Print Buying Direct

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.

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;

• Newsletter Printing – Features Show Your Products & Services in Action
• Newsletter Printing – Guiding Readers to the Reply Card
• Newsletter Printing – Magnetise the Eyes with Pull Quotes
• Newsletter Printing – Subheads Net in Skimmers
• Kickers in your printed newsletter will Jump Start Headlines
• Headlines Bring Your Promotional Newsletter to Life
• Start With the Desired Response from your Promotional Newsletter
• Writing Newsletter Copy that Sings
• Let Your Subconscious Do the Writing – Newsletter Printing
• Sifting With a Promotional Screen – Newsletter Printing

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

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

Where to Find Great Content Fast for your Newsletter Printing – 18th November 2009

Some fact-finding shortcuts can greatly decrease the time it takes you to research and pull together the content for your newsletters.

You don’t have to generate all original material for each issue. In fact, a lot of great newsletter content is sitting within a stone’s throw of your desk. This chapter tells you how to find content from newspapers and magazines, online, in people’s memories or in other materials that your organisation has already created.

Draw a research map

Research requires more time to complete than writing. When you first break ground on a new issue, draw a research map. Think about who would know or care about your particular subject. More importantly, think about who benefit by helping you would get the information in print. Thinking this through is important, because a research map will lead you to the best treasures as quickly as possible.

Start with sources close to home. Search out experts in your own camp. Talk to members, doctors, salespeople, engineers, fundraisers and so on. Your beat could also include other organisations or industry experts. Request information, and ask if they’ve seen a similar article in a recent publication or online.
 If you’re writing about a service or product, collect any marketing materials already written. Websites, brochures and flyers are helpful they already include benefits and reasons for buying.

Keep in mind other sources for specialists. Look for people who have something to gain by helping you-customers who’d enjoy the publicity, consultants, suppliers and associations.

When writing about a broader subject, you’ll need to dig deeper. If you have time, hike over to the library.

Most periodical listings are available on research databases. Enter the subject name you’re researching, and see how many magazines sources you find. For newsletters, magazine articles are usually more current than books. In addition, the information has already been condensed, since there’s limited space in most periodicals.

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.

Get 30% off our online xmas cards now – simply enter the code ‘ XMASOCT’ at the checkout.

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

• Newsletter Printing – Naming your newsletter
• Copyrighting your own Corporate Newsletter
• Copyright Overview for Publishers of Newsletters – Part 2
• Copyright Overview for Publishers of Newsletters – Part 1
• Newsletter printing – Do you need Multiple Newsletters?
• Newsletter Printing – Structure & Time Savings with Standing Columns
• Newsletter Printing – Reader Response Mechanisms
• Grab Readers with Industry Summaries in your Printed Newsletter
• Company Newsletters – Including Your Organisation’s News
• Newsletter Printing – Let your Customers Sell for You – part 2
• Newsletter Printing – Let your Customers Sell for You
• Touting your products in your printed newsletter
• Six Types of Newsletter Content
• Order your Christmas Cards Online in October and Save
• Saving Money by Pruning Your Newsletter Mailing List
• Newsletter Printing – Free ways to reach more people
• Marketing with Printed Newsletters – Assigning codes to prospects
• Dazzling Databases for Printed Newsletters
• Newsletter mailing lists – Mailing list magic
• Printing – The Green issue
• Order your Christmas Cards Online in October and Save £££s
• Newsletter Printing – Using survey results for improved promotions
• The best way to survey how effective your newsletter is…part 2
• The best way to survey how effective your newsletter is…
• Every question has a goal (Newsletter printing)
• How to Conduct Your Survey about your Newsletter
• Newsletter Print and Design – Why the Pros Survey Fewer People
• Newsletters – Pinpointing Reader’s Interests – part 2
• Newsletters – Pinpointing Reader’s Interests – part 1
• Printing – Paper and board – Certified and recycled
• Printing – Paper and board – Pricing and availability
• Printing – Paper and Board
• Print Finishing
• Digital Presses
• Digital Printing
• Offset Printing
• Print Production Management
• How to create a marketing plan incorporating promotional newsletters
• All you need to know about Digital Printing
• The Future of Printing
• Print Finishing
• Variable Data Printing
• ISO 12647 and Colour Management in Printing
• Pre-press – In Flight, Pre-Flight and Post-Flight
• Print, Paper and Recycling
• Design of the times – (Article reproduced from Printing World February 2009)
• Pre-press – 20 years of change

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, Postcards printed, Appointment cards, graphic design etc

Prospectus Print: www.schoolprospectus.info

Sports Book Print: www.golfclubcentenarybooks.co.uk

Leaflet Printing at Print Buying Direct

Don’t forget that we are one of the UK’s premiere Leaflet Printers. Our printed leaflets come in a variety of sizes, shapes and paper weights.

For Leaflets designed just for you or your company please visit The Printing House website.

To order leaflets or flyers online – then visit our Print Buying Direct Website.

We don’t just print leaflets, we can design them for you too. Our award winning Graphic Design Team have been creating artwork and design for our customers ranging from Bentley Motor Cars to HSS Hire Shops and many more. Please visit our design web page for more information.

The type of stock used for printing (whether digital or offset litho) has a significant effect on
colour reproduction. Paper reflects unabsorbed light back to the eye of the viewer, so the more reflective the paper’s surface, such as coated paper, the wider the range of colors perceived that can be produced.

Choosing the right paper calls for a strong knowledge of paper characteristics and how they relate to the specific print technology. Digital Presses use dry ink, which is a very fine powder. Litho presses use liquid ink. The following stock properties interact with the dry ink to determine the quality of colour images. At The Printing House (Print Buying Direct) we have 3 offset litho presses, all manufactured by Sakurai (ideal for high quality colour printing of annual reports, brochures, leaflets, flyers and newsletters. One large format inkjet (ideal for large posters, pull up banners etc) and a Xerox Digital Press (ideal for short run printing, business cards, appointment cards, postcards, posters etc).

BRIGHTNESS

Brightness is the measure of blue light at 457 nm. Brighter papers produce images with higher contrast.

Be aware that some artificial brighteners can affect colour reproduction by reflecting colors unevenly. A bright blue-white paper may reflect more blue and less red and green, affecting how the eye perceives the paper color.

Blue-white papers contain ultraviolet (UV) brighteners that break down over time when exposed to UV light. As UV brighteners break down, the paper shade may change from bright white to a warm white (yellow cast). UV light exists naturally indoors and outdoors.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BRIGHTNESS

As a general rule, use brighter papers when printing documents with photographs, halftone images, or complex graphics. Ideal for brochures, annual reports, postcards, leaflets and flyers.

FINISH/ SMOOTHNESS

Finish is the smoothness or roughness of a paper’s surface. Paper is processed to have a specific type of finish, ranging from very smooth to highly textured. Finish can significantly impact image quality on the printed sheet. If paper is too rough, light patches and graininess appear in solid areas. Halftone images also
appear grainy. Dry ink may not fuse properly to extremely rough paper, which may cause deletions where the ink rubs or flakes off. Wet ink suffers from muted colours and drying issues, always allow longer for uncoated papers to dry.

Smooth and coated papers produce sharp images because they reflect light more directly than
rougher papers.

Sheffield is a test that is used to measure the smoothness of paper. It measures the rate of air flow over the surface of a sheet. The lower the Sheffield smoothness number, the smoother the sheet.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FINISH/ SMOOTHNESS

Use smooth or coated papers for proper dry ink transfer to ensure the best colour density and image detail, and to increase the appearance of glossiness. Using a very smooth paper is especially important when printing fine lines and detailed images.

SHADE

Shade is the color of the paper. Paper shade may change the colors of printed images because ink is transparent and also is applied in dot patterns that allow the paper shade to show through. Lighter images reveal more of the paper color than darker images.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SHADE

• Select a true white for the truest colors and natural looking skin tones.
• Be aware that shaded paper will affect image colors and overall hues.
• Remember that paper shades can vary significantly among brands and lots.

FORMATION

Formation is the distribution of fibers and fillers in paper. Fibers and fillers should be distributed evenly throughout the sheet. Although formation is not included in the manufacturer’s specifications, you can check it by holding a sheet up to a light. If the sheet looks even throughout, it has good formation. If
you see uneven light and dark areas, formation is poor. Good formation is especially important when documents include halftone images of photographs or high ink coverage. Halftone images appear sharper
on paper with good formation. Solid images can appear uneven or spotty when printed on paper with poor formation.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FORMATION

• Choose paper with good formation to ensure uniformity of color images.

IMPURITIES
Impurities in the paper-making process can leave tiny specks in some stocks. The specks can appear as marks or spots in printed images, especially in high resolution images, fine type and fine lines.

Impurities in recycled papers consist of inks and adhesives (from window envelopes, stick-on notes, labels, etc.), which are difficult to remove during the recycling process.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPURITIES

Use high quality non- recycled papers when the best image quality is required.

OPACITY
Opacity impacts the ability of a printed image to show through from the opposite side of a sheet or from another sheet below it. To increase a paper’s opacity, filler may be added to increase thickness or be applied as a coating.

Opacity is measured according to how much light a sheet blocks and is expressed as a percentage between 0 and 100. Most papers fall within the 80% to 90% range. However, an opacity of 98% will prevent a printed image from showing through on the opposite side of the sheet (show through).

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR OPACITY

• Choose paper with high opacity when printing on both sides of the paper or when heavy dry ink coverage will be applied.

For More information of assistance please visit either of our websites – The Printing House Ltd – Print Buying Direct – or call us on UK number 0870 950 8444.

For those of you who are looking to design their leaflets, brochures, flyers, or appointment cards in Microsoft Word ready for printing, please read on. We have compiled a few items for you to consider before you start the design process.

IMAGES
Microsoft Office applications will send RGB data to the printer, unlike page layout applications that send CMYK data. Images can be in TIFF, EPS or JPEG file formats ( JPEG compression is not recommended). CMYK images, however, will be converted to RGB unless they are in the EPS file format.

BLACK TEXT AND GRAPHICS
Microsoft uses an RGB color model (unlike other graphics applications that use CMYK) and creates black text using equal amounts of red, green and blue. This can be problematic as the saturation of dry ink in a small area can produce a halo. One option is to export the file to PDF and all instances of black will be converted to gray. Make sure the Adobe PDF PostScript printer driver is properly confi gured to use PostScript Gray for text and vector graphics for R=G=B. Consult with us to ensure the best black text and graphics
rendering.

APPROXIMATING PANTONE AND CMYK COLORS
To create a close match to a PANTONE color within Microsoft Office applications:

• go to www.PANTONE.com and select [Support: Color Library Updates] for a close approximation. Download the PDF Color Chart and Value List for your system to obtain the latest 1,089 PANTONE equivalent values.
• Using Photoshop, create a new color with the corresponding CMYK PANTONE values to determine the RGB equivalents. Make sure the Color Setting in Photoshop is set to [sRGB] for the RGB working space and [SWOP CMYK] for the CMYK working space, unless otherwise directed by your print provider.
• Use RGB values from Photoshop to create new color equivalents in MS Office.

GRADIENTS
When printing a Microsoft Office file that contains a gradient fill within non- EPS graphics or vector objects, banding may occur in the printed output. Office does not render gradient fills into PostScript gradients. Instead, Office uses the Microsoft Windows Graphical Device Interface (GDI) to generate halftone steps
that are then sent to the press.

The banding effect may appear more obvious with larger gradients and depend on the percentage of colors used. For the smoothest gradients, you may want to create them in Illustrator CS2 and in the [File] menu select [Save for Microsoft Office]. This gradient.png file can then be placed into the Microsoft Office
document. Also, processing an Office file into a PDF with [Convert Gradients to Smooth Shades] selected in Acrobat Distiller may improve smoothness or reduce banding. Experimentation is recommended.

We hope you find this blog of some use – The Printing House Ltd – (Print Buying Direct)

Call us for more information on 0870 950 8444.

Recession Busting Printing prices from Print Buying Direct
Wallet Folders / Presentation Folders

January Sale Now On
Wallet Folders – NOW ONLY £199 for 100

Our Wallet Folders (Presentation Folders) are great for holding A4 documents eg. brochures, leaflets, flyers, training materials, stepped inserts – pretty much anything really, and of course we have slits in the right place for holding a standard size business card.

See our YouTube Movie for a demonstration of how the folder works and exactly what it is.

NOW ONLY £199 – including delivery – for 100 Wallet / Presentation Folders they make a very cost effective marketing tool and ensure your documents remain intact and together with your contact details when mailing, or handing out at exhibitions, training courses etc.

For full details either see our webpage either or call 0870 950 8444
Pricing

Quantity – Price (+VAT)

100 – £199

250 – £227

500 – £273

750 – £319

1000 – £364

Order by 31st January to get these sale prices

Print Buying Direct at The Printing House Ltd – Crewe, Cheshire

Paper Mills pass on the cost of weak £ against Dollar & Euro
I hope that you have had a relaxing break. We have re-opened for business after our Christmas Shutdown today.

In this mornings post we have had 3 letters from our main suppliers of paper indicating that they are putting in place a 9% paper rise across the whole range of papers that they sell. Apparently this is mainly due to the 20% fall of the pound against the Euro since the summer, and 25% against the dollar.

So please be aware that our printing prices will have to reflect this increase from late January.

To protect you from this as much as possible we are prepared to pre-order paper at the current prices for jobs that you have coming up in late January and February.

All we ask is that you place a Purchase Order with us by the 20th January – and we will order the paper for delivery before the increase.

For online orders unfortunately we cannot pre-order paper, but if you order before the 20th January we will honour existing prices.

I apologise for this news so soon in the New Year, but felt it our responsiblility to keep people abreast of the situation.

If you need any further information on this then don’t hesitate to call us on 0870 950 8444.

Click the link to place an online order for order business cards, appointment cards, Leaflets, Flyers, Postcards, Letterheads, Calendars.

Please don’t forget our Wallet Folder sale (Presentation Folders) – click here for more information.

Happy New Year

Kind Regards

Pete

The Printing House (Print Buying Direct)

From the perspective of James (Jacko) Jackson – Pre-Press Apprentice

Here at The Printing House (Print Buying Direct) we have a very skilled work force in all the areas needed to cover day to day activities. Once we take your order – either online, by email, fax, FTP, or phone, the job will be sent straight down to the pre-press (before printing) work area. There, one of our team will prepare the artwork for print, whether it is folders, flyers or business stationery for Litho printing or Digital Printing. All work is prepared in the same way by checking and ripping the job through our market leading print workflow software ‘Heidelberg Prinect Printready, this software checks to make sure your job will print correctly.

If you ordered online then you need do no more, if you have ordered via our office, a proof (PDF or Contract) is then sent to you for final sign off. Once sign off is achieved, the job is ready to print and passes to our Printing Department.

James

Are you the person in your organisation who has drawn the ‘short straw’ and has to buy the printing for your company and are not quite sure what to do or what to ask for?

NO WORRIES! Speak to one of our print professionals here at The Printing House (Print Buying Direct) and we’ll guide you through some of the issues, giving you all the help and guidance you need to make drawing that ‘short straw’ a positive experience. All advice is given with no obligation, and our prices are among the most competitive in the printing industry. If you prefer to read then browse other articles on our printing blog, some recent articles include, paper thickness, VAT on Print, digital print vs Litho, Loop Stitching, Parish Plan Production, about Paper and Direct marketing with Leaflets & Flyers.

So if you need leaflets, flyers, pamphlets, design and artwork, point of sale, stationery, pull up banners or not even sure what you want, give us a call today and let The Printing House start making your life a little easier. We can also help with you graphic design needs, look after your brand and give you print a design edge over your competitors. For help and advice just call us on 0870 950 8444.

You’re confused? Don’t worry, you’re not alone, even the VAT officers find printing confusing. VAT on print can be a minefield but here at The Printing House (Print Buying Direct) we don’t make the rules regarding VAT, but if you’re unsure, then give one of our print professionals a call today (0870 950 8444), as some advice before the start of a project could mean the difference of paying or not paying VAT. Also if you are a small business or Charity then you may not be able to reclaim the VAT.

Here are some simple rules that may help you.

1. All stationery items (letterheads, business cards, compliment slips etc) are subject to VAT
2. Posters under A3 in size are exempt, but A3 and over are subject to VAT
3. Advertising material (Leaflets, Flyers, Postcards etc) is generally exempt, but any tear off portion or area that needs to be filled in by a recipient is subject to VAT
4. Books are generally exempt along with Newsletters and Brochures
5. Ring binders, Tabbed Dividers and Point of Sale (Shelf Wobblers, Shelf Talkers etc) are subject to VAT

Remember, with the Chancellor reducing VAT to 15% there has never been a better time to order your print.