COLD FOIL VS HOT FOIL PRINTING

FOIL PRINTING

Foil has long been the standard to express the best in high quality printing

There are 2 ways to print using foil.

COLD FOIL PRINTING

Cold foil printing is a 21^st century hi-tech WOW FACTOR EFFECT marketing tool that makes printing gold, silver and every combination of CMYK foil colors easy to create. You can even make color blends and gradations. The way it works is that on a selected area you want to foil an adhesive is printed on the card A foil laminate is then sealed on top of the glue using UV light to cure and dry it. This process is done on a offset printing press so you don’t need expensive custom made dies and traditional hot foil stamping. This revolutionary eye candy printing technique cost less and attracts as much attention as the old way. At this time we can only print cold foil on standard 2 X 3.5 business cards and 4 X 6 postcards. This is a designer’s and marketer’s dream because it’s not only possible, it’s also affordable for the average small business.

PROS:

Cold foil does not require a custom metal die.

Silver or Gold Foil printing as well as EveryColor Foil is printed in-line with the printing press.

It only requires a simple mask to indicate the foil area.

Registration is very accurate.

You can combine as many process colors as you want using EveryColor Foil.

You can make blends and gradations using EveryColor Foil.

You can add high gloss Spot UV coating as an option.

The process is fast.

The process is more affordable than traditional hot foil stamping.

Quick online quotes are available. Check out our cheap and affordable prices at https://www.colorprintingpros.com/foilbusinesscards.html

CONS:

Cold foil is not as bright as hot foil.

Colors are not as deep.

Dark colors are not recommended.

HOT FOIL STAMPING

Hot foil stamping, also know as foil blocking, became practical in the 1950’s when new formulas for colored foils became possible and they did not fade. The way it works is a custom metal die (usually a magnesium die) is made of the area you want foiled. A foil stamping machine is then used to heat the die and pressure is applied to a roll of foil onto the substrate you want stamped. If printing is needed for the project, it is printed on an offset printing press first and then transferred to a stamping machine.

PROS:

Foils are brighter and richer.

Holographic, Lenticular and Psychedelic colored foils are available.

You can use darker colors.

You can emboss or deboss foils.

You can emboss or deboss the substrate without foil.

You can make custom sizes with stamping.

You can use die cutting as an effect.

CONS:

Tight registration can be a problem.

Dies are expensive.

Stamping dies are usually outsourced. The more steps and people in a job, the greater chance of problems. Who is responsible when there is a problem may occur.

Different foils have different cost.

Size of the custom die affects cost.

It is more expensive than Cold foil.

Custom quotes required.

Color Printing Pros provides both cold foil and hot stamping services. If needed, our customer service experts are always available for free consultation to help you decide the method and practices needed to meet or exceed your expectations. 

COLOR PRINTING WHOLESALE - ONLINE CHEAP PRICES AND HIGH QUALITY

There aren’t many things you can by cheaper today than 10 years ago. High quality full color printing wholesale is one of the few exceptions of the best value buys any business can make. The truth is printing is no longer an art or a craft. The old expert master printers are now with the dodo birds. Gone are the type houses, air brush artists, color separators, film strippers and master pressman who would work miracles to bring out the most on a difficult printing job.

Now anybody with very little knowledge can replace the creative high professional craftsman with just a digital camera and an inexpensive computer. Printing is now a technology. While great design and layout are still an art, tools are available to anybody that wants to do it themselves. Digital automated color separations have been replaced by direct to plate technologies. Computers now do press stripping easily and more accurately. Newer presses read the colors and set the ink levels. Old style solvent based inks and varnish have been replaced by vegetable based inks and aqueous coatings to protect the environment.

Online printing services have replaced many local printers except for most simple 1 and 2 color jobs. With the replacement of all the highly trained craftspeople, printing prices have dropped accordingly. 10 years ago 1,000 color business cards would cost $100 - $200. Today even better color business cards with free matte or UV coating costs less than $40 online. Today 1, 000 8.5 X 11 flyers with free aqueous coating cost under $200 and the quality is better.

There are over 100,000 online printers all competing for your work. It’s one of the few places price wars occur. The problem for the consumer is not the price, it is selecting the best printing service that will give quality, price and value. Not all online printers are the same.

For example, printer A charges $29 for 1,000 business cards. These cards are printed on thin 12 Pt card stock. They upcharge you $10 more for printing the back side and the only coating available is varnish. If you want a glossy UV coating, there is another extra charge. A savvy buyer would know that this offer might not be as good as it sounds. One give-away is varnish, which is only used on old style presses that do not have inline coating towers.

Printer B is offering 1,000 business cards printed on heavy 14 or extra heavy 16 point card stock printing full color on both sides with matte or UV laminate coating for $ 36 with everything included. There are no surprises or extra charges. They provide quality, price and service.

Both customers can be happy with their deals and their printing services. But which one got the better value? It’s fine if you selected the lowest price if you are aware of what you are really getting on printer A site and how much it really will cost you. Some online printing services would rather give quality as its most important offer. They believe in offering the best price for the best product. Be sure to look for the details of exactly what you’re buying. Paperweight and finish are important. Don’t complain later. It will do you no good if you didn’t ask the right questions.

Some of the best choice online printing services also offer unique WOW Factor effects. These are special choices such as spot UV, foil, silver, colored metallics, waterproof stock, plastic, or silk laminated, to name a few. You may not need them today but it does show that this printer is up-to-date with state of the art choices. If the prices are comparable, you may be best served by choosing a printing service that offers these special services with the knowledge that you may want to use them in the future. By establishing a relationship now you know you have a reliable printer you can trust if the time comes when you wish to add some creativity to your marketing in order to get noticed. You can also be assured if an online printing service can offer WOW Factor effect, they are using the latest technologies for the highest quality and fast turn-a-round.

Finding the right printer is important to every business. Remember all printers are not alike. Cheap price does not mean best value. Be aware of what you are getting for your printing dollar. Look for a printer who offers all the advantages- quality, price, service and value.

Wholesale color printing services with are used by marketing professionals with big custom printing budgets. Small and medium sized business can level the playing field with wholesale priced high quality color printing you can order online from: http://www.colorprintingpros.com

Now is the time to take the challenge which could put your business on a new road to success. It costs nothing more than a few minutes to see how affordable and easy using a personal online color printing service is. Make your business stand out as a leader in your field. Go to hppt://www.colorprintingpros.com and see all the useful custom printed marketing tools to help you make your business grow.

TRADING CARDS WHETHER BUSINESS OR PERSONAL CREATE HAPPINESS

When writing about trading cards it's easy to smile and get nostalgic. I remember when I was a kid and how important they were for socializing after school. Trading cards are still popular today, but they have taken on a new personal roll. Now every kid can become a sport hero with his or her own trading cards. They’re also very popular with adults too, and not just athletes.

Personal trading cards are used like business cards for social events. Kids love to trade cards with their picture and a short bio about them. They like to hand them out at team sports events because it's a cool thing to do. Many teams have sets printed for each team member and different team trade cards. Hobbyists hand out their personal trading cards and collect from others attendees at group meetings and conventions. Schools can create trading cards for their athlete students to share with other schools.

Custom printed trading cards make a cheap give-a-ways for cast members of corporate promotions, trade shows and charity events. In most areas of interest history buffs collect individual trading cards and sets of characters that include their brief story and photos. Police and fire departments have found them very useful to hand out at community events.

Anybody can have his or her own card to trade, hand out and exchange. They are popular with all age groups, and can be used as a personal business card so you will be remembered.

High quality trading cards should be printed full color on extra heavy 16 Pt gloss card stock and finished with a high gloss UV or matte coating to protect them for handling. You can find the trading card printers from many online printing services.

If your a mom, dad, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, friend or any one that’s looking for a great original gift idea. All you need is a photo and a short story and you can make your own personal trading cards for a loved one. At the bottom of the article is a link for a trading card template so you can design it yourself or if that's not your thing ask your printer if they can put it together for you. It might be smart to pay a small fee and have it done right the first time and ready to print. Before it goes to press you should receive a digital proof for your final approval. The minimum quantity that economical to print is 100 cards but you can order 25,000 or more if you’re a famous celebrity. Everybody gets a smile on their face when you had them your personal trading card.

HOW TO GET STRONG BRANDING FOR LITTLE MONEY

In today's business climate, creating a strong brand is the most effective investment you can make for your business. A recognized brand is the best way to make your business stand out from your competitors. By creating a brand that people trust, not only will you be able to claim attention, you will be able to capture it. If you're are able to hold people's attention, you have a customer base.

This means that instead of needing to get your customers, your customers will come to you. Branding is also a best way to cultivate customer loyalty. When you have loyal customers who recognize the quality of your product or serves, they will actually go out and sell for you by recommending your business to their friends, family and colleagues.

While a brand is more than a logo or a slogan, visual communication is a major component of establishing a strong brand. In general, people are visual creatures. To establish and convey your brand and its message, you need strong visuals that communicate the distinctiveness of your business.

It's probably not in your budget to plan for magazine, radio or tv marketing. Use your printed marketing collateral materials and packaging as an inexpensive opportunity to visually communicate your brand to potential and current customers. With printed advertising, sales and marketing literature, you are able to decide how you want your business to be remembered. While many businesses miss this opportunity by settling for marketing materials that are boring and unoriginal, savvy entrepreneurs can make their marketing materials stand out and grab attention using a strong visual WOW FACTOR effect, like plastic cards, silver metallic ink, colored metallic effects, gold or silver foil on silk laminated paper or spot UV coating.

When someone receives your printed marketing materials, they need to be drawn to reading your message, to accomplish this use your choice of eye candy printing effects to create a powerful attention getting visual. You have less than a second to seize the moment.

If you want to highlight a specific area of text, you can use spot UV coating. This works great to spotlight a special offer or discount or call to action. If you want an elegant look matte/dull finish is a good choice for your cards. This is an excellent choice for any business that is branding itself as a luxury option. You can also combine matte aqueous coating with high gloss spot UV coating for a very impressive presentation.

Because people will hold your printed marketing material as they look at its design and read what it says, their sense of touch also plays a role in how they perceive your brand. To stand out from other businesses use lheavy weight papers. Fourteen or sixteen point card stock is a great choice. by using a heavy papers, you will be perceive as a professional quality leader.

In addition to coatings and stock, when you order your marketing materials from an online printing company that offers these unique options, you will establish your business as different then your competitors. This may sound expensive until you acturally see how affordable it is even if you’re a start-up or small business you can level the playing field.

WHEN EXCELLENCE IN PRINTING IS AVAILABLE, GOOD IS NOT ENOUGH

Nobody likes to rock the boat, but you can’t get to where you need to be by standing still. When buying printing for your company’s advertising, sales and marketing literature. there is a lot on the line.
You have to make the best impression possible while keeping the costs down. If you are a small company or a new startup, you have many printing ideas in your business plan with a budget that has to support it. You know your business depends on excellent marketing tools but cost plays an important part.

Your first step is in creating a marketing piece. Design is very important. You have to take into account how will your flyers, brochures, catalogs and postcards stand up against your competitors. If your designs are just like or similar to other companies in your trade group, you could be missing a great opportunity to separate yourself and get noticed as a trend setter. Powerful branding is a good stratergy to gain market share. Take the time and make sure your design is innovative and eyecatching.

Once you have your printed piece designed, it is time to get it printed. Worried about costs, you start seaching online for cheap printing prices. Pricing is important but value is what you should be looking for. Cheap pricing does not mean quality printing. What and how you are printing can change the course of your business. A poor quality printing job can do more damage than not having a printed piece to present to a prospective customer. Your printing job reflects on you and your business. Look for a printer that will exceed your expectations.

You should also consider creating printed literature that will set you apart from your competition. You can still have a unique design look with the highest quality printing at a cheap low price. Look for a printer who can offer you special services at a reasonable cost. New ideas drive the market so it may be time to look for a new designer that can provide a fresher look. To get noticed and remembered, you may want to consider adding an attention getting effect to your color printing. The WOW FACTOR and eye candy effects can be achieved by use of spot UV coating, matte / dull coating, a combination of both, metallic silver ink or colored metallic effects. Achieving these eye candy effects can be expensive and may require custom printing. But finding the right printer who can provide these services at a reasonable cost is not impossible. Your small local printer generally can’t manage these kind of jobs. Most online printers don’t do these printing techniques either. However there are a few full color commercial printers who can do this on gang runs, which will save you lots of money and still give you that custom one-of-a-kind look.

Take your time and look for that printer that can provide value, service and quality. Sure you need to look for the best price but when excellence is available, good is not enough. If your designer and printing service can’t provide these services then it may be time to find another. Remember your printed materials reflect on you and your business. If it is exceptional, potential business will think you are exceptional as well.

Be sure to visit us at http://www.colorprintingpros.com

POSTCARDS PRODUCE PROFITS

The old line, ten percent of the fishermen catch 90 percent of the fish couldn’t be more true than when we are in a deep recession. Competing for the trophy fish doesn’t require hard work as much as planning and new tactics. If you have a small business, you have an advantage. You can quickly change strategic plans to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing economy. Large companies with strong corporate cultures and long term planning have difficulty breaking contracts for advertising. They can layoff workers to save money but remember large ships cannot make quick turns. With this said, if you have a small or medium sized product or service business don’t give up hope, try to better target your market, offer discounts, free services and other promotions that attract sales.

It isn’t easy to sell a product that people think they don’t have the money to buy. By describing the benefits of your product or service you are offering a solution to this problem that may improve your customer’s life and/or save them money in the long term. For example, local laundry/ drycleaner customers were not coming in as regular as before due to the economy. The drycleaner created a targeted list of old customers as well as others in their zip code service area. They retrained their behind-the-counter associates, stressing strong customer service. They offered a prepay 30% discount card and registration at the store in case you lost your card. They sent out an inexpensive postcard offering the benefits of this offer and within two weeks of the mailing, business picked up 15 to 20%. This increase in business easily paid for the cost of the mailing and got them many new customers. Two months later they sent out a new mailer offering the same service, planned driver routes and add a free local pickup and delivery. That created a local buzz in the area and their business was actually better than a year ago.

This laundry/dry cleaner had a local web site. They put the same offer on their site and got no response. Why? People don’t normally do this kind of business on a web site. On their next postcard mailing, they offered their new free pick up and delivery service online. Now it made sense to order your laundry services on the internet and business picked up again. They expanded the list to include businesses in the area and customers from outside the traditional residential area and their customers found it was easy to put their laundry in the car and have it picked up and delivered at work.

The reason all this worked so well is that it used passive sales techniques with the postcards. People needing laundry services respond much higher to receiving the offer in the mail than having to take the proactive step of going online to find the service. Once they accept the idea of ordering this service online, it was possible to reduce mailing costs and use more email promotions. But you always use both if you wish to be successful.

In order to use postcards effectively you must ask yourself a couple of questions. The first question always is how much will it cost, and can I afford to do this. The next question is how much can I expect get in return for my investment. Postcards can be cheap but be sure to get quality as well as price. The postcard’s feel can impress your customers to expect quality from your service. Some printers offer 10pt or 12pt cards. These cards lack the feel and usually do not stand up well. A printer who offers 14pt or 16pt postcards with free UV coating is offering a superior product. One that will stand up to wear, shows you care about quality and can help your company be remembered. Isn’t this what you really want from a postcard?

Remember online advertising is great. But to achieve the maximum return, you need to combine it with passive advertising- a printed piece. Use postcards wisely. Let them draw customers to your business and then have a followup with your online service or site. In today’s world, you need to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing economy with good strategic plans. You have to take advantage of all the resources available to you both passive and proactive to promote your business properly.

Be sure to visit us at: http://www.colorprintingpros.com

HOW TO SAVE BY PRINTING ONLINE

How can you save money on your printing? The answer is easy. Choosing an online printing service can save you 50% or more than a traditional local printer for your advertising, sales and marketing literature printing. The cheap pricing is accomplished by printers using regularly scheduled gang runs where they combine your job with similar jobs using the same paper stock, finishes and quantity. The cost savings in using this gang run printing can be huge. One problem is that quality and service can vary from the highest quality possible with personal customer service to bordering on poor quality and no service. Top search engine positioning is no indication of quality or service. Search engine positioning can be bought and worked.

If you search any of the most popular search terms like: cheap, wholesale or discount with the product you need such as business cards, flyers, brochures, postcards, or any other printed products, you will discover there are more choices than you can possibly review. What is to your advantage is that going to any of these sites, you can easily check prices, services, paper stocks, finishes and turn around times available.

With all of these sites available, you can easily be overwhelmed so if you are shopping for the lowest price, you should be aware and expect that the cheapest cost may not be the best value. Paper weights and finishes are very important in your presentation. Sales can be won or lost by the impression you make. In choosing wisely with cost as a criteria, you must take into account what paper and finish is being offered for that cheap price and whether there are any hidden costs involved.

Making the right choice does not have to be difficult or overly risky if you follow some simple tips.

1. Select an online printer that gives you choices of papers, finishes and options to help make your advertising sales and marketing printing stand out and separate you for your competition. What are their standard paper stock and coatings? Do they offer options such as spot UV coating, metallic silver ink or colored metallics allowing you to add a WoW Factor? These options can make your job unique and stand out.

2. Make sure that the online printing service you are interested in offers you free upgrades or services such as UV coating or aqueous coating as well as low pricing for full color printing. Upgrades such as 14pt card stock to 16pt card stock are helpful in evaluating whether you are getting value for your money.

3. Contact the company by phone with any questions or to clarify what you will be getting for that price is a great way of judging their customer service. Are they knowledgeable about your needs? Will they be there to help you each time you need assistance?

4. A good online printing service should have free file check to make sure your files have no problems and that they will print at the high quality you expect. Check what their requirements are and if they will be there to help you achieve your goal?

5. Other questions you may want to know is: Do they use soy and vegetable inks? Do you use aqueous (water based) non-solvent based coatings and cleaners to protect the environment? Do they offer any eco-sensitive options for printing?

If the online printer you have selected meet these criteria than you can be assured that you have chosen wisely. Price is an important factor but the quality and service you receive in return for your purchase is equally important. Shopping for value not price should be your goal in order to receive a high quality product that you can be proud of and confident in presenting to future customers.


Be sure to visit us at: http://www.colorprintingpros.com