Which Envelope is Right For Your Customer?

Posted on March 28, 2019 Written by

When your customer is creating a mailing, the envelope it’s sent in will be the recipient’s first impression—they want it to be perfect! That means not only creating the right design but choosing the right envelope for the job. So, which envelope is the right one for your customer?

How Much Polish Does Their Mailing Need?
Finding an envelope to match the feeling of your customer’s mailing is essential. Stationery envelopes are designed to accompany letterhead, and come in stocks to match. They are good for communications that need an additional bit of professional polish, like official company letters or letters to important clients.

Business envelopes, on the other hand are a good option for everyday use in mailing invoices, account statements, and other informational pieces.

And if your customer is looking for a way to send catalogs and other oversized documents, mailing envelopes create a similar look to business envelopes but are made in larger sizes to suit those oversized contents.

Big or Small?
When your customer is sending a large mailing or an informational piece, they might want to consider the size of that mailing piece. Smaller pieces like brochures or rack cards are a perfect fit for business envelopes. Even better than the perfect fit, a branded envelope is a great way to add a bit more professional polish to the mailing piece and another chance to incorporate the logo for an added boost to brand recognition.

However, if your customers aren’t familiar with envelope sizes, you might want to review the options with your customer: #6 ¾ (3 5/8”x 6 ½”), #9 (3 7/8”x8 7/8”) and #10 (4 1/8”x 9½”). Our stationery envelopes come standard in the #10 size.

On the other hand, big documents like catalogs or booklets could do with a larger envelope, and we offer those, too! Choose from 6”x9”, 9”x12”, or 10”x13” to create a mailing envelope sized for your customer’s document.

What Seal Do They Want?
Your customer might not give much thought to their envelope seal options, but they are also an important thing to consider. When they are looking at business envelopes, standard gum flap envelopes are probably most familiar to your customers, using an adhesive that must be moistened before sealing the envelope.

However, standard gum flap envelopes might not be a good choice for customers who are going to be sending many pieces of mail in a short period of time. Peel and seal envelopes use an adhesive strip with a peel-off cover, while flip and seal envelopes require a quick press to seal. Both of these are good options for larger mailings as a result.

How do you determine which envelopes are right for your customers? We’d love to see your recommendations in the comments below.

Filed Under: Design, Education, News, Print Products, Stationery

Three Simple Tips for Designing a Better Form

Posted on March 22, 2019 Written by

When your customer comes to you for a form, they have a lot of options to choose from. This is especially true if they are ordering a custom form where their form can truly be a canvas for anything they want to print. With so many options, you might be called on to help your customer create a custom form, and designing a form for them is a great opportunity for you to help them create an even more effective form. Here are our tips for designing a better form.

1. Make it Clear What Information Your Customer Needs
Your customer’s form is, first and foremost, a practical piece of print. It’s the essential information for a client’s order, the receipt for a catered event, a record of services provided, or some other important documentation. That’s why it’s important to make it very clear what information the reader needs to provide. Use simple words like “name” or “zip code” and use readable fonts.

And, when you’re creating a custom form, it’s also important that you don’t include information that doesn’t need to be there. After all, why make space for information that you don’t really need? Not only will unused information make the form look cluttered, it can make it more difficult for the person filling out the form to navigate. Streamlining the form can help make it even more clear how the form should be filled out.

2. Avoid All Caps
Including text in all caps creates a very uniform look, but it makes forms much harder to read! This means that the forms will be much harder to fill out, and that will make them take longer to fill out and to process.

3. Embrace Personalization
Your customer has worked hard on their brand, and if you’re creating a custom form for them you should highlight that brand! Not only does this give them a chance for better brand recognition among their clients, but it gives them a new promotional opportunity with every form. They can highlight their logo, include full color photographs of new products, and more.

Do you design custom forms for your customer? How do you ensure that they are effective? We’d love to see your suggestions in the comments below.

Filed Under: Design, News, Print Products, Stationery

3 Reasons to Check Out NSP’s Architectural Signage Catalog

Posted on March 21, 2019 Written by

What’s new from Navitor Specialty Products (NSP)? We just released our architectural signage catalog featuring a variety of different signage options including new sign audit and installation services to support specialty signage projects and help make growing your signage business a breeze. Here are just three reasons to check out this new catalog.

Get Inspired
The first section of the catalog is dedicated to inspiration, showing off what your customers can do with the signage included in the catalog. This is a great way to highlight the effect that different signage options can create in a finished space. We show a photograph to highlight the look of the space and then break down the different sign options used so that your customer can take that inspiration directly into the ordering process.

Make the Process Simple
We know that, for your customers, transforming the space can be intimidating even on a good day. For 2019, we have added options for new services including sign audits and sign installation. This takes the fear out of the process of signage ordering for those customers that need it.

We’ve also included information to help guide you and your customers through the process of ensuring that signage is ADA-compliant. Not only does this signage make their facilities more accessible for individuals with disabilities, but it can also reflect their brand as beautifully as other signage.

And speaking of their signage options…

Choose From a Wide Selection of Products
NSP offers a wide variety of different products in this catalog, allowing your customers to choose from indoor and outdoor signage as well as signage tailor-made for special events. With a wide variety of stocks to choose from and many stylish shapes available, your customer can create signage that brings their brand style to every part of their facilities.

Filed Under: Marketing, News, Print Products, Resources

Announcements vs. Postcards: Which Should Your Customer Use?

Posted on March 13, 2019 Written by

When your customer comes to you for help in creating a mailing for their business, they have a lot of print options to choose from. How can you help them narrow down their options to find the perfect print piece for their project? Here are a few questions to ask.

How Formal is Their Mailing?
This is probably the biggest deciding factor when your customer wants to create a piece to be mailed. Postcards are generally a more informal style of communication, which makes them a good fit for more informal events like real estate open houses or for in-store events like sales. The wide variety of stock options for your customer can create a look tailored to their mailing. ASTROBRIGHTS® papers, for example, are a great choice for energetic events or eyecatching sale promotions, while color core or extra thick stock are a good fit for adding a touch of professionalism.

Announcements, on the other hand, are a great fit for a wide variety of events—the real deciding factor is their design! They can create something colorful and casual for a fun event, or something a little more elegant for events that need additional polish. They can also use the elegant nature of an announcement to highlight the quality of new products or services that your customer is announcing.

Does Their Message Need to Make an Impact Quickly?
When your customer creates their mailing, it’s important to consider the person who will be reading that mailing. For some customers, a personalized envelope is a perfect touch of polish to a more formal communication, but it can also make that message easier to set aside and forget. This means that an announcement used for a mailing has to be chosen because it’s the right fit for your customer’s use.

Postcards, on the other hand, put nothing between the reader and the message your customer wants to get out. This makes them a good choice for communicating short and impactful messages like promotions for sales.

Are They Looking for Specialty Print?
Of course, your printed piece isn’t finished without print, and knowing your print options can also help your customer make decisions about which print product is right for them. Postcards allow your customers to get creative with their print using full color either in short or long run quantities. Full color print can be used to create simply colored minimalist images, or highlight photographs. They can also use spot color print on vibrant ASTROBRIGHTS® papers.

Announcements can be created using full color print for vibrant images, photographs, and more. They can also be printed  using spot color print for a stylish and simple announcement or a variety of specialty printing options like foil stamping or embossing that help add an elegant feel to invitations to banquets, galas, and other big events.

How do you help your customers know which print pieces are right for their next mailing? We’d love to see your tips and tricks in the comments below.

Filed Under: Marketing, News, Print Products, Stationery

The Long—And Short—of Post-it® Notes Orders

Posted on March 6, 2019 Written by

When your customers think about personalized printed Post-it® Notes, they probably think about notes printed in high quantities for promotional use. However, if your customers are looking for just a few Post-it Note pads, our short run quantities could be the perfect option! With full color printing, your customers can take advantage of the same personalization potential available in larger quantities.

Why Short Run?
One of the advantages of short run Post-it® Notes is that the lower quantities open up new possibilities. Your customers can use notes for a wider variety of uses when they have a wider variety of quantities available. And for you, short run Post-it® Notes also open up new possibilities for customer connections. Because you can offer low quantities of these classic sticky notes, you can work with a wider variety of customers and expand your customer connections.

Small Quantities, Big Possibilities
The quantities on short run Post-it® Notes might be small, but the possibilities are really big! As I mentioned, smaller quantities give your customers a chance to use these notes for a wider variety of uses.

Does your customer have a smaller business? Small quantities are a great fit for them! They can create notes for their office, perfectly-sized packs of promotional Post-it® Notes, and more.

For customers looking to create a promotional item for only their top customers or for only the attendees of an event, short run quantities could be the solution. Quantities range from 6 to 120, making it easy for your customer to choose a quantity that works for their audience.

Does your customer want to create a coupon for short-term spring sales? Not only do Post-it® Notes stick securely to the receipts that accompany a purchase, small quantities make it easy for your customer to print only as many notes as they need.

If your customer is looking for a perfect Post-it® Notes gift for their employees, short run quantities allow them to easily create personalized pads. They can create branded notes with their employee’s name for work anniversaries, holiday gifts, or simply to create a more personalized notepad for sales staff looking to make a personal connection with customers.

And if your customer simply wants to create personalized Post-it® Notes for personal use, short run quantities are perfect for that, too. Not only will these quantities better suit their budget for personal use notes, but smaller quantities are a better fit for everyday personal use. With quantities as low as six available, it’s easy for your customer to create a quantity of notes that is just right for them.

Ready to place an order? You can order short run Post-it® Notes quantities through our catalog, or in full color or spot color through Navitor.com.

How do your customers use short run Post-it® Notes quantities? We’d love to see you join the conversation in the comments below.

Filed Under: Marketing, News, Print Products, Promotional Products, Stationery

Bring Colorful Stocks and Substrates to Your Customer’s Print This Spring

Posted on February 28, 2019 Written by

yellow green business cards ASTROBRIGHTS stock colorful printWhether things are still snowy in your area or it’s already a warm day, spring is a great time for your customers to embrace color in their print order. Vibrant color can help bring eyecatching style to print for upcoming events, capture attention for spring sales, and might even be something that becomes a favorite for year-round use. And while every print piece is a chance to print a colorful image, colorful stocks are another great way to bring vibrant color to their upcoming print orders. Here are just a few of the products that allow your customer to embrace colorful stocks and substrates.

Business Cards
In the past few years, we’ve introduced a number of ways to bring color to add vibrant color to business cards using stock choice, and these stocks are a great way to bring an extra pop of color to your customer’s spring print orders. Consider using color core stock that coordinates with their logo to create a substantial business card for important upcoming business meetings, and vibrant ASTROBRIGHTS® papers are a good choice for business cards with allover color. Speaking of these vibrant stocks…

Announcements and Postcards
A lot of the stocks we’ve introduced to our business card selection have also joined the stock selection for announcements and postcards. ASTROBRIGHTS® stocks make for eyecatching postcards, and that makes these postcards a great fit for attention-grabbing promotions for spring sales. Color core stock, on the other hand, has a subtler look that can add a touch of unexpected charm to postcards and announcements.

Badges and Signage
Does your customer love the classic look of engraved badges and signage? They should consider using a colorful stock! Because engraving gives your customer a wide variety of stock options, it’s easy for your customer to choose a stock color that appeals to them.

Promotional Products
When your customer is preparing for an upcoming tradeshow or other event where they will connect with prospective customers, promotional products are a great addition to their print order—and those promotional products are yet another chance to add color! Most promotional products, from pens and pencils to bags and water bottles, are available in a wide variety of vibrant colors.

Do your customers love colored stocks and substrates? We’d love to hear more about the colorful print options they love in the comments below.

Filed Under: Business Cards, Design, News, Print Products, Promotional Products, Resources, Stationery

Which Informational Print Piece is Right For Your Customer?

Posted on February 27, 2019 Written by

Your customer’s spring and summer events are coming fast, and it’s time for them to prepare the print that they need to run tradeshow booths, mailing campaigns, and more. Your customer’s informational pieces—whether brochures, sales sheets, or postcards—need to be ready, and making their information more impactful starts with choosing the right product. Here are just a few of the questions you can ask to learn which informational print piece is best suited to your customer’s need.

How Much Information Do They Have?
The most important thing to consider is the amount of information that your customer wants to share. They might want to create an in-depth list of services available at their business, or they might want to illustrate only the must-know information about a new product. Knowing how much information they will need to include is a good way to narrow their options.

If your customer has a lot of information to share or wants to go into detail about a concept, then they’ll need enough space to let that information breathe. Brochures and sales sheets are a great choice, as are oversized postcards.

On the other hand, if your customer wants to focus on high-level information, a smaller print piece might be a better fit. Postcards, rack cards, and door hangers are a good option for these uses because they offer the same full color style but provide a more compact canvas for your customer’s information.

How Will It Be Distributed?
Once your customer knows what size their piece will need to be, they should consider how they will be distributing this information.

If your customer is going to be handing out the informational pieces in person, they have a lot of flexibility in their options. For settings where they will be handing out a large number of informational pieces—for example, if they want to create a piece for each product—they might want to focus on brochures or rack cards that will be easier to keep organized. If they want one big, splashy print piece, then a sales sheet will make a big impact at tables or booths.

If your customer intends to mail their informational piece, on the other hand, they want to consider how well each piece will mail. A postcard—whether traditionally-sized or oversized—is a great choice that is ready-made for mailing, but pieces like rack cards and trifold brochures are also a great choice because they are well-sized for mailing envelopes.

Do They Want to Get Creative?
We’ve focused mostly on traditional informational pieces, but there are creative options, too! When your customer wants to branch out from these more traditional pieces, there are a number of options they can consider. Magnets are available in a wide variety of different sizes and make a creative alternative to rack cards and sales sheets. For pocket sized informational pieces, consider business cards or trading cards. Door hangers, bookmarks, and announcements are other creative options.

Which informational print pieces do your customers love most? We’d love to see your suggestions in the comments below.

Filed Under: Education, Marketing, News, Print Products, Resources, Stationery

What’s New at Navitor Specialty Products? Acrylic Signs!

Posted on February 21, 2019 Written by

In our efforts to bring you a wider variety of products, we’re pleased to announce that acrylic signs are joining the signs and badges offering from Navitor Specialty Products (NSP). And not only is acrylic stock a sleek and fresh way to update your customer’s full color signage, it’s available in six different products!

Why Acrylic?
Our new acrylic stock is a great fit for customers looking for an upscale feel and modern design touches. The clear acrylic is printed in full color on the back of the sign, with the clear stock between the print and the viewer adding depth and shine. It’s a contemporary look that brings full color print to your customers in a whole new way.

Freestanding Signage with Modern Appeal
Is your customer looking for a sleek sign that will add an upscale feel to tabletops, desktops, and more? Full color acrylic desk table tents and pedestal signs are freestanding options that are a great way to display office hours at the front desk, employee names on desktops, instructions for when a lobby is unattended, and much more.

A Touch of Metal with Steel Standoffs
While many of our acrylic sign options are freestanding, full color acrylic desk signs, wall art, and wall signs feature an added sleek detail: stainless steel standoffs. These steel standoffs add a touch of silver tone metal to your customer’s signage and add a subtle, modern framing touch to employee names, company logos, photographs, and the wide variety of other full color designs your customer might create.

Get Coordinated with Badges
Does your customer love the look of these new acrylic signs? They can even add acrylic stocks to their uniform with clear acrylic badges. They’re a great way to add a modern touch to any name badge order, and they’re even better when designed to coordinate with other acrylic signage for a polished and professional look.

Want to learn more? you can check out these new sign and badge options in the new product supplement from Navitor Specialty Products (NSP).

What do you think of these new signage options? We’d love to see your response in the comments below.

Filed Under: News, Print Products

Quiz: Pens, Pencils, and Promotions By The Numbers

Posted on February 14, 2019 Written by

personalized custom promotional pens pencils full color metal lightTake a look at your desktop. If it’s anything like mine, you probably have a cup full of pens, pencils, and markers at the ready for taking notes, signing forms, and more. And chances are that at least some of your pens or pencils will be branded promotional pieces. Your customers might be interested to know just how effective pens and pencils can be at promoting their business.

So, do you know the numbers behind promotional pens and pencils? Take this quiz to find out.

1. Writing utensils like pens and pencils are some of the most effective promotional products around. How many times are pens used every day?
A) 3 to 4 times per day.
B) 1 to 2 times per day.
C) 11 to 12 times per day.
D) 6 to 7 times per day.

2. While writing utensils are lower in cost than many other promotional products, they still have a big presence in the market. Writing utensils make up about how much of promotional products?
A) 5.67%
B) 6.67%
C) 7.67%
D) 8.67%

3. There’s one region of the United States that owns more logoed pens than the average U.S. citizen. Which one?
A) The South
B) The Southwest
C) The East
D) The Midwest

4. Let’s get into demographics. According to a study conducted in the southeastern portion of the United States, who are more likely to own a logoed pen?
A) Democrats
B) Republicans

5. Speaking of demographics, do men or women own more logoed pens?
A) Men
B) Women

6. Of course, the promotional products market is all about value, and that’s about being seen. How much does each impression or viewing of a promotional product cost the company it promotes?
A) 1/20 of a cent
B) 1/10 of a cent
C) 1/5 of a cent
D) 1 cent

7. Let’s go international for the last question! Which of these cities has the highest consumer response to promotional pens?
A) Berlin
B) Mexico City
C) Paris
D) London

ANSWERS:
1) A. Logoed pens are used an average of 3 to 4 times per day throughout their lifetime.
2) C. According to PPAI, pens and pencils amounted to 7.67% of promotional product sales in 2017.
3) D. According to ASI, 68% of consumers in the Midwest own a logoed pen.
4) A. Democrats are more likely to own a logoed pen, with 74% of them owning these pens when compared to 65% of Republicans.
5) B. More women than men own logoed pens in the United States, though the gap is smaller than it was between political parties. 58% of women own logoed pens compared to 54% of men.
6) B. The cost per impression in the United States is less than 1/10 of a cent—that’s a lot of views per penny!
7) D. ASI says that 56% of people in London had received promotional pens in the last 12 months and rated them highly.

How did you do? Did you learn something new about pens and pencils? We’d love to hear about your score in the comments below.

Filed Under: Education, Misc, News, Print Products, Promotional Products

Rising Demand for More Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Labels

Posted on February 13, 2019 Written by

Every year, the world produces 1.3 billion tons of waste. That’s a staggering amount, especially when you consider that from 2017-2018, the world produced 745.8 million tons of wheat and 479.8 million tons of rice. As a planet, we produce more garbage than we do wheat and rice combined. Holy landfill! By the year 2100, projections indicate yearly waste generation could reach 4 billion tons. That’s enough garbage to fill Busch Stadium from top to bottom four times a day. It makes one wonder if we won’t be living in space by then to escape all the garbage!

To put things bluntly, we have a garbage crisis on our hands here on the blue and green planet. And every small piece of refuse adds to the landfill plight. Recycling and reduction in waste have become paramount. Sustainability of the planet depends upon coming up with innovative ways to reduce the amount of garbage being sent to landfills. Labels are no exception to this endeavor. Consider the vast number of labels on bottles, cans, boxes, and other disposable products. Label backers contribute to the landfill problem, as does material waste from the creation of label stock. Are we destined to become one large landfill divided by ocean water?

Luckily, there are a growing number of green options today for labels and packaging. All of these options help reduce the impact on our planet, while helping boost sustainability. The job of protecting our planet doesn’t fall squarely on the shoulders of environmentalists. Consumers are looking for options that are eco-friendly and promote sustainability. Curious about label options for eco-conscious companies? Read on.

First, it’s important to consider where the packaging and labels will ultimately end up. Landfills? Compost bins? Recycled? Different stocks and/or adhesives can be chosen depending on the ultimate destination of the packaging and label. For biodegradable packaging, it only makes sense to select a biodegradable label as well. Compostable adhesive labels work well on packaging that is certified compostable. One toss into the compost bin – label and all! These types of labels are becoming more prevalent as the interest in composting rises and the tide slowly turns from single-use plastics.

Earth-minded companies that are committed to using packaging that is recycled are often interested in labels that are the same. Recyclable adhesive labels can be recycled right along with the packaging, and do not have to be removed. This cuts cost, work, and helps drive home branding messages that speak of commitment to recycling.

Newer practices in production allow labels to be created using a reduced amount of materials. Again this help cut waste, which reduces the manufacturing impact on the environment.

At Label Works, we’re committed to broadening our eco-friendly and sustainable label and adhesive options. This includes choosing stocks that come from well-managed forests. This provides environmental, social, and economic benefits. And this doesn’t mean just one or two options. These stocks are all FSC® certified stocks that are smartly sourced with our planet in mind:

  • White Gloss
  • White EDP
  • White Matte Removable
  • White Laser
  • White Laser Removable
  • Direct Thermal
  • White Semi-Gloss
  • 100% Recycled – Produced with 100% Post-Consumer Waste
  • 30% Recycled Semi-Gloss – Produced with 30% Post-Consumer Waste

We also have recycling-compatible adhesives on stocks:

  • 100% Recycled – Meets the TLMI testing protocol RCA LRP 2v5 for recycling compatibility

Offering sustainable label options isn’t where we stop, however. At Label Works, we recycle all cardboard, paper, plastics, and liner waste facility-wide. Our liner waste is shipped to a recycling facility where it is shredded and then burned as fuel at a local facility rather than taking up permanent residence in a landfill.

Want to learn more about ways in which labels have evolved to become more earth-friendly? Contact Label Works to discuss label options that are eco-conscious, while being as impactful as ever.

SOURCES:

Production of Wheat

Production of Husked Rice

Filed Under: Education, Labels, News, Print Products
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