Websites-Internet Marketing-Printing

Printers Manchester - Be More Competitive in Flyer Printing

2012-01-17T17:54:00.001-08:00

There is competition everywhere, even in flyer printing.

If you want your investment in flyer printing to be worth it, you will need to be a little bit more competitive with how you design and deploy these advertising flyers. Be it expensive or cheap flyer printing, the tips below should help you to always be keep ahead with your rivals and be competitive.

• Reader-centric content – One of the first keys to competitive flyer printing is to always remember to develThere is competition everywhere, even in flyer printing. If you want your investment in flyer printing to be worth it, you will need to be a little bit more competitive with how you design and deploy these advertising flyers.

Be it expensive or cheap flyer printing, the tips below should help you to always be keep ahead with your rivals and be competitive.

• Reader-centric content – One of the first keys to competitive flyer printing is to always remember to develop reader-centric content. By this, I mean that you should always write content that really matters to your target readers.

Your content must not be just about why your product/business is good. It should also include content that helps readers realize why your marketing message should matter to them.

Will the reader save money with your offer? Will they have an easier life? Will it make their tasks easier or will they look better in front of their friends and family? When readers realize the REAL benefits of your offer, then your color flyers will have a big chance of succeeding in its mission. So try to always go for reader-centric content.

• Original and highly noticeable designs – Another important key to competitiveness is the presence of an original and highly noticeable design. You will no doubt have noticed today that lots of people are printing their own for advertising.

To compete with them all, you must always think of and compose original and highly noticeable designs so that your flyers will look different and distinct from all the rest that floods your market. So take some time and really brainstorm a unique design for your flyers. Try to use unusual colors, unusual images and very original content approaches.

• Durable makeup – It is also important for a competitive flyer to be durable. Most will usually be exposed to a variety of environments that will slowly damage them and make them look old. To keep them from becoming old too fast, it is good to invest in printing with durable materials.

Usually, the thickest materials will work best in making the color flyer though. Beyond that, a healthy coating of glossy and water resistant paper should help make its life longer. This can add to the printing cost of flyers but it should help your flyers be powerfully competitive on the market.

• Extensive and targeted deployment locations – Being competitive also includes being extensive and targeted with the deployment. I say extensive because you will want to cover as wide an area as you can with your deployment to get the most number of people reading them.

I also say targeted because you will want to deploy first to the possible areas where your target readers hang out or pass by. If you are both extensive and targeted with your deployment of marketing flyers, you should be as competitive as you will ever be with your campaign.

• Repeating deployment strategy – Lastly, a marketing campaign needs a repeating deployment strategy to be competitive. It is not enough to just give them all out in one day. You should always try to repeat the deployment every so often so that you can reinforce your message and convince reluctant potential customers to respond to your message. So always plan to redeploy at least two or three more times for a more competitive flyer marketing campaign.

Website Design Manchester

Website Design Manchester - The Important Steps in Preparing Images for Flyer Printing

2012-01-15T15:12:00.001-08:00

So you are thinking of getting a lot of full color flyers for marketing eh?

Well before you insert images into your flyer printing design, you may want to know first how exactly to prepare images for full color flyers correctly. Let me give you the simple and most important steps that you should know. Just read the list below and you should know what you need to do.

• Get images from original sources – If you want your images to really look good within color flyers, one very big thing you must remember is to always get your images from original sources. Do not get them from secondary sources from the Internet which are in lower resolutions.

Always source them from actual scanned photographs and specific high resolution graphics.

This means of course that it is best that you make them yourself, or have them made for you. Original sources of images usually have the highest quality and the highest resolution, fit for any kind of printing. These are the most ideal kinds to put into your flyer since they do not get fuzzy or loose quality when they are printed. So this is one of your first priorities in preparing an image for flyer printing.

• Crop or cut the image into a manageable file – Once you have your original, high resolution image ready, you can then prepare it for flyer printing by cropping or cutting the image into a manageable image file. In most cases, you will have lots of white spaces, backgrounds and other design elements that need to be cut from your large image. By cutting them down properly, early on in the process, you should be able to work with those images a lot more better in the flyer design. So crop and cut those images well. Make sure that you only get the objects and imagery that you really need for your custom flyers.

• Remove noise and minute errors – Another important tip in preparing those images for flyer printing is that you have to remove those noise elements and minute errors within those images. Not all scans and graphics are perfect, and there will always be that small pixel noise or image damage that makes the image look off and unprofessional for flyer printing.

That is why it is crucial that you try to remove these little pixel noise and other errors. It is easy to do this by using image editing applications such as Photoshop. So make sure you try to remove those errors.

• Do the basic initial enhancements – Now, since you are already removing the noise and other errors in your custom flyer image, you may want to also prepare your flyers even further by doing some basic and initial enhancements.

The best enhancements to prepare your images would be adjustments of the brightness and contrast settings, color corrections, vibrancy values and even the color hues if you want. The more brighter and clearer your images are, the better they will look in flyer printing.

• Do some test printing – Finally, as a final preparation for the images, you might want to do one test printing of the image so that you can really see how they will look after being printed. Sometimes the gross errors and mistakes can only be spotted once the prints are done, so the test print is a great way to assess the look of the images and make sure that nothing really is off about them.

Great! With all these preparations, your images should be more than perfect for flyer printing already.

Website Design Manchester

Website Manchester - Make Your Flyer Printing Project a Breeze by Kaye Z. Marks

2012-01-15T15:09:00.001-08:00

Accomplishing your printing projects can sometimes get too exhausting that it can wear you out.

This can occur even in a simple activity such as flyer printing or leaflet printing.

However, do not worry. There is a way to make printing easier and more convenient. This way starts with you. Before you hand over your material to your printer, you can throw in something to make flyer printing a breeze.

The first thing to do is to target a realistic deadline. Remember that printing can be done by one person or by a group. You should therefore set a reasonable working schedule with whatever the arrangement is. This will lessen the hassle and pressure of getting the work done.

Even if the project is not a team effort, remember that you will still be counting on your printing company when it comes to the printing process. It is thus wise to set a workable turnaround and delivery time within your timetable.

Do not forget to allot some significant time as well for obtaining printing proofs and quotations. In addition, if ever anything goes wrong, you have extra time to revise your material. That is the advantage of establishing and following a rational deadline.

Another thing to look into is the concept of your flyers. Always remember that the over-all package of your campaign should be reflected in your flyers. This means you all have your text, photos and designs in harmony with the whole concept and theme of your advocacy.

It is truly important to bring life to your concept. You have to learn the skill of articulating your ideas through these pieces of paper. Also, you have to know and understand its potency and strengths so you can attune your design and layout to it.

You must also focus on the fundamentals of your flyers or the very basic elements in it. Remember, your project is your baby. You, more than anyone else, should know how you want it to come out. You should put your heart into its every detail. Hence, it is important that you pay attention to all its content.

Ask yourself how you want your flyers to appear, what colors would make it stand out, and what images would complement your message. If you are planning to go into die cutting, it is important as well to know how precise it should be done.

In addition, you should always keep in mind your selling philosophy. Ask yourself always what would keep your target clientele close to you. That is one way of knowing what to highlight about your flyers. If you want to emphasize the design, you can think of the colors that will make people notice it. On the other hand, use the font style and size that will make it more interesting.

Do not also overlook the fact that flyers can become more effective when distributed with other print materials. Press kits can create more impact on your clients because of how it is packaged as well as the handful of materials it contains. It is truly a stylish and striking way of marketing your product.

Always think of ways to make your flyer printing easy, fun and hassle-free. Like leaflets, flyers are not so taxing to create. Just remember the elements that you should consider and your flyer and leaflet printing will open new doors for you.

Website Design Manchester

Websites Manchester - 10 Questions about Flyer Printing Answered Right Now by Colleen Davis

2012-01-15T15:07:00.001-08:00

Do you want to know where to look for good flyer templates?

Need to know the costs of custom flyer printing? How about the best places to print flyers? If you have these questions and more about flyer printing, then you have come to the right place.

I have here the top ten questions about flyers and flyer templates listed below, along with (of course) all the answers for them. Hopefully, this should solve all problems in flyer printing and help you print them with no hassle at all for you.

1. How much does flyer printing cost?

Flyer printing is pretty cheap. If you manage your options right, you can actually print 250 pieces of one page full color flyers for just $35 or even lower. So flyer printing cost is not really a problem. Just try to learn the different options you have and see how they can raise or lower your costs. Almost anyone can print flyers at such low costs.

2. Where can I print flyers?

There are lots of avenues for flyer printing. You can print them yourself using your own color printer. You can try finding a flyer printing company in your vicinity. Lastly, you can go online and have an online flyer printing company do all the printing for you.

You have plenty of options each with its own pros and cons. The most convenient and fastest way though to print flyers would be to have them printed through an online printer and have them delivered to you.

3. What tools do I need to design flyers?

What you really need to do to design flyers is a design or desktop publishing application. For beginners, any word processor like Microsoft Word should do. For more skilled people, you will probably want to use something like Microsoft Publisher, Adobe Indesign and even Adobe Photoshop if you can handle it. Just use the tool that you are most comfortable with and you should be fine.

4. Where can I find flyer templates?

You can find flyer templates on the Internet all for free these days. Just use your search engine and just look for “free flyer templates”. I would recommend going to printing or publishing websites online when you encounter them on your search, since they typically offer free flyer templates that can be used with many different kinds of programs. This is the easiest method in looking for free color flyer templates.

5. What is a good layout for flyers?

A good layout for a flyer would be one main headline text, a simple image below it and the supporting text afterward. This is the simplest layout that you can have, that is effective still for most readers. If you want something different, just try to browse through the different examples of great flyers over the Internet. There should be tons out there that are great examples for a color flyer layout.

6. Is color flyer printing worth it?

Yes definitely. Color flyer printing is worth it. You might think that printing in black ink is more cost-effective, but the truth is, you will be wasting money on that because people hardly respond to black inked flyers today. Everybody wants full color flyers and they usually only respond to those flyers since it looks more professional and fleshed out. So print your flyers in color always.

7. How fast can I print flyers?

Pretty fast, most printing companies can offer 24 hour rush flyer printing if you want. Just specify it with your order. Others will deliver it 3-5 working days after the order has been received.

8. What paper is good for flyers?

The best paper materials for flyer printing are the thicker or heavier paper materials with special water resistant chemical coatings. This will make the flyer look more glossy, while at the same time toughening it up to lengthen its life.

9. How big should my flyers be?

Flyers should be pretty small since they have to be mobile. A good flyer should be anywhere between an 8.5 by 11 inch flyer to a 4.25 by 5.5 flyer. Anything larger and smaller and you’ll have issues with impact and mobility.

10. How many flyers should I print?

For a typical marketing campaign, it is best to print around 250 pieces or more. If you live in a large city, you might want that amped to around 500 pieces. Or more of course But 250 pieces should be decent for any initial marketing campaign.

Great! Now you know the important answers to the common questions about flyer printing. Hopefully you have learned a lot from this list. Good luck!

Website Design Manchester

Website Design Manchester - A Bold New Direction in Flyer Printing by Colleen Davis

2012-01-15T15:05:00.001-08:00

Want to create the best advertising flyers in your industry?

Do you want to have great party flyers that people will always respond to? If you do want to create the best kinds of advertising flyers out there, then I would suggest that you follow a bold new direction in flyer printing and design.

Below are a few tips that should take you to the right direction to bold new design and printing techniques with full color flyers. Just read on and integrate these techniques for your design process, you won’t regret it.

• Using distinct memorable shaped flyers – One of the boldest things you can do in flyer printing is to use distinct memorable shapes for flyer printing. Everybody expects a rectangular flyer these days because it is the most common.

However, with today’s technology in flyer design and printing, it is now relatively easy to create custom shaped color flyers that everyone will notice and find quite memorable.

You can use any shape you wish in most cases, from circle flyers, square flyers and even silhouette flyers of people, animals and other symbols. You can really be creative about this and in most cases you should turn out quite an amazing looking flyer that people will definitely remember.

• Adding interactive elements to the design – Another way you can be bold about your flyer designs is to add interactive elements into it. Instead of just color flyers that display information, you can add additional features to it so that people can engage with your flyers and interact with it more.

This can be as simple as adding in a puzzle of sorts to the flyer, or you can actually create a flyer with moving elements, or pop-up paper elements. Some flyer printing companies can do these customizations for you for an extra fee.

These things should turn your flyer into a very distinct kind of flyer that people will really remember, and even keep, since it is cool and interactive.

• Using very unusual materials in the flyers – It is also possible to be bold with your flyer printing materials. Instead of the usual flyer paper that is relatively rough and weak, you can actually use other very special paper materials. There are special thick and glossy paper for high quality flyer printing that you can use.

There are also thin plastic materials that can be applicable for use as flyers. These special materials will add a whole new element to your flyer printing, making it quite different and more durable at the same time.

Also take note that you can also play with the actual ink materials for custom flyer printing. Besides using black ink, you can use special full color inks, glossy inks, metallic inks and even glitter inks that makes the flyer look like a very high quality poster or brochure. These special inks are of course more expensive, but it will give your flyers a great and bold new look.

• Adding more functionality to flyers – Lastly, you can be bold with your flyer printing by adding more functionality to it. Besides becoming a vehicle for information distribution, you can also add other uses to it by just adding some other extra design elements.

You can make your flyers with order forms on the back, or you can actually add in coupon cut outs and even ticket slits and containers into them. This adds a lot more detail and functionality to your color flyers making them a great new and bold tool for your business.

Great! So as you can see, you have plenty of great options to go into a bold new direction with your flyer printing. Why don’t you take a risk and try out some of the above steps? They are only flyers anyway, you can really experiment with them. Good luck!

Website Design Manchester

Website Design Manchester - Choose Flyer Printing to Promote Your Business

2012-01-15T15:03:00.001-08:00

Businesses have always utilized advertising concepts that are tried and tested.

Yes, there are tools and materials that do not work and are specific only to certain demography.

However, there are also those that are not only efficient, but are also those that are budget-friendly. Print advertising, for example, has always opened the doors for earning potential.

These include flyers which have always been a reliable marketing material. These, handy as they are, have always generated revenue streams as well as opened for cash flow. You cannot doubt its earning capability!

There are a lot of benefits you get from flyer printing and print advertising in general. Once, you can get in touch with your target clientele at the lowest cost. These flyers can be produced en masse and distributed to your clientele, even if they number into thousands, without burning a huge hole on your pocket.

Do not worry, though, if your expenses are already way past your budget. You can avail of discount coupons from printing companies that you can find online or even in your own locality. You just need to find out where you can get this and how to avail of them.

Another benefit is that you can customize your flyers as well as print materials for a quick turn around or immediate client response. They are easy to distribute. You can even just leave a file of flyers at counters, and surely, customers can keep and read them. You can make a niche for your product or service in the market, too.

By promoting its benefits that can be unpredictable to consumers, you can assure that they will be availing of your products or services. On your flyer, create a very captivating message with the use of images.

If you have decided to go for flyer printing as a part of your over all marketing campaign plan, here are the basics. One, there are different types of paper stock, and you have to choose the one that is ideal for flyers. Commercial print houses may use a different paperweight, so you need to find one that is reputable.

Always go for quality prints, but at an affordable price. You need to make the most out of your money, so you need to invest it on good quality. There are different paper sizes toy can choose from. You can opt for a double full page size, legal size, full page or half sheet, among others. Your choice on the paper size will depend on the content or the information you want it to contain.

Put your advertising theme on paper. There are businesses that get the services of professional designers – individuals who are proficient in graphic design and are experienced in print advertising. If you want to create visually captivating flyers, hire a designer.

But if you want to cut costs and do it on your own, you can either make use of design templates available online or create one from scratch using a design software or computer program. Make sure, though, that you are able to create an effective design with the use of basic concepts and principles in aesthetics.

When printing your flyers, go for full color. Monochrome is simply boring. Make them pop out from the rest. Use glossy as it is eye catching and calls for action.

Website Design Manchester

Website Design Manchester - How to Make Special Awareness Campaign Flyers

2012-01-15T15:01:00.001-08:00

The tools for an awareness or information campaigns are very varied, but custom flyers are said to be one of the best and most reliable.

They not only provide people with the detailed information that they need to really understand the important issue, but these custom flyers also deliver that information in the proper manner that helps the information really stick to its readers.

If your color flyer printing seems to lack that quality though, then you might need some help. In this tutorial, I will teach you how to make special awareness campaign or information campaign flyers that are better and more effective. Just follow the tips and steps listed below and everything should be fine with your special awareness flyers.

1. Look for the most efficient sized template – Before anything else, you should always look for the best and most efficient sized flyer template. The size of the flyer must be well balanced, depending on the size of your content and the ease with which people can carry them. Always try to get the smallest custom flyer size that you can so that you can optimize your flyer’s mobility and content.

2. Make the layout simple – For awareness campaign flyers, the best thing to do in terms of its layout is to keep it simple. People don’t want to read overtly complicated layouts in flyers, especially if it looks like there are a lot of things to read and understand.

SO it is best to keep things simple with the layout by using one column to three column formats that are easily understood. Trust me, those readers should be able to understand more with a very simple layout, and they will enjoy the experience better.

3. Use sections and lists for text – To make your custom flyer content ideal for awareness campaigns, you should try to use sections and lists for the text. Dividing information into lists and special sections help people compartmentalize information into easy to remember chunks that they can digest.

If your true objective in flyer printing is to really make people aware of the important issues and information that you want to convey, then it is important that you adapt this kind of information chunking. So whenever possible with your content, try to form sections and lists.

4. Write concisely with detail – When it comes to writing, you should of course try to write in a concise style with the most important details included in the flyer. This a hard balance to achieve, but it is needed since most flyers have a limited amount of space to work with.

So make sure that you identify all the important details that you need passed on and write it in the most concise and short manner as possible.

5. Use clear simple graphics – Since flyers only have a few seconds to attract and inform people, it is best to use clear and simple graphics for support in your color flyers. Make sure that the composition communicates what you need correctly and simply so that even at the first glance, readers can already know what that custom flyer is all about.

6. Make the flyer tough - If your awareness campaign will require several weeks or months to complete, it is recommended that you try to make the custom flyer tough. In flyer printing, try to have the flyer printing company use really thick and water resistant paper materials to increase the flyer’s lifespan.

With these tough flyers that can resist moisture and basic physical attacks, you should be able to present your information to readers in the best possible way for the longest possible time. So when you have the resources, try to make your flyers as tough as possible.

7. Follow up when possible – Finally, always try to follow up your flyers with another improved flyer printing batch when possible. Reinforcement is key to retain information and to maintain awareness. Follow up flyers should help hem in your important information and make them understand it better.

Great! Hopefully these tips should help you a lot with your own awareness flyers. Good Luck with your flyer printing!

Website Design Manchester

Website Design Manchester - 5 Causes Why Your Flyers Become Faulty

2012-01-15T14:57:00.001-08:00

Do you have faulty flyers?

Are they not advertising your products and services correctly? Is the money invested in color flyers not giving you the extra sales or exposure that you need? If all of this is happening to you, you should know that there are five main reasons why this is so. No, it is not just about bad flyer templates from the flyer printing company. It is about your own flyer design and its shortcomings. Let me explain to you precisely what the problems may be and possibly give you some solutions.

1. Your marketing offer is not appealing.

The primary reason why your custom flyers may not be working relates primarily to your marketing offer. You cannot “just” offer something for sale in your flyers. That marketing offer must be special and appealing. People must gain something really great for them to pay attention.

That marketing offer should give people the impression of money saved, luxury gained or simply good opportunities. It must always be special because if it is not, and it looks just like any other offer out there, you will not make headway with your flyers. That is why it is always important to take the time in composing the message for your advertising flyers. It must be perfect with the most appealing marketing offer.

2. Your design is not eye-catching.

The next main reason why your color flyers are not effective is simply because of its design. If your color flyers are not designed to be eye-catching and original, then they will suffer all the fates that usually happen with other common marketing flyers. They just get glanced at and thrown away.

So always try to develop an original design that is distinct from the common flyers people see today. Try to always develop something innovative that turns your flyers into something that is a must to see. This will flag your advertising flyers for attention, giving the way to success.

3. The printing quality is not ideal.

It is also fact that printing quality can determine the success of failure of color flyers. Bad materials in flyer printing typically results in flimsy and damaged prints after being exposed into typical environments for just a few days. Most people are not really keen on paying attention too much on those kinds of color flyers and of course those will be destined to fail. That is why it is always a wiser investment to use the best materials you can afford so that people do pay attention to your quality custom flyers.

4. Your distribution is flawed.

Sometimes, it may also just the distribution plan that is not working. If you are only distributing your flyers at the front of your shop, then you definitely have a lot of things to do. A flawed distribution plan like that will not really get the most responses from advertising flyers. You should always be dynamic and give away those flyers in multiple places that have a lot of people traffic. The more areas and people you give those flyers to, the more success you will have.

5. You lack the effective numbers.

Lastly, you may not know this, but sometimes it is just about the number of flyers. In an advertising method such as this, numbers are important to getting that large impact on the market. If you just printed 100 flyers, typically that is not enough. You will need hundreds even thousands of flyers to get enough people to pay attention. So make sure that you have the recommended number for a certain target area and market.

With precise knowledge of these reasons of failure in flyer design and printing, you should know now where and when to act on your flyer advertising campaign.

Website Design Manchester

Websites Manchester - Is Flyer Printing Feasible For Your Business?

2012-01-15T14:55:00.001-08:00

Want to know if flyer printing is a good move for your business?

Well let me give you the basic factors that should help you decide if flyer printing is feasible indeed in your situation. There are five elements that should mark cheap flyer printing as useful for you. Let me explain to you each of these elements and situations one by one.

1. A promising local market – The first element that makes flyer printing an ideal investment for a business is a promising local market. Color flyers are of course meant to be used locally in your neighbourhood or city. So try to see if there is a large enough market for you in your specific location.

Since some businesses actually have a more national market, or even an international market, flyers might not actually be feasible for them. However, if you think there is enough people in your city that will be responsive to your business offer, then flyer printing is the best. I would recommend that you do your market research well and see the demographics of your area to figure out if you truly have a promising local market.

2. A clearly defined business offer – Next, you must look inward. A crucial element for the feasibility of flyer printing for your business is if you have a clearly defined business offer. Since you are promoting your business, you have a clearly fleshed out business offer that attracts people.

If you are just telling people you are selling something and don’t tell them why they can benefit from that sale, then they won’t really mind your custom flyers too much. So make sure that you look within yourself and your business and think about what you want to offer your market through your custom flyers. Without it, you might as well not print flyers.

3. Available talent and materials – Next, try to determine if you have the ability to design your custom flyers. Do you have the talent that can help you create flyers? Do you have a good layout artist? A good writer? Or are you doing this all by yourself? If so, can you handle doing it?

It is important to assess your capabilities to actually create a design for flyer printing. Because if you can’t and you don’t have people who can do it for you, then you will have a very hard time in flyer printing. It might not even be worth the time, money and effort if your capabilities for flyer development are sketchy at best. So try to asses if you can do it or not.

4. Easy printing access – You should also note if you have easy printing access for the printing of flyers. Do you have a good printer that you can use for the production? Do you know of a flyer printing company in your vicinity that you can trust? Are you able to log on to the Internet and have the resources to hire an online flyer printing company?

Any of these methods will do as long as they are available to you of course and you have the resources. I would recommend you go for online flyer printing though because you only need an internet connection for easy printing access.

5. Easy distribution avenues – Finally, check to see you already have easy distribution avenues for your color flyers. Do you already have the staff that is willing to give out your flyers? Do you know of special public locations where you can leave your flyers for pickup? Do you have the facility to send direct mail marketing materials with your flyers?

Try to determine if you can in fact distribute your flyers easily to see if it is really feasible to print flyers for marketing. Since flyers are easy enough to deploy though, most of you should be able to. But it is important to at least check so that you won’t have any problems down the road.

So that is how you can check if it is feasible for you to use flyer printing for your business. Most business should be able to use color flyers effectively enough, however it is important to always check so that you can get the important elements together before you really spend the money in flyer printing.

Website Design Manchester

Websites Manchester - Here’s My New Business Cards

2012-01-15T14:52:00.001-08:00

Give them out to friends and family or post them on a few bulletin boards and hope for the business to come rolling in?

How about putting them on tables at restaurants (yes business card spamming is alive and well ).

A good one at trade shows is every vendor tossing business cards to anyone that comes within a few feet of their booth. I guess they heard about the old network marketing 3-foot rule!

Okay enough of that!
Wait! I’ll admit there are some business’s, biz opps for example, that have a huge potential market and some of those strategies could work. But for most businesses it’s just a waste of a good business card, that’s unfortunate, because your business card can be powerful and effective direct marketing tools…
So in direct marketing you don’t pass them all around and hope for the best.

What you do is:
1. Find people that would be interested in your offering (a prospect in marketing speak).
2. Talk with them and see if they really are interested in your business.
3. Then give them your business card, and just point out some of the benefits that your business provides (highlight or write them on the card).
(So you have someone interested in your product or service and they ave a way to get in touch with you. Let them know that you’ll follow-up with them and…)
4. Now your job is to follow-up with them and ask the right questions to help them understand why it is in their best interest (if you really believe it is BTW) to become your client.

Sure it’s easier said than done. Hey most things are.
However, it’s a simple business cards marketing formula and will work wonders with virtually any business.

Website Design Manchester

Website Manchester - Be More Competitive in Flyer Printing

2012-01-08T10:23:00.001-08:00

There is competition everywhere, even in flyer printing.

• Reader-centric content – One of the first keys to competitive flyer printing is to always remember to develThere is competition everywhere, even in flyer printing. If you want your investment in flyer printing to be worth it, you will need to be a little bit more competitive with how you design and deploy these advertising flyers.

Be it expensive or cheap flyer printing, the tips below should help you to always be keep ahead with your rivals and be competitive.

• Reader-centric content – One of the first keys to competitive flyer printing is to always remember to develop reader-centric content. By this, I mean that you should always write content that really matters to your target readers. Your content must not be just about why your product/business is good. It should also include content that helps readers realize why your marketing message should matter to them.

Will the reader save money with your offer? Will they have an easier life? Will it make their tasks easier or will they look better in front of their friends and family? When readers realize the REAL benefits of your offer, then your color flyers will have a big chance of succeeding in its mission. So try to always go for reader-centric content.

• Original and highly noticeable designs – Another important key to competitiveness is the presence of an original and highly noticeable design. You will no doubt have noticed today that lots of people are printing their own for advertising. To compete with them all, you must always think of and compose original and highly noticeable designs so that your flyers will look different and distinct from all the rest that floods your market. So take some time and really brainstorm a unique design for your flyers. Try to use unusual colors, unusual images and very original content approaches.

• Durable makeup – It is also important for a competitive flyer to be durable. Most will usually be exposed to a variety of environments that will slowly damage them and make them look old. To keep them from becoming old too fast, it is good to invest in printing with durable materials. Usually, the thickest materials will work best in making the color flyer though. Beyond that, a healthy coating of glossy and water resistant paper should help make its life longer. This can add to the printing cost of flyers but it should help your flyers be powerfully competitive on the market.

• Extensive and targeted deployment locations – Being competitive also includes being extensive and targeted with the deployment. I say extensive because you will want to cover as wide an area as you can with your deployment to get the most number of people reading them. I also say targeted because you will want to deploy first to the possible areas where your target readers hang out or pass by. If you are both extensive and targeted with your deployment of marketing flyers, you should be as competitive as you will ever be with your campaign.

• Repeating deployment strategy – Lastly, a marketing campaign needs a repeating deployment strategy to be competitive. It is not enough to just give them all out in one day. You should always try to repeat the deployment every so often so that you can reinforce your message and convince reluctant potential customers to respond to your message. So always plan to redeploy at least two or three more times for a more competitive flyer marketing campaign.

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2012-01-04T17:14:00.001-08:00

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Is Flyer Printing Feasible For Your Business?

2010-12-01T17:39:00.000-08:00

Want to know if flyer printing is a good move for your business? Well let me give you the basic factors that should help you decide if flyer printing is feasible indeed in your situation. There are five elements that should mark cheap flyer printing as useful for you. Let me explain to you each of these elements and situations one by one.

1. A promising local market – The first element that makes flyer printing an ideal investment for a business is a promising local market. Color flyers are of course meant to be used locally in your neighbourhood or city. So try to see if there is a large enough market for you in your specific location. Since some businesses actually have a more national market, or even an international market, flyers might not actually be feasible for them. However, if you think there is enough people in your city that will be responsive to your business offer, then flyer printing is the best. I would recommend that you do your market research well and see the demographics of your area to figure out if you truly have a promising local market.

2. A clearly defined business offer – Next, you must look inward. A crucial element for the feasibility of flyer printing for your business is if you have a clearly defined business offer. Since you are promoting your business, you have a clearly fleshed out business offer that attracts people. If you are just telling people you are selling something and don’t tell them why they can benefit from that sale, then they won’t really mind your custom flyers too much. So make sure that you look within yourself and your business and think about what you want to offer your market through your custom flyers. Without it, you might as well not print flyers.

3. Available talent and materials – Next, try to determine if you have the ability to design your custom flyers. Do you have the talent that can help you create flyers? Do you have a good layout artist? A good writer? Or are you doing this all by yourself? If so, can you handle doing it?

It is important to assess your capabilities to actually create a design for flyer printing. Because if you can’t and you don’t have people who can do it for you, then you will have a very hard time in flyer printing. It might not even be worth the time, money and effort if your capabilities for flyer development are sketchy at best. So try to asses if you can do it or not.

4. Easy printing access – You should also note if you have easy printing access for the printing of flyers. Do you have a good printer that you can use for the production? Do you know of a flyer printing company in your vicinity that you can trust? Are you able to log on to the Internet and have the resources to hire an online flyer printing company? Any of these methods will do as long as they are available to you of course and you have the resources. I would recommend you go for online flyer printing though because you only need an internet connection for easy printing access.

5. Easy distribution avenues – Finally, check to see you already have easy distribution avenues for your color flyers. Do you already have the staff that is willing to give out your flyers? Do you know of special public locations where you can leave your flyers for pickup? Do you have the facility to send direct mail marketing materials with your flyers? Try to determine if you can in fact distribute your flyers easily to see if it is really feasible to print flyers for marketing. Since flyers are easy enough to deploy though, most of you should be able to. But it is important to at least check so that you won’t have any problems down the road.

So that is how you can check if it is feasible for you to use flyer printing for your business. Most business should be able to use color flyers effectively enough, however it is important to always check so that you can get the important elements together before you really spend the money in flyer printing.

5 Causes Why Your Flyers Become Faulty

2010-12-01T17:38:00.000-08:00

Do you have faulty flyers? Are they not advertising your products and services correctly? Is the money invested in color flyers not giving you the extra sales or exposure that you need? If all of this is happening to you, you should know that there are five main reasons why this is so. No, it is not just about bad flyer templates from the flyer printing company. It is about your own flyer design and its shortcomings. Let me explain to you precisely what the problems may be and possibly give you some solutions.

1. Your marketing offer is not appealing.

The primary reason why your custom flyers may not be working relates primarily to your marketing offer. You cannot “just” offer something for sale in your flyers. That marketing offer must be special and appealing. People must gain something really great for them to pay attention.

That marketing offer should give people the impression of money saved, luxury gained or simply good opportunities. It must always be special because if it is not, and it looks just like any other offer out there, you will not make headway with your flyers. That is why it is always important to take the time in composing the message for your advertising flyers. It must be perfect with the most appealing marketing offer.

2. Your design is not eye-catching.

The next main reason why your color flyers are not effective is simply because of its design. If your color flyers are not designed to be eye-catching and original, then they will suffer all the fates that usually happen with other common marketing flyers. They just get glanced at and thrown away.

So always try to develop an original design that is distinct from the common flyers people see today. Try to always develop something innovative that turns your flyers into something that is a must to see. This will flag your advertising flyers for attention, giving the way to success.

3. The printing quality is not ideal.

It is also fact that printing quality can determine the success of failure of color flyers. Bad materials in flyer printing typically results in flimsy and damaged prints after being exposed into typical environments for just a few days. Most people are not really keen on paying attention too much on those kinds of color flyers and of course those will be destined to fail. That is why it is always a wiser investment to use the best materials you can afford so that people do pay attention to your quality custom flyers.

4. Your distribution is flawed.

Sometimes, it may also just the distribution plan that is not working. If you are only distributing your flyers at the front of your shop, then you definitely have a lot of things to do. A flawed distribution plan like that will not really get the most responses from advertising flyers. You should always be dynamic and give away those flyers in multiple places that have a lot of people traffic. The more areas and people you give those flyers to, the more success you will have.

5. You lack the effective numbers.

Lastly, you may not know this, but sometimes it is just about the number of flyers. In an advertising method such as this, numbers are important to getting that large impact on the market. If you just printed 100 flyers, typically that is not enough. You will need hundreds even thousands of flyers to get enough people to pay attention. So make sure that you have the recommended number for a certain target area and market.

With precise knowledge of these reasons of failure in flyer design and printing, you should know now where and when to act on your flyer advertising campaign.

How to Make Special Awareness Campaign Flyers

2010-12-01T17:36:00.000-08:00

The tools for an awareness or information campaigns are very varied, but custom flyers are said to be one of the best and most reliable. They not only provide people with the detailed information that they need to really understand the important issue, but these custom flyers also deliver that information in the proper manner that helps the information really stick to its readers.

If your color flyer printing seems to lack that quality though, then you might need some help. In this tutorial, I will teach you how to make special awareness campaign or information campaign flyers that are better and more effective. Just follow the tips and steps listed below and everything should be fine with your special awareness flyers.

1. Look for the most efficient sized template – Before anything else, you should always look for the best and most efficient sized flyer template. The size of the flyer must be well balanced, depending on the size of your content and the ease with which people can carry them. Always try to get the smallest custom flyer size that you can so that you can optimize your flyer’s mobility and content.

2. Make the layout simple – For awareness campaign flyers, the best thing to do in terms of its layout is to keep it simple. People don’t want to read overtly complicated layouts in flyers, especially if it looks like there are a lot of things to read and understand. SO it is best to keep things simple with the layout by using one column to three column formats that are easily understood. Trust me, those readers should be able to understand more with a very simple layout, and they will enjoy the experience better.

3. Use sections and lists for text – To make your custom flyer content ideal for awareness campaigns, you should try to use sections and lists for the text. Dividing information into lists and special sections help people compartmentalize information into easy to remember chunks that they can digest. If your true objective in flyer printing is to really make people aware of the important issues and information that you want to convey, then it is important that you adapt this kind of information chunking. So whenever possible with your content, try to form sections and lists.

4. Write concisely with detail – When it comes to writing, you should of course try to write in a concise style with the most important details included in the flyer. This a hard balance to achieve, but it is needed since most flyers have a limited amount of space to work with. So make sure that you identify all the important details that you need passed on and write it in the most concise and short manner as possible.

5. Use clear simple graphics – Since flyers only have a few seconds to attract and inform people, it is best to use clear and simple graphics for support in your color flyers. Make sure that the composition communicates what you need correctly and simply so that even at the first glance, readers can already know what that custom flyer is all about.

6. Make the flyer tough - If your awareness campaign will require several weeks or months to complete, it is recommended that you try to make the custom flyer tough. In flyer printing, try to have the flyer printing company use really thick and water resistant paper materials to increase the flyer’s lifespan. With these tough flyers that can resist moisture and basic physical attacks, you should be able to present your information to readers in the best possible way for the longest possible time. So when you have the resources, try to make your flyers as tough as possible.

7. Follow up when possible – Finally, always try to follow up your flyers with another improved flyer printing batch when possible. Reinforcement is key to retain information and to maintain awareness. Follow up flyers should help hem in your important information and make them understand it better.

Great! Hopefully these tips should help you a lot with your own awareness flyers. Good Luck with your flyer printing!

Choose Flyer Printing to Promote Your Business

2010-12-01T17:35:00.000-08:00

Businesses have always utilized advertising concepts that are tried and tested. Yes, there are tools and materials that do not work and are specific only to certain demography.

However, there are also those that are not only efficient, but are also those that are budget-friendly. Print advertising, for example, has always opened the doors for earning potential. These include flyers which have always been a reliable marketing material. These, handy as they are, have always generated revenue streams as well as opened for cash flow. You cannot doubt its earning capability!

There are a lot of benefits you get from flyer printing and print advertising in general. Once, you can get in touch with your target clientele at the lowest cost. These flyers can be produced en masse and distributed to your clientele, even if they number into thousands, without burning a huge hole on your pocket. Do not worry, though, if your expenses are already way past your budget. You can avail of discount coupons from printing companies that you can find online or even in your own locality. You just need to find out where you can get this and how to avail of them.

Another benefit is that you can customize your flyers as well as print materials for a quick turn around or immediate client response. They are easy to distribute. You can even just leave a file of flyers at counters, and surely, customers can keep and read them. You can make a niche for your product or service in the market, too. By promoting its benefits that can be unpredictable to consumers, you can assure that they will be availing of your products or services. On your flyer, create a very captivating message with the use of images.

If you have decided to go for flyer printing as a part of your over all marketing campaign plan, here are the basics. One, there are different types of paper stock, and you have to choose the one that is ideal for flyers. Commercial print houses may use a different paperweight, so you need to find one that is reputable.

Always go for quality prints, but at an affordable price. You need to make the most out of your money, so you need to invest it on good quality. There are different paper sizes toy can choose from. You can opt for a double full page size, legal size, full page or half sheet, among others. Your choice on the paper size will depend on the content or the information you want it to contain.

Put your advertising theme on paper. There are businesses that get the services of professional designers – individuals who are proficient in graphic design and are experienced in print advertising. If you want to create visually captivating flyers, hire a designer. But if you want to cut costs and do it on your own, you can either make use of design templates available online or create one from scratch using a design software or computer program. Make sure, though, that you are able to create an effective design with the use of basic concepts and principles in aesthetics.

When printing your flyers, go for full color. Monochrome is simply boring. Make them pop out from the rest. Use glossy as it is eye catching and calls for action.

A Bold New Direction in Flyer Printing by Colleen Davis

2010-12-01T17:32:00.000-08:00

Want to create the best advertising flyers in your industry? Do you want to have great party flyers that people will always respond to? If you do want to create the best kinds of advertising flyers out there, then I would suggest that you follow a bold new direction in flyer printing and design. Below are a few tips that should take you to the right direction to bold new design and printing techniques with full color flyers. Just read on and integrate these techniques for your design process, you won’t regret it.

• Using distinct memorable shaped flyers – One of the boldest things you can do in flyer printing is to use distinct memorable shapes for flyer printing. Everybody expects a rectangular flyer these days because it is the most common. However, with today’s technology in flyer design and printing, it is now relatively easy to create custom shaped color flyers that everyone will notice and find quite memorable.

You can use any shape you wish in most cases, from circle flyers, square flyers and even silhouette flyers of people, animals and other symbols. You can really be creative about this and in most cases you should turn out quite an amazing looking flyer that people will definitely remember.

• Adding interactive elements to the design – Another way you can be bold about your flyer designs is to add interactive elements into it. Instead of just color flyers that display information, you can add additional features to it so that people can engage with your flyers and interact with it more. This can be as simple as adding in a puzzle of sorts to the flyer, or you can actually create a flyer with moving elements, or pop-up paper elements. Some flyer printing companies can do these customizations for you for an extra fee. These things should turn your flyer into a very distinct kind of flyer that people will really remember, and even keep, since it is cool and interactive.

• Using very unusual materials in the flyers – It is also possible to be bold with your flyer printing materials. Instead of the usual flyer paper that is relatively rough and weak, you can actually use other very special paper materials. There are special thick and glossy paper for high quality flyer printing that you can use. There are also thin plastic materials that can be applicable for use as flyers. These special materials will add a whole new element to your flyer printing, making it quite different and more durable at the same time.

Also take note that you can also play with the actual ink materials for custom flyer printing. Besides using black ink, you can use special full color inks, glossy inks, metallic inks and even glitter inks that makes the flyer look like a very high quality poster or brochure. These special inks are of course more expensive, but it will give your flyers a great and bold new look.

• Adding more functionality to flyers – Lastly, you can be bold with your flyer printing by adding more functionality to it. Besides becoming a vehicle for information distribution, you can also add other uses to it by just adding some other extra design elements. You can make your flyers with order forms on the back, or you can actually add in coupon cut outs and even ticket slits and containers into them. This adds a lot more detail and functionality to your color flyers making them a great new and bold tool for your business.

Great! So as you can see, you have plenty of great options to go into a bold new direction with your flyer printing. Why don’t you take a risk and try out some of the above steps? They are only flyers anyway, you can really experiment with them. Good luck!

Make Your Flyer Printing Project a Breeze by Kaye Z. Marks

2010-12-01T17:31:00.001-08:00

Accomplishing your printing projects can sometimes get too exhausting that it can wear you out. This can occur even in a simple activity such as flyer printing or leaflet printing.

However, do not worry. There is a way to make printing easier and more convenient. This way starts with you. Before you hand over your material to your printer, you can throw in something to make flyer printing a breeze.

The first thing to do is to target a realistic deadline. Remember that printing can be done by one person or by a group. You should therefore set a reasonable working schedule with whatever the arrangement is. This will lessen the hassle and pressure of getting the work done.

Even if the project is not a team effort, remember that you will still be counting on your printing company when it comes to the printing process. It is thus wise to set a workable turnaround and delivery time within your timetable. Do not forget to allot some significant time as well for obtaining printing proofs and quotations. In addition, if ever anything goes wrong, you have extra time to revise your material. That is the advantage of establishing and following a rational deadline.

Another thing to look into is the concept of your flyers. Always remember that the over-all package of your campaign should be reflected in your flyers. This means you all have your text, photos and designs in harmony with the whole concept and theme of your advocacy. It is truly important to bring life to your concept. You have to learn the skill of articulating your ideas through these pieces of paper. Also, you have to know and understand its potency and strengths so you can attune your design and layout to it.

You must also focus on the fundamentals of your flyers or the very basic elements in it. Remember, your project is your baby. You, more than anyone else, should know how you want it to come out. You should put your heart into its every detail. Hence, it is important that you pay attention to all its content. Ask yourself how you want your flyers to appear, what colors would make it stand out, and what images would complement your message. If you are planning to go into die cutting, it is important as well to know how precise it should be done.

In addition, you should always keep in mind your selling philosophy. Ask yourself always what would keep your target clientele close to you. That is one way of knowing what to highlight about your flyers. If you want to emphasize the design, you can think of the colors that will make people notice it. On the other hand, use the font style and size that will make it more interesting.

Do not also overlook the fact that flyers can become more effective when distributed with other print materials. Press kits can create more impact on your clients because of how it is packaged as well as the handful of materials it contains. It is truly a stylish and striking way of marketing your product.

Always think of ways to make your flyer printing easy, fun and hassle-free. Like leaflets, flyers are not so taxing to create. Just remember the elements that you should consider and your flyer and leaflet printing will open new doors for you.

10 Questions about Flyer Printing Answered Right Now by Colleen Davis

2010-12-01T17:31:00.000-08:00

Do you want to know where to look for good flyer templates? Need to know the costs of custom flyer printing? How about the best places to print flyers? If you have these questions and more about flyer printing, then you have come to the right place. I have here the top ten questions about flyers and flyer templates listed below, along with (of course) all the answers for them. Hopefully, this should solve all problems in flyer printing and help you print them with no hassle at all for you.

1. How much does flyer printing cost?

Flyer printing is pretty cheap. If you manage your options right, you can actually print 250 pieces of one page full color flyers for just $35 or even lower. So flyer printing cost is not really a problem. Just try to learn the different options you have and see how they can raise or lower your costs. Almost anyone can print flyers at such low costs.

2. Where can I print flyers?

There are lots of avenues for flyer printing. You can print them yourself using your own color printer. You can try finding a flyer printing company in your vicinity. Lastly, you can go online and have an online flyer printing company do all the printing for you. You have plenty of options each with its own pros and cons. The most convenient and fastest way though to print flyers would be to have them printed through an online printer and have them delivered to you.

3. What tools do I need to design flyers?

What you really need to do to design flyers is a design or desktop publishing application. For beginners, any word processor like Microsoft Word should do. For more skilled people, you will probably want to use something like Microsoft Publisher, Adobe Indesign and even Adobe Photoshop if you can handle it. Just use the tool that you are most comfortable with and you should be fine.

4. Where can I find flyer templates?

You can find flyer templates on the Internet all for free these days. Just use your search engine and just look for “free flyer templates”. I would recommend going to printing or publishing websites online when you encounter them on your search, since they typically offer free flyer templates that can be used with many different kinds of programs. This is the easiest method in looking for free color flyer templates.

5. What is a good layout for flyers?

A good layout for a flyer would be one main headline text, a simple image below it and the supporting text afterward. This is the simplest layout that you can have, that is effective still for most readers. If you want something different, just try to browse through the different examples of great flyers over the Internet. There should be tons out there that are great examples for a color flyer layout.

6. Is color flyer printing worth it?

Yes definitely. Color flyer printing is worth it. You might think that printing in black ink is more cost-effective, but the truth is, you will be wasting money on that because people hardly respond to black inked flyers today. Everybody wants full color flyers and they usually only respond to those flyers since it looks more professional and fleshed out. So print your flyers in color always.

7. How fast can I print flyers?

Pretty fast, most printing companies can offer 24 hour rush flyer printing if you want. Just specify it with your order. Others will deliver it 3-5 working days after the order has been received.

8. What paper is good for flyers?

The best paper materials for flyer printing are the thicker or heavier paper materials with special water resistant chemical coatings. This will make the flyer look more glossy, while at the same time toughening it up to lengthen its life.

9. How big should my flyers be?

Flyers should be pretty small since they have to be mobile. A good flyer should be anywhere between an 8.5 by 11 inch flyer to a 4.25 by 5.5 flyer. Anything larger and smaller and you’ll have issues with impact and mobility.

10. How many flyers should I print?

For a typical marketing campaign, it is best to print around 250 pieces or more. If you live in a large city, you might want that amped to around 500 pieces. Or more of course But 250 pieces should be decent for any initial marketing campaign.

Great! Now you know the important answers to the common questions about flyer printing. Hopefully you have learned a lot from this list. Good luck!

Thrifty Habits When Doing a Flyer Printing Project by Kaye Z. Marks

2010-12-01T17:29:00.000-08:00

Do you want to print full color flyers cheaply? If you do, then you are reading the right reference material.

In this guide, I will teach you a few thrifty habits in printing that you can apply to your full color flyers. Following the items below should help you reduce the cost of flyer printing from 10-30%. So be attentive and remember these five simple and thrifty habits in flyer printing.

• Compose your own designs – A big part is of course the design process. Most companies use professional layout artists to make their flyer designs. This can add a lot more to the cost of printing than you can afford, especially if you are a small business. To help you save money and still have a good design, all you have to do actually is to compose your own design.

That is right! By creating your own design, you can cut the overall cost and have full creative control of the design process. With all the new easy to use desktop publishing software available to you now, it should be a cinch to do. So do not be afraid to put on an effort in designing. It should be your key to cheaper printing costs.

• Print smaller flyers – One simple and elegant solution to help reduce the cost is to just print smaller flyers. You will not need a whole 8.5 by 11 inch letter sized flyer in most cases right? By cutting those dimensions in half, or using smaller standard dimensions, you can reduce the cost significantly. It is only logical to save on printing because you are printing smaller. So if your content can fit in a smaller dimension, give yourself a break and do use smaller printers. It is more cost effective.

• Use cheap paper – The printing paper is also a good area to look for savings. You will not really need all those fancy and glossy paper materials all the time. For simple and cost effective advertising, it is quite okay to use cheap paper that is slightly thin and rough. Since these will only need a few seconds to deliver its message and succeed in its job, the paper will not really matter too much to the reader. As long as you have a great flyer message concept, you should be able to print flyers in cheap paper and still succeed with your advertising campaign.

• Minimize customization – Another good thrifty habit is to always minimize customization. Customization always adds more cost. Unusual dimensions, special colors, exotic inks and other special request all entail an added labour cost when you order your prints from a flyer printer. By always keeping those customized options at a minimum and using standard templates, you should get more savings from your printing efforts.

• Pick your printer well – Lastly, thrifty printing means choosing the printing company well. Some are all advertising and pizzazz without really giving quality flyer prints and costs. Therefore, you have to really be meticulous and analyze who has the best quality prints for a lesser cost. It is good to check at least 10 or more printers to accurately gauge what is a bargain and what is not. Whatever the case, with a more extensive search for flyer printers, you should be able to get the cheapest one that fits your budget.

Now you know how to be thrifty in flyer printing. Put the knowledge you gained to good use. Good Luck!

The Important Steps in Preparing Images for Flyer Printing

2010-12-01T17:28:00.000-08:00

So you are thinking of getting a lot of full color flyers for marketing eh? Well before you insert images into your flyer printing design, you may want to know first how exactly to prepare images for full color flyers correctly. Let me give you the simple and most important steps that you should know. Just read the list below and you should know what you need to do.

• Get images from original sources – If you want your images to really look good within color flyers, one very big thing you must remember is to always get your images from original sources. Do not get them from secondary sources from the Internet which are in lower resolutions. Always source them from actual scanned photographs and specific high resolution graphics.

This means of course that it is best that you make them yourself, or have them made for you. Original sources of images usually have the highest quality and the highest resolution, fit for any kind of printing. These are the most ideal kinds to put into your flyer since they do not get fuzzy or loose quality when they are printed. So this is one of your first priorities in preparing an image for flyer printing.

• Crop or cut the image into a manageable file – Once you have your original, high resolution image ready, you can then prepare it for flyer printing by cropping or cutting the image into a manageable image file. In most cases, you will have lots of white spaces, backgrounds and other design elements that need to be cut from your large image. By cutting them down properly, early on in the process, you should be able to work with those images a lot more better in the flyer design. So crop and cut those images well. Make sure that you only get the objects and imagery that you really need for your custom flyers.

• Remove noise and minute errors – Another important tip in preparing those images for flyer printing is that you have to remove those noise elements and minute errors within those images. Not all scans and graphics are perfect, and there will always be that small pixel noise or image damage that makes the image look off and unprofessional for flyer printing. That is why it is crucial that you try to remove these little pixel noise and other errors. It is easy to do this by using image editing applications such as Photoshop. So make sure you try to remove those errors.

• Do the basic initial enhancements – Now, since you are already removing the noise and other errors in your custom flyer image, you may want to also prepare your flyers even further by doing some basic and initial enhancements. The best enhancements to prepare your images would be adjustments of the brightness and contrast settings, color corrections, vibrancy values and even the color hues if you want. The more brighter and clearer your images are, the better they will look in flyer printing.

• Do some test printing – Finally, as a final preparation for the images, you might want to do one test printing of the image so that you can really see how they will look after being printed. Sometimes the gross errors and mistakes can only be spotted once the prints are done, so the test print is a great way to assess the look of the images and make sure that nothing really is off about them.

Great! With all these preparations, your images should be more than perfect for flyer printing already.

Be More Competitive in Flyer Printing

2010-12-01T17:27:00.000-08:00

There is competition everywhere, even in flyer printing. If you want your investment in flyer printing to be worth it, you will need to be a little bit more competitive with how you design and deploy these advertising flyers.

Be it expensive or cheap flyer printing, the tips below should help you to always be keep ahead with your rivals and be competitive.

• Reader-centric content – One of the first keys to competitive flyer printing is to always remember to develThere is competition everywhere, even in flyer printing. If you want your investment in flyer printing to be worth it, you will need to be a little bit more competitive with how you design and deploy these advertising flyers.

Be it expensive or cheap flyer printing, the tips below should help you to always be keep ahead with your rivals and be competitive.

• Reader-centric content – One of the first keys to competitive flyer printing is to always remember to develop reader-centric content. By this, I mean that you should always write content that really matters to your target readers. Your content must not be just about why your product/business is good. It should also include content that helps readers realize why your marketing message should matter to them.

Will the reader save money with your offer? Will they have an easier life? Will it make their tasks easier or will they look better in front of their friends and family? When readers realize the REAL benefits of your offer, then your color flyers will have a big chance of succeeding in its mission. So try to always go for reader-centric content.

• Original and highly noticeable designs – Another important key to competitiveness is the presence of an original and highly noticeable design. You will no doubt have noticed today that lots of people are printing their own for advertising. To compete with them all, you must always think of and compose original and highly noticeable designs so that your flyers will look different and distinct from all the rest that floods your market. So take some time and really brainstorm a unique design for your flyers. Try to use unusual colors, unusual images and very original content approaches.

• Durable makeup – It is also important for a competitive flyer to be durable. Most will usually be exposed to a variety of environments that will slowly damage them and make them look old. To keep them from becoming old too fast, it is good to invest in printing with durable materials. Usually, the thickest materials will work best in making the color flyer though. Beyond that, a healthy coating of glossy and water resistant paper should help make its life longer. This can add to the printing cost of flyers but it should help your flyers be powerfully competitive on the market.

• Extensive and targeted deployment locations – Being competitive also includes being extensive and targeted with the deployment. I say extensive because you will want to cover as wide an area as you can with your deployment to get the most number of people reading them. I also say targeted because you will want to deploy first to the possible areas where your target readers hang out or pass by. If you are both extensive and targeted with your deployment of marketing flyers, you should be as competitive as you will ever be with your campaign.

• Repeating deployment strategy – Lastly, a marketing campaign needs a repeating deployment strategy to be competitive. It is not enough to just give them all out in one day. You should always try to repeat the deployment every so often so that you can reinforce your message and convince reluctant potential customers to respond to your message. So always plan to redeploy at least two or three more times for a more competitive flyer marketing campaign.

How Cheap Flyer Printing Can Help Your Business

2010-12-01T17:26:00.000-08:00

By Bart Icles

We all know that it is difficult to start a business especially if you don't have much capital. However, if you are planning of starting up your own business, there should always be a form of advertising no matter how small your capital is. You should always allocate something for advertising so that people will know about your business.

Advertising has never been out of style. As long as there is something that needs to be marketed, there will always be advertising. Companies know the importance of advertising. For them to generate sales, a good marketing strategy and a lot of advertising is the key. For starting entrepreneurs, flyer distribution is one of the cheapest but effective ways to advertise a business. This is a good option for starting entrepreneurs since not everybody can afford radio, newspaper, billboard, or television ads.

If you are planning on using flyer distribution as your means of advertising your business, you should plan your flyer's content accordingly. It should contain all relevant information that your target market needs to know such as your company name, products and/or services, special offers (if any), and contact details. You can also add images to make them more appealing. Color copy flyers are more attractive and more effective than black and white ones.

The good news for you is that there are printing companies that can offer good quality cheap flyer printing. You can find cheap flyer printing companies online. You can send them a file of your flyer design and give them your desired specifications. The added convenience of being able to avail cheap flyer printing online will enable you to focus on the more important aspects of your starting business.

Cheap flyer printing companies have a variety of printing services and other extended services such as binding, finishing, CD duplication. Some of them also offer bulk DVD duplication services. Most of them offer a lesser unit price for large quantity orders. Some companies also need DVD duplication services to go along with their cheap flyer printing needs. If you need to produce multiple DVD copies quickly, you should look for a company that also offers DVD duplication services.

For your flyer printing needs, or any other business needs, you should select the company that is capable of producing good quality prints at a reasonable price. You'll know if the printing company is capable if they have modern printing equipment to make them do the job right and at the soonest possible time. The important thing you should know is that cheap flyer printing can be had without too much toll on the quality of the flyers produced.

How to Create a Flyer Without the Flyer Printing Service

2010-12-01T17:25:00.000-08:00

By Korilynn Shaw

A professional flyer printing service can be an asset to many companies, but with the decline in the economy, there are a lot of company's that just can't afford to hire a professional flyer printing service. Flyers are the new way to advertise, but with limited cost to the company trying to get the word out.

For example, a company looking to send out high-quality brochures to vendors and potential customers will spend up to $600.00 for a 1,000 brochures. When it comes using flyers, a company will be able to send out a high-quality flyer for a fraction of the cost. A company can easily create a professional looking flyer without the use of a flyer printing service, but there are specifics that make a flyer look professional or handmade.

The Content
When you use a professional flyer printing service, they will typically take your ideas, message and product information and properly place the content to make it the most effective to consumers that read it. The content is not only the way to get your message across to potential customers, but it is also something that plays into the overall design of your flyer. Effective content should be:
Clear
Properly Spelled and with Good Grammar
Precise and to the Point
Gives Enough Detail to Keep Them Interested

Remember that the content of your flyer needs to give enough detail to get the point of your service or product across, but does not have to be overly detailed. An effective summary is just about all you need.

Create a Statement
A flyer printing service can take your content and create a statement for consumers to remember. This statement can be made through the style of your flyer, the content and even the photos that are on it. You want people to glance at your flyer and remember it or at least the company name. If they glance at it and nothing catches their eye, they are not going to contact your company later for more information.

Discover the Right Way to Create Effective Flyer Printing

2010-12-01T17:24:00.001-08:00

By Birendra Mohan Bhattacharjee

The advertising campaign of your business must be effective because there are many others in the competition. Hence, you need to take certain cardinal steps to create effective flyer printing to impress your customers. It is all abut the designing that you put in the publicity material in the market to produce sensational effect to draw notice of people. There are definite guidelines in this respect which provides results of your publicity campaign and justifies the investment to fight competition.

Your publicity materials should always be customer friendly. The content should be to the taste of readers. Your readers must enjoy the content and get some helpful tips from the text. It should be interesting and should contribute to the requirements of customers about several subjects related to the product. It should not only talk about the particular product all the time. Instead, it should relate to all such matters associated with the use of the product to widen the knowledge base of readers in this respect. In short, the information should be beneficial to them.

You must substantiate with proper arguments the value of the investment made by the customer for the product. Highlight additional benefits that are available with your product in comparison to other brands. All salient features of your product should be made in a comparative study format so that the reader is able to make the better choice. Everything should be mentioned in a simple language without the use of any complicated word to avoid unnecessary hiccups.

Flyer printing with unique design qualifies for better appreciation. The styling should be very much inventive and should be original. When you deliver an innovative design in the market, you stand a far superior chance of winning the attention of customers. You should take support of a classy artist to try some ideas and put substantial attention to this area of club flyer printing. Combination of color plays an important role in high class visibility of your publicity campaign.

You must plan to cover a vast area to get more customers. Create your target area in an extensive manner so that you reach a large section of the population, which increases probability quotient in your favor. Create exquisite flyer printing and enjoy rich dividends.

Using Flyer Template for Easy Printing

2010-12-01T17:24:00.000-08:00

By Kaye Marks

Flyers are effective materials for marketing. These handy as well as low cost materials can get the attention of your target clientele and invite them to make an action.

That action is to avail of your products and services. In the competitive world of business, you need to go for reliable tricks and techniques in advertising. One of these is flyer printing which has always generated business revenues and earning potential for many companies. Any company who has achieved great sales will tell you that flyers have always been a part of their marketing campaign plans. These are indispensable materials that can promote your business interests.

If you want to create a flyer on the fly in order to test market your products or services, you can make use of design templates widely available online. Just log on to the World Wide Web and you will be provided with a wide selection of design templates, ranging from the simple to the outrageous. Just keep this in mind, though: you need to attract your clients' attention. Pick a design template that can take anyone pay notice. You may go for design templates that make full use of color as this can be pleasing to the eyes and can call for immediate action.

Aside from those templates that can be found over the internet, you can use one that is on Microsoft Publisher, the easy-to-use computer program that is suitable for design beginners. Open your desktop computer and go to Microsoft Publisher. You can choose from any of the flyer templates available there. Once you have made your choice, edit the flyer template. Emphasize the product or service you want to promote. Tell the benefits in a creative way. Your readers may not have time to read the material in entirety, so you need to keep it straight and concise. Create a great copy and use an attractive design.

If you want to have a template that is undeniably captivating, visually, you can get the services of a graphic designer. You will be guaranteed that the flyer template is unique. You can also provide your design inputs and make unlimited revisions in order to achieve efficiency in product marketing. Brainstorm with your graphic designer as to the concepts and decide on the final design. The designer can provide you with a one-of-a-kind template that can get the attention of everyone and get him or her interested in your products or services.

In addition, you can opt for commercial printing houses or online printing companies when you are about to print. They can give you quality prints at an affordable price and deliver it to you in no time. A lot of businesses have been opting for this set up as these companies offer relatively low prices compared to local print houses. They can even provide you with additional services, such as shipping and delivery as well as mailing. One thing you need to remember though in making an online transaction: know if there are additional charges. You may just be surprised to find out that you have to pay a fortune for delivery.

Do not forget to include your contact information. How can your target clientele find you? Always put your phone and fax numbers, email address, and website, so that they can learn more about your business and the products and services that you offer.

Printing, Flyer Printing

2010-12-01T17:23:00.001-08:00

By Tim Warrington

Using flyers in your marketing campaign is popular and very effective; many small businesses use flyers because they are so effective and relatively cheap. Flyers can be used in conjunction with your other marketing strategies or as standalone adverts for your company and services.

Flyers can be used in many ways; they can be used as hand outs at trade shows and exhibitions which gives you the chance to market your company and your services.

Producing effective flyers does take some work and you need to design an effective flyer that works well for your company. Make sure you have firm design ideas before you begin producing your flyers and take some time to do some research on your market. Producing colourful flyers is great but you will need to pay lots of attention to your text and working closely with designers will help iron out any problems before your flyers are printed.

Making sure you are deliberate with your distribution is always a good idea and making sure you don't randomly give out flyers will ensure that your flyer campaign works for your business. It is always a good idea to include special offers and campaigns in your flyers which will encourage your target audience to respond quickly.

Creating a flyer that people remember is your aim and you can do this by making sure your flyer is impressionable and memorable. Make sure you include content that matters and is relevant to your target audience and spending a little more on design now will reap rewards later on. Design is important because it is what is going to make your company stand out from the rest, it is really important that you take time to brainstorm design ideas.

Using good quality durable material is also really important. Flyers will be in a variety of environments and can quickly look old, using thicker material and water resistant papers will help make your flyers last longer. Using thicker material may add to your costs a little but in the long run, it will add to the success of your flyers.

Flyer campaigns can be successful done in the right way and repeating flyer handouts regularly ensures that your message get across. Giving out flyers in one day may not be enough to reinforce your message and you should repeat the deployment regularly to ensure that your company and services stay ahead of the game.

The Essentials of a Successful Flyer Printing Campaign

2010-12-01T17:23:00.000-08:00

By Kaye Marks

Another effective advertising tool that has helped so many businesses reach out and communicate with their target clientele are pieces of paper containing interesting information known as flyers.

For many years, flyers have become the initial weapon of businesspersons to promote a product, a service or an event to people. Moreover, for a long time now, most entrepreneurs have proven that flyer printing is a worthwhile marketing activity. It has established the awareness of their target market regarding their existence.

Have you ever wondered if flyer printing can be easily done? The truth is, it is fundamentally easy to do. However, the difficult part is creating the type that would become successful and effective. Many printing projects have failed because of the lack of attention on the essential things. These are getting the right printing service, method and of course having the right printing company. When all these three are present, a businessperson will surely achieve the outcome he wants on his project - impressive flyers that would effectively advocate his product and make his business succeed in the end.

Let us first talk about the printing method. The very first step to do to have the sufficient printing method is to know what you really need. Do you need your flyers to be printed in full color? How many flyers do you need? Do you also need high quality flyers that can be printed in an instant? Most importantly, do you have the appropriate budget to see your project through?

Take note of the most important aspect of your project --- the design of your flyer. If you have quality design, you can expect your outputs to appear professional and classy. However, to settle on the most effective design for your flyer, you should first analyze the profile your target market. Considering their tastes and preferences, what design would be a hit to them? What do you think your audience wants to see and read? What can stimulate their interest? All these you have to ask yourself to develop the best design for your flyer.

Now, let us look into printing service. You may want outputs that digitally printed. The quickest and most expensive choice would be printing digital. The advantage of digital printing is that it produces precise flyer prints. All the details and colors will appear absolutely clear and accurate. If you are aiming for full color flyers, you should go for this type of printing to achieve remarkable results. A word of warning though --- this can be very costly since it is often used for short-run printing orders.

The last requirement is having the right printing company to carry out the job. If you do not settle for the best, do not expect to have the ultimate flyers in your hands. To get the most appropriate printing company, you can ask for suggestions and feedback from your friends and colleagues. This will give you a clear idea of what you really want your printer to be. However, you can always opt for online printing. The Web can be your source in finding online printing companies that will save you a lot of time and effort. You can even check out and compare their printing rates online. Indeed, online printing companies have brought the world of printing right at your fingertips.

This works the same if you decide to go for leaflet printing. Keep all these essentials in mind and make sure you end up with the best online printing company. For sure, you will have the most unforgettable leaflets and flyers in town.

Choose Flyer Printing to Promote Your Business

2010-12-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

By Kaye Marks

Businesses have always utilized advertising concepts that are tried and tested. Yes, there are tools and materials that do not work and are specific only to certain demography.

However, there are also those that are not only efficient, but are also those that are budget-friendly. Print advertising, for example, has always opened the doors for earning potential. These include flyers which have always been a reliable marketing material. These, handy as they are, have always generated revenue streams as well as opened for cash flow. You cannot doubt its earning capability!

There are a lot of benefits you get from flyer printing and print advertising in general. Once, you can get in touch with your target clientele at the lowest cost. These flyers can be produced en masse and distributed to your clientele, even if they number into thousands, without burning a huge hole on your pocket. Do not worry, though, if your expenses are already way past your budget. You can avail of discount coupons from printing companies that you can find online or even in your own locality. You just need to find out where you can get this and how to avail of them.

Another benefit is that you can customize your flyers as well as print materials for a quick turn around or immediate client response. They are easy to distribute. You can even just leave a file of flyers at counters, and surely, customers can keep and read them. You can make a niche for your product or service in the market, too. By promoting its benefits that can be unpredictable to consumers, you can assure that they will be availing of your products or services. On your flyer, create a very captivating message with the use of images.

If you have decided to go for flyer printing as a part of your over all marketing campaign plan, here are the basics. One, there are different types of paper stock, and you have to choose the one that is ideal for flyers. Commercial print houses may use a different paperweight, so you need to find one that is reputable.

Always go for quality prints, but at an affordable price. You need to make the most out of your money, so you need to invest it on good quality. There are different paper sizes toy can choose from. You can opt for a double full page size, legal size, full page or half sheet, among others. Your choice on the paper size will depend on the content or the information you want it to contain.

Put your advertising theme on paper. There are businesses that get the services of professional designers - individuals who are proficient in graphic design and are experienced in print advertising. If you want to create visually captivating flyers, hire a designer. But if you want to cut costs and do it on your own, you can either make use of design templates available online or create one from scratch using a design software or computer program. Make sure, though, that you are able to create an effective design with the use of basic concepts and principles in aesthetics.

When printing your flyers, go for full color. Monochrome is simply boring. Make them pop out from the rest. Use glossy as it is eye catching and calls for action.

Make Your Flyer Printing Project a Breeze

2010-12-01T17:21:00.000-08:00

By Kaye Marks

Accomplishing your printing projects can sometimes get too exhausting that it can wear you out. This can occur even in a simple activity such as flyer printing or leaflet printing.

However, do not worry. There is a way to make printing easier and more convenient. This way starts with you. Before you hand over your material to your printer, you can throw in something to make flyer printing a breeze.

The first thing to do is to target a realistic deadline. Remember that printing can be done by one person or by a group. You should therefore set a reasonable working schedule with whatever the arrangement is. This will lessen the hassle and pressure of getting the work done.

Even if the project is not a team effort, remember that you will still be counting on your printing company when it comes to the printing process. It is thus wise to set a workable turnaround and delivery time within your timetable. Do not forget to allot some significant time as well for obtaining printing proofs and quotations. In addition, if ever anything goes wrong, you have extra time to revise your material. That is the advantage of establishing and following a rational deadline.

Another thing to look into is the concept of your flyers. Always remember that the over-all package of your campaign should be reflected in your flyers. This means you all have your text, photos and designs in harmony with the whole concept and theme of your advocacy. It is truly important to bring life to your concept. You have to learn the skill of articulating your ideas through these pieces of paper. Also, you have to know and understand its potency and strengths so you can attune your design and layout to it.

You must also focus on the fundamentals of your flyers or the very basic elements in it. Remember, your project is your baby. You, more than anyone else, should know how you want it to come out. You should put your heart into its every detail. Hence, it is important that you pay attention to all its content. Ask yourself how you want your flyers to appear, what colors would make it stand out, and what images would complement your message. If you are planning to go into die cutting, it is important as well to know how precise it should be done.

In addition, you should always keep in mind your selling philosophy. Ask yourself always what would keep your target clientele close to you. That is one way of knowing what to highlight about your flyers. If you want to emphasize the design, you can think of the colors that will make people notice it. On the other hand, use the font style and size that will make it more interesting.

Do not also overlook the fact that flyers can become more effective when distributed with other print materials. Press kits can create more impact on your clients because of how it is packaged as well as the handful of materials it contains. It is truly a stylish and striking way of marketing your product.

Always think of ways to make your flyer printing easy, fun and hassle-free. Like leaflets, flyers are not so taxing to create. Just remember the elements that you should consider and your flyer and leaflet printing will open new doors for you.

Jumpstart Your Business With Cheap Flyer Printing

2010-12-01T17:20:00.000-08:00

By Bart Icles

One great way to do advertising for starting entrepreneurs is through flyer distribution. It is probably the cheapest, but effective, way to advertise a business. This is an option an entrepreneur can take advantage of for advertising his/her business if they cannot afford newspaper, billboard, radio, or television advertising. The only disadvantage of flyer distribution is that the extent to which you can advertise your business will depend on the number of copies you are able to produce and the effort you dedicate in giving them out. The more flyers you distribute, the better.

The content of the flyers should be planned accordingly. It should contain all important information that the target audience need to know. Important details include the company name, the products/services, promotions, contact details, and store location. You should also make sure that your flyers are attractive enough to catch attention. By doing so, your flyers won't be ignored. It is always best to have flyers printed in full color copies because they are more appealing than those printed in black and white.

What's great today is that there are a lot of printing companies that offer great quality but cheap flyer printing services. You can browse the web for cheap flyer printing companies. You can do all your transactions online. You can tell them the specifications and details of your flyers, send them a file of your design, agree on the terms of payment, and they can have them delivered right at your home or office. This makes it more convenient and this allows you to spend more time on the other important aspects of your start-up business.

Aside from cheap flyer printing, printing companies have other services that a business can avail of. DVD duplication service is one of them. This is very useful whenever you need to record a demo of your products on a DVD. Availing DVD duplication services will enable you to reproduce DVD copies very much faster than when you do it on your own computer.

If you want to start your business on the right note, you should definitely seek the help of a reputable printing company that offers services such as cheap flyer printing and DVD duplication services. They will be able to spare you all the trouble of worrying how to come up with good copies of your flyers. Make sure you choose those that are capable and only those who charge a reasonable fee. Comparing quotes from different companies will enable you to choose the one that would give you good value for your money. So good luck, and remember to choose wisely!

The Secret of Winning Flyer Printing

2010-12-01T17:19:00.000-08:00

By Birendra Mohan Bhattacharjee

If you want to make the business well-known in the locality, it is better to take up the process of flyer printing as the marketing tool where the investment is not burdensome. It can prove winning in terms of popularity in the society so that a customer comes to know the business, products and services that you provide for them. You will find that many of the competitive brands are also using the same process to have a dent in the market for popularity at a low cost. It is due to the beneficial aspect of using flyers, which cost a negligible amount, but offers a tremendous coverage of customers. The only duty on your part is to create a competent material to draw the notice of common citizens and to see that the cost pattern is maintained in the production of flyers.

There are several promotional materials that are produced in lesser cost, which too can substantiate the marketing need of your business. However, the choice of the particular marketing device is a really efficient way to get immense popularity in the local market if you are able to distribute them thoroughly. You have to give the complete attention on the designing section of the job with the inclusion of attractive images to rouse interest in the customer.

If you identify the targeted audience, you can design the club flyer printing accordingly to suit the temperament of the category. For the young batch of customers, you have to go for jazzy designs with colorful images to match the trend of the age. For common group of people, you can choose to create really a serious type of thing which provides information as a beneficial announcement such as deals and double bonus offers to draw the monetary interest, which are favored extremely well. Otherwise, you can just create the contemporary style with top class images to allure people to visit the business.

It is wise to create club flyer printing instead of the general designs, which are seen, everywhere. Use creativity to make a different atmosphere for people enjoying an extraordinary ambiance and then only, you expect a favorable response from customers and proper success in business.

Folded leaflets

2010-12-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

By Various

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leaflets that are folded are usually used for advertising or marketing purposes. There are many types of folds, only the most popular types are listed here. Although it is difficult to put a date on when some of these folds were first used, it is evident that their popularity boomed when the first mass production printers were introduced.

Contents

1 Parallel fold
2 Concertina fold
3 Letter fold
4 Gate fold
5 French fold
6 Double parallel fold
7 Double gate fold
8 See also
9 References
Parallel fold

Different kinds of parallel folds are Concertina folds, Letter Folds and Gate Folds.

Concertina fold

A concertina fold is a continuous parallel folding of brochures and similar printed material in an accordion-like fashion, that is with folds alternatively made to the front and back in zig zag folds. Because they do not nest (as in Letter Folds) panels can be the same size. Seen from above, concertina folds resemble a Z or M or series of zigs and zags.

Also known as a Zig Zag Fold, Accordion Fold or z-Fold.

Letter fold

Folding pattern in which the folds are parallel and in the same direction, so that a kind of spiral is produced. The letter fold is a parallel fold. Two or more panels of the same width of the folded signature are folded around one panel. When the signature is folded twice, there are three panels on each side (six pages); with a tri-fold, the result is four panels on each side (eight pages). To allow proper nesting of panels that fold in, inside panels are usually 1/32" to 1/8" smaller than outer panels with the inside end panel being the smallest.

Also known as a Spiral Fold, Tri Fold, Brochure Fold, Business Letter, C Fold, Roll Fold and Barrel Fold.

Gate fold

Main article: gatefold
Also known as a Window Fold.

French fold

Takes a concertina fold, folded in half down the middle to create 8 individual sections.

Double parallel fold

In double parallel folds the paper is folded in half and then folded in half again with a fold parallel to the first fold. To allow for proper nesting the two inside folded panels are 1/32" to 1/8" smaller than the two outer panels.

Double gate fold

In double gatefolds there are three parallel folds. The left and right edges of the paper fold and meet in the middle, without overlapping, along a center fold. The outer panels (the ones that fold in to the middle) are usually 1/32" to 1/8" smaller than the inner panels (the ones covered by the panels that fold in) to allow for proper folding and nesting.

See also

Color printing
Converters (industry)
Flexography
Foil imaging
Foil stamping
Hot metal typesetting
In-mould decoration
In-mould labelling
Jang Young Sil
Letterpress printing
Movable type
Offset printing
Print on demand
Printmaking
Security printing
Typography
Wang Zhen

How To Advertise Your Hotel Through Brochures

2010-12-01T17:16:00.000-08:00

Man’s ingenuity seems inexhaustible. Ever since the first commercial store opened, business and marketing opportunities spew out on all corners. If in the old days, you have to shout your offers at a town plaza, today, with the growth of metropolitans, marketing and promotional activities have taken a new form—brochure printing.

What Are brochures?

Brochures are actually small leaflets the primary purpose of which is to advertise products and services. Over the years, they have been proven valuable in steering customers toward acquiring a particular product or availing of a particular service.

Ideally, brochures are placed in shops and other places where people visit often. Due to their versatile folding design, brochures make for an effective two- and three-dimensional representation of objects.

Brochures For Hotels

Let us say you are not new in the hotel business. You have been running your family hotel for years now; you even know every ins and out of hotel operation. But lately, competitors are cropping out in just about every corner in your area. Mini hotels, inns, and even hotel & restaurants are giving you are reason to reevaluate your own operation. And since competition is stiff, you have to toss out your old advertising technique for a new, modern method to stand out in the crowd.

A good and professional brochure will tell a lot about your hotel. It will easily and effectively tell your story to people most likely to avail of your service. But how do you create a brochure suited for your hotel? Here are things to consider:

1. Know your audience. Ask yourself, for whom are the brochures? The overall design of the brochure should reflect what your hotel offers: accommodation types, rates, location, accessibility, service, and other pertinent information. There are a lot brochure templates to choose from that will effectively fit your type of business. Just make sure to pick a design that’s not too outwardly or indecent.

2. Look for a good printing company. With the dawn of the Internet, a lot of printing options have come to the forefront. These options offer new techniques that offer good printing services.

3. Choose the right paper. Light colored paper is good for brochures. A heavier paper may be an option provided that it will fit your hotel’s personality. There are some that go for coated papers. It can work out as long as the kind of paper you choose fits the type of brochure design you want.

4. Pick the right color. Next to choosing the paper to use, color is another important consideration. Make sure to choose colors that complement well with your hotel. It is best to match your choice with the logo of your business.

5. Font choice affects message delivery. The kind of font you use influences the tone of your brochure. If you want to deliver your point vivid and concise, use only one font style. Steer away from too much exaggeration to avoid cluttering the brochure’s space.

However you present your hotel brochure, just make sure to stay professional and realistic in your design. Remember, all the other hotels in your area are making their own brochure to boost advertisement of their establishment. Follow the golden rule in brochure printing: If it is hard for your readers to grasp what your brochure is about, then do not expect it to be any success. A brochure may be just one piece of magazine, but it will surely bring good return to your business.

How Brochure Printing Became Popular To Business People

2010-12-01T17:15:00.000-08:00

You can say that a company is successful if it stands high and strong amidst the economic turmoil the world is experiencing now. And in essence, loyalty from clients is one major component of a company’s survival. Let us face it; clients are constantly unpredictable. They could change decisions any moment that could greatly affect the profit that businesses generate. Hence, if you aim to sustain long-lasting client relations, you have to believe in the power of brochure printing. Primarily, brochures are proven to effectively market a business to a specific audience at any given time.

Through time, brochures comprise a major portion in any marketing plan. They can be disseminated in many ways - handed out like leaflets, directly mailed to specific households, or even placed in areas where people can quickly spot them. You could give away your brochures in any public place you can think of or simply put them in restaurants, offices, and other commercial establishments.

Because there are even more companies engaging in brochure printing these days, a lot of printers is also offering great brochure printing services for them. Indeed, printing brochures has become faster, simpler, more convenient and more affordable today because of the many developments in the printing world and the dawn of design applications and the internet.

Decades ago, brochure printing called for so much time and effort. Two of the painstaking procedures it entailed are adjusting plate and settings and producing numerous test prints. Also, when it came to choosing the design concept, businessmen were not hugely involved. The printing company basically decided and worked on the design. Businessmen were only given the chance to provide the simplest and most generic inputs.

However, through the years, the world of brochure printing has tremendously changed. Now, there are two key things you can do; design and lay-out your brochures and find the best printing company for your brochure printing project. Once you have located the best printer, all you need to do is specify what output you intend to achieve with them. The Internet is one great place you can visit to look for the ultimate printer. With an online printing company, you simply need to turn over your design concept to them and just sit back and wait for the output to be delivered. Brochure printing does not take so long anymore. As more state-of-the-art printing equipment and processes are developed, printing brochures has also become faster and more convenient for entrepreneurs. Oftentimes, you achieve your impressive brochures in just one day.

Furthermore, contemporary printing has also beefed up brochure printing in more ways than one. Apart from the quick creation of design and content, you can also print brochures now with high-quality and a lot of colors.

Most of the time, brochures are made durable by employing multiple colors and utilizing digital printing. They have to be made tough and sturdy so as to be long-lasting. On the other hand, brochures that have to be distributed immediately are made with a quick yet compelling concept.

Indeed, the innovations in the printing industry now have helped people print brochures that are competent and ground-breaking. And these advancements seem to keep coming. The time is now to take advantage of these innovations and undertake your brochure printing with ease and speed.

Leaflets An Extraordinary Design

2010-12-01T17:13:00.000-08:00

Why You Should Give Your Leaflets An Extraordinary Design

By John Ray Daniels

A lot of business owners nowadays get into leaflet printing to market their business or company. This usually happens when a special event or activity is to be undertaken by a certain company. Basically, the good news about leaflet printing is that they are unfussy to create and disseminate. Plus, they can be easily distributed to a wide market minus the expensive costs that come with printing. Nevertheless, the trouble when you print leaflets is that a lot of other people have already gotten into it because of the minimal costs it involves. In effect, people who receive a lot of leaflets get overwhelmed. Most of the time, they don't know what to focus their attention to anymore. Consequently, a lot of these leaflets simply find their way into the trash can. Well, you would want to prevent this from happening to your own leaflets, wouldn't you? Read on and find out why it is truly essential to give your leaflets that extraordinary design to make your business goals succeed.

Absolutely, design is a crucial ingredient of any leaflet printing project, be it big or small. Having no impressive design at all when you print leaflets would leave the other components of your leaflets insignificant. Don't expect people to appreciate your material if you don't have an attention-grabbing design. Indeed, you have to craft a great design to make your leaflets stand out when placed beside the others. Also, once you print leaflets, make sure you determine your target audience first prior to the design stage. For example, if you are aiming to print leaflets for the young generation, you have to pick styles that would appeal to them. In this case, you could go for vibrant and trendy looks. On the other hand, if you're undertaking leaflet printing for an older group of people, you could just settle for unfussy designs and colors that are not too loud. Your target audience should instantly know if the leaflets are made for them at first glance.

Another significant element of your leaflet printing are your images. Don't be one of those people who merely cull their images from some software. This should be avoided at all costs. Your images may be of high resolution and may represent the whole theme of your leaflets, but if they're just drawn from typical sources, they would not work to your advantage. If you really intend to make a great impact, you have to capture your images on your own. Go out and let that digital camera do the work. Remember to take photos that would make people talk about your event or your product. Once you have taken your images, you can now customize your leaflets according to the preferences of your target crowd.

It is also important to consider your dimensions when you print leaflets. Never print your leaflets having the size of the usual paper. And then, don't just fold them for the sake of coming up with an ordinary leaflet. You could incorporate a significant amount of information into a leaflet with these dimensions but having too much text can hamper your efforts of delivering your message. Keep in mind that leaflets are intended to market your material without so much ado. When you undertake leaflet printing with very big dimensions, don't count on distributing effective and highly useful leaflets. Your recipients could simply throw them away because they won't find it eye-catching and functional in the first place.

Basically, you can do leaflet printing on your own or have a seasoned printer do it for you. But whatever you settle for, there are certain pros and cons that you have to face. When you decide to print leaflets with a professional, be ready to prepare some big bucks. But if you decide to print on your own, don't expect too much from the leaflets you're going to produce. The choice is yours. Just let your objectives guide you.

Leaflets to Market Your Business

2010-12-01T16:17:00.000-08:00

Leaflets are used by companies large and small, to promote products or services, straight to the customer. Usually folded, and no larger than A4, a leaflet is produced with marketing messages on both sides. Designed to be retained for future reference, they sit in between brochures and flyers - offering more than a single sheet promotion, but less than a full corporate brochure.

The measure of a successful Leaflet campaign is the response rate that it generates. Done well, Leaflets will appeal to the customer they are designed for and encourage them to enquire, buy or visit. High quality Leaflets will also get passed on to family and friends.

The text, quality, design and messages will all influence how many people respond. For a professional end result, it can help to work with a graphic design agency, who specialise in leaflet design and print. A design company with a marketing focus will always ensure the words, graphics and headlines work carefully together to generate the highest possible return on investment.

Leaflet Sizes

There is a wide range of Leaflet types available - including standard layouts such as DL, A4 single folded and A4 2 fold Leaflets. There are additional, more unusual shapes available which may appeal to companies with a contemporary modern brand. Your graphic design agency will help you choose the right Leaflet size to most effectively present your marketing messages.

The DL Leaflet is standard envelope size and is also suitably sized for exhibition Leaflet holders. The A4 single-folded Leaflet gives you a 4 sided A5 message platform, which is ideal for those Leaflets containing a lot of text information. If you need to incorporate a high number of words in your Leaflet, then this may be the option for you. The A4 2 folded Leaflet provides six small panels for text and images. This can be ideal for presenting different services or products.

What To Include

The information that is included on Leaflets depends largely on what the Leaflet is being used to promote. If the Leaflet is being used to market a service-based business, then it needs to detail the main services offered by the business, together with a brief overview of the company.

Writing benefits into the copy is a good way to engage the readers attention and show them how a particular service would make their life easier.

A product-based Leaflet might include details of the products on offer, or perhaps an overview of the general product areas - depending on a company's product range and the number of products they sell. Good quality colour pictures of products will be important on most product-based Leaflets.

Leaflet Distribution

Once you have received your Leaflets from the printer, the final stage to a successful Leaflet campaign it to deliver them into the hands of your target customers.

This may involve posting Leaflets through doors, finding places to leave them such as shops, sport centres or dentist surgeries or handing them out at an exhibition. Leaflets are also ideal for sending out to new customers, to provide them with a tangible piece of literature that they can refer back to and show to their business partner or family.

Leaflets For Maximum Impact

2010-12-01T14:55:00.000-08:00

By Charen Smith

When you print leaflets, you really only have a few seconds to achieve an impressive impact on people. Color leaflets typically are just "read and forget" deals on people these days, so you need to be impressive right at the outset for your designs to really kick in. If you need help in doing this, then you have come to the right place. In this tutorial, we will teach you the proper leaflet printing techniques that give you maximum impact. Let me give you each of the important concepts in leaflet printing and design to get you that performance, point per point.

Compose the right kind of headline - leaflets need the right kind of headline to get people excited to read its contents. Of course, as you may have guessed, this is not as simple to do as it sounds. A good thing to base your custom leaflet headlines on is good market research. You must do your research to discover all the related interests of your target audience. If you compose the right headline that your targets are always interested in, then your leafletsleaflets should get that initial impact that they need to hem in their message.

So do not just write something out of the blue with your headlines. Do your homework, consider your target audience and compose a great headline specifically designed for them.

Get the right kind of picture - A leaflets headline should also be equally supported by the right kind of picture. People rely on pictures on leaflets to get a quick sense of what the leaflet is all about. The best way to go about getting the right kind of picture of maximum leaflet impact is to always go at it professionally. Do not use clip-arts or other instantly, manufactured images. Do your images yourself, take digital photographs or create original graphics. If you are not skilled, try to hire someone to do it for you. The right kind of picture is the best kind of picture that is well composed, with proper lighting and high resolutions. This will ensure that the images are crisp, clean and very appealing to readers, maximizing their impact.

Use the right kind of printing materials - Another important thing to do to maximize the impact of your color leaflets is to use the right kind of printing materials. Do not just use the cheap stuff in leaflet printing. Here are some tips for using the right kinds of papers and inks:

Papers - For leaflet paper, you should try to always get the more durable kinds of material. The thicker the leaflets are, the tougher and longer their life is. Moreover, you should try to get the materials that are somewhat water resistant so that the leaflets can shrug off minor moisture and dirt damage.

Inks - For inks, it is recommended that you always go for the best full color inks available for your leaflet printer. If you are printing your leaflets from home, you might want to get the best quick dry, water resistant full color ink that they have. If you are printing leaflets with a leaflet printing company, make sure you specify the option for water resistant inks. You will not want those inks to get runny and ruin the design right?

By choosing the right kinds of materials, you can assure yourself that your custom leaflets will arrive to your readers in the best possible state. They will look better and newer even if they have been exposed for a long time.

Great! Just remember the tips above, and you should be able to maximize the impact of your custom leaflets. It should be easy once you really start doing it for the first time. Good Luck!

How to Deliver Leaflets

2010-12-01T14:27:00.000-08:00

A better approach is the one you should take to any job or activity in life. If you are going to do it, do it with a professional approach and a professional attitude or don't bother. Let's face it - if you approach any activity in life in a wishy washy, 'it doesn't really matter' way, then you are going to have a wishy washy life that doesn't matter too. Look, you must have decided you wanted the job, needed the money and it was the best offer on hand - so lets take a different viewpoint - lets approach it like you should approach anything you do in life - in a professional way. Get a great job done and feel proud of having accomplished something useful at the end of the day.

I'll let you in on a secret - if you do the job right you most certainly have! Leaflet Distribution - in the UK alone, is estimated at producing over 12 million pounds worth of business for UK companies each week! And that is only by surveying the large corporations like Domino's - there is probably as much again for smaller businesses like your local chip shop. So if leafleters in particular do a better job then there are thousands of UK businesses who will directly benefit in a very real way.

So - is it as simple as just banging a load of Leaflet through letter boxes which "everybody hates" and going home hoping you weren't bitten by a dog? I don't think so! It is all too easy to take the easy way out and continually target flats and houses close together to get the volume out. Getting a volume out is great of course but if you want the best product then some intelligence is required. For high ticket items or lawn products or patio cleaning you don't have to be a university graduate to figure out you want the bigger houses with lawns and a BMW in the drive to get your customer the response they want or need. Think about it from an ethical viewpoint - if he doesn't get the response he loses money and decides that "leafleting doesn't work". This wasn't true - he just bought a lie is what happened.

This recoils back on the leafleter when he gets laid off some months later as there is less work around now. Even if it was only a temporary job and he is foolish enough not to care these things have got a habit of coming back on you. Six months later when he is working as a car salesman he fails to make two sales he could have made if he had worked harder - the owner of the leafleting company and the owner of the person who ordered the job both decide to keep their cars another year as things are tight right now...

We are all part of the same community and what we do affects everyone else around as we are all part of the same society - rich or poor. Why do you think California is a rich state and Nigeria poor? The weather? Penguins? Perhaps it has something to do with the people who live there and how hard they work, their ethics level and their willingness to do a good and professional job in whatever they undertake - play, raising children, work or study. Be successful - be rich, it's up to you really. Even the lowly Leaflet Distribution worker is very definitely doing his bit to keep the British economy going when he does a good job - more than can be said of a lot of banks!

Cass has worked in promotion since leaving college including delivering Leaflets in Manchester. You can see more of her articles at Leaflet distribution or at email marketing

Popularity of Leaflets

2010-12-01T13:35:00.000-08:00

For quite some time now, leaflets have served countless functions. It has been used for political campaigns, marketing campaigns, public service announcements and sales, among others.

Many politicians can attest to the value of leaflets in their advocacy strategies for constituents. Indeed, leaflet printing, has been around for a long time now owing to the innovative and creative minds of people. It has even been used in warfare. Unusual as it may seem, leaflets have been a well-embraced communication medium by so many people around the world.

With the dawn of contemporary technology, leaflet printing has become a simpler and easier process these days. It has also opened doors for the countless options that people may have in terms of Printing their leaflets. At present, printing can be done in high quality but at a cheap cost. A businessperson can also easily send his file to the printing company through the internet and communicate with them to achieve the desired outcome.

Meanwhile, when it comes to political campaigns, politicians have found leaflets easy and light to disseminate together with the message they want to impart to the voters. Whatever the content of the leaflets are, be it positive attributes of the person running for public office or black propaganda against his rivals, leaflets have achieved its purpose well --- that of relaying information to people.

The process has proved to be beneficial too in the marketing world. In terms of flexibility and costs, these tools are the ultimate dream of marketing professionals. It is something you can actually afford at any given time. Moreover, if you have extra funds, you can make use of glossy paper as well to further capture your target market's interest. Outputs are ideal as well in selling real estate or endorsing a tourist destination if you are in a travel agency. With the use of colored brochures, you can bring those tourist spots to life.

Did you know that leaflets were also popular during the old times? In the past centuries, it was used for disseminating and circulating royal notices to the people such as tax concerns and activities of the royal family. As I have earlier mentioned, it has become part of psychological and military struggle. It has been used to convince the enemy to rebel against their own leader or a bad army to cease fight and simply surrender. When utilized in warfare, these marketing tools highlight significant actions such as destruction threats, rewards and diminishing the morale of the opponents. What is one famous way of distributing them? Airplanes and helicopters are used to guarantee that wider areas are covered. This is commonly seen during election campaigns.

Nowadays, commercial printing has become convenient using modern technology. You can have them printed through the internet by visiting the websites of online printing companies. You can actually make an order online and have your leaflets delivered to your doorstep free. Thanks to the computer age, they can be created and mass reproduced in an instant and without a sweat.

Realizing leaflet printing is also quite similar to flyer printing. Online printing companies offer great and fast services as well for printing flyers. They are also effective marketing weapons. It just needs to contain interesting and easy-to-read information for your audience to appreciate it.

If you have just put up your own business, why not try printing such? It surely is a successful preliminary way of making people aware of your business. Once your clients have come to know and welcome your existence, brace yourself for the next step.

Kaye Z. Marks is an avid writer and follower of the developments in flyer printing and leaflet printing industry that help businesses in their marketing and advertising campaigns.

Tips to Print Business Cards With an Inkjet Printer

2010-11-30T16:32:00.000-08:00

Having a business card can be a great way for creating the image of professionalism. This is an important promotional tool for those who are looking for career advancement. With the advanced of personal computer and printing technology, now you do not have to worry about making design and printing your own business card simply at home. Just check out the following tips so that you can learn about printing business cards using an inkjet printer.

The first thing that you have to do is to assess your needs. You need to know what kind of business card you are going to make. The different work fields require different types of business cards.

Secondly, you need to determine the paper you are going use. You can shop around to find the right paper that suits with your specification. If you want to get the best price to buy it, you can go to the paper warehouses and big chain department stores.

Thirdly, you need to determine whether you need blank stock or pre-designed. The choice between plain background and designed background is based on the style of business card you are going to create. If you choose plain background, you will be able to create and design your own background.

Fourthly, you can choose the separation method. This method is a significant aspect for you to keep in mind when you are choosing what cards to go with. You will find that some cards are perforated, and some are designed by using other forms of separation. You can choose any style that you feel it is most comfortable. Also, you can choose the style that you think will look best.

Moreover, it is suggested for you to search for the cards that come in different coatings. The choices of coating include glossy textured, matte, and basic. Each of the coatings has its own weaknesses and strengths. For instance, the glossy coatings can work best for high resolution photos and images. Meanwhile, the textured cards can provide you a unique feel and look to your business card. In addition, the matte and basic cards can be most likely become less expensive and they can also work well with your inkjet printer. Besides, the matte and basic cards will not be as flashy as another type of cards.

Furthermore, you have to determine about the distance between the cards and the number of cards on each of printable sheet. This can help you to predict the number of business cards that you can print on the each sheet. After you feel comfortable with your final design, now you can start to print your business cards by using your inkjet printer.

If you need other printer for other applications, you can consider to use laser printer copier that will also give you great result in printing and copying. Or, if you want to save money in buying a printer, choosing the cheap color laser printers is the best answer for you.

5 Secrets To Modern Business Card Printing

2010-11-30T15:29:00.000-08:00

Are you thinking about producing your own color business cards? Well before you do, first learn the secrets of modern business card printing here. In this new technological age of business, there are lots of gimmicks and modern techniques that you must learn in business card printing. Doing so should make your color business cards pretty competitive in your field of business.

1. More than just inks.

One big secret that not many people discuss about color business cards is about the ink. You can use more than just blank ink or colored inks. Yes! Nowadays there are metallic inks, glow in the dark inks or even special glittering ones. You can use some of these exotic inks to create color business cards that are very distinctive. For example, you can printing black business cards in silver metallic inks. You can also try red business cards with golden lettering, or even pink ones with inks that glitter. There are plenty of options available for you.

2. Going beyond the typical business card format

Another secret you must know is that business cards these days do not need to be printed in the common business card format. You can now printbusiness cards with covers or flaps, or you can even print ones in different and unique shapes. With advances in printing technology and a little creative thinking, a business cards can be quite unique using different shapes, folds and sizes.

For example, if you require a marketing business card , you can try having folded business cards printed with that extra cover. This extra space can serve as a platform for showing your products or services. Shapedbusiness cards on the other hand should be pretty useful in promotions or advertising since business cards like trianglebusiness cards or circle business cards can be quite eye catching and memorable for people.

3. Making the material tougher.

Also, business cards nowadays can also be very tough if you like. Now, you can print business cards in thick, moisture resistant paper so that it does not deteriorate quickly. Moreover, some innovative people use business cards made from plastic, wood and even metal. With these kinds of materials the lifespan of your business card can be quite extended for a long time, giving you more time to develop your contacts.

4. Adding full color images.

Of course in the modern world, color is everywhere, and in business cards you can use that to your advantage. With full color business card printing available to everyone, you can add lots of different kinds of full color images in your business card. You can put your face, your products, the company's logo or any other sort of image in there. Anything that should make your business cards unique should be quite useful and should give you that memorable quality for business contacts.

5. Fast and accurate printing techniques.

Finally, business card printing today is pretty fast. printing machines can even do a simple printing job within a few hours and major jobs within a day. So your business cards should be printed pretty quickly with no apparent errors as long as you pick the correct and modern business card printing company. You do not have to wait a week or a month for them so make sure you do not.

So that is it. With modern business card printing, there are lots of possibilities in terms of design and creation. Consider all of this once you print your business cards .

Web-to-print

2010-11-30T15:17:00.000-08:00

Web-to-print, also known as Web2Print or remote publishing, is a commercial prepress process that bridges the gap between digital content online and commercial print production. This process allows a print house, a client, and possibly a graphic designer to create, edit, and approve computer-based online templates during the prepress phase. This process increasingly calls for a Portable Document Format (PDF) workflow environment with output provided by digital printing; although there is certainly no requirement that fulfillment be accomplished using digital production equipment; Web-to-print is also used today by printers with both offset and digital production facilities.

Web-to-print is targeted toward commercial users or to the general public, and both groups may access public or private online storefronts or catalogues offered by print houses. Within these storefronts, customers can choose pre-designed templates where they can alter the typeface, copy, images, and layout within a template, or approve a template layout and design that has been created by another person. While most Web-to-print applications allow clients to customize pre-designed templates it also frequently possible for clients to upload their own unique content for automated print production. When a digital press is used for the final output, the template usually is transformed into a PDF file that serves as the ‘master plate’ for the digital press. In more traditional printing processes, like offset printing, the template is used to create a plate or plates that are used to produce the final printed product.

Materials produced by a Web-to-print process include business cards, brochures, and stationery, among other printed matter, that can be printed in full color or in black and white on various papers and on various presses. Web-to-print systems are also expanding to handle personalization and distribution of other marketing materials such as presentations, seminars, logo items, and even email and other electronic media. This change is driven by enterprise clients seeking a single repository/tool to manage all marketing efforts including print.

Contents

1 Comparisons and differences
2 Origin of the phrase
3 History
4 Advantages and disadvantages
5 Recent developments
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
Comparisons and differences

The front-end of the Web-to-print process is similar to desktop publishing (DTP) in that individuals or graphic designers use desktop publishing software to create pre-defined templates. These templates are then posted online for later customization by end-users and automated production by a print house or commercial printer. Unlike DTP, Web-to-print can bypass the use of traditional design tools by the end-user as the templates utilized in this process are based upon a WYSIWYG (often browser-based) interface that can be edited and approved by a client and by the print house without a graphic designer’s assistance.

Commercial Web-to-print applications can include both print on Demand (POD) or pre-printed materials that are pulled from inventory. (POD) documents can have static content or include elements of Variable Data printing (VDP), a form of POD that is mainly used for personalization of marketing materials with product or customer data that is pulled from a database. VDP is geared toward mass customization, whereas Web-to-print focuses only on changes made from order to order. VDP pre dates Web-to-print although at that time the design process was carried out via close collaboration with the printer for documents such as invoices.

Origin of the phrase

The origin of the phrase "Web to print" is unknown, but Jim Frew made the earliest known public use of the phrase in an online article entitled, "From Web to print," for Webmonkey, an online resource for Web designers, on 9 February 1999. This article was geared toward Web designers who wanted to know more about DTP and the printing process from commercial, technical, and design aspects.

The use of the term "Web-to-print" from the perspective of a transition between Web-driven technology to printed matter means that the term "Web" connotes the World Wide Web (WWW), rather than the web that is used as a term for a web rotary press developed by William Bullock. Bullock’s web press revolutionized newspaper printing, and the WWW is now used to alter how corporations and individuals create commercial and personal printed matter.

The term has become ubiquitous, as businesses have picked upon the "Web2Print" phrase to name software designed specifically to manage the Web-to-print process. Graphic design and Web design firms that have branched out into print services also use the term to subhead their company trade name, or they use the phrase as a subheading for public relations materials.

History

DTP’s history provides the groundwork for current Web-to-print expansion, and the onset of e-commerce between 1998 and 2000 created an environment for Web-to-print to prosper.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages to the use of a Web-to-print system include the ability for print houses, graphic designers, corporate clients, and the general public to access a private or public online catalog where last-minute changes to a prepress template are possible. Within this process, the client can approve the materials without the need for a face-to-face meeting with the printer. Additionally, templates allow print customers to control brand management and content, as portions of a constantly used template can remain consistent throughout a series of print projects. This system is often cost-effective for clients and time-effective for print houses.

The disadvantage to this system as it exists today is that small- to mid-sized print houses and print brokers are limited in their access to software and server system solutions for a Web-to-print service offering to clients. Most proprietary and trade name software that was developed with Web-to-print projects in mind remains prohibitively expensive for this sector. Additionally, these systems often require the use of digital systems that only a larger print house would maintain.

Recent developments

The main challenge for Web-to-print expansion is centered on both the affordability of this solution and software and hardware companies' abilities to converge desktop vector-graphic tools with server technologies designed expressly for a Web-to-print goal. While specific software set the stage for major print houses to offer Web-to-print services to corporate clients and to the general public, brand name software companies have nudged into this business to offer mid- to high-range solutions.

To address the prohibitive cost of traditional Web-to-print software solutions (software, systems, periodic software upgrades, technical staff, ...) noted earlier, providers offer Web-to-print as "hosted" or Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions. Using this model application creation, maintenance, enhancement, technical support, application upgrades, and hosting, are provided as an out-sourced service. Since the software, systems, and support resources are spread over a larger client base costs can be reduced significantly. This makes it possible for any print house or print broker to offer professional Web-to-print applications and services with only a modest investment of time and capital.

SaaS solutions are generally delivered through a purely online environment - allowing them to take advantage of relatively low-cost-per-seat, cross-platform compatibility, multi-user collaboration, and live database integration for product and Digital Asset Management (DAM).

Another option is to find out small and simplified solutions which able to handle online designing, proofing, quote, invoicing & order management of small & medium size print shop.

Another niche in Web-to-print solutions that is seen by some as being an indicator of things to come is the provision of WYSIWYG design support. Products provide such ability by allowing elements within a template to be moved, inserted, and deleted by end-users following strict rules established by the administrator of the system. This WYSIWYG generally supported by Adobe Flash technology which gives freedom from browser and OS dependency. This type of system begins to blur the lines between Desktop Publishing applications and Web-to-print systems, and lets non-designers edit and proof customized artwork within a 'safe' environment.

Print Culture

2010-11-30T14:58:00.000-08:00

Print culture embodies all forms of printed text and other printed forms of visual communication. One prominent scholar in the field is Elizabeth Eisenstein, who contrasted Print culture, which appeared in Europe in the centuries after the advent of the Western printing-press (and much earlier in China where woodblock Print culture embodies all forms of printed text and other printed forms of visual communication. One prominent scholar in the field is Elizabeth Eisenstein, who contrasted Print culture, which appeared in Europe in the centuries after the advent of the Western printing-press (and much earlier in China where woodblock Printing was used from at least 800 AD), to scribal culture. Walter Ong, by contrast, has contrasted written culture, including scribal, to oral culture. Ong is generally considered one of the first scholars to define Print culture in contrast to oral culture. These views are related as the Printing press brought a vast rise in literacy, so that one of its effects was simply the great expansion of written culture at the expense of oral culture. The development of Printing, like the development of writing itself, had profound effects on human societies and knowledge. "Print culture" refers to the cultural products of the Printing transformation.

In terms of image-based communication, a similar transformation came in Europe from the fifteenth century on with the introduction of the old master Print and, slightly later, popular prints, both of which were actually much quicker in reaching the mass of the population than printed text.

Print culture is the conglomeration of effects on human society that is created by making printed forms of communication. Print culture encompasses many stages as it has evolved in response to technological advances. Print culture can first be studied from the period of time involving the gradual movement from oration to script as it is the basis for Print culture. As the Printing became commonplace, script became insufficient and printed documents were mass produced. The era of physical Print has had a lasting effect on human culture, but with the advent of digital text, some scholars believe the printed word is becoming obsolete.

The electronic media, including the World Wide Web, can be seen as an outgrowth of Print culture.

Contents

1 The development of Print
1.1 Prior to Print
1.2 Development of Print
2 Print culture, the Renaissance, and the Reformation
3 Print culture and the American Revolution
3.1 A profound impact
3.2 Pre-Revolution
3.3 During the Revolution
3.4 Post-Revolution
4 The state of Print today
5 Transition to the digital era
6 Changes in technology and its effect on Print culture
7 Non-textual forms of Print culture
8 Text and Print
9 References
10 See also
11 External links
The development of Print

Prior to Print

Oral culture was all that existed. Oral culture gradually found the need to store what was said for long periods of time, and slowly developed scribal culture. Scribal culture being inaccurate and tedious at best developed into Print culture. Each segment is rich with its own effects on the world. Scribal culture, defined by the written or physical conveying of ideas, is important to understand in achieving a grasp on the unfolding of Print culture itself. Scholars disagree over when scribal culture developed. Walter Ong argues that scribal culture cannot exist until an alphabet is created, and a form of writing standardized. On the other hand, D. F. McKenzie argues that even communicative notches on a stick, or structure, represent “text”, and therefore scribal culture.

Ong suggests scribal culture is defined by an alphabet. McKenzie says that the key to scribal culture is non-verbal communication, which can be accomplished in more ways than using an alphabet. These two views give rise to the importance of Print culture. In scribal culture, procuring documents was a difficult task, and documentation would then be limited to the rich only. Ideas are difficult to spread amongst large groups of people over large distances of land, not allowing for effective dissemination of knowledge.

Scribal culture also deals with large levels of inconsistency. It was always considered that the oldest document was the most accurate, as it had been copied the least. In the process of copying documents, many times the meaning became changed, and the words different. Reliance on the written text of the time was never exceedingly strong. Over time, a greater need for reliable, quickly reproduced, and a relatively inexpensive means of distributing written text arose. Scribal culture, transforming into print culture, was only replicated in manners of written text.

Development of Print

The intricate frontispiece of the Diamond Sutra from Tang Dynasty China, 868 AD (British Museum)
The Chinese invention of paper and woodblock Printing, at some point before the first dated book in 868 (the Diamond Sutra) produced the world's first print culture. Hundreds of thousands of books, on subjects ranging from Confucian Classics to science and mathematics, were printed using woodblock Printing. Movable type (which the Chinese also invented) had limited impact in East Asia. This was likely due to the thousands of Chinese characters required.

Paper and woodblock Printing were introduced into Europe in the 15th Century, and the first printed books began appearing in Europe. The invention of Johannes Gutenberg's Printing press (circa 1450) greatly reduced the amount of labor required to produce a book leading to a tremendous increase in the number of books produced. Early Printers tried to keep their printed copies of a text as faithful as possible to the original manuscript. Even so, the earliest publications were still often different from the original, for a short time, in some ways manuscripts still remaining more accurate than printed books.

Hand-copied illustrations were replaced by first woodcuts, later engravings that could be duplicated precisely, revolutionizing technical literature (Eisenstein 155).

Print culture, the Renaissance, and the Reformation

Eisenstein has described how the high costs of copying scribal works often led to their abandonment and eventual destruction. Furthermore, the cost and time of copying led to the slow propagation of ideas. In contrast, the Printing press allowed rapid propagation of ideas, resulting in knowledge and cultural movements that were far harder to destroy.

Eisenstein points to prior renaissances (rebirths) of classical learning prior to the printing press that failed. In contrast, the Renaissance was a permanent revival of classical learning because the Printing of classical works put them into a permanent and widely read form.

Similarly, Eisenstein points to a large number of prior attempts in Western Europe to assert doctrines contrary to the ruling Catholic Church. In contrast, the Protestant Reformation spread rapidly and permanently due to the Printing of non-conformist works such as the 95 Theses.

Print culture and the American Revolution

A profound impact

Numerous eras throughout history have been defined through the use of Printculture. The American Revolution was a major historical conflict fought after Print culture brought the rise of literacy. Furthermore, Print culture's ability to shape and guide society was a critical component before, during, and after the Revolution.

Pre-Revolution

Many different printed documents influenced the beginning of the revolution. The Magna Carta was an originally a scribal document of 1215, recording an oral transaction restricting the power of English kings and defining rights of subjects. It was revitalized by being printed in the 16th century and widely read by the increasingly literate English and colonial population thereafter. The Magna Carta was used as a basis for the development of English liberties by Sir Edward Coke and became a basis for writing the Declaration of Independence.

Additionally, during the 18th century, the production of printed newspapers in the colonies greatly increased. In 1775, more copies of newspapers were issued in Worcester, Massachusetts than were printed in all of New England in 1754, showing that the existence of the conflict developed a need for Print culture. This onslaught of printed text was brought about by the anonymous writings of men such as Benjamin Franklin, who was noted for his many contributions to the newspapers, including the Pennsylvania Gazette. This increase was primarily due to the easing of the government's tight control of the press, and without the existence of a relatively free press, the American Revolution may have never taken place. The production of so many newspapers can mostly be attributed to the fact that newspapers had a huge demand; Printing presses were writing the newspapers to complain about the policies of the British government, and how the British government was taking advantage of the colonists.

In 1775, Thomas Paine wrote the pamphlet "Common Sense," a pamphlet that introduced many ideas of freedom to the Colonial citizens. Allegedly, half a million copies were produced during the pre-revolution era. This number of pamphlets produced is significant as there were only a couple million freed men in the colonies. However, "Common Sense" was not the only manuscript that influenced people and the tide of the revolution. Among the most influential were James Otis' "Rights of the British Colonies" and John Dickinson's "Farmer's Letters". Both of these played a key role in persuading the people and igniting the revolution.

During the Revolution

Newspapers were printed during the revolution covering battle reports and propaganda. These reports were usually falsified by Washington in order to keep morale up among American citizens and troops. Washington was not the only one to falsify these reports, as other generals (on both sides) used this technique as well. The newspapers also covered some of the battles in great detail, especially the ones that the American forces won, in order to gain support from other countries in hopes that they would join the American forces in the fight against the British.

Before the Revolution, the British placed multiple acts upon the colonies, such as the stamp act. Many newspaper companies worried that the British would punish them for Printing papers without a British seal, so they were forced to temporarily discontinue their work or simply change the title of their paper. However, some patriotic publishers, particularly those in Boston, continued their papers without any alteration of their title.

The Declaration of Independence is a very important written document that was drafted by the original thirteen colonies, as a form of Print culture that would declare their independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain and explained the justifications for doing so. While it was explicitly documented on July 4, 1776, it was not recognized by Great Britain until September 3, 1783, by the Treaty of Paris.

Post-Revolution

After the signing of the Treaty of Paris, a cluster of free states in need of a government was created. The basis for this government was known as the Articles of Confederation, which were put to effect in 1778 and formed the first governing document of the United States of America. This document, however, was found to be unsuitable to outline the structure of the government, and thus showed an ineffectual use of Print culture, and since printed texts were the most respected documents of the time, this called for an alteration in the document used to govern the confederation.

It was the job of the Constitutional Convention to reform the document, but they soon discovered that an entirely new text was needed in its place. The result was the United States Constitution. In the form of written word, the new document was used to grant more power to the central government, by expanding into branches. After it was ratified by all of the states in the union, the Constitution served as a redefinition of the modern government.

Thomas Jefferson was noted as saying, “The basis of our government being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter.” This serves as an excellent example of how newspapers were highly regarded by the colonial people. In fact, much like other forms of 18th century Print culture, newspapers played a very important role in the government following the Revolutionary War. Not only were they one of the few methods in the 18th century to voice the opinion of the people, they also allowed for the ideas to be disseminated to a wide audience, a primary goal of printed text. A famous example of the newspaper being used as a medium to convey ideas were the Federalist Papers. These were first published in New York City newspapers in 1788 and pushed for people to accept the idea of the United States Constitution by enumerating 85 different articles that justified its presence, adding to a series of texts designed to reinforce each other, and ultimately serving as a redefinition of the 18th century.

The state of Print today

Today, Print has matured to a state where the majority of modern society has come to have certain expectations regarding the printed book:

The knowledge contained by printed books is believed to be accurate.
The cited author of a printed book does indeed exist and is actually the person who wrote it.
Every copy of a printed book is identical (at least in the important aspects) to every other copy, no matter how far apart the locations are in which they are sold.
Copyright laws help to protect these standards. However, a few regions do exist in the world where literary piracy has become a standard commercial practice. In such regions, the preceding expectations are not the norm. (Johns 61)

Currently, there are still approximately 2.3 billion books still sold each year worldwide. However, this number is steadily decreasing due to the ever-growing popularity of the Internet and other forms of digital media.

Transition to the digital era

As David J. Gunkel states in his article "What's the Matter with Books?", society is currently in the late age of the text; the moment of transition from Print to electronic culture where it is too late for printed books and yet too early for electronic texts. Jay David Bolter, author of Writing Space, also discusses our culture in what he calls "the late age of Print." The current debate going on in the literary world is whether or not the computer will replace the printed book as the repository and definition of human knowledge. There is still a very large audience committed to printed texts, who are not interested in moving to a digital representation of the repository for human knowledge. Bolter, in his own scholarship and also along with Richard Grusin in Remediation, explains that despite current fears about the end of Print, the format will never be erased but only remediated. New forms of technology (new media) will be created which utilize features of old media, thus preventing old media's (aka print's) erasure. At the same time, there are also concerns over whether obsolescence and deterioration make digital media unsuitable for long-term archival purposes. Much of the early paper used for Print is highly acidic, and will ultimately destroy itself.

The way that information is transferred has also changed with this new age of digital text and the shift towards electronic media. Gunkel states that information now takes the form of immaterial bits of digital data that are circulated at the speed of light. Consequently, what the printed book states about the exciting new culture and economy of bits is abraded by the fact that this information has been delivered in the slow and outdated form of physical paper.

In the article, "The First Amendment, Print Culture, and the Electronic Environment", the author notes that expectations will change as information becomes less tied to specific locations, and as machines become networked and linked to other machines. This means that in the future certain goods will not be associated with their origins.

The article "The First Amendment, Print Culture, and the Electronic Environment" ([1]) also mentions how the new electronic age will make Print better. Placing information into electronic form not only liberates the information from its pages but removes the need for specialized spaces to hold particular kinds of information. People have become increasingly accustomed to acquiring information from our homes that previously was only accessible from an office or library. Once computers are all networked, all information should, at least in theory, be accessible from all places. Print itself contained a set of invisible and inherent censors, which electronic media is helping to remove from the creation of text. Points of control that are present in Print space are no longer present as distribution channels multiply, as copying becomes faster and cheaper, as more information is produced, as economic incentives for working with information increase, and as barriers and boundaries that inhibited working with information are crossed.

Changes in technology and its effect on Print culture

There are more online publications, journals, newspapers, magazines, and businesses than ever before. While this brings society closer, and makes publications more convenient and accessible, ordering a product online reduces contact with others. Many online articles are anonymous, making the 'death of the author' even more apparent. Anyone can post articles and journals online anonymously. In effect, the individual becomes separated from the rest of society.

The advances of technology in print culture can be separated into three shifts:

spoken language to the written word,
the written word to Printing press,
the Printing press to the computer/internet.
The written word has made history recordable and accurate. The Printing press, some may argue, is not a part of Printing culture, but had a substantial impact upon the development of Print culture through the times. The printing press brought uniform copies and efficiency in Print. It allowed a person to make a living from writing. Most importantly, it spread Print throughout society.

The advances made by technology in print also impact anyone using cell phones, laptops, and personal digital organizers. From novels being delivered via a cell phone, the ability to text message and send letters via e-mail clients, to having entire libraries stored on PDAs, print is being influenced by devices.

Non-textual forms of print culture

Symbols, logos and printed images are forms of printed media that do not rely on text. They are ubiquitous in modern urban life. Analyzing these cultural products is an important part of the field of cultural studies. Print has given rise to a wider distribution of pictures in society in conjunction with the printed word. Incorporation of printed pictures in magazines, newspapers, and books gave printed material a wider mass appeal through the ease of visual communication. Another product of non-textual print are roadside symbols, some of which incorporate printed words with eye-catching shapes and colors. This is a merging of pre-print symbolism with post-print linguistic communication.

Text and Print

There is a common miscommunication that occurs when discussing that which is Print and that which is text. In the literary world, notable scholars such as Walter Ong and D.F. McKenzie have disagreed on the meaning of text. The point of the discussion at hand is to have a word that encompasses all forms of communication - that which is printed, that which is online media, even a building or notches on a stick. According to Walter Ong text did not come about until the development of the first alphabet, well after humanity existed. According to Mckenzie primitive humans did have a form of text they used to communicate with their cave drawings. This is discussed in literary theory. Print, however, is a representation of what which is printed, and does not encompass all forms of communication (e.g. a riot at a football game). was used from at least 800 AD), to scribal culture. Walter Ong, by contrast, has contrasted written culture, including scribal, to oral culture. Ong is generally considered one of the first scholars to define Print culture in contrast to oral culture. These views are related as the Printing press brought a vast rise in literacy, so that one of its effects was simply the great expansion of written culture at the expense of oral culture. The development of Printing, like the development of writing itself, had profound effects on human societies and knowledge. "Print culture" refers to the cultural products of the Printing transformation.

In terms of image-based communication, a similar transformation came in Europe from the fifteenth century on with the introduction of the old master Print and, slightly later, popular prints, both of which were actually much quicker in reaching the mass of the population than printed text.

Print culture is the conglomeration of effects on human society that is created by making printed forms of communication. Print culture encompasses many stages as it has evolved in response to technological advances. Print culture can first be studied from the period of time involving the gradual movement from oration to script as it is the basis for Print culture. As the Printing became commonplace, script became insufficient and printed documents were mass produced. The era of physical Print has had a lasting effect on human culture, but with the advent of digital text, some scholars believe the printed word is becoming obsolete.

The electronic media, including the World Wide Web, can be seen as an outgrowth of Print culture.

Contents

1 The development of Print
1.1 Prior to Print
1.2 Development of Print
2 Print culture, the Renaissance, and the Reformation
3 Print culture and the American Revolution
3.1 A profound impact
3.2 Pre-Revolution
3.3 During the Revolution
3.4 Post-Revolution
4 The state of Print today
5 Transition to the digital era
6 Changes in technology and its effect on Print culture
7 Non-textual forms of Print culture
8 Text and Print
9 References
10 See also
11 External links
The development of Print

Prior to Print

Oral culture was all that existed. Oral culture gradually found the need to store what was said for long periods of time, and slowly developed scribal culture. Scribal culture being inaccurate and tedious at best developed into print culture. Each segment is rich with its own effects on the world. Scribal culture, defined by the written or physical conveying of ideas, is important to understand in achieving a grasp on the unfolding of print culture itself. Scholars disagree over when scribal culture developed. Walter Ong argues that scribal culture cannot exist until an alphabet is created, and a form of writing standardized. On the other hand, D. F. McKenzie argues that even communicative notches on a stick, or structure, represent “text”, and therefore scribal culture.

Ong suggests scribal culture is defined by an alphabet. McKenzie says that the key to scribal culture is non-verbal communication, which can be accomplished in more ways than using an alphabet. These two views give rise to the importance of Print culture. In scribal culture, procuring documents was a difficult task, and documentation would then be limited to the rich only. Ideas are difficult to spread amongst large groups of people over large distances of land, not allowing for effective dissemination of knowledge.

Scribal culture also deals with large levels of inconsistency. It was always considered that the oldest document was the most accurate, as it had been copied the least. In the process of copying documents, many times the meaning became changed, and the words different. Reliance on the written text of the time was never exceedingly strong. Over time, a greater need for reliable, quickly reproduced, and a relatively inexpensive means of distributing written text arose. Scribal culture, transforming into print culture, was only replicated in manners of written text.

Development of Print

The intricate frontispiece of the Diamond Sutra from Tang Dynasty China, 868 AD (British Museum)
The Chinese invention of paper and woodblock Printing, at some point before the first dated book in 868 (the Diamond Sutra) produced the world's first Print culture. Hundreds of thousands of books, on subjects ranging from Confucian Classics to science and mathematics, were printed using woodblock Printing. Movable type (which the Chinese also invented) had limited impact in East Asia. This was likely due to the thousands of Chinese characters required.

Paper and woodblock Printing were introduced into Europe in the 15th Century, and the first printed books began appearing in Europe. The invention of Johannes Gutenberg's Printing press (circa 1450) greatly reduced the amount of labor required to produce a book leading to a tremendous increase in the number of books produced. Early Printers tried to keep their printed copies of a text as faithful as possible to the original manuscript. Even so, the earliest publications were still often different from the original, for a short time, in some ways manuscripts still remaining more accurate than printed books.

Hand-copied illustrations were replaced by first woodcuts, later engravings that could be duplicated precisely, revolutionizing technical literature (Eisenstein 155).

Print culture, the Renaissance, and the Reformation

Eisenstein has described how the high costs of copying scribal works often led to their abandonment and eventual destruction. Furthermore, the cost and time of copying led to the slow propagation of ideas. In contrast, the Printing press allowed rapid propagation of ideas, resulting in knowledge and cultural movements that were far harder to destroy.

Eisenstein points to prior renaissances (rebirths) of classical learning prior to the Printing press that failed. In contrast, the Renaissance was a permanent revival of classical learning because the Printing of classical works put them into a permanent and widely read form.

Similarly, Eisenstein points to a large number of prior attempts in Western Europe to assert doctrines contrary to the ruling Catholic Church. In contrast, the Protestant Reformation spread rapidly and permanently due to the Printing of non-conformist works such as the 95 Theses.

Print culture and the American Revolution

A profound impact

Numerous eras throughout history have been defined through the use of Print culture. The American Revolution was a major historical conflict fought after print culture brought the rise of literacy. Furthermore, Print culture's ability to shape and guide society was a critical component before, during, and after the Revolution.

Pre-Revolution

Many different printed documents influenced the beginning of the revolution. The Magna Carta was an originally a scribal document of 1215, recording an oral transaction restricting the power of English kings and defining rights of subjects. It was revitalized by being printed in the 16th century and widely read by the increasingly literate English and colonial population thereafter. The Magna Carta was used as a basis for the development of English liberties by Sir Edward Coke and became a basis for writing the Declaration of Independence.

Additionally, during the 18th century, the production of printed newspapers in the colonies greatly increased. In 1775, more copies of newspapers were issued in Worcester, Massachusetts than were printed in all of New England in 1754, showing that the existence of the conflict developed a need for print culture. This onslaught of printed text was brought about by the anonymous writings of men such as Benjamin Franklin, who was noted for his many contributions to the newspapers, including the Pennsylvania Gazette. This increase was primarily due to the easing of the government's tight control of the press, and without the existence of a relatively free press, the American Revolution may have never taken place. The production of so many newspapers can mostly be attributed to the fact that newspapers had a huge demand; Printing presses were writing the newspapers to complain about the policies of the British government, and how the British government was taking advantage of the colonists.

In 1775, Thomas Paine wrote the pamphlet "Common Sense," a pamphlet that introduced many ideas of freedom to the Colonial citizens. Allegedly, half a million copies were produced during the pre-revolution era. This number of pamphlets produced is significant as there were only a couple million freed men in the colonies. However, "Common Sense" was not the only manuscript that influenced people and the tide of the revolution. Among the most influential were James Otis' "Rights of the British Colonies" and John Dickinson's "Farmer's Letters". Both of these played a key role in persuading the people and igniting the revolution.

During the Revolution

Newspapers were printed during the revolution covering battle reports and propaganda. These reports were usually falsified by Washington in order to keep morale up among American citizens and troops. Washington was not the only one to falsify these reports, as other generals (on both sides) used this technique as well. The newspapers also covered some of the battles in great detail, especially the ones that the American forces won, in order to gain support from other countries in hopes that they would join the American forces in the fight against the British.

Before the Revolution, the British placed multiple acts upon the colonies, such as the stamp act. Many newspaper companies worried that the British would punish them for Printing papers without a British seal, so they were forced to temporarily discontinue their work or simply change the title of their paper. However, some patriotic publishers, particularly those in Boston, continued their papers without any alteration of their title.

The Declaration of Independence is a very important written document that was drafted by the original thirteen colonies, as a form of Print culture that would declare their independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain and explained the justifications for doing so. While it was explicitly documented on July 4, 1776, it was not recognized by Great Britain until September 3, 1783, by the Treaty of Paris.

Post-Revolution

After the signing of the Treaty of Paris, a cluster of free states in need of a government was created. The basis for this government was known as the Articles of Confederation, which were put to effect in 1778 and formed the first governing document of the United States of America. This document, however, was found to be unsuitable to outline the structure of the government, and thus showed an ineffectual use of Print culture, and since printed texts were the most respected documents of the time, this called for an alteration in the document used to govern the confederation.

It was the job of the Constitutional Convention to reform the document, but they soon discovered that an entirely new text was needed in its place. The result was the United States Constitution. In the form of written word, the new document was used to grant more power to the central government, by expanding into branches. After it was ratified by all of the states in the union, the Constitution served as a redefinition of the modern government.

Thomas Jefferson was noted as saying, “The basis of our government being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter.” This serves as an excellent example of how newspapers were highly regarded by the colonial people. In fact, much like other forms of 18th century Print culture, newspapers played a very important role in the government following the Revolutionary War. Not only were they one of the few methods in the 18th century to voice the opinion of the people, they also allowed for the ideas to be disseminated to a wide audience, a primary goal of printed text. A famous example of the newspaper being used as a medium to convey ideas were the Federalist Papers. These were first published in New York City newspapers in 1788 and pushed for people to accept the idea of the United States Constitution by enumerating 85 different articles that justified its presence, adding to a series of texts designed to reinforce each other, and ultimately serving as a redefinition of the 18th century.

The state of Print today

Today, Print has matured to a state where the majority of modern society has come to have certain expectations regarding the printed book:

The knowledge contained by printed books is believed to be accurate.
The cited author of a printed book does indeed exist and is actually the person who wrote it.
Every copy of a printed book is identical (at least in the important aspects) to every other copy, no matter how far apart the locations are in which they are sold.
Copyright laws help to protect these standards. However, a few regions do exist in the world where literary piracy has become a standard commercial practice. In such regions, the preceding expectations are not the norm. (Johns 61)

Currently, there are still approximately 2.3 billion books still sold each year worldwide. However, this number is steadily decreasing due to the ever-growing popularity of the Internet and other forms of digital media.

Transition to the digital era

As David J. Gunkel states in his article "What's the Matter with Books?", society is currently in the late age of the text; the moment of transition from Print to electronic culture where it is too late for printed books and yet too early for electronic texts. Jay David Bolter, author of Writing Space, also discusses our culture in what he calls "the late age of print." The current debate going on in the literary world is whether or not the computer will replace the printed book as the repository and definition of human knowledge. There is still a very large audience committed to printed texts, who are not interested in moving to a digital representation of the repository for human knowledge. Bolter, in his own scholarship and also along with Richard Grusin in Remediation, explains that despite current fears about the end of Print, the format will never be erased but only remediated. New forms of technology (new media) will be created which utilize features of old media, thus preventing old media's (aka print's) erasure. At the same time, there are also concerns over whether obsolescence and deterioration make digital media unsuitable for long-term archival purposes. Much of the early paper used for Print is highly acidic, and will ultimately destroy itself.

The way that information is transferred has also changed with this new age of digital text and the shift towards electronic media. Gunkel states that information now takes the form of immaterial bits of digital data that are circulated at the speed of light. Consequently, what the printed book states about the exciting new culture and economy of bits is abraded by the fact that this information has been delivered in the slow and outdated form of physical paper.

In the article, "The First Amendment, Print Culture, and the Electronic Environment", the author notes that expectations will change as information becomes less tied to specific locations, and as machines become networked and linked to other machines. This means that in the future certain goods will not be associated with their origins.

The article "The First Amendment, Print Culture, and the Electronic Environment" ([1]) also mentions how the new electronic age will make Print better. Placing information into electronic form not only liberates the information from its pages but removes the need for specialized spaces to hold particular kinds of information. People have become increasingly accustomed to acquiring information from our homes that previously was only accessible from an office or library. Once computers are all networked, all information should, at least in theory, be accessible from all places. Print itself contained a set of invisible and inherent censors, which electronic media is helping to remove from the creation of text. Points of control that are present in Print space are no longer present as distribution channels multiply, as copying becomes faster and cheaper, as more information is produced, as economic incentives for working with information increase, and as barriers and boundaries that inhibited working with information are crossed.

Changes in technology and its effect on Print culture

There are more online publications, journals, newspapers, magazines, and businesses than ever before. While this brings society closer, and makes publications more convenient and accessible, ordering a product online reduces contact with others. Many online articles are anonymous, making the 'death of the author' even more apparent. Anyone can post articles and journals online anonymously. In effect, the individual becomes separated from the rest of society.

The advances of technology in Print culture can be separated into three shifts:

spoken language to the written word,
the written word to Printing press,
the Printing press to the computer/internet.
The written word has made history recordable and accurate. The Printing press, some may argue, is not a part of Print culture, but had a substantial impact upon the development of Print culture through the times. The Printing press brought uniform copies and efficiency in Print. It allowed a person to make a living from writing. Most importantly, it spread Print throughout society.

The advances made by technology in Print also impact anyone using cell phones, laptops, and personal digital organizers. From novels being delivered via a cell phone, the ability to text message and send letters via e-mail clients, to having entire libraries stored on PDAs, Print is being influenced by devices.

Non-textual forms of Print culture

Symbols, logos and printed images are forms of printed media that do not rely on text. They are ubiquitous in modern urban life. Analyzing these cultural products is an important part of the field of cultural studies. Print has given rise to a wider distribution of pictures in society in conjunction with the printed word. Incorporation of printed pictures in magazines, newspapers, and books gave printed material a wider mass appeal through the ease of visual communication. Another product of non-textual Print are roadside symbols, some of which incorporate printed words with eye-catching shapes and colors. This is a merging of pre-Print symbolism with post-Print linguistic communication.

Text and Print

There is a common miscommunication that occurs when discussing that which is Print and that which is text. In the literary world, notable scholars such as Walter Ong and D.F. McKenzie have disagreed on the meaning of text. The point of the discussion at hand is to have a word that encompasses all forms of communication - that which is printed, that which is online media, even a building or notches on a stick. According to Walter Ong text did not come about until the development of the first alphabet, well after humanity existed. According to Mckenzie primitive humans did have a form of text they used to communicate with their cave drawings. This is discussed in literary theory. Print, however, is a representation of what which is printed, and does not encompass all forms of communication (e.g. a riot at a football game).

Printing Manchester

2010-11-30T14:20:00.000-08:00

Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction Printing.

Contents

1 History
1.1 Woodblock Printing
1.2 In East Asia
1.3 In Middle East
1.4 In Europe
1.5 Movable type Printing
1.6 Rotary Printing press
2 Modern Printing technology
2.1 Offset press
2.2 Gravure
3 Impact of the invention of Printing
3.1 Religious impact
3.2 Social impact
3.3 Environmental impact
4 Comparison of Printing methods
5 Digital Printing
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links
History

Main article: History of Printing
Woodblock Printing

Woodblock Printing is a technique for Printing text, images or patterns that was used widely throughout East Asia. It originated in China in antiquity as a method of Printing on textiles and later on paper. As a method of Printing on cloth, the earliest surviving examples from China date to before 220 AD, and from Roman Egypt to the 4th century.

In East Asia

The intricate frontispiece of the Diamond Sutra from Tang Dynasty China, 868 AD (British Museum)
Main article: History of typography in East Asia
The earliest surviving woodblock printed fragments are from China and are of silk printed with flowers in three colours from the Han dynasty (before 220 AD), and the earliest example of woodblock Printing on paper appeared in the mid-7th century in China.

In Middle East

Woodblock Printing on cloth appeared in Roman Egypt by the 4th century. Block Printing, called tarsh in Arabic was developed in Arabic Egypt during the 9th-10th centuries, mostly for prayers and amulets. There is some evidence to suggest that the Print blocks were made from a variety of different materials besides wood, including metals such as tin, lead and cast iron, as well as stone, glass and clay. However, the techniques employed are uncertain and they appear to have had very little influence outside of the Muslim world. Though Europe adopted woodblock Printing from the Muslim world, initially for fabric, the technique of metal block Printing remained unknown in Europe. Block Printing later went out of use in Islamic Central Asia after movable type Printing was introduced from China.

In Europe

Block Printing first came to Christian Europe as a method for Printing on cloth, where it was common by 1300. Images printed on cloth for religious purposes could be quite large and elaborate, and when paper became relatively easily available, around 1400, the medium transferred very quickly to small woodcut religious images and playing cards printed on paper. These prints were produced in very large numbers from about 1425 onwards.

Around the mid-century, block-books, woodcut books with both text and images, usually carved in the same block, emerged as a cheaper alternative to manuscripts and books printed with movable type. These were all short heavily illustrated works, the bestsellers of the day, repeated in many different block-book versions: the Ars moriendi and the Biblia pauperum were the most common. There is still some controversy among scholars as to whether their introduction preceded or, the majority view, followed the introduction of movable type, with the range of estimated dates being between about 1440 and 1460.

Movable type Printing

Jikji, "Selected Teachings of Buddhist Sages and Son Masters", the earliest known book printed with movable metal type, 1377. Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris.
Main article: Movable type
See also: History of Western typography
Movable type is the system of Printing and typography using movable pieces of metal type, made by casting from matrices struck by letterpunches. Movable type allowed for much more flexible processes than hand copying or block Printing.

Around 1040, the first known movable type system was created in China by Bi Sheng out of porcelain. Sheng used clay type, which broke easily, but Wang Zhen later carved a more durable type from wood by 1298 CE, and developed a complex system of revolving tables and number-association with written Chinese characters that made typesetting and Printing more efficient. However, the main method in use there remained woodblock Printing.

Korean moveable metal typeset form, used to print 月印千江之曲 in 1447.
But around 1230, Korea first invented a metal type movable Printing. The Jikji, published in 1377, is the earliest known metal printed book.

Around 1450, Johannes Gutenberg introduced what is regarded as an invention of movable type in Europe (see Printing press), along with innovations in casting the type based on a matrix and hand mould. Gutenberg was the first to create his type pieces from an alloy of lead, tin and antimony – the same components still used today.

A case of cast metal type pieces and typeset matter in a composing stick.
Johannes Gutenberg's work on the Printing press began in approximately 1436 when he partnered with Andreas Dritzehen — a man he had previously instructed in gem-cutting—and Andreas Heilmann, owner of a paper mill. It was not until a 1439 lawsuit against Gutenberg that official record exists; witnesses testimony discussed type, an inventory of metals (including lead) and his type mold.

Compared to woodblock Printing, movable type page setting was faster and more durable. The metal type pieces were sturdier and the lettering more uniform, leading to typography and fonts. The high quality and relatively low price of the Gutenberg Bible (1455) established the superiority of movable type, and Printing presses rapidly spread across Europe, leading up to the Renaissance, and later all around the world. Today, practically all movable type Printing ultimately derives from Gutenberg's movable type printing, which is often regarded as the most important invention of the second millennium.

Rotary Printing press

Main article: Rotary Printing press
The rotary Printing press was invented by Richard March Hoe in 1843. It uses impressions curved around a cylinder to print on long continuous rolls of paper or other substrates. Rotary drum Printing was later significantly improved by William Bullock.

Modern Printing technology

The folder of newspaper web offset Printing press.
Across the world, over 45 trillion pages (2005 figure) are printed annually. In 2006 there were approximately 30,700 printing companies in the United States, accounting for $112 billion, according to the 2006 U.S. Industry & Market Outlook by Barnes Reports. Print jobs that move through the Internet made up 12.5% of the total U.S. Printing market last year, according to research firm InfoTrend/CAP Ventures.

Offset press

Main article: Offset press
Offset Printing is a widely used Printingtechnique where the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the Printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on the repulsion of oil and water, the offset technique employs a flat (planographic) image carrier on which the image to be printed obtains ink from ink rollers, while the non-Printing area attracts a film of water, keeping the non-Printing areas ink-free.

Currently, most books and newspapers are printed using the technique of offset lithography. Other common techniques include:

flexography used for packaging, labels, newspapers.
hot wax dye transfer
inkjet used typically to print a small number of books or packaging, and also to print a variety of materials from high quality papers simulate offset Printing, to floor tiles; Inkjet is also used to apply mailing addresses to direct mail pieces.
laser Printing mainly used in offices and for transactional Printing (bills, bank documents). Laser Printing is commonly used by direct mail companies to create variable data letters or coupons, for example.
pad Printing popular for its unique ability to print on complex 3-dimensional surfaces.
relief print, (mainly used for catalogues).
rotogravure mainly used for magazines and packaging.
screen-Printing from T-shirts to floor tiles.
Gravure

Gravure Printing is an intaglio Printing technique, where the image to be printed is made up of small depressions in the surface of the Printing plate. The cells are filled with ink and the excess is scraped off the surface with a doctor blade, then a rubber-covered roller presses paper onto the surface of the plate and into contact with the ink in the cells. The Printing plates are usually made from copper and may be produced by digital engraving or laser etching.

Gravure Printing is used for long, high-quality Print runs such as magazines, mail-order catalogues, packaging, and printing onto fabric and wallpaper. It is also used for Printing postage stamps and decorative plastic laminates, such as kitchen worktops.

Impact of the invention of Printing

Religious impact

Samuel Hartlib, who was exiled in Britain and enthusiastic about social and cultural reforms, wrote in 1641 that "the art of Printing will so spread knowledge that the common people, knowing their own rights and liberties, will not be governed by way of oppression". Both churchmen and governments were concerned that Print allowed readers, eventually including those from all classes of society, to study religious texts and politically sensitive issues by themselves, instead of having their thinking mediated by the religious and political authorities.[citation needed]

It took a long time for print to penetrate Russia and the Orthodox Christian world, a region (including modern Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria) where reading ability was largely restricted to the clergy. In 1564, a White Russian brought a press to Moscow, and soon after that his workshop was destroyed by a mob.

In the Muslim world, Printing, especially in Arabic or Turkish, was strongly opposed throughout the early modern period, though Printing in Hebrew was sometimes permitted.[citation needed] Muslim countries have been regarded as a barrier to the passage of Printing from China to the West. According to an imperial ambassador to Istanbul in the middle of the sixteenth century, it was a sin for the Turks to Print religious books. In 1515, Sultan Selim I issued a decree under which the practice of Printing would be punishable by death[citation needed]. At the end of the century, Sultan Murad III permitted the sale of non-religious printed books in Arabic characters, yet the majority were imported from Italy.

Jews were banned from German Printing guilds; as a result Hebrew Printing sprang up in Italy, beginning in 1470 in Rome, then spreading to other cities including Bari, Pisa, Livorno and Mantuba. Local rulers had the authority to grant or revoke licenses to publish Hebrew books, and many of those printed during this period carry the words 'con licenza de superiori' (indicating their Printing having been licensed by the censor) on their title pages.

It was thought that the introduction of the Printing medium 'would strengthen religion and enhance the power of monarchs.' The majority of books were of a religious nature, with the church and crown regulating the content. The consequences of Printing 'wrong' material were extreme. Meyrowitz used the example of William Carter who in 1584 printed a pro-Catholic pamphlet in Protestant-dominated England. The consequence of his action was hanging.

The widespread distribution of the Bible 'had a revolutionary impact, because it decreased the power of the Catholic Church as the prime possessor and interpretor of God's word.'

Social impact

Print gave a broader range of readers access to knowledge and enabled later generations to build on the intellectual achievements of earlier ones. Print, according to Acton in his lecture On the Study of History (1895), gave "assurance that the work of the Renaissance would last, that what was written would be accessible to all, that such an occultation of knowledge and ideas as had depressed the Middle Ages would never recur, that not an idea would be lost".

Print was instrumental in changing the nature of reading within society.

Elizabeth Eisenstein identifies two long term effects of the invention of Printing. She claims that Print created a sustained and uniform reference for knowledge as well as allowing for comparison between incompatible views. (Eisenstein in Briggs and Burke, 2002: p21)

Asa Briggs and Peter Burke identify five kinds of reading that developed in relation to the introduction of Print:

Critical reading: due to the fact that texts finally became accessible to the general population, critical reading emerged because people were given the option to form their own opinions on texts.
Dangerous Reading: reading was seen as a dangerous pursuit because it was considered rebellious and unsociable. This was especially in the case of women because reading could stir up dangerous emotions like love. There was also the concern that if women could read, they could read love notes.
Creative reading: Printing allowed people to read texts and interpret them creatively, often in very different ways than the author intended.
Extensive Reading: Print allowed for a wide range of texts to become available, thus, previous methods of intensive reading of texts from start to finish, began to change. With texts being readily available, people began reading on particular topics or chapters, allowing for much more extensive reading on a wider range of topics.
Private reading: This is linked to the rise of individualism. Before Print, reading was often a group event, where one person would read to a group of people. With Print, literacy rose as did availability of texts, thus reading became a solitary pursuit.
"While the invention of Printing has been discussed conventionally in terms of its value for spreading ideas, its even greater contribution is its furthering of the long-developing shift in the relationship between space and discourse".

The proliferation of media that Ong is discussing in relation to the introduction of the Printing press, to the death of an oral culture and that this new culture had more of an emphasis on the visual rather than in an auditory medium. As such the Printing press gave birth to a more accessible and widely available source of knowledge in the sense that it broke down the boundaries between the possessors of knowledge and the masses. The narrative or discourse now existed in what would become indirectly through time, the global village.

The invention of Printing also changed the occupational structure of European cities. Printers emerged as a new group of artisans for whom literacy was essential, although the much more labour-intensive occupation of the scribe naturally declined. Proof-correcting arose as a new occupation, while a rise in the amount of booksellers and librarians naturally followed the explosion in the numbers of books.

Environmental impact

Main article: Printing and the environment
Comparison of Printing methods

Comparison of Printing methods
Printing process transfer method pressure applied drop size dynamic viscosity thickness of ink on substrate notes cost-effective run length
Offset Printing rollers 1 MPa 40–100 Pa·s 0.5–1.5 µm high print quality >5,000 (A3 trim size, sheet-fed)
>30,000 (A3 trim size, web-fed)

Rotogravure rollers 3 MPa 0.05–0.2 Pa·s 0.8–8 µm thick ink layers possible, excellent image reproduction, edges of letters and lines are jagged >500,000
Flexography rollers 0.3 MPa 0.05–0.5 Pa·s 0.8–2.5 µm moderate quality
Letterpress Printing platen 10 MPa 50–150 Pa·s 0.5–1.5 µm slow drying
Screen-Printing pressing ink through holes in screen <12 µm versatile method, low quality
Electrophotography electrostatics 5–10 µm thick ink
Inkjet Printer thermal 5–30 µl 1–5 Pa·s <0.5 µm special paper required to reduce bleeding <350 (A3 trim size)
Inkjet Printer piezoelectric 4–30 µl 5–20 Pa·s <0.5 µm special paper required to reduce bleeding <350 (A3 trim size)
Inkjet Printer continuous 5–100 µl 1–5 Pa·s <0.5 µm special paper required to reduce bleeding <350 (A3 trim size)
Digital Printing

Digital Printing accounts for approximately 9% of the 45 trillion pages printed annually (2005 figure) around the world.

Printing at home or in an office or engineering environment is subdivided into:

small format (up to ledger size paper sheets), as used in business offices and libraries
wide format (up to 3' or 914mm wide rolls of paper), as used in drafting and design establishments.
Some of the more common Printing technologies are:

blueprint—and related chemical technologies.
daisy wheel—where pre-formed characters are applied individually.
dot-matrix—which produces arbitrary patterns of dots with an array of Printing studs.
line Printing—where pre-formed characters are applied to the paper by lines.
heat transfer—like early fax machines or modern receipt Printers that apply heat to special paper, which turns black to form the printed image.
inkjet—including bubble-jet—where ink is sprayed onto the paper to create the desired image.
electrophotography—where toner is attracted to a charged image and then developed.
laser—a type of xerography where the charged image is written pixel by pixel by a laser.
solid ink Printer—where cubes of ink are melted to make ink or liquid toner.
Vendors typically stress the total cost to operate the equipment, involving complex calculations that include all cost factors involved in the operation as well as the capital equipment costs, amortization, etc. For the most part, toner systems beat inkjet in the long run, whereas inkjets are less expensive in the initial purchase price.

Professional digital printing (using toner) primarily uses an electrical charge to transfer toner or liquid ink to the substrate it is printed on. Digital Print quality has steadily improved from early color and black & white copiers to sophisticated colour digital presses like the Xerox iGen3, the Kodak Nexpress, the HP Indigo Digital Press series and the InfoPrint 5000. The iGen3 and Nexpress use toner particles and the Indigo uses liquid ink. The InfoPrint 5000 is a full-color, continuous forms inkjet drop-on-demand Printing system. All handle variable data and rival offset in quality. Digital offset presses are also called direct imaging presses, although these presses can receive computer files and automatically turn them into Print-ready plates, they cannot insert variable data.

Small press and fanzines generally use digital printing. Prior to the introduction of cheap photocopying the use of machines such as the spirit duplicator, hectograph, and mimeograph was common.

The History of Printer Inks Cartridges

2010-11-30T13:50:00.000-08:00

Ever since man got up and off all fours and started walking on two legs he has communicated using some type of image. What started out as pictures scratched upon the wall of a cave initially evolved into images that were made using a burned stick.

Then, as the centuries passed, other types of media were developed that would leave a more permanent record of his existence. And today life would not be the same if we didn't have the capacity to print anything from legal tender to sporting event tickets.

It's highly unlikely that cavemen could envision the importance of printing. It's doubtful that they could ever imagine that tens of thousands of years his descendants would develop both the technology to print massive amounts of data along with his dependence on the printed word.

The first printing presses were developed in the fifteenth century. Guttenburg is credited with building the first printing press in 1452. The ink jet printers that most of us use today weren't invented until more than 500 years later, in the latter part of the twentieth century.

The first dry printing process, known as electro photography, was invented by Chester Carleson in 1938. The more common term for this technology is "Xerox". When Gary Starkweather, a Xerox engineer, added a laser beam to the existing Xerox printer he built the foundation for the laser printing that can be found in most offices and in many homes today.

Subsequently IBM's 3800 printing System became the first office printerthat had the ability to print more than 100 impressions in a minute.

Although laser printers used dry printer inks, it was not the end for wet printers. That's because the original laser printers cold only print in black and white. This left the door open for Hewlett Packard to release its first Deskjet series of inkjet printers in 1978.

Subsequently other companies began to design and manufacture their own versions of printers that could be used as stand-alone printing devices in homes and offices.

Nowadays virtually every printer incorporates the use of replaceable printer inks cartridges. One of the biggest benefits of this type of a system is that the ink cartridges can very easily be replaced when the ink runs out.

Today not only do the original equipment manufacturers offer printer inks cartridges for their printer, third party companies offer them as well. And, in the interest of saving the environment as well as saving money, many people are now buying recycled and refilled printer ink cartridges when the ink runs dry in their inkjet printers.

Large Format Printers: Increase Print Permanence

2010-11-30T13:42:00.000-08:00

Large format printers, such as Canon's imagePROGRAF range, offer high quality prints with long-lasting printers permanence, as independent researchers from Wilhelm Research recently reported. Canon's large format printers that use compatible LUCIA inks could last more than 100 years when prints were left unprotected and exposed to mixed gases and high illumination test settings. But with simple and proper storage practices, the same prints can last for more than 300 years!

So how do you increase print permanence of large format prints? With a quality large format printer and compatible paper, here other simple ways to prolong the longevity of prints:

- Encase in glass or store inside plastic. All prints intended for long-term display, such as those in museums or art galleries, should be encased in glass or plastic. This will protect large format prints from staining, image discolouration from mixed gas and other airborne contaminants such as cooking fumes, insect residue and cigarettes.

- Use UV glass filters in high illumination settings. Studies indicate that UV light from incandescent light bulbs can emit up to 365nm of UV light which increases the rate of fading. While framing in ordinary glass is an effective protective measure, for large format prints in places with illumination, such as museums, universities, libraries or galleries, should be encased with UV filtered glass.

With Canon's imagePROGRAF large format printers , LUCIA inks and compatible paper such as Canon's Glossy Photo Paper or Premium Matte Paper, Wilhelm Research found that prints kept under UV-filtered glass had print permanence of more than 300 years! That said however, under ordinary glass, prints from Canon's large format printers could still last more than 200 years before the onset of discolouration or image fading.

- Keep out of high humidity. Prints stored in the dark, say in a storeroom are likely to deteriorate through discolouration, fading and paper yellowing. To help slow down the process, it is recommended that large format prints are kept out of high humidity environments, and stored in closed boxes, album sleeves, framed in glass or in high-quality acrylic sheets. With correct dark storage procedures, Canon's large format printers can produce prints with a 300-year print permanence.

Web Design Compared To Print

2010-11-30T13:37:00.000-08:00

There are many people who still consider website to be an extension of the print media, especially the advertisements. In fact these people have most probably have either never come across a website or not put in the effort to click the mouse and know the utility of the website. This write up is especially dedicated to these ignorant people.

Information: When an advertisement is in print, it is limited to a page or two. On the other hand the website information can run into multiple pages that can be accessed by just the click of the mouse. This sort of facility is not available in the print media.

Visual: The web design can be embedded with visuals such as images and even video and animation. This is not possible with print media.

Interaction: The web design can be customized and made interactive. The best example for this is the placing of the order and transferring the money from the buyers account to the sellers account. This leaves the print media far behind in the bushes. There are boxes for the visitors to express their feeling in the form of a feedback. In case of publish media there is no way to receive the feedback except for the change that it brings in the market sales.

Flexibility: A website can be upgraded with the latest information but a print advertisement when once printed can never be changed.

Life Span: The life of the print advertisement is very less compared to that of a website. The life of the print advertisement lasts till the paper lasts, which is usually very limited. On the other hand the website life is as long as the business pays for hosting it on the internet. As time passes the colors of the print media fade but the color scheme of a web design remains the same.

Portability: It is only at portability that the publish media has an edge over the website. Website is dependent on the computer, internet connection and electric power supply.

With the advent of lap top and penetration of the internet connection this loophole of the website media can be got rid of.

Choice: In case of website the visitor is facilitated with a number of alternatives at the click of the mouse. In case of print media the reader can neither change the layout nor know about a company whose information is not given on that page or paper.

Search: In case of websites, any website can be searched by just putting the key word in the search engine box and clicking the mouse, where as in case of publish media one needs to scan through every page or at least the index. Searching a website is easier than searching for an advertisement in the print media.

It is clear from the above comparison that the websites have an edge above the print media advertisements. For optimizing the productivity of a website one needs to avail the services of a professional and experienced web design and development company.

FASTHOSTS CONTACT FORM TRIED AND TESTED SOLUTION

2010-04-30T04:25:00.000-07:00

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Seo Consultants

2010-04-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

Seo Consultants

What is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)?

In the world of online marketing, visibility through strong positioning or the lack of positioning can make or break a business. Your product or service might be the most economical or amazing revolution, but that will not make a bit of difference to your bottom line if the consumer cannot locate your website.

Search Engine Optimisation can increase your web visibility through the utilization of various techniques that improve your site ranking on any number of search engines. Search engines employ programs that browse the World Wide Web looking for new websites and up dated data to copy for later indexing. These programs that crawl along the web are usually called "Web Crawlers" or "Spiders". Search Engine Optimisation can change certain aspects of your website, shaking the web so to speak, to catch the interest of those spider programs [ ...more ]
How can SEO help my business?

Effective search engine optimisation is not meant to just increase website traffic - it is about growing your online business by reaching qualified consumers of your products and services; prospects that are in many cases ready to buy. Boostr employs best business practices, analyzing, benchmarking, mapping patterns and forecasting to help you understand, and ultimately reach your full potential.

There are over 300 million people searching the web daily, making the potential Web audience so large for businesses that a strategic and sustainable approach to capturing that market is vital. Regardless of the service and product your company offers, a properly executed SEO campaign will result in more leads, enhanced brand awareness, increased sales and even new venture opportunities. The bottom line is that SEO can make you more money.

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Domain Names

2010-04-08T19:21:00.000-07:00

Domain Names

A domain name is an identification label that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet, based on the Domain Name System (DNS).

Domain names are used in various networking contexts and application-specific naming and addressing purposes. They are organized in subordinate levels (subdomains) of the DNS root domain, which is nameless. The first-level set of domain names are the top-level domains (TLDs), including the generic top-level domains (gTLDs), such as the prominent domains com, net and org, and the country code top-level domains (ccTLDs).

Below these top-level domains in the DNS hierarchy are the second-level and third-level domain names that are typically open for reservation by end-users that wish to connect local area networks to the Internet, run web sites, or create other publicly accessible Internet resources. The registration of these domain names is usually administered by domain name registrars who sell their services to the public.

Individual Internet host computers use domain names as host identifiers, or hostnames. Hostnames are the leaf labels in the domain name system usually without further subordinate domain name space. Hostnames appear as a component in Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) for Internet resources such as web sites (e.g., en.wikipedia.org).

Domain names are also used as simple identification labels to indicate ownership or control of a resource. Such examples are the realm identifiers used in the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), the DomainKeys used to verify DNS domains in e-mail systems, and in many other Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs).

An important purpose of domain names is to provide easily recognizable and memorizable names to numerically addressed Internet resources. This abstraction allows any resource (e.g., website) to be moved to a different physical location in the address topology of the network, globally or locally in an intranet. Such a move usually requires changing the IP address of a resource and the corresponding translation of this IP address to and from its domain name.

Domain names are often referred to simply as domains and domain name registrants are frequently referred to as domain owners, although domain name registration with a registrar does not confer any legal ownership of the domain name, only an exclusive right of use.

This article primarily discusses the group of domain names that are offered by domain name registrars for registration by the public. The Domain Name System article discusses the technical facilities and infrastructure of the domain name space and the hostname article deals with specific information about the use of domain names as identifiers of network hosts.

The right to use a domain name is delegated by domain name registrars which are accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organization charged with overseeing the name and number systems of the Internet. In addition to ICANN, each top-level domain (TLD) is maintained and serviced technically by an administrative organization, operating a registry.

A registry is responsible for maintaining the database of names registered within the TLD it administers. The registry receives registration information from each domain name registrar authorized to assign names in the corresponding TLD and publishes the information using a special service, the whois protocol.

Registries and registrars usually charge an annual fee for the service of delegating a domain name to a user and providing a default set of name servers. Often this transaction is termed a sale or lease of the domain name, and the registrant may sometimes be called an "owner", but no such legal relationship is actually associated with the transaction, only the exclusive right to use the domain name. More correctly, authorized users are known as "registrants" or as "domain holders".

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Logo Design

2010-04-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

Logo Design

"Your logo is the cornerstone of your business identity. It will appear on your signs, business cards, stationery, T-shirts, adverts, and other promotional material. In short, it's critical to your business to have a professional, memorable logo that accurately reflects you and your company”

Everything that comes into contact with your client, causes an opinion (good or bad) of your brand.

Your brand starts with your logo or your “Trademark.” If you are looking for a professional affordable graphic design company - you've found it.

Here at boostr we offer a full range of design services including business card design and design for print. We work closely with our clients to help them determine their needs and achieve their business goals.

boostr has the experience, resources and skills to design innovative logos, stationery, brochures, catalogues, advertising and exhibition stands. We can provide a full range of original designer concepts from a logo to a full campaign. We are always striving for creative, original artwork designs to serve you better.

Search Engine Optimisation

2010-04-08T19:19:00.000-07:00

Search Engine Optimisation

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site or a web page (such as a blog) from search engines via "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results as opposed to search engine marketing (SEM) which deals with paid inclusion. The theory is that the earlier (or higher) a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search and industry-specific vertical search engines. This gives a web site web presence.

As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work and what people search for. Optimizing a website primarily involves editing its content and HTML and associated coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines.

The acronym "SEO" can refer to "search engine optimizers," a term adopted by an industry of consultants who carry out optimization projects on behalf of clients, and by employees who perform SEO services in-house. Search engine optimizers may offer SEO as a stand-alone service or as a part of a broader marketing campaign.

Because effective SEO may require changes to the HTML source code of a site, SEO tactics may be incorporated into web site development and design. The term "search engine friendly" may be used to describe web site designs, menus, content management systems, images, videos, shopping carts, and other elements that have been optimized for the purpose of search engine exposure.

Another class of techniques, known as black hat SEO or spamdexing, use methods such as link farms, keyword stuffing and article spinning that degrade both the relevance of search results and the user-experience of search engines. Search engines look for sites that employ these techniques in order to remove them from their indices.

SEO techniques can be classified into two broad categories: techniques that search engines recommend as part of good design, and those techniques of which search engines do not approve. The search engines attempt to minimize the effect of the latter, among them spamdexing. Some industry commentators have classified these methods, and the practitioners who employ them, as either white hat SEO, or black hat SEO.[38] White hats tend to produce results that last a long time, whereas black hats anticipate that their sites may eventually be banned either temporarily or permanently once the search engines discover what they are doing.[39]

A search engine optimization technique is considered white hat SEO if it conforms to the search engines' guidelines and involves no deception. We can say the legal SEO is a white hat SEO. As the search engine guidelines[24][25][26][40] are not written as a series of rules or commandments, this is an important distinction to note.

White hat SEO is not just about following guidelines, but is about ensuring that the content a search engine indexes and subsequently ranks is the same content a user will see. White hat advice is generally summed up as creating content for users, not for search engines, and then making that content easily accessible to the spiders, rather than attempting to trick the algorithm from its intended purpose. White hat SEO is in many ways similar to web development that promotes accessibility,[41] although the two are not identical.

Black hat SEO attempts to improve rankings in ways that are disapproved of by the search engines, or involve deception. One black hat technique uses text that is hidden, either as text colored similar to the background, in an invisible div, or positioned off screen. Another method gives a different page depending on whether the page is being requested by a human visitor or a search engine, a technique known as cloaking.

Invisible iframes are yet another black hat SEO technique, where a page you see is not necessarily from the company that is hosting that webpage. People create these types of pages in order to download software on your computer in the background without your knowledge .

Search engines may penalize sites they discover using black hat methods, either by reducing their rankings or eliminating their listings from their databases altogether. Such penalties can be applied either automatically by the search engines' algorithms, or by a manual site review. Infamous examples are the February 2006 Google removal of both BMW Germany and Ricoh Germany for use of deceptive practices.[42] and the April 2006 removal of the PPC Agency BigMouthMedia.[43] All three companies, however, quickly apologized, fixed the offending pages, and were restored to Google's list.[44]

Webpages

2010-04-08T19:18:00.001-07:00

Webpages

A webpage or web page is a document or resource of information that is suitable for the World Wide Web and can be accessed through a web browser and displayed on a computer screen.

This information is usually in HTML or XHTML format, and may provide navigation to other webpages via hypertext links.

Webpages may be retrieved from a local computer or from a remote web server. The web server may restrict access only to a private network, e.g. a corporate intranet, or it may publish pages on the World Wide Web. Webpages are requested and served from web servers using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

Webpages may consist of files of static text stored within the web server's file system (static webpages), or the web server may construct the (X)HTML for each webpage when it is requested by a browser (dynamic webpages). Client-side scripting can make webpages more responsive to user input once in the client browser.

Webpages usually include information as to the colors of text and backgrounds and very often also contain links to images and sometimes other media to be included in the final view. Layout, typographic and color-scheme information is provided by Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) instructions, which can either be embedded in the HTML or can be provided by a separate file, which is referenced from within the HTML.

The latter case is especially relevant where one lengthy stylesheet is relevant to a whole website: due to the way HTTP works, the browser will only download it once from the web server and use the cached copy for the whole site. Images are stored on the web server as separate files, but again HTTP allows for the fact that once a webpage is downloaded to a browser, it is quite likely that related files such as images and stylesheets will be requested as it is processed. An HTTP 1.1 web server will maintain a connection with the browser until all related resources have been requested and provided. Web browsers usually render images along with the text and other material on the displayed webpage.

To create a webpage, a text editor or a specialized HTML editor is needed. In order to upload the created webpage to a web server, traditionally an FTP client is needed.

The design of a webpage is highly personal. A design can be made according to one's own preference, or a premade web template can be used. Web templates let webpage designers edit the content of a webpage without having to worry about the overall aesthetics. Many people publish their own webpages using products like Geocities from Yahoo, Tripod, or Angelfire. These web publishing tools offer free page creation and hosting up to a certain size limit.

Other ways of making a webpage is to download specialized software, like a Wiki, CMS, or forum. These options allow for quick and easy creation of a webpage which is typically dynamic.

While one is viewing a webpage, a copy of it is saved locally; this is what is being viewed. Depending on the browser settings, this copy may be deleted at any time, or stored indefinitely, sometimes without the user realizing it. Most GUI browsers will contain all the options for saving a webpage more permanently. These include, but are not limited to:

Saving the rendered text without formatting or images - Hyperlinks are not identified, but displayed as plain text
Saving the HTML file as it was served - Overall structure will be preserved, although some links may be broken
Saving the HTML file and changing relative links to absolute ones - Hyperlinks will be preserved
Saving the entire webpage - All images will be saved, as well as links being changed to absolute
Saving the HTML file including all images, stylesheets and scripts into a single MHTML file. This is supported by Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera. Firefox only support this if the MAF plugin has been installed. An MHTML file is based upon the MHTML standard.

Common web browsers, like Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Opera, give the option to not only print the currently viewed webpage to a printer, but optionally to "print" to a file which can be viewed or printed later. Some webpages are designed, for example by use of CSS, so that hyperlinks, menus and other navigation items, which will be useless on paper, are rendered into print with this in mind. Space-wasting menus and navigational blocks may be absent from the printed version; other hyperlinks may be sh the end.

Seo

2010-04-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

Seo

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is often considered the more technical part of Web marketing. This is true because SEO does help in the promotion of sites and at the same time it requires some technical knowledge – at least familiarity with basic HTML. SEO is sometimes also called SEO copyrighting because most of the techniques that are used to promote sites in search engines deal with text. Generally, SEO can be defined as the activity of optimizing Web pages or whole sites in order to make them more search engine-friendly, thus getting higher positions in search results.

One of the basic truths in SEO is that even if you do all the things that are necessary to do, this does not automatically guarantee you top ratings but if you neglect basic rules, this certainly will not go unnoticed. Also, if you set realistic goals – i.e to get into the top 30 results in Google for a particular keyword, rather than be the number one for 10 keywords in 5 search engines, you will feel happier and more satisfied with your results.

Although SEO helps to increase the traffic to one's site, SEO is not advertising. Of course, you can be included in paid search results for given keywords but basically the idea behind the SEO techniques is to get top placement because your site is relevant to a particular search term, not because you pay.

SEO can be a 30-minute job or a permanent activity. Sometimes it is enough to do some generic SEO in order to get high in search engines – for instance, if you are a leader for rare keywords, then you do not have a lot to do in order to get decent placement. But in most cases, if you really want to be at the top, you need to pay special attention to SEO and devote significant amounts of time and effort to it. Even if you plan to do some basic SEO, it is essential that you understand how search engines work and which items are most important in SEO.

(SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" (shown on the left side of Google results) search results. Usually, the earlier a site is presented in the search results, or the higher it "ranks", the more searchers will visit that site.

SEO can also target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, and industry-specific search. As a marketing strategy for increasing a site's relevance, SEO considers how search engines work and what people search for. SEO efforts may involve a site's coding, presentation, and structure, as well as fixing problems that could prevent search engine indexing programs from fully spidering a site.

Other, more noticeable efforts may include adding unique content to a site, ensuring that content is easily indexed by search engine robots, and making the site more appealing to users.

SEO means search engine optimisation, it's about making changes to your website to make sure it has the best chance of being found by the visitors you want with your desired keywords.

SEO can take from 1-3 months to start taking effect you must have patience.

Online Marketing

2010-04-08T19:17:00.000-07:00

Online Marketing

Internet marketing, also referred to as online marketing, Internet advertising, eMarketing (or e-Marketing), is the marketing of products or services over the Internet. When applied to the subset of website-based advertisement placements, Internet marketing is commonly referred to as Web advertising and/or Web marketing.

The Internet has brought many unique benefits to marketing, one of which being lower costs for the distribution of information and media to a global audience. Internet marketing isn't just driving banner ads through third party sites or creating an all singing all dancing website. It's about Return on investment and Global brand awareness within a target market.

Effective Internet marketing requires a comprehensive strategy that works in synergy with a given company's business model, it's sales goals with its website function and appearance, focusing on its target market through proper choice of advertising type, media and design.

Advantages of an Online Presence

Imagine a shop on the high street. Imagine 10,000 people walking past and the opportunities that exist. Given that the internet is probably the biggest shop front in the world for any business, it makes sense to have a professional, clean and up to date presence on the internet in order to maximise the potential for profits with minimum outlay or overheads.

Being online allows your store to be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week without rest. It allows you to showcase your products and services while you rest easy!

Custom Websites

2010-04-08T19:16:00.000-07:00

We create meaningful, impactful concepts to contribute to the success of your project and to your business. Our approach to your design is to first envision its success and then scrutinize our concepts based on proven principles we've honed throughout the years.

From end to end, we want to innovate and solve problems. We do this through knowing you and your business, your customers, your product and your market position. Systematically, we can build a blueprint for accomplishing your business goals and help this translate into a purposeful design model.

What We Do

Our custom Website design services consist of the following disciplines:

Research, ideation and conceptualization.
Interface assignments and wire-framing.
Digital composite drawings.
Graphic design and illustration.
HTML, CSS and JavaScript coding.
Standards compliance.
Search engine optimization.
Methodical testing and quality assurance.

Usability

Our disciplined approach to custom Web design targets usability as the key component of effective layout, navigation, communication and function. Considering the inherent subjectiveness of Website usability, it may be a daunting task for some companies to get it right. Active Media Architects is able to lean on years of expertise and lessons learned in planning, designing and testing Websites and Web applications for usability.

Active Media Architects' disciplined approach to custom Website design results in faster development periods, fewer problems and greater return on investment. Our focus on the Web is your advantage.

Afterall, there's a reason businesses continually come to us - to help foster their ideas into reality. We help guide and execute even the most raw concepts into promising plans.

Email Packages

2010-04-08T19:15:00.000-07:00

Email Packages

Electronic mail, most commonly abbreviated email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages. E-mail systems are based on a store-and-forward model in which e-mail server computer systems accept, forward, deliver and store messages on behalf of users, who only need to connect to the e-mail infrastructure, typically an e-mail server, with a network-enabled device for the duration of message submission or retrieval. Originally, e-mail was always transmitted directly from one user's device to another's; nowadays this is rarely the case.

An electronic mail message consists of two components, the message header, and the message body, which is the email's content. The message header contains control information, including, minimally, an originator's email address and one or more recipient addresses. Usually additional information is added, such as a subject header field.

Originally a text-only communications medium, email was extended to carry multi-media content attachments, which were standardized in with RFC 2045 through RFC 2049, collectively called, Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME).

The foundation for today's global Internet e-mail service was created in the early ARPANET and standards for encoding of messages were proposed as early as 1973 (RFC 561). An e-mail sent in the early 1970s looked very similar to one sent on the Internet today. Conversion from the ARPANET to the Internet in the early 1980s produced the core of the current service.

Network-based email was initially exchanged on the ARPANET in extensions to the File Transfer Protocol (FTP), but is today carried by the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), first published as Internet standard 10 (RFC 821) in 1982. In the process of transporting e-mail messages between systems, SMTP communicates delivery parameters using a message envelope separately from the message (header and body) itself.

In businessE-mail was widely accepted by the business community as the first broad electronic communication medium and was the first ‘e-revolution’ in business communication. E-mail is very simple to understand and like postal mail, e-mail solves two basic problems of communication: logistics and synchronization (see below). LAN based email is also an emerging form of usage for business. It not only allows the business user to download mail when offline, it also provides the small business user to have multiple users e-mail ID's with just one e-mail connection. Pros

The problem of logistics

Much of the business world relies upon communications between people who are not physically in the same building, area or even country; setting up and attending an in-person meeting, telephone call, or conference call can be inconvenient, time-consuming, and costly. E-mail provides a way to exchange information between two or more people with no set-up costs and that is generally far less expensive than physical meetings or phone calls.

The problem of synchronisation

With real time communication by meetings or phone calls, participants have to work on the same schedule, and each participant must spend the same amount of time in the meeting or call. E-mail allows asynchrony: each participant may control their schedule independently. Cons Most business workers today spend from one to two hours of their working day on e-mail: reading, ordering, sorting, ‘re-contextualizing’ fragmented information, and writing e-mail.[36] The use of e-mail is increasing due to increasing levels of globalisation—labour division and outsourcing amongst other things. E-mail can lead to some well-known problems:

Loss of Context: which means that the context is lost forever; there is no way to get the text back. Information in context (as in a newspaper) is much easier and faster to understand than unedited and sometimes unrelated fragments of information. Communicating in context can only be achieved when both parties have a full understanding of the context and issue in question.
Information overload: E-mail is a push technology—the sender controls who receives the information. Convenient availability of mailing lists and use of "copy all" can lead to people receiving unwanted or irrelevant information of no use to them.
Inconsistency: E-mail can duplicate information. This can be a problem when a large team is working on documents and information while not in constant contact with the other members of their team.

Despite these disadvantages, e-mail has become the most widely used medium of communication within the business world. Problems Attachments filesize limitation One of the primary limitations to current e-mail, is that while they can have one or more attachments sent with the main message, the overall file size allowed to be sent and received this way is limited. The main problem being that while e-mail is universal, differing service providers, as well as clients, still have often vastly differing systems.

Older mail systems may only allow up to 2MB of attachments to be sent and/or received per message, while some newer ones allow up to ten times this amount. Furthermore, due to technical reasons, often a small attachment can increase in size when sent,[37] which can be confusing to senders when trying to assess whether they can or cannot send a file by e-mail, and can result in their message being undelivered and/or returned as undeliverable back to them. As larger and larger file sizes are being created and traded, many users are either forced to upload and download their files using an FTP server, or more popularly, use online file sharing facilities or services, usually over web-friendly HTTP, in order to send and receive them.

Information overload A December 2007 New York Times blog post described information overload as "a $650 Billion Drag on the Economy",[38] and the New York Times reported in April 2008 that "E-MAIL has become the bane of some people’s professional lives" due to information overload, yet "none of the current wave of high-profile Internet start-ups focused on e-mail really eliminates the problem of e-mail overload because none helps us prepare replies".[39] Technology investors reflect similar concerns.[40] Spamming and computer viruses The usefulness of e-mail is being threatened by four phenomena: e-mail bombardment, spamming, phishing, and e-mail worms.

Spamming is unsolicited commercial (or bulk) e-mail. Because of the very low cost of sending e-mail, spammers can send hundreds of millions of e-mail messages each day over an inexpensive Internet connection. Hundreds of active spammers sending this volume of mail results in information overload for many computer users who receive voluminous unsolicited e-mail each day.[41][42] E-mail worms use e-mail as a way of replicating themselves into vulnerable computers. Although the first e-mail worm affected UNIX computers, the problem is most common today on the more popular Microsoft Windows operating system.

The combination of spam and worm programs results in users receiving a constant drizzle of junk e-mail, which reduces the usefulness of e-mail as a practical tool. A number of anti-spam techniques mitigate the impact of spam. In the United States, U.S. Congress has also passed a law, the Can Spam Act of 2003, attempting to regulate such e-mail. Australia also has very strict spam laws restricting the sending of spam from an Australian ISP,[43] but its impact has been minimal since most spam comes from regimes that seem reluctant to regulate the sending of spam. E-mail spoofing E-mail spoofing occurs when the header information of an email is altered to make the message appear to come from a known or trusted source. It is often used as a ruse to collect personal information.

E-mail bombing E-mail bombing is the intentional sending of large volumes of messages to a target address. The overloading of the target email address can render it unusable and can even cause the mail server to crash. Privacy concerns E-mail privacy, without some security precautions, can be compromised because:

e-mail messages are generally not encrypted
e-mail messages have to go through intermediate computers before reaching their destination, meaning it is relatively easy for others to intercept and read messages
many Internet Service Providers (ISP) store copies of e-mail messages on their mail servers before they are delivered. The backups of these can remain for up to several months on their server, despite deletion from the mailbox.
the "Received:"-fields and other information in the e-mail can often identify the sender, preventing anonymous communication.

There are cryptography applications that can serve as a remedy to one or more of the above. For example, Virtual Private Networks or the Tor anonymity network can be used to encrypt traffic from the user machine to a safer network while GPG, PGP, SMEmail [44] , or S/MIME can be used for end-to-end message encryption, and SMTP STARTTLS or SMTP over Transport Layer Security/Secure Sockets Layer can be used to encrypt communications for a single mail hop between the SMTP client and the SMTP server.

Additionally, many mail user agents do not protect logins and passwords, making them easy to intercept by an attacker. Encrypted authentication schemes such as SASL prevent this. Finally, attached files share many of the same hazards as those found in peer-to-peer filesharing. Attached files may contain trojans or viruses.

Tracking of sent mail

The original SMTP mail service provides limited mechanisms for tracking a transmitted message, and none for verifying that it has been delivered or read. It requires that each mail server must either deliver it onward or return a failure notice (bounce message), but both software bugs and system failures can cause messages to be lost. To remedy this, the IETF introduced Delivery Status Notifications (delivery receipts) and Message Disposition Notifications (return receipts); however, these are not universally deployed in production.

There are a number of systems that allow the sender to see if messages have been opened [45].

Content Management Systems

2010-04-08T19:12:00.002-07:00

Content Management Systems

A content management system (CMS) is a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based. The procedures are designed to:

Allow for a large number of people to contribute to and share stored data
Control access to data, based on user roles. User roles define what information each user can view or edit
Aid in easy storage and retrieval of data
Reduce repetitive duplicate input
Improve the ease of report writing
Improve communication between users

In a CMS, data can be defined as almost anything - documents, movies, pictures, phone numbers, scientific data, etc. CMSs are frequently used for storing, controlling, revising, semantically enriching, and publishing documentation. Content that is controlled is industry-specific. For example, entertainment content differs from the design documents for a fighter jet.

There are various terms for systems (related processes) that do this. Examples are web content management, digital asset management, digital records management and electronic content management. Synchronization of intermediate steps, and collation into a final product are common goals of each.

There are six main categories of CMS, with their respective domains of use:

Enterprise CMS (ECMS)
Web CMS (WCMS)
Document management system (DMS)
Mobile content management system
Component content management system
Media content management system
Learning Content Management System (LMS)

Web Packages

2010-04-08T19:12:00.001-07:00

Web Packages

Website package A consists of 1 webpage, custom built from just £99. A very small price to pay for a professional looking search engine friendly website. Your site can be fully upgraded with more pages or design features at a later date, when you need them.

Includes:
• 1 webpage.
• 1-3 Quality images - supplied by us or yourself.
• FREE .co.uk or .com domain name – (renewal due after 2 years).
• FREE website hosting – (renewal due after 1 years).
• Up to 5 email addresses of your choice.
• Optimised for search engines using your chosen keywords.
• 10 search engine submissions - including Google.

Website package B consist of up to 3 webpages, custom built from just £299. A very small price to pay for a professional looking search engine friendly website. Your site can be fully upgraded with more pages or design features at a later date, when you need them.

Includes:
• Up to 3 pages.
• 10 Quality images - supplied by us or yourself.
• .co.uk or .com domain name – (renewal due after 2 years).
• Website hosting – (renewal due after 1 years).
• Up to 10 email addresses of your choice.
• Monthly statistics hit report.
• Optimised for search engines using your chosen keywords.
• 50 search engine submissions - including Google.
• 250 full colour business cards FREE.

Website package C consist of up to 5 webpage's, custom built from just £399. A very small price to pay for a professional looking search engine friendly website. Your site can be fully upgraded with more pages or design features at a later date, when you need them.

Includes:
• Up to 5 pages.
• 10 picture gallery (more available in add-ons ).
• .co.uk or .com domain name – (renewal due after 2 years).
• Website hosting – (renewal due after 1 years).
• Up to 10 email addresses of your choice.
• Monthly statistics hit report.
• Optimised for search engines using your chosen keywords.
• 100 search engine submissions - including Google.
• 250 full colour business cards FREE

Web Packages

2010-04-08T19:12:00.000-07:00

Web Packages

Internet Marketing

2010-04-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

Internet Marketing

Internet marketing, also referred to as i-marketing, web-marketing, online-marketing, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) or e-Marketing, is the marketing of products or services over the Internet.

The Internet has brought media to a global audience. The interactive nature of Internet marketing in terms of providing instant response and eliciting responses, is a unique quality of the medium. Internet marketing is sometimes considered to have a broader scope because it not only refers to the Internet, e-mail, and wireless media, but it includes management of digital customer data and electronic customer relationship management (ECRM) systems.

Internet marketing ties together creative and technical aspects of the Internet, including: design, development, advertising, and sales.

Internet marketing also refers to the placement of media along different stages of the customer engagement cycle through search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), banner ads on specific websites, e-mail marketing, and Web 2.0 strategies. In 2008 The New York Times, working with comScore, published an initial estimate to quantify the user data collected by large Internet-based companies.

Counting four types of interactions with company websites in addition to the hits from advertisements served from advertising networks, the authors found the potential for collecting data upward of 2,500 times on average per user per month.[1]

Internet marketing is relatively inexpensive when compared to the ratio of cost against the reach of the target audience. Companies can reach a wide audience for a small fraction of traditional advertising budgets. The nature of the medium allows consumers to research and purchase products and services at their own convenience. Therefore, businesses have the advantage of appealing to consumers in a medium that can bring results quickly. The strategy and overall effectiveness of marketing campaigns depend on business goals and cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis.

Internet marketers also have the advantage of measuring statistics easily and inexpensively. Nearly all aspects of an Internet marketing campaign can be traced, measured, and tested. The advertisers can use a variety of methods: pay per impression, pay per click, pay per play, or pay per action. Therefore, marketers can determine which messages or offerings are more appealing to the audience.

The results of campaigns can be measured and tracked immediately because online marketing initiatives usually require users to click on an advertisement, visit a website, and perform a targeted action. Such measurement cannot be achieved through billboard advertising, where an individual will at best be interested, then decide to obtain more information at a later time.

Because exposure, response, and overall efficiency of Internet media are easier to track than traditional off-line media—through the use of web analytics for instance—Internet marketing can offer a greater sense of accountability for advertisers. Marketers and their clients are becoming aware of the need to measure the collaborative effects of marketing (i.e., how the Internet affects in-store sales) rather than siloing each advertising medium. The effects of multichannel marketing can be difficult to determine, but are an important part of ascertaining the value of media campaigns.

Website Design Manchester

2010-04-08T19:10:00.000-07:00

Website Design

'Websites' is the most popular answer these days when businesses or individuals plan to sell products or services to the mass or niche markets, not to say other mediums such as Printed material, Tv commercials, radio e.t.c are not important but in today's credit crunch business climate, a website would probably be the first port of call for small to medium size enterprises (SME's).

As you know most people in the uk search for information and products on the internet, by 2012 the uk government want's every household to be online(we would imagine other countries are taking these steps).

This will mean a vast window of opportunity to potential customers not only in the uk but worldwide for all IF YOU are there. Think of your competitors who are currently online and fully tuned into there market not with just online presence but with websites fully keyword optimised luring in more client's as they go.

Our website packages start from 1 webpage custom built from just £149. A very small price to pay for a professional looking search engine friendly website. Your site can be fully upgraded with more pages or design features at a later date, when you need them.

Includes:
• Custom design
• 5 Quality images - supplied by us or yourself.
• .co.uk or .com domain name – (renewal due after 2 years).
• Website hosting – (renewal due after 1 years).
• Up to 10 email addresses of your choice.
• Monthly statistics hit report.
• Optimised for search engines using your chosen keywords.

learn more

London

2010-04-08T19:09:00.000-07:00

London

London is the capital of Britain, and has something to offer everyone - majestic stately houses, tranquil green parks and a zoo, engrossing museums and art galleries and bustling shopping centres with all the major stores, specialist shops and markets.

The Royal Family have their main residence in London, at Buckingham Palace, but there are many other interesting houses to visit within London with Royal connections - Hampton Court Palace, The Tower of London, and Regents Park, an ancient Royal hunting park.

The Tower of London has a whole day’s worth of things to see just in itself - there are the White, Bloody and Martin Towers, where prisoners were held and often tortured, there are the Crown Jewels, displayed in a specially built jewel house, and don’t forget the Ravens, without whom the White Tower would supposedly fall, and a great disaster befall the Kingdom.

The dome of St Paul's Cathedral is an excellent place from which to view the rooftops of London. The climb to the top is well worth the effort - on your way, you pass through the whispering gallery, where your whisper on one side can be heard at the other of the dome.

London has a strong maritime tradition, and the docklands on the Thames are undergoing a transformation from empty warehouses to smart city offices and homes. You can learn all about London’s Naval history at The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, and aboard the Cutty Sark and HMS Belfast. Greenwich is also home to the Old Royal Observatory, which lies on the meridian line that divides the world into East and West, and where Greenwich Mean Time originates.

Eshot Marketing

2010-04-08T19:01:00.001-07:00

Eshot Marketing

An ideal first step into e-marketing. An e-shot is a fast, cost effective way to reach your customers with a news bulletin or information on new products or services. A professionally designed e-shot is compiled from your text and images, created as html, approved, then sent to your list of up to 500 recipients.

Eshot Marketing is a direct method of getting your corporate branding to your potential clients. A continuous period of marketing will keep your brand awareness close to potential customers. Designing eshots to reflect your corporate branding is important in differentiating your email from the multitudes of others.

Eshot Marketing is designed to drive traffic to your website and increase sales. Guaranteed to help your business, whether you are based online or off, email marketing has many benefits. From enhancing the relationship you have with your customers and building customer loyalty, to increasing your brand awareness and reaching new customers, email marketing does it all. It's all about creating sales and repeat business, and so increasing your profits.

With the benefit of a short delivery time, you will have the ability to push specific messages to your target audience, acquire new customers and convince current customers into immediate purchases. Interactive messages can be used to trigger knock on effects, such as updating profiles for specific interest categories or automatically sending other relevant messages.