Don't be Shy About It...Spread The Word

Paper is sustainable. Paper is personal. Paper is purposeful.

It's one of the most recycled products on the planet.

• More than 63% of paper used in the U.S. was recovered for recycling in 2009.
• This compares to 35% for metals, 23% for glass and 7% for plastic

Opening a nice envelope is surprisingly exciting.

• 56% of people say they enjoy reading mail
• Nearly 1/3 of respondents said they keep the special cards they receive "forever"

New customers are worth much more than the price of postage.

• 75% of people have made a purchase as a result of direct mail
• Those who received a printed catalog from a retailer were twice as likely to buy online as consumers who did not

Paper means that you mean business.

• 60% of senior executives say they turn to print when they want in-depth analysis
• 64% of workers prefer ink on paper when it comes to reading

It's easier to learn on paper.

• Reading on paper is 10-30% faster than reading online
• 70% of individuals say it's preferable and easier to learn from books than from a computer

PAPERbecause is a great program from Domtar. Feel free to share the facts. Click here for the entire campaign.

P.S. Sources for the information listed above can be found at paperbecause.com.

It's Kind of Like A Cooking Show...Only About Paper

Well, more specifically... this time, it's about envelopes.

Welcome to the first in our "CMP How To" video series.

In the video below Danielle will show you the proper way to use your CMP envelope templates to create hand made envelopes.

The CMP Envelope kit contains envelope templates for #10, #10 policy, A-2, A-6 & A-7 envelopes. They are perfect for printing identity system mockups for your clients (on the actual paper you are specifying). Or, for those of you sustainable folks, these can also be used for making fun envelopes out of repurposed paper, like wrapping paper or old posters.

Let your imagination go wild with possibilities. 

The templates are printed on Robeco printable plastic 20 pt and are available from the CMP sample department by calling 676-9203, through your CMP sales rep, or you can e-mail terris@cmpaper.com.

What do you think our next "How To" video should be about? 




P.S. A big thank you to Danielle for being the first "How To" CMP video host, and to John Haney for the video production assistance.

Get On The Digital Train or Get Off The Track, Part 2

Photo Courtesy of: Mollie Kwiek Photography

This blogpost is the second in my series about digital printing and my mission to learn more about it. I thought it might be helpful to review the digital vs. offset question. How do you choose? (Obviously these are just generalizations, as there are always exceptions).

Here is my take on the advantages of each process and a checklist you might want to start with to determine your digital vs. offset direction.

Digital Advantages:

1. Shorter turnaround
2. Lower costs for shorter print runs
3. Availability of variable data printing

Offset Advantages:

1. Higher image quality, higher resolution, no streaks in solid areas (although I understand this is not nearly the problem it once was)
2. Works on a wide range of paper surfaces
3. Unit cost goes down as quantity goes up
4. Quality and cost -effectiveness in the higher volume jobs

Keep in mind that most printers offer both offset and digital capabilities now. So, calling in your favorite print rep for consultation might be the way to begin the process. Or use this checklist to help determine your direction:

Quantity
Offset printing has a front end cost load. Which means short runs may have a high per unit cost. But as quantites increase, the unit cost goes down with offset printing.

Printing Medium
Do you need or want a special paper, finish or unusual printing surface or a unique size? The options are getting better for digital, but offset printing still offers the most flexibility.

Color
Digital presses use four color process printing. If you only need black or one or two ink colors, offset printing may offer a more cost effective solution. If you need four color printing, digital may be better for lower up-front costs.

Pantone
If you're planning to print using the Pantone Matching System, offset printing will give you the best match, since it uses actual Pantone Ink. Digital printing simulates the color using a four-color match process, so some digital printers may offer less accurate color matching on projects.

Turnaround
If you need it fast, digital usually offers quicker delivery.

Proofing
Digital offers more accurate proofs, since what you see is an actual sample of the printed piece, printed using the exact process as the intended run. For offset printing, if you need hard proofs, accurate color proofing can become expensive.

Customization
With the ease of database driven variable data printing, digital printing offers the most affordable way to customize marketing materials, direct mail pieces, letters, etc. with a different name/address or number/code on each printed piece.

Digital printing can be the ideal solution for some people, but offset lithography will almost always yield the superior result in print quality.

In the end, each project will have to be evaluated to find its perfect partner.  Similar to when you are specing paper: be prepared to ask questions, answer questions, and allow your print and paper reps to help you find the best solution for your project.

Did I mention that you now have choices in paper for your digital printing needs? You get to select more than just white, coated (or uncoated paper), when printing digitally. There are digital papers available in colors, finishes, metallics, and pearlescents to make your digital print job stand out from the crowd. New items are being added to that list, almost weekly. Call us for ideas 676-9203, or ask your printing sales rep to check in with us for the latest options!

The time has come to take paper specification back into your own hands. To borrow a tagline from our friends at Domtar Paper, Paper Matters.

Make it matter on your next print job!

Domtar's Lynx Opaque: Smooth Finish/Great Price

If Lynx Opaque Ultra were a beer, it would be a darn good one! Or so claims the latest Domtar promotion printed on Lynx Opaque.

smooth finish

great price

Always ready. Always satisfying. Made by Domtar, people who know how to make it.

The promotion is fun, printed on an offset press in 4 color process with match yellow, and filled with great images. Not to mention it's about beer. And has its own coasters inside.

   

Chicks Dig Paper Cuts

Real Printers Use Lynx

Will Work For Lynx

  

Lynx Opaque works for both offset and digital printing, making it a perfect sheet for both your small or large quantity paper needs.



Lynx Digital items are now guaranteed for:

• Xerox iGen
• Kodak NexPress
• Canon imagePRESS Series
• Konica Minolta bizhub Series
• HP Indigo 5500 & 7000 Presses

Don't forget to check out Domtar's awesome PAPERbecause campaign. (The Paper Is Dead video might provide a nice chuckle.)

More Direct Mail = More Design, More Printing & More Paper. Go USPS!

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

The US Postal Service will launch a major advertising campaign in September seeking to promote use of the mail as a marketing tool by American businesses.

Postmaster General Pat Donahoe announced to the National Postal Forum this morning in San Diego that the campaign will target the sizable 75% chunk of US businesses that currently do not use the mail for advertising purposes.

The push to get advertisers on board comes as part of a USPS priority to boost the business-to-consumer channel to help counter a general decline in mail volumes.

The business-to-consumer channel is currently responsible for around 70% of its revenues and 80% of mail volume, but with three quarters of businesses not using the mail for advertising, Donahoe said there was a “major opportunity” for the Postal Service.

The campaign will include television spots and direct mail, building on the lessons learned from the USPS package delivery advertising campaign, “If it fits it ships”, which has so far seen 25m extra flat-rate boxes mailed in the US so far this year alone, a 35% increase year-on-year.

“We are ready to apply the lessons from our package marketing and develop a major advertising campaign to support mail,” he said.

Donahoe said the Postal Service hadn’t focused on promoting mail through significant advertising in 10 years. The new campaign would be “a little unusual, but it could be very powerful”, he added.

Industry Input

The Postal Service looks likely to use its existing advertising agency Campbell-Ewald on the campaign, and Donahoe said that as well as involving mailers in the campaign, the USPS would seek to share insights from the campaign with customers, and feed their thoughts into September’s message.

“This won’t be just a Postal Service campaign,” he said. “If our industry aligns around the same marketing insights about mail, the potential exists to multiply that advertising effect,” he said.

Donahoe told Post&Parcel this morning that his team would look to discuss the campaign’s initial research with members of its industry advisory group MTAC – the Mailers’ Technical Advisory Committee – as well as with key members of the advertising industry.

“We’re trying to get some advertising people together, to run some ideas by them,” he said. ”A lot of decisions are taken by large advertisers as to what their clients will use – and if they are not thinking about the mail, there’s not a lot we can do.”

Rough cuts of television spots that could feed into a possible campaign have featured representatives of the public speaking about their relationships with the mail and why they could not do with out it.

The Postmaster General is keen to promote the “tremendous value of the mail” to American businesses, particularly competing against the digital and television advertising.

“We’re saying to them: you can go on a website, and you’ve got to compete with millions of other website, and get people to go visit that website,” he said. “With the mail you’re just competing with whatever else is in the person’s mailbox that morning.”

Among the 75% of businesses that do not currently use the mail for their advertising, Donahoe told reporters this morning that the pharmaceutical industry could be a key target for this kind of campaign. The Postal Service researched America’s top advertisers ahead of a market trial to offer major advertisers a “money-back guarantee” this summer to promote the use of direct mail, and the research revealed that major pharmaceuticals are doing “zero” advertising through the mail.

“It’s shocking how little they use the mail,” Donahoe said. “For pharmaceuticals it’s zero through the mail, and yet they’re all running these television ads that make you afraid to buy anything they’re selling.”

The concept of working closely with its customers on the advertising campaign fits with a theme at this year’s National Postal Forum of “seamlessly aligning with your business”. Around 4,000 delegates – mailing companies, equipment and suppliers as well as Postal Service staff – are expected at this year’s event, which runs until Wednesday.

Source: James Cartledge, Post & Parcel http://bit.ly/lmnRuK