2018 was an innovative year in the offset printing and promotional industry. As business and communication priorities evolve, so do the methods to meet them. Take a look at the top printing trends we saw in our industry this year.
Convergence
A big trend in 2018 saw the convergence of digital and print in various forms. Digital companies like Airbnb have embraced print to connect online campaign efforts to offline media and touchpoints. Sports Illustrated, a traditional print magazine, leveraged scannable pages to unlock exclusive digital content for its subscribers.
Foil
There’s more to foil than just the dated bronze and gold colors of the past. Today’s foil comes in nearly every color imaginable and can be leveraged in a variety of creative ways to help enhance your brand, design, or message.
Texture
Paper is tactile; therefore, a successful piece should account for more than just the look. Selecting uncoated papers with unique finishes or added textures by way of embossing, debossing, or raised ink can add an element of surprise. If your print piece looks and feels significant, customers are more likely to hold onto it longer.
Color
Colors have the power to change moods. 2018 saw a move away from subdued pastels and move toward bright and bold colors, giving clients an extra vitality in an otherwise ordinary print piece.
BPC is the leader in providing innovative options for all your print and marketing needs, from printing catalogs, booklets or custom print jobs to creating sales flyers and trade show promotions. Let us help you navigate the latest printing trends with our unparalleled speed and service. Contact us today!
We are only as good as our last project. In our 30 years of business, we have encountered – and overcome – various obstacles, from changes in direction to logistics. Hear what one of our clients said about a recent project and how BPC rose to the challenge:
To Whom It May Concern:
I want to spotlight the professionalism and care that Business Printing Company Inc. took with our order from their company.
Each year, I have a leader appreciation meeting for my employees that are in lead positions or simply stand out with regards to true excellence. This year, our meeting was at Lake Tahoe, and I had ordered special team T-shirts for those that are invited to the event and attend.
I had been working with Business Printing Company Inc. for many weeks trying to establish a design that everyone would appreciate. They were very patient through this process and helped me create a design that everyone really liked. After putting up with my particularism in design, we placed the order.
To my surprise, 4 days before our Team Leader conference in Tahoe, I learned that UPS had still not delivered the shirts for them to print on. Instead of telling me I was just out of luck, they did everything in their power to get the shirts for printing rushed from UPS. They then rushed their production time and overnighted the shirts to our hotel in South Lake Tahoe.
I want to personally thank Angee Hern and her team at Business Printing Company Inc. for ensuring the delivery and professional quality of service and product we received. Our Team Leads were extremely happy to receive their shirts and it made the whole experience one that we as individuals and a team will remember. Thank you for coming through and reinforcing the knowledge that I can trust Business Printing Company Inc. to be a business partner I trust and count on.
Best,
Chris Maze CEO, Operations Manager
RRS Patient Decontamination LLC
When working with our clients, we strive to do our very best to deliver a quality product, in whatever way necessary. Trust BPC for all your business printing needs, from apparel (as mentioned above, we’re really great at T-shirts!) to promotional items to collateral pieces, you can count on us for all your printing needs.
Although more and more things are going digital, print is not dead. Any marketing department worth their salt would tell you that you need a good mix of traditional and digital marketing tactics to meet customers where they are and therefore, still require you build a printing strategy. In fact, according to research, the response rate for direct-mail pieces is 37% higher than email, so it’s important to include all forms of media in your marketing plans.
Fall is the traditional planning season for most marketing departments. With planning comes budgets, whether it’s ad spend, agency costs or other expenses, like printing.
Here are 7 things you should think about when you build a printing strategy (to keep with our year of 30 theme, we said in under 30 minutes, but, really, don’t skimp on this step).
- Know your audience. Before you engage your print vendor, take the time to understand your audience, know their behaviors as well as their preferences. Do they respond better to custom promotional items? Or is a well-executed brochure better received? Responding to your customer’s needs makes you more relevant and builds trust.
- Plan in advance. Traditionally, you end up paying more for your project when it’s rushed. While quality printing companies can meet strict deadlines, a good rule of thumb is to give printers at least 10 business days to complete a project.
- Schedule ahead. Adding onto the tip above, find a vendor you plan to work with for the foreseeable future. Your processes can only improve the more you work with them. They get to know your business, your internal structure, your approval process and can identify and solve potential roadblocks before they happen.
- Print more than you think you need. It’s always cheaper to print more than you think you need, especially if it’s a branded piece you can use again over time. The bulk of your printing cost is in the set-up. The more you print at one time, the less expensive each piece is, the more money you can save in the long run.
- Be consistent. Unless you’re printing a specialty piece, you should keep your print specifications (i.e. paper stock, finish, etc.) consistent as well as in the same print family. Just as you’d have your colors consistent with your brand, your print pieces should be consistent, too.
- Use the right printing technology for the right project. If you know you’re going to be printing lower quantity items, use a digital printer instead of an offset printer. Don’t spend a lot on things that can get damaged in transit (i.e. postcards). Save that money for items such as business cards, tri-fold brochures, special occasion pieces or items that are hand delivered.
- Engage your print partner early. Utilize your printer’s expertise. They can help you with your large-scale printing strategies, specific to the objective, assist with scheduling and help you gain efficiencies. They can even help with your mailing strategies when you’re ready to send.
Build a printing strategy, because when done correctly, it can lead to better customer relationships, improved audience reach and increased return on investment. Need help putting together your print strategy? We can help! Contact us to see how printing can help enhance your next marketing campaign.
Nothing makes us happier than a satisfied customer. In our 30 years in business, we have helped many organizations solve their biggest printing challenges, from custom apparel, awards and recognition and everything in between. The story of custom printed t-shirts needed urgently typifies our service commitment.
It’s like the saying goes, “A happy customer is a loyal customer.”
Recently, we had received a phone call from a gentleman who needed 30 custom printed T-shirts made for an athletic event he had coordinated. He had originally ordered his shirts from another printing company and they, at the eleventh hour, said they couldn’t fulfill his order.
Panicked, he called Business Printing Company for help. He explained the situation, how this other company had promised him on-time delivery, but then backed out at the last minute.
With artwork in hand, we were able to quickly deliver a quality product, personalized to meet his exact needs, and all with plenty of time to spare.
The customer was elated and his event was a complete success. He was so happy with the service and quality of BPC that he told other event coordinators about his experience and they have now come to us with their printing needs.
Since our inception, Business Printing Company has attributed our success to the success of our clients. More and more business routinely come to us for all their printing needs, both large and small. We are proud of the work we do and plan to do this for the next 30 years to come.
In the 30 years we’ve been in business, we have always been an advocate for operating as environmentally friendly as we can. We are proud of what we do and we believe in giving back, so being an eco conscious printer replacing trees is one way to fulfill that mission.
As part of our anniversary year, we are participating in a tree planting event this fall in El Cajon. We’ve been a member of the El Cajon community since 2015 and are grateful to be a part of their commitment to effective urban forestry management.
In fact, El Cajon has celebrated 21 years as a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation, a distinction that must meet four essential requirements. The community must have:
• A tree board or department;
• An established tree care ordinance;
• An annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita;
• An Arbor Day observance and proclamation.
El Cajon is home to over 7,000 trees. We are honored to add to the city’s concerted efforts by planting 30 15-gallon trees in Hillside Park in October. We hope our efforts to help beautify one of our city’s parks will be a welcomed addition to the place we call home.
Summer is officially here. That means businesses around the country are planning their annual company outings. Company outings are a great way to bond with team members and reduce workplace stress, allowing for employees to get to know each other on a personal level. Whether it’s a golfing scramble or a family-friendly picnic, BPC has all the fun swag you need to make your event a home run. Still keeping with our year of 30 theme, here are 30 company outing ideas to make your next company outing a lot more memorable.
- First things first, embrace the fact that you’re all on the same team. This can be done in a variety of ways, but outfitting the entire office in branded apparel is a fun, easy way to show your company spirit.
- Take the outing off-site. A change in scenery brings in a change in attitude. Since the outing is less about work, make sure you’re nowhere near it.
- Make your outing voluntary. Chances are high that every employee will participate, but if you take away the option to choose for themselves, this will be just one more thing an employee has to do.
- Customize to your culture. If your employees enjoy physical activity, host a volleyball tournament. If they’d rather use problem-solving skills, a board game marathon might be more your speed.
- Allow input from others. You can’t please everyone, but you can make the effort to please most. Asking people for input shows you care and generates excitement around the event.
- Leave an element of surprise. While you might be getting help from several team members, the main coordinator should have one or two tricks up their sleeve to surprise even the planning committee.
- Schedule event during work hours. Employees appreciate employers who respect their time. Hosting an event during the day allows for all employees to participate without taking time away from home life.
- Invite families. If your outing does end up outside office hours, be sure to extend the invite to families, giving employees a way to bring work and family together.
- Pick a theme. You can’t go wrong with a themed event. From favorite decades to Game of Thrones, there’s something for everyone.
- Make it festive. A picnic can be more than just any old picnic when you add balloons, streamers, and music.
- Build a DIY photo booth. Everyone knows pictures are the best way to capture memories from events. But, it doesn’t need to cost an arm and a leg. All you need is a large piece of cardboard for the backdrop, a few props from the dollar store and, of course, a camera!
- Create a custom SnapChat filter. After all, this is the era of selfies. The process is simple – come up with the design, determine the time and place the filter will be active and submit to SnapChat for approval.
- Highlight employee talents. Whether it’s juggling or making balloon animals, capitalize on the outside talents of your employees.
- Vary the activities. If you know anything about people, it’s that they all have diverse interests. Offer different activities to meet the needs of most, from volleyball tournaments to arts & crafts contests.
- Arrange a scavenger hunt. No matter what type of outing you’re hosting, adding a scavenger hunt will bring out the competitive nature in any employee.
- Organize food trucks. Fun fact: people love food trucks. Adding one or two local food trucks is a great way to bring a gourmet treat to an otherwise simple event.
- Contribute to the community. Your company event can extend beyond the team into the community. Combine your event with a canned food drive, have your badminton tournament raise money for a local cause, or simply host your event at a volunteer site.
- Host a cook-off. To allow for a little friendly competition (and save a little money on expenses), host a cook-off of different foods, whether it’s chili, ribs or even pie.
- Hire a pro. With all the many team-building events out there, planning an outing can seem overwhelming. Hiring a planner who specializes in company events can alleviate some of the stress.
- Don’t plan for every second. Company activities should ebb and flow. You should balance structured activities with plenty of downtime for employees to have natural conversations.
- Make it educational. It’s true that learning can be fun. Learning something new together, like a cooking class, can give participants something they can take away for years to come.
- Have a plan B. What’s the saying about the best laid plans? They can often go awry. Weather, deadlines, and unforeseen events can all lead companies to need contingency plans, so it’s best to be prepared.
- Include fan favorites. You don’t always have to recreate the wheel every year. If you found the magic unicorn with a company event, do it again. Your employees will thank you for it.
- Incorporate social media. In the days leading up to the event, post teasers on your social media channels to gain excitement.
- Hashtag everything. Building on the tip above, creating a specific hashtag for your event also ups the excitement level and gives participants a way to share photos they took throughout the day.
- Provide transportation. If your event is far from the office, offering a transportation service or parking spaces will help employees get to the event with little hassle.
- Consider food preferences. From gluten-intolerant to vegetarian and everything in between, there are a lot of food restrictions. While you can’t make everyone a special dish, you should have options that cater to the majority.
- Offer awards. No company outing is complete without an awards ceremony. Present awards to best attitude, most creative, etc. BPC has a slew of promotional items from hats to water bottles to coolies that make great prizes!
- End day with a circle of appreciation. Since the goal of a company outing is team building, this is a simple, yet powerful activity. Team members form a big circle and every participant is asked to share something they appreciate about the person to their right. It may sound corny, but it leaves each member feeling good about the day.
- Send guests home with a parting gift. Everyone invited should go home with something to remember the event, whether it’s a picture frame (with a picture from the day), keyboard pads or notepads.
Company outings can be a welcomed break from work, as long as you have everything planned in advance. Let BPC help you with all your promotional needs and company outing ideas from team T-shirts to awards. We have everything to make your next company event unforgettable!