Coordinating a marketing effort using all available tools (commercial printing, the Internet, and a telephone) would seem to be straightforward, but I think it is not often done effectively or with finesse. Or at least you could say that it is a supremely challenging assignment worthy of note when it succeeds. (more…)

A friend of mine is a print book designer. She designs almost exclusively the multi-column, regularly spaced and formatted print books various government organizations publish to document their work. The consistency of her design is noteworthy, but she also has a flair for simple, elegant page construction that facilitates reading. When I was an art director, I would have hired her in a minute. And I am actually somewhat envious when she sends me page spreads to critique. She is that good at it. (more…)

I received a promotional brochure from a custom printing vendor today, and I was struck by several aspects of its printing quality.

First of all, the brochure had been printed on a thick stock (15 point cover stock, six panels folded to 4 5/8” x 6 1/8”). The thickness of the paper made me feel that the company cares enough to spend a little more on paper and postage. It suggests opulence. (more…)

We all learn from our mistakes. In an ideal world, we may even learn from the mistakes of others and then not make our own.

In this light, I want to tell you a story about choosing paper for a brochure print job I designed about twenty years ago. My boss, the Director of Publications, suggested that I print the brochure on a warm coated custom printing stock to differentiate it from other marketing materials we had been circulating. It seemed like a good idea at the time. (more…)

Commercial printing reps can provide a veritable fountain of knowledge and information. However, when you start asking the same questions of different vendors, you’ll soon see that different printers offer different skill sets and often approach jobs very differently. (more…)

I just received a fourteen panel (seven on each side) marketing brochure that captures the essence of effective design with its graphic “look,” paper choice, and custom printing. I’d like to share with you why I consider this to be such a superior example of marketing design. (more…)

I had a close call with a print brokering client recently, and it has made me doubly certain that US Postal updates are vital reading material and not spam. (more…)

“The specs will be the same as last year’s job.”

As a printing broker, I love recurring publications, anything from book printing to brochure printing jobs. However, I don’t like to make assumptions. So when I read these words recently in an email from a client, I carefully reviewed the specs from last year’s job. (more…)