Over the last several blogs I have suggested that printed magnets and stationery packages are in fact advertisements or miniature billboards because they reinforce both your name and the quality of your work in the minds of prospective customers.
I would like to add custom notepads and post-it notes to this list.
Here’s Why Custom Notepads and Post-it Notes Are Effective
- They reinforce your “brand” because they capture the tone and values of your product or service. This is primarily a function of their design.
- They reflect your attention to detail. This is primarily a function of the production qualities of your personalized pads and post-it notes. By this I mean the paper choice, the simplicity and lack of clutter in the design, and the attention to such elements of typography as kerning (i.e., the precision in the letter spacing of the type).
- They reinforce your name or the name of your company. They actually do this because they are useful to your prospective clients. Just like the calendars emblazoned with your logo, the memo pads put your name in front of your client repeatedly, every time your client jots down a note.
- I’d like to add one more reason. This is conjecture on my part, but I firmly believe it. I have read in many books on memory retention that making notes by hand reinforces the content of the note in three distinct ways. First, you write the content of the note, so the sight of the words reinforces their meaning or content. Second, you usually hear the words in your “minds-ear” as you write them. Third, you have a physical (kinesthetic or muscle) memory because you are physically forming the words as you print or write them cursively on the paper. To this I would add my belief that making notes in this way on a custom notepad or post-it note bearing the name of your company will subconsciously reinforce your name in the mind of the person making the note. It’s a theory, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were true.
Some Specifications to Consider When Ordering Custom Memo Pads and Post-it Notes
First of all, both custom notepads and post-it notes share the following quality. They are pads. That is, they are cut sheets of printed paper with one edge slathered in glue to hold all pages together. On the bottom of each pad (below the final sheet), custom notepads usually have a supporting piece of chipboard (heavy cardboard). Of course, post-it notes do not have such a backing sheet.
Beyond that, personalized pads and post-it notes may come in different sizes, shapes, color configurations, and numbers of pages.
Size of the Notepads: Many commercial printing vendors will suggest a few popular sizes, such as 4.25″ x 5.5″, 4″ x 9″, 5.5″ x 8.5″, or 8.5″ x 11″. While any printer can cut notepads into any size you want, it may be useful to consider their intended use. For instance, certain leather or Cordura nylon folding portfolios will more readily accept 5.5” x 8.8” or 8.5” x 11” pads. In contrast, an odd size, like 2.75” x 2.75”, might work better as a tall stack of post-it notes on a client’s desk.
Shape of the Notepads: You may want to die cut the pad into a simple shape. However, be aware that this will cost more than a square-edged pad, since you will have to buy a custom metal cutting die. That said, your printer may already have a selection of dies from prior notepad printing jobs. Keep in mind that any die cutting must be simple. After all, there must be an edge to which your custom printing vendor can apply the glue that makes the memo pad a “pad.”
Number of Pages: Many printers provide a set number of pages in a pad, although of course this is negotiable. You might consider 50 or 100 pages. On the other hand, if you’re creating a cube of post-its, you may want the finished product to be 2.75” wide, 2.75” long, and 2.75” tall. The number of pages needed to achieve this height will depend on the paper you choose (one post-it vendor notes that such a cube would comprise 650 sheets).
Quality of the Paper: Your first goal will be to make the pad useful to your prospective client. This means that he or she must be able to write on it comfortably. While a gloss coated sheet might look attractive, you can’t write on it. So I would stick to an offset, uncoated sheet or a text sheet (slightly upscale from offset). As an alternative, you might choose a matte coated sheet (easier to write on than dull coated paper and much easier to write on than gloss coated paper). Consider the color of the paper as well.
Weight of the Paper: In addition to the surface qualities of the paper you need to consider it’s weight. As a rule of thumb, I would think that 70# or 80# stock will be perceived as more substantial or opulent than 60#. I wouldn’t suggest 50# stock. It is light, and your clients may perceive it as being of a lower quality. A good rule of thumb is that 20# bond is the same thickness as 50# offset, 24# bond is the same as 60# offset, and 28# bond is the same as 70# offset (since bond and offset come in different size press sheets).
Ink Color: Don’t forget to specify the ink color or colors. You can choose to produce 1-color, 2-color, or even full color (4-color process) notepads or post-its.
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on Tuesday, September 25th, 2012 at 1:32 pm and is filed under Custom Notepads and Post-Its.
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