Minnesota Printing and Direct Mail Experts
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Highlight Printing, Minneapolis, MN: Tips and Tricks for Designing (and Saving Money on) Booklets
Booklets are a great way to communicate your message with your clients, employees, trainees, etc.: In this short-attention-span world in which we live, a booklet is the perfect way to communicate your message thoroughly and quickly. They are a convenient size, don’t weigh much, handy to keep for reference, and easy to store. Instruction books, reference books, guide books, employee guidelines, mini-catalogs, health-care reference books, maps, and more – the possibilities are endless.
How to create a library of booklets that will be easy to reference: If your topic includes several different categories, or if you have several different lines of product, it is a good idea to keep the size and overall look consistent, but change one design element for easy reference for the recipient. For instance: design all books to be the same overall dimension and use the same binding method (spiral, booklet-making, perfect-binding, etc.), but change the color of the cover, or the color of the spiral. Envision the credenza in your recipient’s office or home with your books all neatly lined up, looking consistent, with easy differentiation between the topics by just looking at the spine.
Speaking of binding/finishing methods: The classic method for finishing a booklet is called “booklet-making” or “saddle-stitching”…usually under about 15-20 sheets that get folded in half and stapled on the folded edge. Other frequently used methods of binding are spiral, wire-o, or perfect binding. (More on each binding method within the archived “Bindery and Finishing” section of my blog, but one note-worthy thing is that perfect binding will also give you the option of printing right on the spine…another easy reference tip).
Tips on saving money on your booklets: There are many variables, and a lot depends of the quantity, but some general tips are: Design your booklets without bleed (no image running off the edge), and black and white printing is less expensive than color printing, changing the color of the cover paper is less expensive than printing the colors in color (but carefully evaluate this because the little bit of cost a color cover will add enables your cover pictures to be in color, which can be important). If you are supplying print-ready files to save money, supply hi-res single page PDF’s. We can help you evaluate all of the above, plus paper choices, quantities, various methods of production (digital printing vs. offset printing) and bindery options.
If you’d like any tips specifically about your project, or if we can present estimate options for you, please contact us @ 612.522.7600, or through our website @ www.highlightprinting.com Also, we welcome comments to this blog.
The author, Lisa Bickford, president of Highlight Printing, is a veteran of the printing industry. Since 1984 she has worked her way up through many areas of the industry before acquiring Highlight Printing in 1996 with her husband Don, who has also been in printing since the early 80’s. The things she continues to find most satisfying are the wonderful business relationships that have developed with clients, vendors, & co-workers, and the energy that is created from challenge resolution. You can email her directly at lisab@highlightprinting.com
This Printing Blog was launched in November, 2008, as a vehicle to share ideas, information, and innovationsTo see other topics within this blog, click HERE
Highlight Printing, Minneapolis, MN: Print Budget: How To Save Money On Your Printing, Tip #2
Highlight Printing, a local printer near downtown Mpls, MN (with convenient parking!) has tips on how to spend less on printing:
Tip #2: Use a “Shell and Imprint” Program, also known as a “Stationery Fulfillment Program”.
“Shell and Imprint Program” definition: A system of pre-printing the static information on an inventoried item (business cards, for example) that will, on-demand, be imprinted with the variable (or personalized) information.
How it works:
- Step 1: Produce the shells: Usually it is the “shell” (the logo, tagline, and other static info) that is the most intricate and colorful design-wise. Because of the set-up involved in printing, it saves money to order larger quantities at one time rather than little bits several times. The more intricate the “shell” design (foil, embossing, multiple colors, etc.), the more this holds true. Shells can be amazingly inexpensive (depending on the design, of course).
- Step 2: Imprint the shell with the personalized info: usually it is the imprint that is the simple, often 1 color, part of the piece. Imprinting, particularly digital imprinting, is very inexpensive. (We can also make it super-easy, too! With an on-line ordering system that offers an immediate PDF proof, lay-out guidelines, ordering guidelines and ordering privelage rules built right in, the process couldn’t be any easier.)
Who it works for:
- Companies with multiple locations
- Distant sales offices
- Companies with kiosks or micro-offices
- Advertising initiatives with different offers, information, or expiration dates
- Any company that has even just a few employees that have business cards
What it works on:
- All Business Stationery (business cards, letterhead, envelopes, note-cards, note-pads)
- Brochures (personalize the info, the location or the offer)
- Coupons (perhaps an A/B split to test which offer gets the most hits)
- Training materials (can make more of an impact if they are personalized in some way)
- Certificates and Awards (with variable data with the winner’s name)
- Forms (again…multiple locations??)
Additional Benefit:
- It gives the manager of the program more control over the look, design and quality.
- We don’t charge for managing the inventory of the shells!
We have saved our clients untold amounts of money by implementing this process: from 5 person offices to huge corporations with many national and international location. We have experience with everything from translation to international shipping.
If you are interested in discussing how we may be able to save you money in this way (or any other suggestions we may have – we offer a FREE PRINT-SPEND ANALYSIS program), please contact us @ 612.522.7600 or through our website @ www.highlightprinting.com. Also, we welcome your comments to this blog.
The author, Lisa Bickford, president of Highlight Printing, is a veteran of the printing industry. Since 1984 she has worked her way up through many areas of the industry before acquiring Highlight Printing in 1996 with her husband Don, who has also been in printing since the early 80’s. The things she continues to find most satisfying are the wonderful business relationships that have developed with clients, vendors, & co-workers, and the energy that is created from challenge resolution. You can email her directly at lisab@highlightprinting.com
This Printing Blog was launched in November, 2008, as a vehicle to share ideas, information, and innovationsTo see other topics within this blog, click HERE.
Highlight Printing, Minneapolis, MN: Cost-Saving Quick Tips on Professional Business Stationery
Highlight Printing, a local printer near downtown Mpls, MN (with convenient parking!) gives advice on how to design your stationery/identity/branding package to save money:
Budget, budget, budget…for most of us it is a primary concern these days. As a business owner myself, budget is ALWAYS of concern. Our theory is that if you get to start from scratch, why not design smart…why not try to incorporate effectiveness AND economy from the very start?
Business stationery definition: Mostly this refers to letterhead, envelopes, and business cards. But stationery can also include proposal sheets, pocket folders, notecards, etc. Here are some things I think about when I help folks walk through the process of designing and printing their stationery:
- Branding/Design: Your logo, font, colors, and tagline can either say nothing about your company (well, it actually always says something) or you can use it to describe who you are. Take our company for instance, I am of the belief that every bit of communication we have with our clients ”brands” us, whether we want it to or not. The same goes for you. It costs no more money to print a well-designed letterhead that defines you than it does to print a generic one. If we have the opportunity to consult with you (no charge, by the way), we will talk in depth about your audience and the perception you are trying to create.
- Paper: Paper can also communicate a lot: a cotton-feeling “toothy” sheet says school…lawyer…bank…well established and mature. While a super-smooth sheet can feel cutting edge, new, or techy. Often times a non-textured white sheet such as these is the only logical choice, but other times a texture (linen, etc.) and/or a color can make a huge impact in the design. How about a light tan, paper-bag looking paper for a recycling company? Or a marble looking sheet for an interior design company? We have 1000’s of choices at various price points (we promise to show the least expensive first!), and many of them contain recycled fiber.
- Colors of Ink: Most stationery is designed to be 2 color and the reason is simple – it is less expensive than 4 color process. I lean towards (but am not married to…after all it’s up to you!) 1 and 2 color for that reason as well. A well designed identity and stationery package does not have to be expensive to produce. A great example of an effective and inexpensive identity design is that of Room and Board furniture stores. While they are not a client of mine (perhaps I should call on them after I write this blog!), I have long admired their branding for its genius. Their website doesn’t show it exactly the same way as their sign and (I would guess) their stationery does, but you can still see the simplicity of it @ http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/.
- Method of Production: Most of the time we recommend offset printing, but we have digital printing available for lower quantity needs..perhaps when you are dipping your toe into the waters of a new identity. We can suggest tons of ways to save you money! Lots of locations?: On-line ordering and soft-proofing, with an inventoried shell and imprint program and direct shipping. A start-up with one location?: Perhaps digital printing is the way to go…and we will carefully review quanitites to get the most bag for the buck. In between?: Perhaps a combination of both. Each situation is different and we will help you walk through the process to make sure you get exactly what will work best for you.
We would love the opportunity to show you what we have done with our own recent re-branding or to discuss your own stationery/identity/branding package. You can contact us @ 612.522.7600 or through our website @ www.highlightprinting.com. Also, we welcome your comments to this blog.
The author, Lisa Bickford, president of Highlight Printing, is a veteran of the printing industry. Since 1984 she has worked her way up through many areas of the industry before acquiring Highlight Printing in 1996 with her husband Don, who has also been in printing since the early 80’s. The things she continues to find most satisfying are the wonderful business relationships that have developed with clients, vendors, & co-workers, and the energy that is created from challenge resolution. You can email her directly at lisab@highlightprinting.com
This Printing Blog was launched in November, 2008, as a vehicle to share ideas, information, and innovationsTo see other topics within this blog, click HERE.
Highlight Printing, Minneapolis: Print Budget: How To Save Money On Your Printing, Tip #1
Highlight Printing, a local printer near downtown Minneapolis has tips on how to spend less on printing:
Tip #1: Buy only what you think you are going to use. Seems obvious, but there could be quite a bit of thought that goes into this decision:
- First and most importantly - work with a printer who can offer creative suggestions and solutions…one you feel keeps YOUR best interests at heart. (Ummm…I just happen to know of such a printer
)
Buy fewer:
- Evaluate the order history on that particular piece. A printer who has those records at their figertips and can give you immediate feedback and advice is a valuable asset. (Yes, we do. In fact, we evaluate it every time you place an order.)
- Order enough to create a logical re-order schedule. We generally advise our clients to get set-up on about a 6 month re-order cycle…not too many to inventory in case the piece should become obsolete, but enough to make the price per piece affordable.
- If this is the first printing of the piece, try to project the per day, per week, or per month usage and mutiply it out.
- Digital printing in recent years has made low quantity runs more affordable, so consider ordering fewer and printing digitally for the first run to “dip your toe in the water”. The added benefit is that many times there are things you might want to tweak after using the piece for a little while. For higher quantities, though, offet printing is still the way to go.
Buy more:
- If confidence is high that nothing will change, on an inventoried item you could go out on a limb a little bit and order more to get your per piece price even lower.
- Warehousing and inventory release programs: If you need a zillion of something, go ahead and order a zillion! It can lower the per piece rate considerably. If you don’t have room to inventory it, give us a call.
Less vs More:
- Ask you printer to estimate a range of quantities. Common requests are 250 vs 500 vs 1000 OR 1000 vs 2500 vs 10000 OR 10,000 vs 25,000 vs 50,000…you get it. Spread the quanities out a bit and you can get a pretty good picture of the prices between the quantities is, too.
I can’t say it enough:
- Work with someone that comes highly recommended, that you work well with, that can propose creative solutions, and that you trust.
If you have any questions about this or any other printing related topic, you can either add a comment to this blog, call us @ 612.522.7600, or contact us through our website @ www.highlightprinting.com
The author, Lisa Bickford, president of Highlight Printing, is a veteran of the printing industry. Since 1984 she has worked her way up through many areas of the industry before acquiring Highlight Printing in 1996 with her husband Don, who has also been in printing since the early 80’s. The things she continues to find most satisfying are the wonderful business relationships that have developed with clients, vendors, & co-workers, and the energy that is created from challenge resolution. You can email her directly at lisab@highlightprinting.com
This Printing Blog was launched in November, 2008, as a vehicle to share ideas, information, and innovationsTo see other topics within this blog, click HERE.
