Print Buying Direct

Sustainable forestry in paper making for printing

admin — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:21:18 +0000

Sustainable forestry in paper making for printing - 23rd December 2009

But recycled fibre has to start life somewhere; it cannot be recycled forever. Some products probably always will have to be made from new fibre, and many will continue a high proportion of new fibre for the foreseeable future.

This new fibre needs to be sources responsibly. This means that it must come from a sustainable source, i.e. managed forestry rather than from natural or old growth forests. The concept of managed, sustainable forestry is no different to arable farming except that a much longer cycle is involved in the cropping and replanting processes. A 30-year cycle is typical, although it can be as little as 10 years or as long as 100 years – but the principle remains the same. Provided the tree-farmer is working in a sustainable way and caring for his land and its products, it is broadly the same as any other type of farming. However, because forests are seen also as a place of recreation, and home for a huge range of flora and fauna, other conservations issues are involved. The economics of forestry production require that in most cases single species need to be planed together, just as a farmer plants large areas of wheat, for example. It is not unreasonable, however, for certain areas of forestry to be set aside as conservation areas so that wildlife has an undisturbed habitat – but it is not economically practical for this to apply to all forests. Where possible, it is preferable for mixed species of trees to be planted rather than monocultures, and other aspects of forestry management, which give wildlife a better chance of survival, are better understood today and are now practised widely by responsible foresters. All this costs money in terms of productivity and manpower and the natural concern of forest owners is to what extent the consumer will pay more for products coming from responsibly managed forests as opposed to those that might be more productive and cost less. It’s the same debate as one might find about free-range eggs or organic vegetable – but the market is unknown when it comes to forest products. We may not be many years away from a widely recognised certification process for forest products to indicate their environmental pedigree, but it doesn’t exist yet. Perhaps the best guide today is to establish the country of origin. Traditional pulp sources used by European producers are regarded as environmentally quite advanced. Unfortunately this whole matter is very subjective. Individuals have widely differing views on the importance of assuring that continuity of individual species of, say, a particular fungus – and what is a reasonable cost – even if few would argue with the general principle of maintaining bio-diversity.

We shut down for Xmas on the 23rd December 2009 and re-open for business on the 5th January 2010.

For more information on printing and graphic design please see some of our recent blog articles;

Print Buying Direct is the online division and a Trading Name of The Printing House Ltd. One of the UK’s leading quality printing companies for short run, long run and wide format colour printing. Based in Crewe, Cheshire, in the North West of England - delivering to customers across the UK and Ireland.

Also see our other websites

Main Site: www.theprintinghouseltd.co.uk

Buy Print Online: www.printbuyingdirect.co.uk -

Leaflet Printing, Brochure printing, Postcard printing, Appointment Card Printing, graphic design etc

Prospectus Print: www.schoolprospectus.info

Sports Book Print: www.golfclubcentenarybooks.co.uk

Marketing Offline to increase website revenues

admin — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:16:43 +0000

Marketing is the only way of driving new traffic to your website

Cheques & vouchers – Always incorporate all your organisation’s contact information when using vouchers and have your organisation’s cheques overprinted with this information!

Calling Cards – Definitely use them, get used to carrying them with you and hand them out “It Works”, you can even get your cards gloss laminated for high impact!

Offline Promotion is key to increasing online sales

Press releases - Press releases are fantastic for for offline marketing and promotion. Press releases as they’re sometimes known are newsworthy stories about your organisation that you send to various sections of the media. These sections of the media must be related to your industry for you to have any chance of success. Newsworthy stories are stories which readers of the media publications you submit to might be interested in. If the journalist reads it and likes it they may publish it or some of its contents in their publication, it’s great when they do because the public in general are much more responsive to a news story than a plain old hyped up advertisement. This could mean they’ll enquire about or even purchase your products or services. Using press releases for offline marketing of your website uses the same principals, if it’s newsworthy release it. Newsworthy events for websites include website launches, website re launches and new online services among other items. Also don’t forget online press releases!

Giveaways - This easy way is a personal favorite of mine. It involves buying and sending out promtotional material such as pencils, pens, t-shirts, mugs, mouse pads, calendars, key-chains, bumper stickers, refrigerator magnets and the like. All these promtotional material will have your URL, Logo, or Email address located somewhere on them helping to market offline and attract people to your website.

Offline Marketing will increase revenue from your website

Leaflets – Post flyers on Supermarket windows and on car windscreens print a flyer on bright yellow paper detailing your web address and your company. BE SURE to include your email address, web address as well as your telephone number! Tack the flyer to bulletin boards all over your town. Keep a few in your car for handy offline marketing!

Word of Mouth - simplest and a very viral form of offline marketing, your happy customers and friends just pass it on!

Beating your competitors at Internet Marketing will allow you to become a market leader

Web stickers - are a new, cost effective and fun way to use offline marketing and attract traffic to your website. prospects always warm to them, and they are very simple to use. Web stickers are made of high quality vinyl and printed with state of the art digital equipment. Display your web url and phone number in bold striking full colour letters. prospects put them everywhere. In your car windows, store, premises and home windows, any place with glass!

Fleet Cars - We all see vans with Brand names and contact details on them driving our roads and motorways. This is a good idea as it gives potential customers the chance while out and about to learn about the organisation and also learn about how to contact them should they need the service or product they offer at some stage in the future. I often wonder why more websites aren’t promoted in this way by simply adding the organisation website URL also, you definitely should do this as part of your Offline Marketing!

Article is by:

Peter Harrison is Joint Managing Director of The Printing House Ltd,
and Print Buying Direct of Crewe, Cheshire, UK.

Print Buying Direct are UK market Leaders in Leaflet Printing | Brochure Printing.

For more free articles on Printing and Graphic Design see our Online Printing | Print Buying Direct Website

Environmental impacts of paper for Printing

admin — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:58:34 +0000

Environmental impacts of paper for printing - 22nd December 2009

How do you assess a product?
Everything we do has an environmental impact- and they are almost always negative ones. Environmental assessment of any activity or product must therefore measure as many of these impacts as possible in an objective way. The judgement of the comparative importance of different impacts, however, tends to be subjective. There is little general agreement, for example, on the relative importance of pollution to water or air. How does one judge two processes, one of the high chemical oxygen demand (COD) against the other which produces little COD, but a lot of greenhouse gases? There is no agreed methodology, but the closet approach is what is termed ‘life cycle analysis’ (LCA). LCA is not an exact science, but it attempts to provide a methodology to evaluate in a scientific and objective way all the environmental impacts of a product or process from the cradle to the grave. This analysis should highlight a number of key areas within the life cycle that account for the greatest impact, and which may well provide the key to assessing the relative performance of competing brands or alternative processes.

When looking at the various stages of the life of a paper, it is widely accepted that it is in the areas of raw materials and production that attention should be concentrated. The utilisation of paper has little environmental impact in itself, and it is not possible to differentiate between papers in terms of the way they perform. Disposal is an issue, but again this is in a general sense. With minor exceptions, normally relate to how the products have been processed, it is juts as easy – or difficult- to dispose of one paper as any other.

We shut down for Xmas on the 23rd December 2009 and re-open for business on the 5th January 2010.

For more information on printing and graphic design please see some of our recent blog articles;

Also see our other websites

Main Site: www.theprintinghouseltd.co.uk

Buy Print Online: www.printbuyingdirect.co.uk -

Leaflet Printing, Brochure printing, Postcard printing, Appointment Card Printing, graphic design etc

Prospectus Print: www.schoolprospectus.info

Sports Book Print: www.golfclubcentenarybooks.co.uk

Environmental printers - Environmental Issues and Printing - Introduction

admin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:57:20 +0000

Environmental printers - Environmental Issues and Printing - Introduction

21st December 2009

Environmental issues are becoming more and more important in people eyes, as the effects of an increasing world population, its method of behaviour and in particular its industries, are becoming obvious.

This is affecting printers in two main ways: legislation is increasing – both in extent and strictness – and customers are considering environmental issues when deciding which printer to use, and what materials should be used in the job.

Gone are the days when a print firm can put what it likes down the drain, into the air or onto the local rubbish tip. Gone also are the days when it could annoy local residents with its noise or smell; the Environmental Protection Act of 1990, Local Authority Inspectors and representatives of the Water Authorities will see to that. Fines for transgressions are rocketing, and even imprisonment may face the persistent or deliberate offender.

Customer purchasing power has also started to play its part; increasingly would-be suppliers are being asked to provide company environmental statements or other formal evidence of their commitment to the environment. Some customers are also becoming more knowledgeable about the environmental-friendliness of papers and boards, inks and glues. Many more are confused by the often conflicting stories they hear, or cannot differentiate between what is environmentally important or not. All of them will be looking to printers for information and advice, and the one who can provide it will stand a better chance of getting the custom.

To these two compulsive reasons for action should be added a third- the economic (as well as environmental) benefits to be gained by reducing the quantities of materials and energy used. Paper is generally the largest single slice of company’s costs and even a small reduction in waste can bring considerable bottom-line rewards.

While the printing industry in general is not a larger user of energy, in most firms it is often relatively easy to save some of it. In particular, firms employing flexo, gravure and heat-set web offset processes with their attendant dryers, will benefit from assessing their energy use carefully. The abatement devices necessary to prevent emissions of volatile organic compounds to the air, only now being fitted by some firms, will increase the use of energy, making it even more essential to use the right methods.

Promote your business or charity with our offers on Wall Calendars, Desk Calendars, Xmas Cards, Promotional Wall Calendars and CD Calendars. We’ve recently redesigned all of our Print Buying Direct website and cut our prices on all promotional print.

We shut down for Xmas on the 23rd December 2009 and re-open for business on the 5th January 2010.

For more information on printing and graphic design please see some of our recent blog articles;

Also see our other websites

Main Site: www.theprintinghouseltd.co.uk

Buy Print Online: www.printbuyingdirect.co.uk -

Leaflet Printing, Brochure printing, Postcard printing, Appointment Card Printing, graphic design etc

Prospectus Print: www.schoolprospectus.info

Sports Book Print: www.golfclubcentenarybooks.co.uk

Newsletter Printing - Size- Muscling Through the Mail Stack

admin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:46:27 +0000

Newsletter Printing - Size- Muscling Through the Mail Stack - 18th December 2009

Does your newsletter get stacked in with the magazines, flyers, letters, or somewhere in between? Your newsletter’s page size and number of foils will determine where it lands in the stack.

The standard page size of most newsletter is A4. Standard sizes have the advantages of lower cost, matching standard envelopes and their ability to fit in binders if readers want to save them (and many do).

If you mail a standard size newsletter flat, it falls with the magazines. If you fold it down to A5, it’s between the magazines and the letters (and with cheaper postage). And if you fold it like a letter and mail it with or without an envelope, it appears with the letters. Because magazines are set aside for later reading, you should stay away from this size by folding your newsletter for mailing.

The most attention-getting location of the mail stack is on top with the letters. People pay special attention to this section. They look here for personalised correspondence and checks. Fold your newsletter in thirds to land here.

If your readers enjoy newsletters and look for them in their stack, fold your newsletter in half, versus in thirds. You’ll have more room on the mailing panel for teasers and other information about the newsletter.

Newsletters are sometimes mailed in envelopes. Some publishers feel its well worth the expense. Newsletters mailed in envelopes arrive in better condition and look more like official correspondence. In addition, you can add flyers, letters, reply cards and other promotions to the envelope.

Postcard newsletters have special mail stack advantages. They arrive “pre-opened” and look easy to read. People don’t feel like they’re reading other people’s mail when they read postcards. You can print your news on an oversized postcard with lots of room for your news or enjoy special postcard mailing rates when keeping its size to A5.

We shut down for Xmas on the 23rd December 2009 and re-open for business on the 5th January 2010.

For more information on printing and graphic design please see some of our recent blog articles;

Also see our other websites

Main Site: www.theprintinghouseltd.co.uk

Buy Print Online: www.printbuyingdirect.co.uk -

Leaflet Printing, Brochure printing, Postcard printing, Appointment Card Printing, graphic design etc

Prospectus Print: www.schoolprospectus.info

Sports Book Print: www.golfclubcentenarybooks.co.uk

Newsletter Printing - Features Show Your Products & Services in Action

admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:16:49 +0000

Newsletter Printing - Features Show Your Products & Services in Action - 17th December 2009

Once new products and services have been announced, they lose their newsworthiness.” Feature articles allow you to reiterate your product and services by having other people talk about you. They can also include news of everyday (or unusual) applications of your products.

Write in a feature style for articles on clients, case histories, unusual applications for products, educational information and inspirational stories of people. The feature style:

Captures and holds readers’ attention
Contains a good lead
Weaves interesting facts throughout the article
Develops and supports themes
Ends with a strong, memorable conclusion
Includes quotes from interviews
Often conclude with a quote

The style of features encourages promotional writing. In well written features, there is an initial point of contact that is sharp, quick and obvious. A light opening follows to grab the reader’s interest. This could be an incident, an anecdote or a conversation. Finally the bulk of the story includes a description and facts. The last paragraph usually concludes the article by repeating the theme. This style is the opposite of the inverted pyramid news style, in which the facts are presented first and there is no need for a summary.

When you write features, think of a strawberry packer. Tell the story with sustained interest. Place a layer of good berries on the top, but save the best berries for readers to see when they turn the basket upside down. Give almost as much importance to your last sentence as your lead. Words like “in summary,” signal to your reader that you are bored or the article has gone on too long and you don’t know how to stop it. Quotes work well for endings. Find one that has a sense of finality, its funny or adds a last surprise.

The hardest part of writing a feature is coming up with a theme and writing the conclusion. By remembering the strawberry packer, you’ll know to save an interesting tidbit for last. You’ll also use the tidbit to develop the theme for the article. Pack up your berries and come on down to the ranch to see how.

Top berries:

With a name like RBR Computer Ranch, you’d expect to find this dealer in the outskirts of Dallas or Houston, or at least somewhere west of the Rockies. Well, venture into the “cement ranch” of New York’s Manhattan and you’ll find RBR nestled on the 4th floor at Fifth Avenue and 20th street.

Why “Computer Ranch?” “You have to be different,” says Jose Ristorucci, president of RBR, “Look at Egghead Software; you remember their name before you’d remember Alpha Omega Software. We thought of Computer Zoo, but that was already taken”.

Bottom berries:

The technical knowledge and personal approach found at RBR sets them apart from the rest of the herd. “Every customer has a different need,” Ristorucci says. “They can come here or we will go to them. Some days we have five or six people in here being trained or looking at software packages.”

Ah, life is good down on the ranch.

It’s easier to find themes for some articles than others. For an article on a company that uses a computer product to design a flood control system, finding a theme was easy.

Top berries:

Reliability – Lives Depend On It

Sierra Misco is in the business of telling people that water runs downhill. The trick is to figure out how much water and when it’s going to get there. When you’re talking about the raging waters of China’s Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, that’s no small trick.

Bottom berries:

The systems have to be reliable – people’s lives depend on the performance of the equipment.

It’s important in an ongoing publication to avoid formula writing. For example, you wouldn’t want to start every customer feature with a question. Instead, look for ways to write feature stories in unusual ways. You’ll find that some subjects give you the opportunity to write truly unique pieces.

We shut down for Xmas on the 23rd December 2009 and re-open for business on the 5th January 2010.

For more information on printing and graphic design please see some of our recent blog articles;

Also see our other websites

Main Site: www.theprintinghouseltd.co.uk

Buy Print Online: www.printbuyingdirect.co.uk -

Leaflet Printing, Brochure printing, Postcard printing, Appointment Card Printing, graphic design etc

Prospectus Print: www.schoolprospectus.info

Sports Book Print: www.golfclubcentenarybooks.co.uk

Newsletter Printing - Guiding Readers to the Reply Card

admin — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:59:07 +0000

Newsletter Printing - Guiding Readers to the Reply Card - 16th December 2009
Refer readers to a reply card or reply screen or form if it’s one of your desired responses. Reply cards and forms give readers an opportunity tell you they’re interested by requesting more information, a demonstration, a phone call, a sales visit.

When writing the copy for the reply card or form:

Make your offer something of value, something that people or think is really interesting. Convince readers to send it in or submit it. Place this offer in a benefit-oriented headline and refer to the reply form within the editorial of the newsletter. “Yes! I want to learn more about planning for a comfortable retirement. Send information about your retirement fund.”
Give the offer a deadline. Because you don’t want to be sending out your freebee for years to come or having to print more when you run out, print a deadline on the offer or state, “While quantities last.”
Urge readers to respond immediately. “Take advantage of this special offer. Mail today!” for more action, call it a response card instead of a reply card.
Solicit some information that allows you to qualify leads. Ask readers if they want to stay on the list. Ask them how they intend to use your product, when they plan to buy or what products they are currently using.
Include your telephone number, in case the reader wants to take immediate action.
Include your fax number and encourage readers to fax back the card.

We shut down for Xmas on the 23rd December 2009 and re-open for business on the 5th January 2010.

For more information on printing and graphic design please see some of our recent blog articles;

Also see our other websites

Main Site: www.theprintinghouseltd.co.uk

Buy Print Online: www.printbuyingdirect.co.uk -

Leaflet Printing, Brochure printing, Postcard printing, Appointment Card Printing, graphic design etc

Prospectus Print: www.schoolprospectus.info

Sports Book Print: www.golfclubcentenarybooks.co.uk

Newsletter Printing - Magnetise the Eyes with Pull Quotes

admin — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 09:00:41 +0000

Newsletter Printing - Magnetise the Eyes with Pull Quotes - 15th December 2009
Pull quotes (also called callouts, lift-out quotes or outquotes) are sentences taken from the article. They add life to a page or screen, while providing a juicy excerpt from the article that pulls readers in. pull quotes are also used as a layout device to break up type and add white space.

Choose sentence or phrase that:

Stands alone
Holds its meaning out of context
Is an interesting point
Is the most promotional point

Teasing Readers to Open Your Newsletter
Once all of your articles are written, return to the subjects and motivating words you chose to promote specifics. Use these words for the teasers and contents box that readers see first when looking at the mailing area of a print newsletter, the top of the screen of an email newsletter or the main page of a website newsletter.

The contents box should encourage readers to open the publication or continue reading or scrolling. Use teasers to:

Attract attention or capture the readers you desire. If you want tax clients, write, “Important Tax Information Enclose.” If you’re promoting to retailers, exclaim, “Important News For Retailers.” Of course, you must make sure you have covered these subjects inside.
Describe your feature articles by telling readers the benefits of reading them
Give the headlines of your newsletter articles. This makes it easier for readers to find the articles they want.

We shut down for Xmas on the 23rd December 2009 and re-open for business on the 5th January 2010.

For more information on printing and graphic design please see some of our recent blog articles;

Also see our other websites

Main Site: www.theprintinghouseltd.co.uk

Buy Print Online: www.printbuyingdirect.co.uk -

Leaflet Printing, Brochure printing, Postcard printing, Appointment Card Printing, graphic design etc

Prospectus Print: www.schoolprospectus.info

Sports Book Print: www.golfclubcentenarybooks.co.uk

Newsletter Printing - Subheads Net in Skimmers

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:41:21 +0000

Newsletter Printing - Subheads Net in Skimmers - 14th December 2009
After you write the headline, look at the other promotional points in your article and use them as subheads. Subheads are used to divide lengthy articles into logical breaks. They may indicate to the readers a change of topic or a link of content, or simply break up a mass of type.

Place subheads about every four paragraphs, to allow readers to skip sections of the article without losing their train of thought. Subheads are especially important in website articles. Reading on the screen is much harder on the eyes. Subheads provide a welcome relief.

Most importantly, subheads include your top promotional points. By skimming the headline. Lead and subheads, your readers can understand your main sales points in a few seconds.

Captions Draw from Photo Appeal
Captions (also called cutline’s) are the descriptive text placed under, over, or next to a photo in a print newsletter. Because most people first glance at the illustrations on a page, captions are a promotional opportunity you should never pass up.

Include information that makes people want to read the accompanying article. Try these tips:
o    Include information hat entices readers
o    Include promotional information if you can work it in
o    Leave out obvious information that the photograph includes
o    Identify people and settings

We shut down for Xmas on the 23rd December 2009 and re-open for business on the 5th January 2010.

For more information on printing and graphic design please see some of our recent blog articles;

Also see our other websites

Main Site: www.theprintinghouseltd.co.uk

Buy Print Online: www.printbuyingdirect.co.uk -

Leaflet Printing, Brochure printing, Postcards printed, Appointment cards, graphic design etc

Prospectus Print: www.schoolprospectus.info

Sports Book Print: www.golfclubcentenarybooks.co.uk

Kickers in your printed newsletter will Jump Start Headlines

admin — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:43:43 +0000

Kickers in your printed newsletter will Jump Start Headlines - 8th December 2009
A kicker is a line in smaller type above the headline. It helps keep the headline shorter. A kicker is often used for regular features, such as editorials. Technical support tips. News briefs or updates. Kickers give the writer the freedom to write a new headline for standing columns in each issue, rather than using the same headline very time.

In email newsletters, kickers are used for readers to find articles when scrolling from a contents box to the actual article.

Kickers can also be used to target your reader. For example, an article’s headline might be Save on All Pet Supplied with a kicker that read “Cat Owners.”

Decks as Headlines Extenders
To avoid long headlines in print and website newsletter, consider a deck – a few lines of description placed underneath the headline. Decks can be used to give the reader more information about the article or to attract attention. An effective deck guides readers into the rest of the article before they know it.

Use deck to:

Give people more information about the article
Set a scene
Warm up readers for a launch right into the article

Only 8 working days now to get your Christmas Cards in time to send by 2nd class post (18th December). Corporate Christmas Cards and New Year Promotional Print - promote your business or charity with our offers on Wall Calendars, Desk Calendars, Xmas Cards, Promotional Wall Calendars and CD Calendars. We’ve recently redesigned all of our Print Buying Direct website and cut our prices on all promotional print.

We shut down for Xmas on the 23rd December and re-open for business on the 5th January.

For more information on printing and graphic design please see some of our recent blog articles;

Also see our other websites

Main Site: www.theprintinghouseltd.co.uk

Buy Print Online: www.printbuyingdirect.co.uk -

Leaflet Printing, Brochure printing, Postcards printed, Appointment cards, graphic design etc

Prospectus Print: www.schoolprospectus.info

Sports Book Print: www.golfclubcentenarybooks.co.uk