4 Creative Uses for Trading Cards

Posted on January 25, 2019 Written by

When you think of trading cards, the first thing that you think of is probably sports teams, but that’s only the beginning. With a little creativity, a trading card can be a great canvas for a wide variety of different small-scale print pieces. And, thanks to full color print, the design possibilities are nearly endless. Here are four of our favorite creative uses for trading cards.

1. Employee Profiles
When your customer relies on their employees relationships with their clients, printing employee profiles is a creative way to build a personal connection. This could be a good, informal way to introduce police officers to kids in the neighborhood, real estate agents to future homeowners, or individual salespeople to potential customers. Because a trading card features full color print, it can include a photograph as well as important contact information.

2. Celebrating Educational Milestones
Whether in a classroom or in an afterschool group, celebrating milestones is a good way to motivate students. Trading cards could be a creative way to motivate and mark their progress! One example would be to create a series of trading cards that will be given after a student passes tests on their multiplication tables in math class. Another example would be creating one for each monthly meeting for a new organization.

Trading cards are an especially good choice for this because they are lightweight but pack a big, colorful punch. Full color print can make them kid-friendly and colorful, and they can also serve as a reminder of previous lessons so that students can keep up their learning momentum.

3. Miniature Informational Pieces
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and a well-chosen picture on a trading card could speak volumes about new products or services! With a photograph and a product description, they are a good fit for a preview of new products or a high-level summary of what a new product can do.

If your customer has a short season for their sports team, a trading card could also make an excellent pocket-sized game schedules. Simply use a team photo or mascot image for the front of the card and personalize the back with a miniature version of the season’s schedule.

4. Something Different for Tickets
Does your customer want to create a ticket for their next event that will double as a keepsake long after the doors have closed? One eye-catching option is a trading card. Printed with artwork from event posters or performers’ photos, trading cards could be a fun, creative ticket option for plays, concerts, sports events, fundraisers, and more.

Ready to get creative? Click here to get started with your online trading card order or visit the marketing materials section of our catalog for more information.

Do your customers order trading cards for their business? How do they get creative with these print pieces? We’d love to see your suggestions for creative uses in the comments below.

Filed Under: Design, News, Print Products, Promotional Products

New Year’s Resolution: Social Media Tactics You Should Ditch in 2019

Posted on January 24, 2019 Written by

Last week we talked about having a social media style guide, and this week we want to share the other side of building a social media strategy: what not to do. Whether the tactics are outdated or simply misinformed, you might have a few strategies that are holding you back. Here are the social media tactics you should leave behind in 2019.

1. Following to Gain Followers
This used to be a very common tactic for making new business connections—just follow prospective customers and they might follow you back—but follows that come out of the blue simply don’t work in today’s social media landscape. Not only will it clutter your feed with posts that might not be relevant to your business, but

2. Relying on Studies More Than Experience
There are a lot of studies out there that will tell you when, what, and how much to post, and they can be a great starting point. However, those studies are primarily based on averages, which doesn’t necessarily reflect your audience as well as it could. Once you’ve taken the time to get to know when your audience is most likely to see your posts and how often they like to see you post, you can leave the studies behind and work to speak to your customers more directly.

And speaking of your customers…

3. Posting Only What You Want
Don’t get me wrong—you are the person who choses what you want to post on your social media, and that shouldn’t change. However, it’s important to remember that you aren’t your primary audience. Your customer is. When you’re considering what to put on social media, you want to make sure that you are posting what would be relevant to your customers.

4. Only Relying on Canned Responses
Social media sites are increasingly used for customer service interactions, which makes quick responses essential. However, if you’re relying primarily on pre-written, “canned” responses you aren’t making the most of these customer service opportunities! Pre-written responses are useful when it comes to common customer questions, but it’s important to adjust them to suit each customer’s situation and to make them more personal.

For example, if you need to move a customer service interaction offline, it can be useful to have a prewritten message like “Thank you for your feedback; we would like to give you a call to discuss this issue further.” However, changing this message to include the customer’s name can make the response feel more personal.

5. Posting All The Time
One of the most challenging things about creating a social media for your business is considering how often to post. Some might advise frequent posts to keep your company in the public eye, but posting too much could drive away the people you’re hoping to connect with. You’re better off posting a few times a day rather than posting hourly during business hours, for example, because it makes each post more impactful.

What social media strategies would you recommend leaving behind? We’d love to see you join the conversation in the comments below.

Filed Under: Education, Marketing, News

Get to Know Stock Texture

Posted on January 23, 2019 Written by

linen laid wove glossy coated paper stock texture for business cards, letterhead, envelopesPrint has a lot of features that can be replicated on a digital screen, but one feature simply must be experienced in person: texture. Texture might be a nearly unphotographable element of your customer’s print order, but whether your customer is looking for a glossy finish or subtle elegance, stock texture is an essential part of their print pieces.

So, how can your customers use texture in their print orders?

Wove
Paper with a wove finish is one that has no specially manufactured texture, which results in a smooth stock good for everyday use. Wove is a low-key texture that lets other elements of your customer’s design take center stage.

Linen
Linen paper has a look and feel reminiscent of fine linen fabric. The texture of linen paper is a crosshatch pattern similar to the feel of woven fabric. This fabric-like texture is a great fit for customers looking to create a classic, elegant look for their print and to show off the quality of their business. Consider this stock for personal stationery, business letterhead, or even menus for restaurants looking to convey a sense of quality.

Laid
Laid is a finish that emulates the look of fine hand-crafted paper. This stock texture is made up of fine ribs known as “chain lines.” These lines are created using a wire cylinder called a “dandy roll” that presses the pattern into the paper during the manufacturing process. Like linen papers, laid papers have a classic appeal that are ideal for letterhead or other print pieces that your customers need to feel important or authoritative like reports, presentations, and official business communication.

Coated
Coated stock creates a smooth, often glossy texture. If your customers aren’t familiar with coated stock by name, they’re probably familiar with it due to its common usage in mailings, magazines, and other glossy print pieces. Not only does coating create a smooth texture, glossy coating also gives the color additional depth and adds a sleek shine that is a good fit for designs featuring photographs and for other marketing pieces.

Want to give your customers an even more up close and personal look at their options for stock textures? Be sure to have your swatch book on hand when they order. Not only will this be a great introduction to stock textures, but it also

How do your customers use different stock textures? We’d love to hear more about their favorites in the comments below.

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

5 Reasons Your Customer Should Consider Ordering Forms

Posted on January 18, 2019 Written by

If you’re anything like me, you probably seen forms fairly regularly. However, many customers might not have thought about the benefits that forms offer their business. Whether they want to create quick invoices, entry forms for events, or something completely unique, forms are a great way to organize the information they use every day. Here are just five of the reasons that they should consider ordering forms.

1. Stock Forms Make Design Easier
One of the easiest ways to create a form is to use a stock style. Register books, receipts, service forms, and more are all available through our formatted forms and books. These forms are designed to answer the most common needs.

2. Custom Forms Are Perfectly Tailored to Their Needs
Does your customer want a form that is as unique as their business? They can create that, too! When stock forms don’t include the information that they need, custom forms are the best way to ensure that your customers’ unique needs are served in every form they print. Custom forms allow your customer to create forms that include even highly specific pieces of information, making it easier for them to get the exact information that they need.

Your customers will also have control over is the information that they don’t include on the form. This means that they can avoid any wasted space or information that your customer doesn’t use. This allows them more space on their form for the information that matters or for highlighting their contact information and brand. And speaking of highlighting their brand…

3. Forms Can Be A Marketing Opportunity!
Your customers might not think of forms as a marketing opportunity, but when they create a custom form they can also highlight their business. Including a full color image of their logo will increase brand recognition, and a full color photo can help emphasize the quality of your customer’s products or highlight new products. And, because most forms are created for the consumer interactions in your customer’s everyday work, they offer a daily reminder of your customer’s brand and business.

4. A Wide Variety of Options
Another way that your customers can tailor their forms to their needs is by picking a style. What kind of forms does Navitor offer? We offer form options as varied as your customers.

  • Two-, three-, and four-part preformatted and custom NCR forms are all available, so it’s easy for your customer to keep a copy of any form and to give another copy of it to their client.
  • Glued edge forms can be separated easily thanks to the adhesive that binds their sheets together, while snap set forms have a perforated edge.
  • Booked form options are available. Because they are bound together, these forms are easy to keep organized and easy to carry.

And speaking of options…

5. Catalog or Online
In addition to the options you can offer your customers, we want to ensure that you have the options that you need in your business. That’s why our complete selection of forms is available through our catalog, and our most popular options can be ordered quickly and easily online.

Why do your customers love forms? Which forms are their favorites? We’d love to see you join the conversation in the comments below.

Filed Under: Design, News, Print Products, Promotional Products

Creative Uses for Letterhead

Posted on January 17, 2019 Written by

When your customer thinks about letterhead, they probably think first about the box of personalized paper sitting next to their printer for their official letters, but letterhead is also a great canvas for a wide variety of different projects! With the wide variety of stock and print options available, your customer can create almost anything with letterhead—here are just a few of our favorite creative options.

1. Pre-Printed Letters
Let’s start with something just a little off the beaten path: pre-printed letters! If your customer is working on a large mailing campaign, a pre-printed letter could be a good way to streamline the process of creating that mailing. Simply start with their usual letterhead design, add the text of their letter, and be sure to include a quality image of the sender’s signature to give it a more personal touch. Not only will this ensure that your customer’s letter is on the correct stock, but it will save them time on printing those letters themselves.

2. Menus
Whether your customer is looking for an elegant menu to highlight seasonal specials or drinks or wants to bring the subtle elegance of textured stock to their everyday menu, letterhead could be the ideal canvas for their menu. Not only does letterhead allow them to choose the simple elegance of spot color print for a high end feel or full color print to highlight photographs, it also allows them to choose from a wide variety of different stocks to suit their restaurant.

And if your customer changes up their menu often, letterhead could be a flexible option, too. Simply print their menu template on letterhead, and they can add menu information on their own printer for a more flexible menu option. This is a great way to add elegance to chef’s choice options or nightly specials.

3. Inserts for Folders and Mailings
If your customer is looking for a way to convey more information to their customers while adding a touch of elegance, letterhead could be a great canvas for an informational insert. Whether your customer wants to create a mailer that has an added touch of professionalism, wants a quality marketing insert to get more out of a folder of paperwork, or simply prefers the look of a textured stock, letterhead is a great alternative to a traditional sales sheet.

4. Programs
Does your customer want to create a program with classic appeal? Letterhead is a great option. Whether they are hosting an event for which attendees will need a schedule or are preparing for a concert, letterhead can be printed with all the information they need for their audience throughout the event.

Do your customers get creative with letterhead? What’s their favorite use for letterhead? We’d love to see your suggestions in the comments below.

Filed Under: Design, News, Print Products, Stationery

New Year’s Resolution: Get a Social Media Style Guide

Posted on January 16, 2019 Written by

social media style guide for personalized print businessNew Year’s resolutions aren’t just a good idea for your storefront—they are also a great way to improve your online marketing! No matter what your social media goals—whether they include starting your social media presence, gaining more followers, or posting more often—you should consider creating a style guide as part of your plans for the new year. Here’s what you need to know about having a social media style guide.

What’s a Social Media Style Guide?
You might not think of social media as having a particular style, but having a style guide for your social media posts will help your social media have a more consistent feel. Just like you might have guidelines for print ads or a basic script for talking to customers, your style guide is a way to help customers get to know your business and your brand.

What Should Be In Your Social Media Style Guide?
Once you have decided that you want to create a style guide, you should take some time to figure out what you want to convey to your customers. Here are a few of the elements that you should include:

  • Grammar Guidelines—Grammar ranges widely on social media sites, so knowing how strictly you want to stick with grammar guidelines is an important. Using perfect grammar can convey a professional tone, while loosening up on grammar rules can come across as more casual and friendly.
  • Formatting—Having formatting guidelines for your social media posts is an important addition to the grammar guidelines. Will you include hashtags with every post? Or will your posts be primarily text-based? Do you need to have a photograph with every post? If you want a consistent format, this is a chance to establish that format.
  • A Tone—What personality do you want your customers to perceive when they see your social media profile? Are you cheerful and upbeat or formal? Are you energetic or calm? Keeping this tone in mind can help ensure that these personality traits come across to your customers.
  • Image Guidelines—Images have a lot of appeal on social media, so it’s a good idea to consider what types of images you will use. Consider what fonts you’ll want to use on images, what colors you want to use, and what size those images should be.
  • Schedule—While your schedule isn’t necessarily part of a traditional style guide, it can still be a good addition while you are collecting other guidelines for your posts. Want to post once a week, or twice a week? Make a note of that.

Are You Ready to Put It Into Practice?
Ready to go? Once you have your guidelines in place, all you have to do is get posting to your social media sites! These guidelines might take a bit of practice at first, but your style guide will give you an easy-to-reference document to work from.

Do you have a style guide for your social media posts? How do you use that guide? We’d love to see your advice in the comments below.

Filed Under: News

New Year’s Resolution: Take More Breaks (And How to Do That)

Posted on January 11, 2019 Written by

new year's resolution for your personalized print business take more breaks

The start of 2019 is a great time to look back at 2018 and consider how you can improve your work and your business in the next year. And, if the end of your year was anything like ours, you were probably busy during the holiday season. If the holiday rush left you feeling harried, you might want to consider this idea for a New Year’s resolution: taking more breaks.

Why Take More Breaks?
It can be hard to justify taking a break, especially when you’re feeling overloaded, but breaks really do help you work better! In a 2013 article, the New York Times wrote that a strategic break in your day “boosts productivity, job performance and, of course, health.” If you spend too long on one task without giving yourself time to refresh, on the other hand, you might find your energy and your focus flagging.

When Should You Be Taking Breaks? Consider Scheduling them Ahead of Time
If you’re having trouble taking breaks, you probably want to get the most out of the breaks you take. A number of different sources have weighed in on how often you should take a break and how long in order to get the most out of it:

  • One University of Illinois study suggests taking a break once every hour.
  • Magazine suggests taking a break every hour to hour-and-a-half.
  • Desktime, a time-tracking app, says that it’s most effective to take a 17-minute break every 52 minutes.
  • Robert Pozen of the MIT Sloan School of Management suggests taking a break every 75 to 90 minutes
  • The popular Pomodoro Technique is based on taking a short break every 25 minutes and a longer break every 90 minutes or so.

So which of these recommendations should you use? That depends on you and what works best for your business. You could try out each option for a day or two to see which one makes you most productive, you could pick the one that works best with your work load for the day, or create a system of breaks that is entirely your own.

And, once you’ve got a system in place, be sure to follow it. Make those breaks a part of your schedule so that you have time set aside every day to recharge. Put them on your calendar, and, if you have to, set a timer.

Can’t Take A Break from Work? Take A Break From Your Current Task
If you feel guilty about taking a break, you’re not alone. According to one study, most people just “power through” their work day. And sometimes you genuinely can’t get away from your work on a busy day. So what should you do then? Consider taking a break from your current task by changing your focus to another one. You might not be taking off for a walk or a run to a local café, but the change in topic will still give your brain a chance to recharge before you get back to it.

Is taking more breaks on your New Year’s resolution list? We’d love to see your resolutions in the comments below! And be sure to check back next week for another of our New Year’s resolutions that you might want to consider adding to your list.

Filed Under: Education, Marketing, Misc, News

Added Professional Print Touches for the New Year

Posted on January 10, 2019 Written by

Whether your customer is updating their existing print order or creating something entirely new, the New Year is a good time for them to add a bit of extra polish and professionalism to their suite of stationery products. How can they do that? Here are our four tips.

1. Coordinate
Nothing says “You are in good hands” quite like a well-put-together appearance. From employee dress to consistent signage, your customer has probably considered this already, but they might not have considered the importance of coordinating their image across their print pieces, too.

That doesn’t mean that everything has to match exactly, though. The design they print on white letterhead for everyday use, for example, could feel more stately on an ivory stock. And speaking of ways to make designs feel consistent without making them match exactly…

2. Let Brand Colors Take Center Stage
Whether or not your customer wants to put their logo on a given print piece, using their brand colors for every piece is a good way to make every print piece they use feel like a cohesive whole. For some pieces your customer could highlight their logo, but others could simply feature that logo’s colors to create a different look that still connects back to their brand.

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Get Creative
Sometimes changing things up is a great way to pull together a more creative set of print pieces. Does your customer have an abstract or geometric logo? Consider printing it very light across their letterhead for the look of a watermark or letting it extend beyond the cut edge of their business card for a creative accent. Does your customer usually use their logo as the central design in their print—except in one photo-heavy brochure? Consider using that logo as an accent or highlighting it on the back of the brochure alongside your customer’s contact information.

This creativity doesn’t just add visual interest—it allows your customer to be more flexible with their print pieces. After all, with a little bit of flexibility in their brand look, they can create a wider variety of designs for their print.

4. Consider Texture
One way to bring together your customer’s print pieces with style is to use only one or two stock textures throughout their print order. Using the same stock to unify your customer’s business cards, letterhead, and stationery envelopes is a great way to give everything a consistent feel.

And, for additional polish, Navitor offers CLASSIC® Linen and Laid Papers. Not only do these stocks provide a subtle texture that will add a touch of elegant appeal, but the CLASSIC® brand is one that your customers can rely on. Choose linen papers for a cloth-like texture and laid for a handcrafted feel. To learn more about these stock textures, check out the Neenah website for more information on CLASSIC® Linen and CLASSIC® Laid.

How do you help your customers create a polished print order? Do you help them coordinate their print pieces? We’d love to see your tips in the comments below.

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

Check Out Label Sales Tools in 2019

Posted on January 9, 2019 Written by

Happy New Year! Now is the time we all say ‘Hello 2019’ and ‘Hello’ to creating this year’s plan to target new label, decal and sticker sales growth. Go ahead and mark it off your ‘to do’ list because Label Works already has the plan taken care of.  Check out our FREE, ready to use sales tools below to see how growing business is really as simple as 1-2-3.

First off, we all know clients love seeing materials that speak directly to their market, day-to-day needs and goals. So why not use a sales presentation that does exactly that? Just use and repeat the steps below for any vertical you’re targeting this year and ta-dah your presentation is ready!

  • Zoom Catalog – Use this resource to re-brand our free marketing pieces with your own company name and logo. Your individual sales reps can also customize these with their contact info. Start with our e-catalog then move to one of our many Sales Flyers. These flyers highlight types of labels, their uses and available options for each market. Simply find the customer type that you’re speaking to, create a PDF of the flyer or print it out and share!
  • Physical Sample Kit – Gone are the days of having to show your customer samples that do not pertain to them and trying to get them to use their imagination to fit them into their world. Our sample kits are designed to include stickers that speak to specific markets. As you open the kit, you can share how every label within it speaks to your customer specifically. Ideas will start flowing! How cool is that?! These kits make a wonderful tool to mail out directly to customers as well.
  • Vertical Market Deck – We all love happy endings! Our vertical market deck, made up of 18 different 5 x 7” post cards, provides you with a success story to share with your customer that is relevant to their industry. Not only that, it is also an end customer facing piece that shares various label ideas and benefits that will help spark additional conversation. How do you use this tool you ask? It’s easy! Simply pick out the card that matches the industry you’re meeting with, pair it with the branded sales flyer and physical sample kit and you have the perfect presentation combination! Keep this tool at your office, in your vehicle or even utilize the e-version that is available to share via email!

One important key to growing sales in this product line is to simply make sure your potential and existing customers are aware that you sell it! Whether you like to call them labels, stickers or decals, we’ve got you covered. Using the above tools, as well as help from your label expert team at Label Works, makes this easy. Happy Selling in 2019! We’re excited to partner with you again this year!

Filed Under: Labels, Marketing, News, Print Products, Resources

5 Tips For Achieving Your Goals in 2019

Posted on January 4, 2019 Written by

Creating and working toward yearly goals is an essential way for you to bring more success to your business, but achieving your goals can seem like a daunting challenge. That’s why we’ve brought together five tips to help you achieve your goals.

1. Know How Much Time You Have
One essential element of making an attainable goal is to give yourself a deadline. Of course, yearly goals are a great way to do this, but good goals aren’t just a year-long endeavor. Consider whether your yearly goals can be broken down into smaller tasks throughout the year or whether some of your smaller yearly goals can be achieved by midyear rather than leaving them for the end of the year.

And speaking of breaking down your yearly goals…

2. Break Things Up
No matter what the large goals you have, they can seem daunting when you look at them as a single, large objective. As a result, it can be a good idea to break those goals down so that you have a smaller, more manageable set of subtasks.

3. Make Sure Your Goals are Measurable
It’s easy to make your goals vague. Maybe you are concerned about failure and are leaving yourself wiggle room in your goals. Maybe you want to make progress in general but are unsure how to measure that progress. However, making your goals measurable is an essential element of ensuring that you can achieve them.

If you’re hoping to add new customers, for example, knowing just how many customers you want to bring in will let you know how you’re progressing throughout the year. If you want to be more consistent about your marketing, make sure you have certain tasks that you must achieve each month.

4. Make Sure Everyone is On The Same Page
Your business’s high-level goals can feel like they don’t connect with every employee’s day-to-day work, but it’s important that everyone knows how their job connects with those goals. No matter what their role, whether they work to market your business or they are working with customers on a daily basis, everyone should have goals that support your business’s goals and should know how their goals support the business.

5. Celebrate Success
Celebrations are great motivation, and celebrating your business’s achievements can help motivate everyone to work harder on their own goals. Celebrations don’t have to be big—breakfast for the team during the last part of a big project or a round of applause at a meeting can still give motivation a boost. No matter how you celebrate, though, that celebration can help everyone at your business keep up their momentum to ensure that you achieve your goals this year.

Need more ideas? Throughout the month of January, we’re going to be bringing you ideas for New Year’s resolutions that you can use in your business. Keep an eye on the blog for more ideas for goals you could pursue throughout the year.

What goals are you working on in your business? We’d love to hear about how you’re working toward achieving them in the comments below!

Filed Under: Education, Marketing, News
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