substandard product or service.

When I started my first business, I tried to shortcut many of the typical processes, including designing my logo myself, my first brochures, and my first web site.  The result?  The result was a year and a half of shortcutting in almost every area and a subsequent struggle to make ends meet.  I tried to price my service "affordably," which was almost a third of the typical market-price for my service.  Instead of a shortcut, I found myself shortchanging myself.  Why?  Because I thought that by limiting expenses, I would do better in the long run.  I thought of this as being "conservative," when in fact, I was simply being cheap.

I priced myself out of the market the other way... I valued myself too little and so did my customers.  I seemed to get the cheapest customers, who struggled to pay me, who would want discounts on all kinds of services, and who would didn't value my services or what I did for them. 

Real conservatism is running a business that is "sane" versus "overly exuberant".  There is a big difference in conservatism and cheapness as well.  The difference lies in how you think of yourself, your business, and your service.  Are you valuable?  Is your business valuable?  Then you need to teach yourself and your customers about the value of the product or service you offer.  Cheap marketing materials do not show value; they show a desire to shortchange yourself, your business, and your customers.  Don't spend exorbitant amounts on things, but do value yourself and your business enough to make it look good.

It was funny that when I stopped shortcutting in my own business, my income increased 400%.  I was then able to afford to pay the amounts that were fair and reasonable for business services I contracted.  It was interesting that I began to truly value what I did and the service I provided, and all of a sudden, so did my customers. 

At Ogden Blue, we understand that you are cognizant of your budget and run your business conservatively, and we have designers who have four-year degrees from good universities.  We also price their services at $45/hour to ensure that you can afford these services.  We also adjust the pricing of our print materials regularly to ensure that you are getting a good value.  Our prints and design do not look cheap.  In fact, we'll put our quality on the line to be compared with any design and print company out there.  Come in and compare the great value we have for you.

Step 2 - Build Your Business Identity around Your Customers and Your Market 

Now that you have identified your reasons for being in business in the first place, let's discuss what business identity means and how to bridge the gap between your perceptions of the market and the actual market.  Then we can discuss branding and being clear with your customers by establishing a very clear idea in their mind about what you do, how you do it, and why you do it. 

Customers buy the "whys" of your business.  Check out this video by Simon Sinek in which he explains the reason great companies are great companies.  The why is the most powerful of your business ideas.  It inspires your employees to "buy in" to the business, it gives a reason for your suppliers to believe in you, and it gives your customers a reason to buy.   The why flows into your business identity and branding.  This should be worked from the "ground up" in a way where the principles of the business are integrated into everything you do.  From customer service to sales, your company should be wrapped around the core principles of your business through processes and procedures that speak to who you are.

The why automatically begins a certain set of parameters that directly flows to branding.  Look at Apple's brand... the simplicity of the design, the feel of "high-tech", and the innovation that can be "felt" just by looking at their logo.  How messy is your current look of your logo?  Is it a clean design that really tells what your company is all about?  How do you communicate where you are going through your logo?  When we were thinking about all of this at Ogden Blue, before we rebranded, we wrote down a set of keywords that were used to identify our core strengths of being a multifaceted company, an expression company, and a more streamlined, focused, and innovative company than the one prior.  We then began a discussion of what really spoke about our company.  We ended up with six different logos that spoke to what we do, but more importantly, had the "feel" of a younger, vibrant, and future-looking company.  This step really needs some thought put into it.

 Once you have a "feel" or list of keywords that define your company, visit with a graphic designer.  This is not a time to be frugal.  You really want the business identity to speak about who you are as a company.  This is the time to really focus, because once you have this down, the rest of your marketing materials will be much more effective, cheaper to design, and focused to your identity.  We have four graphic designers on site at Ogden Blue, and they have a great range of experience to help you define and develop a brand.

Now that you have thought about and talked to your customers about what it is they want from your business and identified a brand around that, developing a message gets much easier.  Speak to concerns or excite your customers about possibility.  Personally, I don't really focus any marketing around a "fear-based" type of advertising.  Sometimes, this is not avoidable, as in the insurance industry, where the motivation to buy stems from people's desires to take care of things should disaster strike.  Even here, more positive messages that speak of where people desire to be are more effective than showing them what they do not desire.  People desire to be safe, happy, fullfilled (as in expressed), and comfortable.  Speak to one of these desires when coming up with your message.

A message should be short and to the point, and the rest of the marketing piece should be focused around the short, simple message.  If you have branded well, the message will be a simple elaboration of the brand, and the rest of the marketing piece will elaborate on the message in a "top-down" kind of approach.  The identification of your market also drives the message.  You will market differently to different demographics.  Just think about who you are trying to reach with this message, and talk with someone in that demographic about your message before finalizing design.  Ask questions about whether or not this reaches them in how they think about the world.  Don't rely on your own perception of that demographic... ask your demographic who they are.  

Case in point, I just received a call from a client who used to do a lot of business with us.  We haven't seen anything in a while from this particular customer, and the feedback I received was about flexibility and speed.  Now, we have really designed a lot of internal processes to deliver just this; however, the feedback points to areas where we could do a better job about quickly turning our product out the door with a greater amount of flexibilty.  If I hadn't talked to this client, I wouldn't have been able to see where we were still be inflexible in our processes.  Talk to your customer.  They will tell you the way to go.

Although it may seem that talking to your customer doesn't really dovetail into your business identity, it absolutely should be the basis for what you are doing.  Without customer input, you may be missing the mark completely in what it is you are trying to do.

So, in closing, follow a few simple steps.  Identify "why" you are doing what you are doing.  Design your business identity around where your customers are pushing you.  Design your logos, message, and delivery to clearly communicate that you are in touch with your customers' expectations and goals.  When developing your brand, don't be inexpensive... this is your core of your business, and professional designers make a world of difference in how your company is perceived.

Marketing Banners

Whenever I am asked about business, usually, the topic of marketing always comes up.  It seems to be the one area where small business owners feel the least capable.  What works?  What doesn't?  What am I actually doing?  These are the questions that typically spring to mind.  Then a plethora of options appear in the form of newspaper, web, social media, direct mail, direct marketing, etc. to confuse the issue even more.

Hopefully, I can shed some light on the topic and provide you with some options to really begin to dig into what needs to be done.

The initial steps: 

1. Identify your product, how it's sold, and your market.
2. Build your business identity around that market and around your customers.
3. Test, Test, Test.
4. From your results fine-tune your process and begin again.

Marketing is a funny word.  Many people think of marketing as advertising or sales, but I think that marketing goes deeper than that.  As I was thinking about our marketing and where we've come from, I can see progression in the entire way that we interact with customers, handle our workload, and give feedback to each other within the company.

Print companies are notorious for being unresponsive and defensive.  Ask anyone you know about a bad experience that they have had with a print company, and they will probably give you a dozen.  I don't know exactly why this happens in the world of print so much, but there is a tendency for print companies to become internally dysfunctional.  It is just something that I have seen in the industry.

When we began to redesign the company from the ground up in 2009, one of the things that the company as a whole focused on was what it was that we were actually doing for customers.  We came up with the idea that we were an "expression company."  It struck us during the employee meeting where a lot of this took place that our customers were trying to say something to the world, and every time that we were unresponsive, late, or wrong (with a job) that we essentially were telling the customer to "shut up."  

This led to a series of changes internally.  What it really did was reposition the company in a way with our customers and clients where we became a true service company.  Our product is truly top-notch, but our switch away from being a "product" company to a "service" company mindset caused tremendous changes in the way we do business.

We had a chance to sit down recently and reexamine our processes.  This to me is where marketing comes in.  Marketing to me is a bottom-up approach to our clients.  First, there must be a strong foundation and position that the company has... a strong committment to a vision of the company.  From there, the processes define themselves, and the advertising then naturally arise from the vision and process internal to the company.  When we examined our processes, we found that the influx of customers that we have experienced had shown some serious issues with our internal processes.  This is exciting work to do, because everyone here is dedicated to the vision; a chance to reevaluate how we are doing in comparison to what our goals are becomes a chance to envision growth and evalute our plan for moving into new markets, etc.

One of the major problems we came across was the way that we internally track jobs throughout the whole of our print and finishing processes. Coming up with a system was relatively easy, as we built on the background and experience that we have.  The changes, though, are proving to much be much bigger than we imagine them.  It meant a restructuring of the internal personnel positions in some cases, identification of critical resources (like computers and different structures built around our internal communication), and a redefinition of "success" when it comes to building our customer relationships.  Whew... in other words, we had to face the fact that we must continually evolve what our company looks like when our vision is compromised.  

Growth is good.  We really appreciate those who are making us successful, our clients.  What they also are doing is helping us evolve in our business as their demands shift and change.  This is an exciting time for us, here.  How do you think about marketing in your company?  How have your customers changed the way that you are structured?

Are you looking for something to reach out to your customers or audience and grab them by the shirt, get their full attention, and pull them into your store?

Did you know Ogden Blue offers some great Large Format printing options that can do just that?

Here are a few Large Format options we have to help give your business a professional yet noticeable look:

-         Use a colorful Banner to draw attention to your business or special event.

_-         Print large posters to advertise your company’s services or to promote your latest campaign.

_-         Get cut or printed vinyl to help create a professional display in your store windows.

_-         Use banner stands, displays, and banners to bring color and attention to your trade show event.

_-         Bring your family memories to life by printing them on canvas, watercolor, or photo paper in Color or Black & White.

_-         Take your project plans to large scale with vivid color or crisp black & white.

Our large format black & white prints start at $0.52/sq. ft. (?), and large format color prints start at $5.00/sq. ft.

Don’t be Shy. Live Large and Get Noticed.

The answer is: Absolutely Not!

The question may also be asked: Is Print or Online Marketing more effective? 
a great combination of both methods can create the strongest marketing campaign.

In an ever-changing world of technology, Internet and social media, many business owners struggle with the validity of print vs. online marketing. “Print isn’t dying. When used correctly it can actually boost your marketing campaign and give you the result you’re trying to achieve, whether it is leads, sales, or brand awareness.” (Trammell)

Using your print campaign effectively means using print along with online links and social media to increase brand awareness and increase your ROI. By combining these strategies you can overcome the limits of each media. While online marketing can be reached by a click and immediate updates and targeting, online banners are limited to a small amount of information and social media is limited to the number of followers you have. Print media can be very powerful and is more tangible and something that people can hold on to and refer back to. It allows readers to be more engaged and can supply more information and stronger branding. It’s true that digital media is advancing at a quick rate, but smart companies have utilized the advantages of mixing old and new media to reach a wider audience and to come out with a strong advertising campaign.

It’s also important to look at your overall marketing objectives and goals. Who is your customer and what is the best way to reach your customer? What is the best way to communicate with them? How can you reach new customers and leave a good impression on them?

One effective way that we have found to reach new and existing customers is utilizing print media with Direct Mail Marketing. With direct mail marketing you can promote your website, social media sites, and branding in a very effective way. QR codes are also a great part of modern technology that provides your company information with one click. With direct mail you can directly target your customer market. There are a variety of products and methods to fit every budget. You can reach a wide audience, because not everyone has a computer, and for those that do, it drives traffic to your website. People are also more likely to try your store or product if they have a coupon or special offer. That physical marketing piece is something that people can refer back to and can leave a lasting impression.

So yes, for all you that have been wondering, print is still alive and strong! (Remember that when you think of the billboard image that is stuck in your head, or the business card that a business contact handed you today, or the mail you picked up from your mail box.)

Let us know what you think.

Check out these articles for more information:

Engage Staff. “Print or Online? There’s No Easy Answer”. Engage the Blog. June 10, 2010. http://engage.tmgcustommedia.com/2010/06/print-versus-online-theres-no-easy-answer/.

Trammell, Mindy. “Is Print Advertising Dead? Definitely Not!” Insurance Journal Online. January 17, 2012. http://www.insurancejournal.com/blogs/2012/01/17/231405.htm

Wolfe, Lahle. “5 Pros of Direct Mail Marketing”. About.com Women in  Business. http://womeninbusiness.about.com/od/directmailmarketing/tp/hub-pros-directmail.htm

Differences in Digital Presses

If you hear the term "digital press," what does it mean?  There are companies who manufacture copiers and call them digital presses, and there are digital press companies who make claims about resolution and quality that just don't match the delivered product.

What is all the difference?

1. Process - true digital presses typically involve a different process than copiers.  While there are many high-quality copiers out there, typically, they cannot match the resolution, color quality, or color-matching throughout the process of printing.  True digital presses are usually bigger, because they endeavor to keep the paper flat and away from heat to avoid cracking a folded, printed piece.  Heat is a major factor in the digital printing process, and you can tell the difference in the curl or lack thereof of the printed piece.  True color-matching is a very important piece of a commercial print, and good digital presses will produce a very consistent color match throughout the print.
2. Resolution - Not all digital presses are made equal.  The resolution is a major factor in making a print that comes very close to offset quality.  When examining a print, do you see little square bumps around the images in the finished piece?  Does it look hazy?  This is the result of resolution that is sub-par to the commercial printing environment.  True 1200X1200 DPI (dots-per-inch) resolution or greater completely eliminates this fuzzy edge.  While many companies claim to have this resolution, most derive that resolution through a 600X600 DPI that has been digitally "enchanced" to a greater resolution.  What this means is that the computer makes an educated "guess" at what comes next.  Result = the edge gets fuzzy and pixelated.  True 1200X1200 resolution is very clear and sharp, looking much more like offset.
3. Alignment - the adjustment from the front of the print to the back.  Many companies do not pay attention to this "skew" in the images.  If the alignment is off, the finished, full-bleed prints will look slightly off or askew.  Think of holding the image straight up and down, but having the print on the paper look "a little off"... not straight with the edges of the paper.  This is the result of poor alignment in the machinery that produced the print.  A good digital press will keep the alignment to .5 mm or less front-to-back.  This produces a print that is even with the edge of the paper.
4. Production speed - the page-per-minute of a digital press is critical to getting your printed piece back in time.  A good digital press will have a fairly rapid rate of production that will not slow based on the amount of printed material running through the machine.  60 ppm 4/0 or 30 ppm 4/4 is a good starter speed for digital presses.  The machine should also cool the paper during the process as the rollers tend to heat up during production.  This curls the paper and makes the finished piece brittle.
5. Stability - a digital press should have a great deal of stability in production.  Copiers tend to break very frequently, especially with higher runs.  A true digital press is made for the commercial printing environment, and they are typically very stable in comparison to copy machines.

Create Your Files Using Process Color

Process color or four color, is a subtractive color model, used in color printing, also used to describe the printing process itself. CMYK refers to the four inks used in most color printing: cyan, magenta, yellow, and key black. This is the color process that we use on our Digital and Offset Presses. Also keep in mind, for a true solid Black, use similar CMYK values to these: C: 60 M: 40 Y: 40 K: 100. We can also print using PANTONE colors, but this usually adds a color to the process and an additional cost.

Best File Formats for Printing

The file format we prefer for printing is a PDF. This allows us to print your files without missing fonts, links, or images. A high-resolution flattened JPEG also works well for printing photos and giclee work. We prefer at least 300 dpi on these types of files to ensure a clean, sharp image. Any other file or layout formats must have fonts outlined, and links and fonts packaged.

Use Templates to Get the Truest Print & Cut

Please use the templates on our website to set up your files for bleed and trimming. Make sure you leave enough space around your live area to ensure important information will not be cut off.

Here are a few terms that might help:

Bleed - a term that refers to printing that goes beyond the edge of the sheet after trimming. The bleed is the part on the side of your document that gives the printer that small amount of space to move around paper and design inconsistencies.

Trim - the final size of a product after its unnecessary parts have been cut off or removed.

Live Area – is the area where your art and type should be safely tucked into so they are not trimmed or cut-off.

Summary

Following these guidelines and providing us with a print ready PDF allows us to turn your job around quicker and provide a better looking end product. We are always happy to help if you have any questions on these Pre-Press steps. We enjoy working with you to provide a product that you will be excited to share with others. Please contact us to check turnaround times and to ensure that we can get your product finished on time.

For more information, check out this article:  http://www.nikibrown.com/designoblog/2010/03/08/set-up-files-for-printing/#ixzz1sKmo4Kpz

Ask any business expert what really matters during times of economic instability and they will say that continuing to market your business is critical. Yet, in business, matters of creativity and design are often seen as something nice to have if you can afford it, but easily cut during uncertain financial times. Historically, when money is low, the arts and artists feel it first.

Existing businesses are struggling more, and people are losing jobs and going out on their own in droves, making competition fiercer than ever. How can they stand out and be seen - if not by marketing and advertising? And if you are going to spend the time, money, and energy, why bother if not with good design? Online or off, good design gives credibility, visibility, and consistency. It can even make economic sense, if approached strategically.

Do It Yourself Branding: We all have heard the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. When a business is seeking higher visibility, often the projected image makes them memorable. As you are competing with other companies selling the same service or product, there are many things which can set your business apart - but FIRST you have to get the customer's attention. On first impression, the only differentiation between you and your competition may be your branding and image. And that is achieved with graphic design.

Good design leads to communications consistency. Studies indicate that a prospect must hear of or see your business numerous times before it will spring to mind unbidden. Having a consistent and memorable message and image can help accelerate recognition and therefore speed up the branding process.

Imagine this: you are at a seminar listening to a dynamic speaker and you ask him to send you more information about his company. When the package arrives, you are surprised to discover the information is barely readable, the colors clash enough to make your eyes ache, and there is a good chance the charts were done by a five year old. You will probably overlook all this, because you met this gentleman, and you already know he really knows his stuff. But if you received this marketing collateral before meeting and hearing him, it is likely you would question the consultant's credibility and professionalism.

When you visit a business on the web, navigation and content on a web site are extremely important, for it is the visual design which lends credibility and indicates the professionalism and quality of the business. Consumer Web Watch reportedly found that "Design Look" (46.1 percent) and "Information Design/Structure" (28.5 percent) were the top factors people used to determine credibility of the business they were visiting online.

Having a quality product or service is terrific, but it is not enough if no one can see you, or if no one knows you are there. What better time to let the world know that your business exists, than when your competition is hunkered down and not marketing? Perhaps they are marketing, but doing it themselves, on the cheap and poorly designed - this, too, presents an opportunity differentiate your business. Professional design can improve your business image and communications, and it is good for economics. A good image offers increased, positive exposure and differentiation from the competition. Improved communications assures your message reaches your audience, and is received. Economically, good design increases sales through increased acceptance and awareness of your products and services.

How can you afford not to be sure your business is well designed?

###

Eileen Parzek is an award winning graphic and web designer providing digital and print graphic design and web design services. Always found at the intersection of information, creativity and technology, her business, Business Design Studio (www.businessdesignstudio.com) helps small businesses make a big impression.

Digital vs. Offset Press

 In today’s market, there is a lot of confusion about the changes in printing technology.  Digital presses have begun replacing offset presses in many print shops; however, many times the customer does not know what to choose or what exactly the difference is between the two.  Since making the wrong decision can result in hundreds of dollars difference in the price that customers pay, we at Ogden Blue thought we would help clarify the difference between the two and highlight the advantages of each.

What is Offset Printing?

Offset is the traditional “lithography” type printing that has been around for literally hundreds of years.  While the technology has changed over that period of time, the basic process remains the same.  In offset printing, the image is inked onto a plate and burnt in.  The image is then transferred to a rubber blanket then further to the actual printing surface.  The printing surface repels water, and the ink from rollers is transferred to the paper, while the non-inked areas attract water.  In this way the image is repeated over and over again as the surface of each “print” is inked again and again.  This is the traditional “copy” process.  Offset presses can either be “roll-fed” or “sheet-fed”.  Rolls of paper are typically cheaper per print than sheets.  Very skilled craftspeople are also required to ensure correct color matching in this process.

What is Digital Printing?

The digital process is much different, as the image is transferred directly from a computer to the print server or controller of the digital press.  Many different types of imaging engines are available, and the EFI Fiery Engine is probably one of the most common in commercial environments.  The images are usually saved as PDF files for most business printing then sent to the print controller.  The computer within the digital press translates the images to areas to be “imprinted” on the surface of the paper.  Most digital presses are sheet-fed.  This process saves a tremendous amount of time because the digital presses do not rely on the making of plates.  It is cheaper in low-quantity, because the process is simpler and the equipment does most of the work using computers.  Typically, graphic designers or print operators are used to set up the proper print parameters.

From Pinscreative.com, here are the advantages of each:

Advantages of Digital

• Shorter turnaround.
• Every print is the same. More accurate counts, less waste and fewer variations, due to not having to balance ink and water during press run.
• Cheaper low volume printing. While the unit cost of each piece may be higher than with offset printing, when setup costs are included digital printing provides lower per unit costs for smaller print runs.
• Variable Data Printing is a form of customizable digital printing. Using information from a database or external file, text and graphics can be changed on each piece without stopping or slowing down the press. For example, personalized letters can be printed with a different name and address on each letter. Variable data printing is used primarily for direct marketing, customer relationship development and advertising.

Advantages of Offset

• High image quality.
• Works on a wide range of printing surfaces including paper, wood, cloth, metal, leather, rough paper and plastic.
• The unit cost goes down as the quantity goes up.
• Quality and cost-effectiveness in high volume jobs. While today’s digital presses are close to the cost/benefit ratio of offset for high quality work, they are not yet able to compete with the volume an offset press can produce.
• Many modern offset presses use computer-to-plate systems as opposed to the older computer-to-film work flows, further increasing quality.

Use this checklist to decide which is right for you.

Quantity:  How many am I printing?  (Typically, offset printing, because the cost of setup is so much higher, will be more expensive until you hit 5,000 pieces 8.5X11.)

Printing Medium:  How heavy is the paper that I will be using?  Most digital presses are not equipped to handle the thicker papers (18pt. on up). 

Color:  How much color is needed?  1,2, and 4 color processes are available in digital or offset; however, digital offers better color matching and great flexibility in color choices.  We have printers at Ogden Blue that use up to 12 different colors.  This gives a high-grade of color matching. 

Resolution:  Offset actually gives the best resolution for production.  However, digital presses are hard to beat anymore.  It is difficult, without a loop, to tell the differences between them.  Ogden Blue uses a “true-color” and a true “1200X1200” resolution.  Poor resolution will actually make the product look grainy.  This is a topic for another blog post.

Turnaround:  How fast do I need it?  Digital is a much faster process, and is great for companies that need a fast turnaround on high-quality prints.  While keeping costs in line, digital also offers an unparalleled rapidity in production. 

Proofing:  Do I want to look at the “finished” product before it goes to print?  Digital presses also allow a “proof” which is an actual picture of the finished product produced in exactly the same manner as the printing process will be.  This means that a product can be fully proofed for color accuracy, resolution, and grammatical accuracy before the printed products are delivered.  Offset requires as much as $400 for a printed proof before going to press!

Customization and Flexibility:  Do I want to change a product per print?  Do I need addressing or customized marketing materials?  This is only possible to do on a digital press in one run.   Ogden Blue offers solutions in direct mail marketing, customizable marketing pieces, and many other customized pieces.