Small Poster Printing: A Designer’s Revolutionary Strategy
Bringing the past into the present is difficult enough without trying to turn a profit at the same time. But if you’re Larry Stuart, owner, designer and illustrator of The Union Archive, it’s your patriotic duty and one you can fulfill with poster printing. He’s giving American history an artistic twist – instead of using a quill, he’s using print, and in place of parchment, a small army of Small Posters.
Homeland Historian
Stuart began The Union Archive after being commissioned to create posters for Civil War battlefields in Virginia. His ‘gig poster’ idea grew into what he calls “art inspired by the history of America.” With a focus on vintage-style hand-lettering and illustration, Stuart aims to “create art that interprets the story of an event or person in American history in a visually arresting way.”
And with a steady stream of online printing projects in the works for parks and historic sites, Stuart’s using Small Posters to his full advantage. Shipped flat to avoid creases, they’re a print solution perfect for business and personal projects. With ample choices of size and stock (including recycled), customized posters make it easy to target audiences of all kinds while fulfilling both creative and marketing needs.
One of Stuart’s needs? Printing large orders of posters with various designs. For that, Smartpress’ Versions feature was a much-needed reinforcement that allowed his creative campaign to soldier on.
Enlisting Versions “ended up saving me (and consequently, the parks) quite a bit of money,” he said. “My margins are not large, so this was pretty significant.” It was a tool he didn’t even know was at his disposal. “Someone from Smartpress contacted me after I had submitted the job and we worked to reorganize it.”
Part of our impressive online printing services, Versions lets you print various content on multiple sheets with the same size, stock, finish and shipping specifications. Whether you’re working with Small Posters like Stuart or Large Posters, Sell Sheets, Brochures – you name it – Versions is a budget-friendly time-saver.
Freedom in the Form
Depicting moments and locations that defined America is one thing, but for Stuart, creating a final product that reconnects people with the past is quite another. “My goal is for the customer to own a quality product they can display in their home or office that reminds them of time spent at that historic site,” he said. And more importantly, “reminds them of the part they play in our larger American story.”
Knowing that no final product can stand the test of time without details that fall in line, Stuart chose Smartpress’ Uncoated Smooth paper stock for his small poster printing. “I’m really just after something that isn’t too slick and glossy,” he said. Uncoated Smooth stock features excellent opacity for minimal show-through and a smooth, uniform surface for better resolution – two elements perfectly suited to Stuart’s emphasis on heritage and nostalgia.
Advertising Ally
Whether your project is for marketing your brand or, like Stuart, selling your product in bookstores and gift shops, it has to be presented with a finish so flawless it goes down in history.
A designer for nearly 40 years, Stuart is no stranger to those little particulars making a big impact. “Print can be modified in so many ways with so many materials and techniques,” he said. From Ultra Gloss and Flat Matte UV coatings and the unmistakably luxe Soft Touch to durable lamination, the customizing options are endless (and essential) for creating a look and feel that fits your project and its purpose.
Modern Tactics
Despite having a penchant for the past, with poster designs depicting statehoods in the 1700s and Lincoln’s 1863 Gettysburg Address, Stuart’s found success in the digital age.
“I’ve always believed that a well-designed print piece can be a unique way to tell a story about a product, a company or an idea that’s different from a digital platform,” he said. “I don’t think we’ll ever lose the love of the tactile object.”
Smartpress’ ability to print small quantities was a key factor in Stuart’s decision to make the switch from another online printer. As a result of the collaboration, he’s seen numerous other benefits, too. “I love that I don’t have to think about what I get from Smartpress,” he said. “Great printing, easy to work with, the website, on-time delivery, good pricing. A one-person shop needs partners like this.”
Hint: See what other print products showcase your artwork and marketing:
