Christmas Cards Galore

Christmas Cards from Colprint in Birmingham

With just over 2 months to Christmas, (69 days to be precise), it’s time to start making lists of who you are going to buy presents for and who you will be giving Christmas Cards to. These don’t have to be long lists, nor do they have to be expensive.

Based in Birmingham, Colprint provide you with a wide range of vintage and modern Christmas Cards at fantastic rates. On top of this, all Christmas Cards are printed using high quality materials, so you can rest assured that when your friends and family receive them, they will be holding a little piece of magic…

After all, that’s exactly what Christmas is all about! The magic and festivity of such a wonderful holiday brings us closer together and more often than not, puts us in touch with those who we might not get to speak to that much throughout the year. 

Cheap Christmas Cards 

From just 48p per card, we bring you the opportunity to personalise your Christmas Cards in any way you want with personal messages and words that actually mean something to you and to the people receiving them. Now that’s magic..

Below you can see just a small selection of the cards we can print for you at low low prices! Have a browse through, choose your favourite Christmas covers, and call us today to make an order. If you find different designs on the internet that you would like printing, be sure to contact us and we can discuss your festive needs...

Modern Christmas Cards

Vintage Christmas Cards

Designing a Luxury Business Card

It's likely that we have all held a business card at some point as you look at this article you may have some to hand. They are a powerful tool in the business world but the challenge is making them stand out at a major marketing event. The way to do that is make them luxury. Business cards can be very effective at marketing your business and they are also quite easy to make and are not particularly expensive to manufacture with most being quite cheap. A luxury business card really is the premier form of advertising that you can have and enables people to see what your business is all about. This is something that you want a business card to do - communicate the professionalism of your firm.

What exactly are luxury business cards?

Luxury business cards are of a higher quality than the conventional business card. The paper is thicker and of better quality which explains why they are luxury. When a luxury card is ultra thick, this really does stand out to clients and make a lasting impression on prospective ones.

Why opt for luxury business cards?

We have all come into contact with lightweight business cards in the past which are a waste of time and they only ever end up in the bin. A thicker business card emanates that it is luxury. Your client or business contact will see you have made a significant financial outlay on the product and that you mean business, which can lead to later success.

What distinguishes a luxury business card and a normal one?

The main difference is the thickness of the card. A standard business card is approximately 300gsm but luxury business cards range from 540 to 1190gsm- 4 times thicker than a normal business card. Luxury business cards have a rich distinctive colour which allows them to stand out. They may be expensive, but the extra money is worth it.

What sizes are there in luxury business cards?

You can opt for the standard size of business cards for luxury business cards (85mm x 55mm, 90mm x 55mm or 90mm x 50mm) and they can be printed either portrait or landscape. The 540 gsm is emblazoned on a double thick silk card for extra quality whilst thicker business cards really do exude luxury.

Ultra thick luxury business cards are uncoated with a visible coloured edge which you can customise. These cards have to be held to appreciate their quality. Not many other online business providers have cards as thick as 1190gsm and you will instantly see the benefit of purchasing a luxury business card. Luxury business cards are eminently noticeable and leave a lasting impression on customers.

With such large volumes of business cards handed out at events, ensure that yours is one which will leave a lasting impression and stand out from the crowd. A business card which is thick and designed with intent will really stand out for you.

Don’t forget to keep up with all the latest Colprint news by connecting with us on Facebook and Twitter!

Creating the Desired Impression at an Exhibition

Exhibitions and trade shows can often be a viable method of meeting new customers and cultivating a wider audience. However, there are numerous businesses who already attend the events so there is quite a lot of competition in attracting customers and sourcing new business opportunities. The question is, how do you stand out in an effective manner at these sorts of events? Here are 4 things which should be adhered to in order to make the desired impression:

A stand must be very visible

The stand that a business has should be very eye-catching, draw people in and be very alluring to potential customers, whilst capturing their attention. Bright colours are not always the right thing to do to draw people in, but your stand should be memorable in colour to some degree.

There are several ways to achieve this goal. A simple slogan is useful but it should be easy on the eye and quite engaging, perhaps with an element of humour. The layout of your stall is also important and the advantages of colour should not be neglected either. Colour should not be the principal attraction of your stall though and friendly and attentive staff have far more of a lasting impact than a brightly coloured stand. Customer service is certainly the key to success.

Marketing materials should be to hand

Anything which pertains to a company should be distributed appropriately to potential customers such as leaflets and other marketing materials. The information on them should be represented in an eye-catching manner but concisely as well so the reader is not overloaded with useless information. It can be hard to talk to everyone so giving them something to keep hold of is certainly a useful tactic as a company is advertised without in a passive manner which can appeal to a lot of people who like a more laid-back approach. It can be a very useful marketing tool.

Staff need to be very proficient

Staff should always know what they are talking about no matter what type of stand they are on, this means that they will instantly gain the respect of the people that they are talking to. If they say the right thing then they can articulate the merits of the company sufficiently which can be conveyed by a confident and knowledgeable staff member. Someone who is really enthusiastic can have a real difference on customers as they may leave a lasting impression and inspire them to buy from the company.

Location means everything

It is advisable for a company to book their stall well in advance so they get the choice of where to put it as location can decide how many customers are attracted by it. A stall should be ideally situated near the main isle or somewhere which is near the entrance so that you get the most custom. The more visible a stand is, the more business and interest it will receive. It should also be easy for customers to get to as those stalls that are more inaccessible can be a deterrent to getting business.

Thanks for reading. 

If you would like help marketing your business in the right way and are thinking of creating banner stands for an exhibition or conference in the near future, please be sure to contact Colprint as we can help you from the beginning to the end. 

How to design effective leaflets that work in the business world

How to create great leaflets - Colprint’s 5 top design tips

Conjuring up new ideas for new leaflets is never easy, even without the task of actually designing them and creating them. Have you always used the same methods and are reluctant to change the way you do things? Change can be difficult, yes, especially in the business world, but choosing to not change the way you do things could be a dangerous attitude for you to have. It doesn’t matter how big or small your company is, or the service you offer for that matter. In every business, leaflets are a valuable type of marketing, allowing you to reach your target audience in a tangible fashion. As a business owner or marketing director, you should never underestimate the importance of fresh, engaging content, in the form of a creative leaflet.

Our advice to help you create great printed leaflets

1) Consider the use of folds

Most of you will consider a standard fold when it comes to producing a business leaflet, but there are so many options out there for you and your brand to choose from. Consider using a variety of folds to make your leaflet unique and stand out in new ways. The half fold, roll fold, accordion fold and gate fold are all common folding techniques which offer ease of use and readability.

2) Engaging content with triple checks

People pick up your leaflets to read them. Therefore, your content needs to be engaging, simple and straight to the point. Don’t fill your leaflet with useless information or information your customers may deem to be unnecessary. Less is more in terms of what you have to offer in your leaflet. Use images, headers and cutting edge text do the talking for you. With that being said, it’s important to proof-read your content. Once, twice, three times. Get other eyes to read it, or hire a professional if you need to. This will make you look more professional. Make your content clear to read and check that all dates and/or prices are correct if you are informing people of special offers that include expiry dates.

3) Clear target audience

Ask yourself straight away, who your target audience is. This will help you in the design process. and ensure you start off on the right foot. If you believe everyone is your target audience, you are sadly mistaken. As a business, you need to define your customers by age, location, social/geographical status and potentially even gender. For example, a valuable product needs to reach the right person as there is no sense in offering it to everyone. You should ensure a specific customer reach, where the same will apply to cheaper, lower end products too.

4) images and informative graphics

Images have a massive impact on all marketing materials, regardless of what the material is. If you are promoting products or a service, images are invaluable. The visual quality is as important as the image itself, as they will have a direct association with your products or services. Remember that your images must be high quality and don’t risk using average quality images as this will affect your reputation and the image your brand currently possesses.

5) understanding your audiences needs

As you have already established your target audience it’s time to get to know them and understand them a bit better. Using the right fonts and understanding the importance of layout and format is crucial. You should always consider the obvious fact that most people read from left to right and top to bottom, and make a conscious effort to understand the psychology of reading, and this way, your leaflet will be well perceived in the eyes of your customers.

Producing an engaging, successful leaflet isn’t an easy thing to do and you should never tackle a project without the right tools and knowledge to do so. If you are having thoughts about your next marketing campaign and think leaflets may be the way to go, please be sure to contact Colprint today. Our team of professional, time-served experts will be able to discuss your requirements with you and make sure you get it right first time. Print in quality and the sales will take care of themselves.

Thanks for reading, we hope you enjoyed the latest edition of our blog! Please be sure to keep your eyes peeled for more helpful tips and expert advice from our printing team here at Colprint!

How to design a business card that will leave a lasting impression

Considering business cards are so small, how is it even possible to make a good first impression and convey the overall image of your business? With only 2 inches by 3.5 inches worth of space, what can you do to get the message across?

Well, there are certain things to take into account. For instance, you are right, the cards are limited to space, and you can’t exactly make them bigger when they are designed to fit snuggly in your wallet or purse. But, you can still lay your card out in a way that projects professionalism and in a way that will make people remember you next time they need a plumber, an electrician or even a printing agency such as ourselves.

In order to success and produce a perfect business card which sells yours and your businesses products or services, you need to take into consideration colour, text and the feel of the card. These three things contribute massively to the overall appearance of your business and the way it will work when slung into the business networking world.

Designing anything in the world requires common sense. This will help you massively!

If your business markets children's toys and children's games, you would benefit by incorporating bright, vibrant colour's, and words written in a children's font. At the other end of the scale, if your business offers high-end, project management services then you would want your card to project an image of professionalism and reliability. Traditional colour's like black, white and beige are a great way to do this, with sharp, clean fonts that are easy to read.

As a printing company who designs business cards on a daily basis we would disagree with any designers who say, “leave it to us”. This is because they don’t want to help you or teach you, and simply want to charge more for the design process.

Colprint firmly believe if you follow these few tips, we can help you design a business card that works effectively, using your own imagination. If you are working to a budget, designing your own business card could be just the thing for you, to help you cut costs and save money.

Try to think of business cards you have received and you know you like. If you work in a creative business like children's events or party planning for example, you will have a bit more scope with what you can do, but generally, these tips will do the trick!

- Make sure your logo is the largest part of your card.
- Think of the space. You are limited to what you can do so use the important bits and don’t try to over do it!
- Include the essentials only: name; title; company name; address; phone number; email address; website address.
- Make sure the fonts are easy to read and as a rule of thumb, use the same fonts throughout, with an exception to the logo in some cases.
- Maintain the same one or two colour's throughout.

Once you've got your business cards you are ready to go! So what do you do with them next?

- Hand out more than one! This gives the option for referral where those you know can give one to people they know.
- Include your card in all correspondence.
- Use a card case to carry cards with you at all times. This will ensure they stay clean and undamaged!

Break the rules! Everyone uses the same cards, but if you are lucky enough to work in an industry which allows you to bend the trends and mix it up a bit, here’s a few things you could try:

- Try double the size! 4 inch by 7 inch cards that fold over like a mini brochure - this allows for more information and the option to add photo’s!
- Non-conventional shapes like a mouse for a web design company or a phone for a company who fixes mobiles.
- Textured paper gives the readers something to admire, as does coloured paper. Try to stick to lighter shades though so the text is enhanced and easier to read.
- Use thermography. This is a process which creates raised, shiny print and adds interest to the card. Embossing and Spot UV finishing are similar too, offering a creative edge that will help you stand out from the crowd.

HOW OUTDOOR PRINTING CAN BOOST YOUR BUSINESS

OUTDOOR PRINTED MARKETING MATERIALS CAN GIVE YOUR BUSINESS A BOOST

All of you will probably be well aware of how important printed marketing material is. Over the years, it’s been proven to play a massive role in the development of your business and helps you to portray your company message to your target audience with ease. Printed materials allow you to show off your business to the world, in the way that you want to be seen. With a blank canvas in front of you, the possibilities to get creative are endless, offering the opportunity to get people talking.

In shop posters and banners are generally standard practice in the business world and you will see most shops using these types of material every day. With that being said, most companies will usually be quite tentative when it comes to making that big leap to outdoor advertising. Sometimes the cost will put people off, or in some cases, the fear of the unknown and promoting your business in the outside world. Hopefully we can give you an insight into why outdoor advertising through billboards and large posters can have massive benefits to you business.

Connection

Outdoor posters can be seen almost every direction you look in, with the popular places being, bus stops, telephone boxes and on the sides of buildings. These forms of advertising are extremely effective and can help give your business some serious exposure. It’s all about how creative you can be with your blank canvas. Engaging content and imagery will appeal to the general public and get people talking about what you do. The key is to catch the peoples eye and keep them interested too. QR codes have become extremely popular in recent times, offering the public people and opportunity to learn more information about your business.

Having Your Say

It can often be quite difficult to get your message across to the public and let the world know what you’re all about. The best way to get this message across is to look outside and realise how many potential customers there are looking at your business, rather than inside it. Vinyl banners placed in an appropriate place are a great way to show your customers what you can offer them and offer the opportunity to instantly grab someones attention. Banners act as a silent salesperson and are a great way to promote offers of discounts. These kind of things are a big hit and will attract new business immediately!

Clarity

There’s nothing more clear than a well thought headline, combined with an image that sells your business. If you’re looking to promote your business with a message that reaches thousands of people, then billboards are a great way to do this. Large target audiences can be reached in a matter of no time at all and just as many eyes will pass over your billboard information and take it all in. Impact will be had immediately! When you’re stuck in traffic, out at the shops, or when you’re waiting in the street, you will come across a billboard that more often than not, grabs your attention. Humour and creativity should be incorporated, depending on your business, which will create a powerful lasting effect on whoever sees it.

Consistency

This is one of the biggest factors when it comes to outdoor marketing. Being able to go online is an invaluable tool but not as invaluable as the power to hold something. Going outside and picking up a leaflet or being handed a brochure in the street is priceless. If you want your business to be talked about and considered then it’s important to manage all of these things in an engaging way. If you can maintain consistency in each department then you will be able to make an impact with memorable outdoor advertising materials.

Are you considering outdoor marketing materials and need help making the big leap from indoor to outdoor, then look no further than Colprint, who have years of experience in the industry of helping businesses move forward and created more revenue!

Give us a call today and see what we can do for you!

5 reasons to utilise printed flyers

For a long time now, printed flyers have been an important and valuable tool in the world of business. Flyers make excellent business sense for various industries for several different reasons. Today, Colprint will be looking at the 5 top reasons, why you should make the most of printed flyers and offering a few top printing tips for you to consider…

One - Cost Effectiveness

Printed flyers are one of the cheapest ways of marketing your business. The ability to print high quality marketing materials should be appreciated by every business out there who wants to promote their business in the most cost effective way possible. From door to door distribution, to hand-outs in the street, printed flyers have all the answers, at a low, low price. Printing flyers with a reputable company like Colprint ensures you only have to print what you need, saving you money and time in the long run.

Two - Creative Space

As a business, your brand is your bread and butter, your needle and thread, your heart and your soul. Utilizing printed flyers in the right way allows you to present your business and more importantly, your brand, in the best way possible. The power is always in your hands and you can choose the styles, sizes and themes of your flyers, which will give you the creative space you need to sell your brand, service or product.

Three - Convenience

Flyers offer the ultimate convenience. A lot of people tend to hold on to flyers by sticking them in their pocket as they receive them to read at a later date, scan through on the bus, or will even take them home to pin to a notice board or on their fridge. Generally, people won’t throw a leaflet away, they will hesitate and hold onto it. Especially if they are very attractive or have contact details on them.

Four - Opportunities

With ample space, your business has the opportunity to promote and inform potential customers and your target audience. The opportunity is a great one as you can do anything to create an attractive flyer which will showcase a range of new and/or existing products or services. The opportunity to promote a special offer or upcoming event is always there, and can be done in a cost effective manner.

Five - Promotion

Printer Flyers are an excellent way of get your brand out there and raising awareness. By posting them through letterboxes you are halfway there but by going out and interacting with people and handing them out personally, you can bring your brand to life. If you want to be taken seriously, make sure your staff are in uniform for a more professional edge.

A FEW MORE TIPS FOR A GREAT LEAFLET / FLYER

- Use clear font, with sharp edges and contrasting colours to that of the background. If people struggle to read something, they generally won’t bother.

- Are you struggling with the design? Colprint can do this for you!

- Proof read your work. Get someone else to proof read it, then do it again yourself. You’d be surprised how many flyers go out with mistakes on.

- Be original. Think outside the box. This is your opportunity to sell your business, so let your imagination run wild and see what happens!

Did you enjoy our blog today?

Get in touch if you want any more advice about printed flyers or you want a FREE quote. One of our technical support team will be more than happy to help you!

Thank for reading.

Colprint.

Text & Banner Stands - Do Not Overload

When it comes to designing anything to do with promotion or advertising, the task is never an easy one. There’s so much to take into consideration, shapes, images, sizes, colour and the most important factor, the text.

The text is the most vital part, in our eyes, because it gives you the opportunity to deliver a message instantly without beating around the bush. After all, isn’t that what banner stands were designed for?

Yes, we understand that many of you will think that because there is a lot of space, it has to be filled, but we are sorry to inform you, you are wrong.

Overloading your banner stand with text is never the right answer!

Whats the best way to use a banner stand?

A banner stand should be used as a way to interact with customers, whether that be B2B or B2C. In most cases, a banner stand will be used as a promotional tool at a networking event such as a conference or exhibition. The banner stand acts as an excellent advertisement for a product or service you are offering without having to talk too much. If you design your banner stand in the right way, you will literally stand out from the crowd, making your product/service head and shoulders above the rest.

However you choose to use your banner stand, the text plays a vital role:

Using text in the right way for your banner stand

1. Use Less -  In the design world, people always stress the importance of using less. The world moves fast and designers have known this for a long time. Advertising your business in the right way is key. And to do this you need to witty and quick. No-one has time to stand around reading layers of text and examining dozens of images, so keep it short and sweet and you will attract more curiosity.

2. Use Space - People look at an empty banner stand and think “wow, look at all that space!”, but in reality, your space is limited, yes, banners are much larger than your conventional leaflet or booklet but this also means the text and images need to be too. Remember, space is your friend, and you need to be kind to it. Ensure the text you use is short and key to the point you are trying to make. After this, the space will work in your favour.

3. Know the balance - They say a picture paints a thousand words, but that’s only true if you use the right image. Once you know the amount of text you are going to be using then it should make choosing an image or a selection of images, much easier. For meaningful images that create impact by themselves, keep text to a minimum. For meaningful text or phrases, use softer image or maybe just a background colour so your text can do the talking.

4. Use strong text - Cheesy slogans are a thing of the past and people just want to see the facts of what you have to offer. Bold fonts and exclamation marks can make your text stand out, but if you use the right words, you won’t need to use these old tools and people will be genuinely interesting in what you are offering.

5. - Don’t use small print - What’s the point? No-one reads it anyway! Unless you actually HAVE to put something at the bottom due to legal reasons then you won’t need it. If you are tempting to place something at the bottom in small print, think about a better place for it, like your website perhaps? People get irritated by things that are difficult or pointless, so placing small print on your banner stand will only aggravate potential customers or clients!

We hope you have enjoyed our 5 top tips to getting the most out of your banner stands! If you need any advice, or are unsure about any of the points we have touched on, then please don’t hesitate in giving one of our printing experts a call today: 0121 333 6352

Why images are important in printed leaflets

Images

The printed leaflet is one of the most popular marketing tools, used worldwide by small businesses and large corporations alike. With so many different styles, shapes and sizes available, the power is in your hands, meaning you can promote your products and your business in a way that suits you and your customers. The great thing about leaflets is the element of tangibility. With TV adverts, they come and go and you never really get a feel for them, but with printed leaflets, you can physically feel the leaflet in your hand, and take it home with you to read as many times as you like. When offered one, you can read it in your own time, in a place that suits you best, unlike other forms of advertising such as billboards or bus stop signs, when in most cases, you are flying by and never really get a chance to absorb the information or give it a second thought.

One of the main reasons leaflets stand out so well is because they incorporate images. It’s not all about fancy text when you are promoting your company. Images are equally as important, if not more important and play a vital role in the success or failure of your leaflet. A picture can say a thousand words, and when given the time to dwell on photo’s they probably say even more than that. In todays blog, Colprint are going to take a look at why images work so well in printed leaflets.

Using Images In Printed Leaflets

*Using Colour*

The use of bright and vibrant images can really help your printed leaflets stand out from the crowd. Too much text and an overcrowded appearance isn’t something that appeals to many people. If you want loads to read, usually you would pick up a book or magazine, but with leaflets, sometimes less can be more effective. By using colourful and carefully selected images you can instantly grab the readers attention, providing you do your research into what your customers want to see. Make sure you take into consideration the colour of your background too. This is equally as important as the images and text itself. The background colour is the basis of your leaflet, and will often determine whether or not a reader picks up your leaflet. Dull tones or overpowering brightness can put people off and make your carefully selected images look out of place, so please be careful.

*Connecting With Your Audience*

Images play an important role in determining whether or not you connect with your audience. Visual effects are the most important factor in the advertising world and help provide emotion and evoke powerful feelings with your customers. Are you trying to sell something or show a customer how well you do something? Images are the best way to achieve this by highlighting the beauty and features of your company or a product in general. Think about the audience you are targeting and this will help you decipher which images to use. Sometimes quality stock images can prove to play an important role in connecting with your target audience and promoting a certain product.

*Breaking Your Content Up*

When designing your printed leaflets, images are the best way to break up text and provide a healthy break from reading. Giving your customers the chance to enjoy an image in between paragraphs will lead to more success on the sales from than you could possibly imagine. Try using headings and short descriptions that lead up to an image. When people see the product you have to offer after reading a little bit about it then it will have a much larger impact on the customer. Breaking up the content in any printed marketing material is important and images provide the best means to do so.

*Use Images To Showcase Your Product Or Service*

This is probably the biggest advantage to using images in your printed leaflets. The ability to show people your product or service is an invaluable tool in your quest to achieve more sales. If your leaflet is used for promoting a range of products, then using images is far more likely to do so than by using mountain loads of content. Take a food leaflet for example. Food manufacturers would never dream of promoting their product using just text. You might be able to paint a mental picture with words, but it will never have the same effect as a showing the customers a delicious looking cake or a scrumptious looking hot meal. The use of images make your product look desirable to your audience. People think with their eyes and buy with their eyes, so images hold the key to your businesses success when you promote using a leaflet.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to read our blog, and hopefully we have helped you in one way or another. If you are still stuck or would like any advice about how to go about a leaflet project, feel free to call one of our expert printers/designers today. We’re always happy to help!

Colprint.

10 top tips to designing a great printed brochure

In our last blog we took a look at the difference between litho and digital printing to give you a better understanding of the way we work and give you an insight into the best options when it comes to promoting your business using printed marketing materials.

In our newest blog we are going to take a look at Brochures and give you some helpful tips that will ensure you are moving in the right direction.

Brochures are an extremely popular tool and prove to be an invaluable weapon when used across a wide number of industries. Being specific to your business means you can fill them with only the important information that you want your customers to read and take in. The thing to bare in mind in all circumstances is the design aspect, with each little detail tailored to individual businesses. So how do you produce a brochure that has the desired effect and overall massive impact. Let’s take a look at Colprint’’s top 10 tips to help you get the best out of brochure marketing.

10 elements to help you succeed when producing printed brochures

1) Original Designs & Sketches

The first thing you need to do before you even turn on your computer or contact a graphic designer is sit down and think about what you want to achieve from your brochure and what information you want to include. Start drawing up some design sketches and seeing what works well and what doesn’t, use every idea you have to create a few different concepts. Everyone’s input and opinion matters when working in a business environment so take colleagues ideas on board and see what you can come up with in a mini brainstorming session.

2) Target Audience

Brochures are no different from any other form of marketing in the sense that you only get out what you put in. The thing to remember is you are catering for a wide audience and your opinion isn’t necessarily the thing that will determine your brochures success - keep your customers at the forefront of your mind. How about doing a survey to find out what your customers want to know about in relation to the product or service that you as a business offer. Think about the things you like to read about in relation to the businesses you regularly use, and you will start to gain a better understanding about what it is your audience will want to read.

3) Brand Focus

Always remember that your brochure acts as an extension of your brand, so please ensure you remember your brand values when you start to design your brochure. Make sure you remember the theme of your business, the colours you follow and the fonts you use throughout your business on a day to day basis should be something you incorporate into your brochure. With a consistent look and feel to it, your brochure will become instantly recognisable, especially if you’re at some kind of networking event. The connection is instantly made between brand and brochure, allowing your target audience to familiarise themselves with your brand as a whole.  

4) Limited Fonts

Brand guidelines will frequently dictate which fonts to use and how to use them within your marketing material. Although the power is in your hands and you have the freedom to do what you like, please bare in mind that going overboard can kill your efforts in one quick swoop. Try to use the same font throughout, only varying the style for things you want to stand out like the brand name or a slogan. You should only ever use 3 sizes - one for a heading, sub heading and general text.

5) Simplicity

One of the most important aspects of your brochure in terms of the tips we are giving you is how clear and simple it is. Make sure it reads well and the content is clear enough for your customers to read - it terms of style and layout. Always be aware that space is something you have at your disposable, providing a simple but effective way of making images stand out, without cramming mounds of text around it. Ask for a second or third opinion to make sure the colours and text work well together. If you struggle to read your own leaflet, regardless of how nice it looks, your customers will have no hope.

6) Cover Pages Play a Key Role

This is the most important aspect of your brochure is the cover page. Think of it as the entrance to your shop or business, the thing that makes your customers want to come inside. The same applies to your brochure, the cover pages have to be easily distinguishable and make the readers want to turn the page and find out more. Keep the main message clear on your front page - your brand logo and a short insight about what’s inside. Sometimes only the branding is necessary if your business is well known. The front page of your brochure is a lot like a fishing rod trying to catch people and reel them in...

7) Contact Details

A Printed brochure is usually created with the purpose of selling a product or offering customers some form of offer. If you want your customers to act on your information you need to make sure you have supplied them with the relevant information so they can get in contact with you and find out more. This can be a web address, email, phone number or simply your address. Leaving this vital information out will only mean your business and the success of your brochure will suffer.

8) Quality Images

When designing your brochure, ensure your images are of the highest possible quality to make your brochure look stunning - this will do your brochure the world of good, transforming it from a schoolboy project into a powerful business marketing weapon. Use original images where possible to offer the reader something they haven’t seen before. Copied and pasted images can become pixelated and blurry so when the time comes to print your brochures, the quality will suffer significantly! Please don’t fall into the copy and paste trap and try to maintain as much originality as possible.

9) A simple Guide For your Readers

Be sure to keep every customer in mind when you are designing and writing contenting for your brochure. Although you have a target audience, these will not be the only people to read your brochure, so you need to make sure everyone can gather all the information possible. The best way to do this is to carefully plan the layout of all pages, so that it reads easily and provides a clear guide to all readers, avoiding any kind of confusement.

10) Checks & Proofreading

Last but not least, the 10th top tip from Colprint!

Proofread every single page at least 3 times to make sure there are no spelling mistakes. Get a second or a third colleague to proofread your brochure before you even think about printing a copy. If you have the budget, hire a professional proofreader to make sure your brochure is fit and ready to go. The importance of fresh eyes cannot be underestimated - someone else might pick up on something that you have missed, which is true in a lot of cases.

Well that’s it from us today! We hope our latest blog has been a pleasure for you to read and hopefully you leave this page having learnt something new!

Be sure to bare us in mind next time you think about printing brochures or starting a new advertising campaign and we can give you all the fuel and ammunition you need to set you on your way.

Thanks for reading - Colprint   

What’s the difference between digital and litho printing?

When it comes to producing the perfect finish, you will have already gone through the process of planning, designing, and creating marketing material for your business or company. The next step is to choose a style of printing. This is all well and good if your company has it’s own printer, but for many of you who don’t, there is still the problem of finding a printer that will deliver the results you are looking for, in the way you imagined before you even started your project.

The two main options for printing are digital and lithographic, with digital printing being the far more popular option. This is probably because the advantages of digital printing have been recognized far more over the years. With excellent quality and turnaround time, digital printing is probably the way to go for you…

The main reason people tend to go for digital printing is the speediness of the process, with lithographic printing proving to be a much longer slog. Otherwise know as ‘offset printing’, lithographic printing takes longer because the images and text is first embedded onto a plate, before being transferred to a rubber blanket and then onto the printing surface. This process is far more costly due to use of oil and water but produces fantastic results. If you have a larger budget when choosing the method to use for your advertising means then lithographic printing may be the way forward, however for many of us, it’s all about tightening the purse strings, not loosening them.

With digital printing, a lot of the steps used for litho printing are cut out and the process is kept relatively straight forward. Straight forward does not necessarily mean ‘basic’, with the most modern technology still being incorporated. Once the appropriate files have been prepared, you can then RIP the components to produce a bitmap. The bitmap is then sent electronically to the digital printer ready for output.

Alot of people still think that digital printing requires no human input, but in Colprint’s case, this is untrue. Once the file has finished the RIP process, Colprint then copy the file to press and one of our printing specialists selects the paper script having physically loaded it onto the machine. A proof is then carried out for quality, assuming this will be approved the job is run, packed and distributed to the customer.

Digital Printing has a number of different benefits compared to litho printing which we will now explore:

• Shorter turnover time - this allows for a quicker process and in turn allows your business to function faster and more smoothly when it matters the most.

• Economically friendly - because less sheets are used during set-up, there is less waste

• Cost effectiveness - digital printing is generally a lot cheaper than litho printing due to the work that has to go into each litho printing job

• Quality - this method of printing has been widely recognized around the globe and offers a similar quality to that of litho printing. (Colprint use the highest quality digital presses to ensure there is no sacrifice in quality when providing our customers with marketing materials).

• Variable Data Printing - this form of printing is customised based on digital printing. Using external files from a database you can change the information on each piece without stopping or slowing down the press. For example, you can personalise individual pieces with different names, logos or addresses, giving you more flexibility when it comes to producing your specific marketing materials.

• Precise Proofs - digital printing offers you the opportunity to see an actual sample of the printed piece which can often be difficult during the litho printing process. Seeing samples is also cheaper than litho printing as the plates have to be prepared to create a ‘wet’ proof.

If digital printing seems like it would be a good option for you and your business when it comes to producing marketing materials in a cost effective manner with quality results, then please feel free to get into Colprint today. If you have any queries or questions our professional team are always on hand to answer any questions and give you any advice that you may need.

Thanks for reading our latest blog - we hope this has been a good insight for you!