New on Navitor.com: Multi-Design Ordering

What’s new from Navitor? Multi-design ordering! You’ve asked us for a more flexible ordering system, and we’re happy to deliver it to you. The Multiple Design feature allows you to upload multiple artwork files at once so that you can order all of your designs on one screen.

Big Benefits
One of the biggest benefits of multi-design ordering is that it allows you to streamline the process of ordering for a customer that needs multiple designs of the same product. This is especially helpful when you’re working with a customer who has a large number of employees that work directly with customers and might need their own business cards. Multi-design ordering will allow you to simply upload all the business cards your customer will need for their financial, insurance, hospitality, or property management business.

By uploading multiple designs at once, you’ll also save time when ordering. Because you can view all your designs on a single screen, you can easily check to ensure that fronts and backs for business cards are paired correctly for all the cards in your order, for example. This will give you back some time in your day, letting you work on other important tasks.

Get Started
Ready to place an order for multiple designs? In the Online Price Calculator, products with multi design ordering as an option will feature a check box to confirm those additional designs; you’ll see this option for business cards, signs, badges, and trading cards. Once you’ve clicked it, a new option for adding additional designs will appear, and you can put in the number of additional designs you would like to order and click “Start Your Order.” You can order up to 30 designs at once by using this process.

Once you’ve told us how many designs you want to order, click “Upload Artwork” and upload your files. Once the designs are uploaded, you can add the artwork to the blank canvases in the studio and approve your artwork.

Are you more of a visual learner? Download this quick guide to walk you through the process.

What do you love most about multi-design ordering? We’d love to see you join in the conversation in the comments below.

3 Tips to Supercharge Your Summer Marketing

A few months back we talked through our top tips for giving a boost to your marketing in spring. As weather continues to get warmer, it’s time to turn our attention to summer—and to summer marketing! While it can be easy to lose sight of what’s important during the busy summer months, with a few simple tips you can supercharge your marketing during the summer season.

1. Pick a Theme
Summer can be a busy time for both you and your customers, and having a theme to pull you throughout the summer can help give a boost to your brand recognition. Whether it’s a a marketing message repeated through the summer or focusing on a few favorite products, having a theme for your marketing helps ensure that busy customers are exposed to that theme. It also helps make your work easier—when you’ve got one good idea, you can run with it for the season!

2. Make It Visually Appealing
When you think of summer, you probably think of vibrant colors. To keep up with that trend, it’s a good idea for you to focus on keeping your marketing efforts visually interesting. Use eyecatching colors or readable designs to show off your favorite products in emails, flyers, or marketing pieces. Use samples to create a display on a tabletop or in a window. Bring print pieces with visual appeal to your sales meetings.

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Take a Shortcut
Now, we don’t mean that you should skimp on marketing this summer—even though it’s busy, you want your business to keep moving in the warm weather—but it’s important that you know where you can take something off your plate. The most important of these “shortcuts” could be something we’ve talked about quite a few times: the sales tools your suppliers offer. For example, if your suppliers offer unbranded sales flyers, consider using those flyers as the backbone of an awareness campaign.

Why are these “shortcuts” so important? First and foremost, because these sales tools are ready for you to use and they help you save time during a busy time of the year. They also allow you to focus on how best to speak to your customers. Do they prefer physical marketing pieces? Print the flyer to give them at your next sales meeting. Do they want to peruse marketing pieces on their own time? Attach a flyer—or link them to a personalized e-catalog—along with your next email. Do they respond best to seeing print pieces in person? Pull out your samples and use the flyers as a reminder of the pieces they looked at during your meeting.

How do you keep your marketing strategy moving during the busy summer months? We’d love to see your tips and tricks in the comments below.

Quiz: Do You Know the History of Promotional Products

Summer is coming soon, and that means it’s time for your customers to purchase promotional products for their summer events. You might not realize this, but the promotional products industry has a long history. Do you know that history? Take this quiz to find out.

1. The history of promotional products goes a long way back, and got its start in the earliest US elections. What year’s election saw the first commemorative button?
A) 1789
B) 1792
C) 1796
D) 1800

2. That wasn’t the end of campaign buttons. Who was the first presidential candidate to have the image of their face featured on a button?
A) Andrew Jackson
B) Abraham Lincoln
C) Teddy Roosevelt
D) Ulysses S. Grant

3. Promotional products have been around for a long time, but one businessman is most often credited as the first to produce them commercially in the late 1800s. What was his name?
A) Isaac Young
B) Abraham Brown
C) Jasper Meek
D) Everett Hill

4. If you work in the promotional products industry, you know that there are a variety of different trade associations. Which organization got that started?
A) Advertising Specialties Institute (ASI.
B) Promotional Products Association International (PPAI.
C) Upper Midwest Association of Promotional Professionals (UMAPP.

5. Sometimes promotional products are popular enough to become products on their own. Which of these products got their start as a promotional offer?
A) Hall’s cough drops
B) McDonalds hamburgers
C) Singer sewing needles
D) Wrigley’s chewing gum

ANSWERS:
1) A. The first promotional item in US history was a commemorative button made for the George Washington in the election of 1789.
2) B. Abraham Lincoln was the first presidential candidate to have his face featured on a campaign button.
3) C. In the late 1800s, Jasper Meek wanted to keep his newspaper presses running during slow times. He then started printing burlap bags with advertising messages. A local shoe store then gave them to school children to promote his business.
4) B. PPAI got its start as the Advertising Manufacturers Association in 1904. ASI got its start in 1950.
5) D. Believe it or not, Wrigley’s sold baking powder before their promotional gum became a smash hit. Their baking powder was also a promotional product that was a hit; they originally sold soap.

The promotional products industry has come a long way since the commemorative buttons in the 1789 election. With nationwide trade organizations, tradeshows, and publications, it is now a booming business, and we’re happy to be a part of it!

What’s the most memorable promotional product you have ever received? How did you do on the quiz? We’d love to see you join in the conversation in the comments below.

3 Tips For Next Year’s Tax Season

Take a deep breath. Tax season is over and you can take a moment to relax. Breathe a sigh of relief. Have a cup of coffee.

And now that you’ve had your moment, it’s time to start preparing for next year.

As much as you are probably glad that tax season is over for the year, it’s a great idea for you to start thinking about how to make next year’s tax season come together with ease. Here are our 3 tips for things that you can do now to make the next tax season go smoothly.

1. Start Preparing Now
Remember that bit of panic that started when you started your taxes for the year? Get ahead of that stress by starting early. Keep your paperwork organized in a way that will make it easy to use when tax season comes around. Update your spreadsheets periodically. And, when tax season comes up, get your paperwork done with plenty of time to spare. Not only will preparing early allow you to get your taxes done quicker, but it will also give you extra time to handle unexpected questions that might come up.

And speaking of that preparation…

2. What Stressed You Out This Year? Take Note of it For Next Year
This is probably the simplest way to make next spring go more smoothly for your tax preparation process: if anything caused you additional stress this year, that’s the first thing you should try to improve for next year. Did you have to track down a number of digital invoices last minute, for example? Consider printing those invoices to file with physical documents or keep them on file in a designated folder. If you can create better habits throughout the year, you can decrease your stress for all future tax seasons.

3. Stay Up-To-Date on Tax Law Changes
Tax law is always changing, and it’s much easier to read up on the legal changes once every month than it is to try to catch up come 2020. Do your best to stay up do date on any changes to tax law that might be relevant to your business and you won’t be blindsided come tax season.

Do you have tips for other things that business owners can do to get ahead of next year’s tax season? We’d love to see you join the conversation in the comments below.

5 Tips for Designing a Better Sales Sheet

designing a better sales sheet, flyer, personalized printed newsletter, full color sell sheetWhen your customer is creating an informational flyer, a sales sheet for meetings, or a company newsletter, it’s important that their design guides readers through the information and makes it easy—and enticing—to take the next step. If they come to you for guidance on designing their sales sheets, it’s important that you know how to make their sales sheet effective. Here are our tips for designing a better sales sheet.

1. Start With What You Want Your Flyer to Achieve
No matter how stylish your customer wants their flyer to be, it’s important to remember that every print piece has a purpose. That purpose needs to be the foundation of the design for your customer’s flyer. The information and images on that flyer need to support your customer’s goal, and anything that doesn’t should be left out.

2. Keep Things Easy to Read
Whether your customer wants their sales sheet to be text heavy or wants to let images take the spotlight, it’s important that their text is easy to read. Keep information concise, and choose simple, readable fonts that will make the sales sheet easier to scan.

This goes double for your customer’s contact information. You want anyone reading their flyer to be able to find this information as easily as possible, whether that means putting their web address in a bold font or leaving white space around that information to ensure that it is easy to pick out among the other text on the flyer.

3. Short on Space? Make a Grid!
One of the easiest ways to make a flyer readable and easy-to-navigate is to make it in a grid. Not only does using a grid make it easier to budget your space during the design process, it also is a style your customer will be familiar with and that will make it easy for them to quickly read and absorb the information.

And if your customer wants to change things up, consider placing that grid at an angle, tilted slightly. You will still have the easy organization and readability, but the angle will add a touch of visual interest.

4. Add Color
When your customer wants to create an informational piece, color is key! Use blocks of color to emphasize text or important ideas, use one or two photographs to add visual interest, or use your customer’s brand colors to add a splash of recognizable color. Color is a great way to reinforce the message of the sales sheet and make it more entertaining to read.

5. Have a Call to Action
What’s the next step? You don’t want readers to have any doubts about what to do next once they’ve read the sales sheet. Highlight your customer’s website, an “order today!” message, or other information to make that next step clear.

What do you think makes an effective sales sheet? We’d love to see you join the conversation in the comments below.

4 Communication Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Meetings

communication mistakes that could ruin your personalized print staff meetings, sales meetings and moreWhen you carve out time in your busy schedule to hold a meeting, you want to make sure you use your time effectively and make the most of your time together. However, if you aren’t communicating well, you might be ruining your meetings. Are you making these mistakes—and do you know how to keep them from ruining your meetings?

1. Forgetting the Important Information
If you have important information that should be reviewed before the meeting starts, don’t forget to share it! Not only will this ensure that everyone is on the same page, but it will also save you time in summarizing that information.

2. Having Too Few People at Your Meeting
Have you ever been at a meeting and, midway through, wished that you’d included someone? Sometimes, your meeting can grind to a halt when you don’t have that person there, even if you’re able to track them down or reschedule.

However, there are definitely ways to keep this from making too big of an impact. Did you forget someone important? Was someone not able to be there? Make sure that you take the time to catch up with them after the meeting. This can mean taking notes of all the decisions made at that meeting, keeping note of the questions that you want to ask them, and the pros and cons of undecided issues.

Of course, having too few people at your meeting isn’t the only numbers issue you might face…

3. Having Too Many People At Your Meeting
If you’ve been to enough meetings, you’ll probably have come across an overstuffed meeting before and be very familiar with the issues that these meetings face. It can be hard, with so many people, to have important points heard. And if your meeting has too many people in it, you might find yourself facing another issue…

4. Having Multiple Relevant Conversations Going on At Once
Have you ever been to a meeting where the attendees walked out of the meeting feeling like the group came to very different conclusions? One of the reasons for this might be that the meeting splintered into a few different conversations. This can easily lead to different attendees hearing different information and coming to different conclusions about what the next step is, and that can be a big problem for your projects.

So how can you fix this when two groups of people within the meeting need to address focused points? Don’t just let the meeting wander off into multiple conversations. Instead be intentional when these conversations break off, and make sure to share the decisions with the group when you come back together.

Have you made these communication mistakes? Are we missing a mistake that has impacted your meeting? We’d love to see you join the conversation in the comments below.

3 Ways to Use Spot Gloss Print

A few weeks ago we debuted our new selection of enhanced finishes, and we wanted to take a moment to highlight how you and your customers can use one of those finishes to create striking design. Spot gloss—also called spot UV—applies a shiny, flat coating to specific areas of a design, and it could be just what your customer needs to make their announcement, business card, or postcard a striking success.

1. Emphasize Design Elements
We’ve paired our enhanced finishes with full color print, so it is easy for your customer to emphasize just the most important elements of their design. Gloss can be applied over a full color logo, the most important text in the design, or even specific elements of an illustration like the moon in a starry sky. This use for spot gloss print has become increasingly popular in recent years, and you might have seen spot gloss adding a bit of extra shine to specific areas of book covers or business cards.

2. Add Accent to Solid Blocks of Color
If your customer is looking for a way to add spot gloss to their print piece, adding spot gloss to an area of solid color could also be a great addition. Consider printing a spot gloss version of your customer’s logo over a solid block of color for an unexpected design element or add a pattern like stripes or dots to a color block border.

The shine of spot gloss will provide the greatest contrast when applied over a darker or more saturated color, but spot gloss can also be striking on lighter colors. And speaking of light colors…

3. Let Gloss Take Center Stage
Whether your customer is looking for an unexpected design element or loves a minimalist look, spot gloss could help them create a stylish print piece all on its own. When spot gloss is applied to white stock in lieu of ink, it creates a design element that commands attention. It’s a good way to create a subtle design on the front of an announcement or use spot gloss to show off your customer’s logo on one side of their business card.

If you’re using spot gloss as the central element of the design, think about it like spot color printing, but the color is a clear shine.

Want to promote this print process to your customers? We’ve created this flyer to help you show off what spot gloss print can do. And, when you’re ready to order, you can order either through our catalog or on Navitor.com.

What do you like best about the look of spot gloss? We’d love to see you join the conversation in the comments below.

4 Networking Tips You Must Know

networking tips for small business personalized print sales and marketingWhether you are looking for a way to connect with new customers or you’re hoping to have a good conversation with other professionals, a networking event could be a great way to create those new connections. However, these events are what you make them, and creating a quality connection is as much about your skills at networking as it is about the event. Here are four networking tips you must know.

1. Listen When You Join A Conversation—And Show That You’ve Been Listening
When you’re approaching a group of people already engaged in conversation, take some time to listen. Not only will this allow you to have a good understanding of what the group is talking about, but it will also give you a chance to figure out if the conversation is relevant to your interests.

And, when you do join in yourself, acknowledge a point that has been made rather than refocusing the conversation on yourself. Not only will this ensure that you enter the conversation smoothly, but it will ensure that you maintain a friendly tone.

2. Don’t Focus on What You Want—Focus on What You Can Offer
You’re going to the networking event for a reason—usually to make new business connections and possibly make a sale—but don’t let that reason keep you from having a good conversation! Focus on what your customer is saying and how you can speak to the challenges they are facing in their business.

And speaking of that focus…

3. Polish Up Your Elevator Pitch
We’ve talked about elevator pitches before, and a networking event is tailor-made for these one-to-two-sentence summaries of your business. And you can tailor your pitch according to the event. If you’re going to a networking event for social reasons, keep your pitch focused on who you are as a print professional. If you are going to the event to connect with prospective customers, keep the pitch focused on what your business can do for them.

4. Find a Reason to Follow Up
If you’ve established a rapport with someone, keep that relationship going! Once you’ve got their contact information, be sure to reconnect within a week of meeting them. Whether it’s sending an article relevant to the topic you discussed or giving them a call to discuss their product needs, finding a practical reason to follow up can help keep the conversation going.

How do you make the most out of your networking efforts? We’d love to see your suggestions in the comments below.

Labels Play A Critical Role The Healthcare Industry—No Second Opinion Needed!

Thoughts of hospital and medical supplies might conjure up images of a healthy amount of bandages, swabs, and tongue depressors, as well as linen storage with an unending supply of unflattering hospital gowns. But it takes much, much more than cotton balls and ill-fitting gowns to make a medical care facility run well. Along with all the medications, monitors, medical devices and paperwork, labels play an integral role in the smooth and safe operation of a hospital, clinic, or other healthcare facility. Before you request a second opinion on that, let’s take a look at some of the ways labels are put to work in the healthcare setting.

Patient identification and charting labels immediately pop to mind when discussing medical labels. These play a vital role in safety and organization. Whether affixed to conventional paper charts, applied to lab orders, or adhered to patient wristbands, patient ID labels provide clear, concise information that is easy to read and won’t fall victim to spills or daily wear and tear.

Prescription alerts and allergy notification labels are just as important in the healthcare setting, and can be found on charts, wristbands, and prescription bottles. Thermal or direct transfer stocks facilitate easy printing of patient information on site. These labels work wonders at keeping things moving in an efficient and quick manner. Emergency rooms are no place for ink cartridge crises!

Equipment identification labels assure that medical equipment can be returned to the proper department, and can also document proof that each device is serviced regularly. Operating instructions or caution labels affixed to hospital beds, IV pumps, and other machinery and medical equipment ensure proper usage and minimize the risk of accidents or injury.

For younger patients, what would a trip to the doctor or hospital be without some fun stickers? Sticker sheets are a phenomenal way to keep little ones’ imaginations engaged while in an unfamiliar environment that might be a bit scary. Medical-themed sticker sheets can even serve as a helpful tool to introduce children to some basic concepts of the healthcare world. Dressing up teddy in a lab coat and stethoscope can help allay some fears or anxiety children may be experiencing. These sticker sets also transition beautifully to promotional or community event giveaways, as they can be customized with the name and address of healthcare facilities. Parades, blood drives and health fairs are the perfect spots to hand out some fun healthcare-themed stickers sporting logos and branding – high interest, yet low sugar!

Other popular uses include:

  • Hospital visitor passes
  • Tamper-evident stickers for lab specimens
  • Lab communication labels (Refrigerate, STAT, Serum, etc.)
  • IV labels
  • Maintenance inspection record labels
  • “Sterile” labels
  • Allergy notifications
  • Prescription bottle instructions or warnings
  • “I Got My Flu Shot!” stickers

Additional options that are vital in hospitals and clinics include:

  • Thermal or Direct Transfer Stocks: Print patient information on site
  • Tamper Evident Stocks: Crucial for prescriptions and medications
  • Barcoding & Consecutive Numbering: A must-have for equipment and patient identification
  • Durable Stocks and Finishes: Perfect for abrasive and harsh environments, bleach and industrial medical cleaners won’t damage these hard-working stocks and finishes!

Medical and healthcare industry labels improve the internal processes of healthcare facilities and enhance the care and experience of patients. Whether it’s a fire engine red warning sticker on equipment or medicines, or a smiling teddy bear sticker, hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes are home to many, many labels and stickers. Trust Label Works to meet the needs of your clients and customers. Contact our customer service department today at 800.522.3558 or customercare@labelworks.com to learn more about our medical and healthcare label options.

Looking for a sample back of medical and healthcare labels? Look no further. We’ve compiled a sample pack your customers can touch and feel and features popular label applications. Simply click here!

Or personalize your own sales flyer geared towards the healthcare and medical market here.

Getting Organized For Spring? 3 Things to Learn From the Planner Trend

One of the biggest trends I’ve seen since the beginning of the year is planners and bullet journals. While the planner trend is largely geared toward keeping people organized in their personal lives, this trend could also teach you a lot about staying organized in your work. Whether you keep your notes on a calendar, keep a printed checklist, have a favorite app on your phone or are hoping to take the first step in getting organized, here are three things the planner trend can teach you about keeping your work day on track.

1) Monthly, Weekly, or Daily Formats: Choose What Works For You
Whether you’re jumping into a bullet journal or just trying to keep your to-do lists on track, one of the biggest things to take from the planner trend is that you should choose the format that works best to keep you organized. Whether you want to plan on a monthly calendar so you can see longer-range plans at a glance or you prefer to plan your schedule day-by-day or even project-by-project, personalizing your plans according to your needs helps ensure that you stay on track.

When you’re working on getting organized, this might take some trial and error. You might want to make yourself a daily checklist and pin it up next to your calendar, for example. You might want to divide a notebook page in half with one side for meetings and another for important tasks. You might even keep your list on an app on your phone or on your computer. Whatever you choose, give it a week or so before deciding if it’s the right method for you.

2) Keep Your To-Do Lists and Meetings in One Place
Keeping your plans on one page is a helpful way to ensure that you don’t miss anything, and that can be a big help in your work day. Whether you keep everything in one binder like planner aficionados or simply have a designated space on your desk for your to-do list, by keeping all your daily tasks together you will be able to avoid double-booking yourself or scheduling too much in a day when you have a long sales meeting with an important customer.

And speaking of things to keep in one place…

3) Keep Notes On Hand—And Date Them!
Don’t be afraid to keep your notes in the same place as your schedule. This can make it easier for you to find your notes and it can make it easier to look back on how a project has progressed. It’s also important to date your notes so that you can reference when a note was taken—after all, it’s important to know which notes are the most up-to-date.

How do you stay organized? Do you keep a planner for your work day, or do you use another method? Join the conversation in the comments below.