On Press articles highlight a variety of print design techniques and methods that a premium online printer like Smartpress can help you bring to life on your own project.
They also provide insights into our online printing products, paper stocks and finishing capabilities.
Once simply a mode of quick communication, Postcards are now a marketing necessity. For small businesses, nonprofits and everything in between, custom postcards put a modern spin on package inserts, menus, direct mail and more. Go beyond the greeting and see how postcards prove it’s not the size of the print piece, but what you do with it that counts. (Hint: Jump to the end for some Postcard Design tips and tricks.)
While direct mail coupons may sound like a thing of the past, they’re actually the way forward. From small businesses to big retailers, coupon advertising gets your brand into the hands of new and established customers alike. We talked to Foldfactory founder Trish Witkowski about our Coupon Mailers (“They invite interaction!”) and how they deliver not just discounts, but also details and dividends.
What’s a must-have school supply used by educators across the board? The classic deck of flashcards, of course. Helping students learn everything from letters and languages to mathematics and chemistry, they also make great memorization tools when used as trivia cards and matching games. With Smartpress, you can customize yours with personal artwork and innovative topics that span every subject imaginable.
With products and packaging, the label says it all. From shape and size to color and content, custom product labels do more than sell - they tell your brand story. Whether you’re designing labels for wine and beer bottles, handmade soaps and candles, baking mixes or jams in mason jars, label printing with Smartpress gives you options to capitalize on opportunity.
When it comes to signage, you want a message that lasts. Whether for branding, directions or safety, custom Aluminum Signs ensure just that - and look good doing it. For indoor or outdoor use, these durable metal signs add a vintage patina or modern flair to your business in any shape and size.
As more restaurants open up, expand their services and offer indoor dining again, one thing’s for sure: menu printing is more essential than ever. From dining in to taking out, brunch to happy hour, your restaurant menus need to do a lot with a little. So we’ve compiled the top features (and design ideas) for our six types of custom menus that can coordinate with your space and strategy and help get you back to normal.
Brochures, advertisements, pamphlets... Whatever you call them, your marketing assets say a lot about your products and services. But they also need to reflect the professionalism of your company. A designer product from Foldfactory, the Stepped Accordion does both with panels that zig and zag as they tell your story. Add an edge to your collateral by following our design tips and learn why Foldfactory founder Trish Witkowski loves this fold.
While custom magnets obviously make great refrigerator decorations, they’re also essential marketing tools. Whether you hand them out at trade shows, include them in multi-piece marketing packages or offer them as promotional giveaways, we have FIVE types of magnets to ensure your message stays put. And the best part? You can customize yours in any shape and size, with no predetermined parameters. How’s that for a strategy that sticks?
Builders, developers, and architectural firms recognize the sheer importance of showcasing your company’s work in a high-end manner. A proven staple in the real estate industry, print marketing gives potential clients and partners a glimpse into your skills - and thus should reflect the same care and professionalism with which you conduct your business.
Whether it’s a simple greeting or for an extravagant event, your correspondence needs to captivate. With our Foil Cards and Foil Invitations, it’s easy to step away from the digital and into the dazzling. Design custom cards and do your invitation printing in gold, silver or holographic foil and let these stationery staples add beautiful bling to business communications and personal messages.
Opening your mailbox to find a greeting card is a rare occurrence in our digital world. It’s a personal touch that goes above and beyond standard expectations. So make it extra special with our Foil Greeting Cards that put shine into the salutation, whether for friends and family or clients and customers.
When it comes to marketing your brand, the right sign says it all. Whether you’re promoting new products and services at your locations, embarking on an entire business signage refresh or simply soliciting honks for grads in your front yard, our custom signs spread the word. Check out our indoor and outdoor signage options (along with customer feedback and design tips), and get ready to get noticed.
When you think Retractable Banners, you think event marketing. But with our custom banner printing options like convenient sizes and portability, you’ll also think real estate advertisements, product announcements, visual aids, trade shows and more. In durable, tear-resistant vinyl, our pop-up banners do more than promote. But don’t just take our word for it - read on to hear what five of our customers have to say.
So much more than a finish, Soft Touch laminate gives your online printing projects a sensory element that’s anything but ordinary. Premium and protective, it enhances print marketing and personal designs with an unexpected feel that yields extraordinary results. Velvety smooth, Soft Touch laminate excites the senses and the sales.
Whether you’re designing a sophisticated atmosphere in your office or decorating your home with memories and moments, custom Metal Prints furnish any space with a high-end look and vibrant, engaging color. Created with durable dye sublimation printing, our aluminum prints bring your favorite photos to life, display your brand in brilliant fashion and showcase artwork with high-resolution clarity like you’ve never seen.
The layout of your annual report determines one very important thing: whether someone’s actually going to read it or not. (And if they do read it, will they remember it?) The right design ensures your success stories shine and your statistics aren’t a slog. With binding, finishing and customizing options, Saddle Stitch Booklets turn annual reports into page-turning presentations.
Collated Printing. What is it exactly? Simply put, it’s when you have sheet sets in the same size, shape and stock with unique content on each page that are then printed and stacked in a specific sequential order. Efficient and economical, it’s for marketing manuals and annual reports, custom flashcards and playing cards. Check out our Top 10 printing possibilities for this trending phenomenon.
When it comes to marketing, it’s all about getting your message to stick. And whether that message communicates your entrepreneurial vision or a strategic sell, our custom Labels, Decals and Stickers adhere to any advertising strategy. Print your own for product packaging, seals for envelopes or personalized gifts and ensure your branding doesn’t budge.
Coloring books aren’t just for kids anymore. And with Saddle Stitch Booklets, they’re not just for relaxing either. Sure, adult coloring books are an ideal addition to your de-stress toolbox, but they can also be a branding opportunity for your business. As for kids’ coloring books, they can be as educational as they are entertaining. With custom booklets, you can make your own coloring books for just about anything.
Your business signage begins and ends with a storefront that gets customers in the door, right? Wrong. The way you present your brand, products and services inside and out has a major impact on sales, recognition and ambiance. One key player in your custom signage toolbox? Clear Acrylic Signs. Sophisticated with a glass-like appearance, they create a high-end look for logos, decor, utility placards and more.
Planning for the year ahead is essential for any business owner or marketing professional. And the tool to help accomplish this? A custom calendar. No matter how many devices we have at our disposal, those digital days can’t compare to the real thing. Whether you need to manage fiscal milestones or remember family birthdays, promote personal artistry or boost brand awareness, calendar printing puts time on your side. We’ve compiled some design tips to consider as you create your own custom calendar.
When creating a print project, the most challenging part is making your design stand out so customers, target audiences, even friends and family, don’t overlook it or toss it on a pile of similar-looking assets. Fortunately, we have a solution: White ink printing puts a superior spin on business essentials and passion projects alike. It’s a truly compelling specialty and gets your design noticed.
Your work environment directly affects your customers, guests and employees. If it’s drab and mundane, productivity and attitude will follow suit. Instead of generic stock photos in traditional frames, create a compelling space that inspires, motivates and excites with SEG Wall Graphics. With custom designs and a simple setup, this high-impact eye candy boosts morale and markets brilliantly.
Whether your print projects are for business or pleasure, they have to be memorable. And no matter how much the content sings, if the design doesn’t impress, the message gets lost. Enter the Square Folded Cross. Anything but ordinary, this specialty fold is your new printing secret weapon for sending marketing materials, invitations and so much more.
Business cards do more than offer your contact information. They’re a prelude that promotes, an appetizer that advertises. And because they’re doing double marketing duty, they need a design that compels customer connections and potential business partnerships. Unique business cards printed at Smartpress do just that.
You’re invited. Two very powerful words when it comes to events. Big or small, for work or pleasure, events simply can’t be successful without the people who attend it. And the best way to draw a crowd? Send unique, personalized, hold-in-your-hand invitations. Taking the time and effort to design, detail and print invitations translates to the time and effort your organization takes in caring for its business relationships. (And you thought it was just a card with a date and location on it.)
When it comes to print projects, one of the most eye-catching, stop-them-in-their-tracks design tactics you can employ is die-cutting. It immediately elevates a piece into the echelon of “never seen that before” and spurs the question, “How’d they do this?” With Smartpress, if you create it, we can cut it.
When it comes to political campaigning, print works. No question about it. Studies show print is still one of the most effective tools in the fundraising and stumping season. Digital marketing will only get you “so far.” You need to be proactive in getting the word out in print.
Smartpress is honored to be the digital printer for hundreds of churches across the nation. Whether you’re a church plant in its fledgling stage or a well-established megachurch, using print allows you to engage with your community and welcome newcomers in a big way. And these same tactics can be translated to businesses and all other organizations. After all, print marketing is about engaging your audience and drawing them in (to check you out).
At Smartpress, there’s no shortage of options when it comes to Signage. And we heard you - combing through the gamut of substrates, display options and uses can indeed be a daunting task! So we’ve made your shopping experience much easier - and more informative - by breaking out Signs by type. Oh, and there’s an added perk: now that we’ve categorized Signs, our pricing is better, too!
The ultimate in professionalism, the Perfect Bound Book gives you a clean, tailored look. It’s the elegant choice for portfolios, lookbooks, magazines, graphic novels, catalogs, manuals, annual reports, and paperback books.
Going Big: The Smartpress rundown on large-format vinyl banners. From materials selection to finishing, everything you need to know before you hang it up.
Ready for calendar season: Selecting the best options for your 2020 calendar project. From bindery to paper to finishing, here’s everything you need to know to make your calendar a success.
Born in the luxury retail space, silicone edge graphics (SEG) are the ultimate signage solution, transforming everything from intimate restaurants to sports arenas. Featuring a premium fabric print and a simple interchangeable system, SEG is the perfect union of impact and flexibility.
When considering both options, page count will be a key factor in deciding which method is best. With the saddle stitching, as page count increases so does the ‘creep’ factor, which affects the layout and print space on your book pages.
Booklets are incredibly versatile and can be printed for a variety of purposes. How good your booklet looks and how well it is received could be impacted by the paper choices you make when it’s printed.