As BPC continues to celebrate our year of 30, we thought it might be fun to look at the history of printing in industry, past and future. Because, as they say, you can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been.
Where have we been?
Modern printing as we know it began in the late fifteenth century by a man named Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of the printing press. One of the first publications to be printed on his device was the bible. (Fun fact: nowadays, over 100 million bibles are printed every year!)
In the early 1900s, Ira Washington Rubel invented the first offset printing press. And, while technologies have improved the process, this is still the most commonly used method of printing.
By the 1930s, printing companies pretty much thought they had it figured out. The front half of the twentieth century had been the era of mass media, with magazines such as National Geographic, Life and Time all published to millions of readers. In 1935, Penguin Books began publishing paperback books. And in 1938, Xerography was invented.
As technology improves, so does the printing industry. Each decade has seen enhancements to printing, whether it’s new typefaces, inkjet or laser printing techniques.
So, where do we see printing in 2030?
We predict it’ll be all about 3D printing. Believe it or not, 3D printing began in the 1980s. The first patent for the technology (sterolithography apparatus or SLA) was issued by Charles Hull in 1986. But, it wasn’t until the early 2000s that we saw the first 3D printed kidney and, later, the first 3D printed prosthetic limb.
3D printing is constantly evolving and progressing. The price of 3D printers has fallen in recent years, making it attractive for more and more companies. You can now print jewelry, aircraft and even housing! Imagine the possibilities for your next company giveaway!
In 2030, expect BPC to be at the forefront of 3D printing. From promotional items to branded apparel, the sky will be the limit! We look forward to working with you now and in the (very near) future!
Whether at a client party or conference, everyone loves good promotional items. Office accessories, fun apparel, or things people never knew they needed (we’re looking at you, PopSocket!), you’re sure to find more traffic to your booth with some fun collateral.
Have an event coming up? We’ve compiled a list of our 30 favorite promotional items to make your booth the hit of any conference.
For your next event
First things first – you need to showcase your brand as professionally as possible. Put these items at the top of your list!
- Tablecloths
- Banners
For their office
At conferences, people are almost always attracted to items they can take back to the office. Give these a try!
- Pens
- Notepads
- USB Flash Drives
- Business Card Holders
- Clocks
- Mousepads
- Stress balls (we all have those days!)
- Calculators
- Name badges
To wear
Custom printed or embroidered t-shirts are always a winning piece of collateral. Send your booth visitors off in style with some quality branded apparel!
- T-shirts
- Polos
- Quarter-zips
- Visors
- Hats
- Sunglasses (in every color of the rainbow!)
- Lanyards
- Socks
- Jackets
- Beanies
- Hats
- Watches
For the fun of it!
Add some fun to your promotional item mix with a few of these unique takeaways for after work and weekends!
- Koozies
- Puzzles
- Tattoos
- Pet products
- Candles
- Candy (no, this is not a typo!)
- Flashlights
Not only do we love these items, we sell them, too! For super-fast, super affordable promotional items, trust BPC for your next event.
BPC is continuing the year of 30 celebration by giving you a few great reasons to work with us and how we strive to be your perfect printing partner. Sure, we make amazing products to achieve your company’s goals, but did you know we once played our own version of Fear Factor in the office? (It was interesting, to say the least.) Here’s a little more about us:
- We’re treating year 30 as an opportunity for change, and we’d love for you to follow along with us on the journey!
- We make marketing superheroes with our wide range of promotional items and super-fast service.
- We always keep up with the latest and greatest in the printing industry on our blog.
- BPC was born and raised in San Diego County, and every day we are grateful to call it our home!
- We provide designs with the environment in mind. Check out a few of the options you have when it comes to green printing.
- We work with an amazing team of dedicated printing professionals who are always eager to work for you.
- We keep our customers up-to-date on the latest trends in the printing industry.
- From pens to PopSockets, we can cover a wide range of your branded promotional needs. No idea is too big!
- We post some pretty hilarious office antics on our YouTube channel.
- Looking for some added brand exposure? We can print or embroider your logo on a variety of sportswear.
- We love posting on social media. Check us out on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter!
- We provide quick, quality collateral printing for any project, big or small.
- Not quite sure where to start? Request a free, one-on-one print consultation with one of our experts!
- Our website has an easy-to-use artwork upload tool. Just send over graphic files for your print projects, and we’ll get to work!
- We’re proactive about avoiding printing mistakes on customer projects.
- We have a lot of fun at work.
- Our customers really, really like us. But don’t take our word for it! Check out a few of our reviews.
- We provide customizable products for the medical and dental industry. From HIPAA forms to follow-up care sheets, we’ve got you covered.
- We’ve got a really fun, diverse team of people. Learn a little bit about what makes them tick here!
- Our network of suppliers specializes in a variety of apparel, printing or promotions generation. This allows BPC to employ the “perfect match” for every print project.
- Stuck in a rut? We’re full of ideas for unique corporate gifts.
- We love to give back to the community. We can’t wait to share what’s coming!
- We make it easy for you to get a quote on your apparel project right on our website.
- We have an Under $1 section full of great marketing collateral if you’ve got a tight deadline on an even tighter budget.
- Our FAQ page answers your common printing questions up-front.
- Our expansions over the years have allowed us to serve customers in new locations, and we don’t plan on slowing down any time soon!
- Did you know? We offer free Professional Graphic Support and free Collateral Warehousing.
- Our staff’s talents go beyond the walls of BPC. One of our team members has his very own art on display at a gallery in Fallbrook, California!
- Okay, okay, we know it’s only March. But have you thought about your holiday cards this year? We have.
- All in all, we genuinely, passionately, whole-heartedly care about our customers.
As you can see, there’s a lot to know about BPC (and we’ve only scratched the surface!). Contact us today to meet and get started with a talented team who would love to do great work for you.
This August will mark the 30th year that BPC has been in business. We thought it would be a fun idea to use our blog to showcase our “ year of 30 .” We’ll use the blog to share ideas, tips, news, and more, all relating to the number 30.
Since this will be the first entry, we thought it would be fitting to talk about our history. Where we started, where we are now, and how we got here.
In 1988, William Ball founded Business Forms from his home. In the coming years, Ball’s wife and son, Eric, joined the company and they hired their first driver.
Between 1993 and ‘95, we opened our first office in Mission Valley, California and changed our name to Express Business Printing. Around this time, we also started expanding our business-to-business product lines.
In 2000-01, we rebranded once again to Express Printing Information Management Company. We then acquired the company Positive Image and moved our headquarters to Sorrento Valley.
In 2004-5, we became one of the first ten companies in California approved as a security printer and produced controlled substance prescription forms. We also incorporated and, at last, became Business Printing Company, Inc. We launched an online inventory integration in 2006; giving our customers more flexibility and the ability to view, update, and order their custom stock from anywhere.
Between 2007 and 2010, we acquired multiple service and customer bases, and merged with Commercial Printing Centre.
2011 brought a new design to our website and we went social. Customers and the like could now follow BPC across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and our blog!
We moved our headquarters in 2015 to El Cajon, California. We now reside in bigger and all around better facilities, which ensures we can do the best possible work for our customers. We also acquired Classic Imprints, an apparel branding, embroidering, and printing company.
In 2016, we added a product specialist in Boise, Idaho. He is able to provide direct, one-on-one service to our customers there.
That leads us to today, in year 30 of service. We couldn’t be more proud or any happier. We have an amazing staff and, above all else, incredible customers who are like our family. None of this would be possible without all of you, so thank you!
If you’d ask us what we think about turning 30, we’d say we’re still just getting started. There’s lot of change coming our way in 2018. Stay tuned for those announcements!
Mistakes happen. That’s a fact of being human. Mistakes happen for many reasons: lack of understanding, inadequate time or timeframe, not paying attention, or hundreds of other things. When it comes to mistakes, the most you can hope for is to learn from the ones you’ve made and to try not to make them again.
Since we’re in the printing business, we thought it would be helpful to share some of the most common printing mistakes we’ve seen and how you can avoid them when you start a new print job or project.
- Poor image resolution. We see this issue come up a lot. Just because an image looks crisp and clear on your desktop or printout in the office doesn’t necessarily mean it will be crisp and clear on a large printed item. To ensure your images do look their best, make sure you are using the highest resolution possible. We recommend 300 ppi or higher, at minimum.
- Spelling errors. Typos and misspellings are easy to miss and expensive to fix. If a type of misspelling is found after your print run is complete, the printer will need to do an entire new run, which can double your costs. Ensure you have at least two people read through the project before sending it the printer. Once you receive a proof, have two more people look it over before approving to print.
- Designing in RGB. RGB colors are only good for things viewed on a screen. If you’re designing something to print, make sure you design with CMYK colors. You can check the colors in any program that’s used to edit or create graphics, like Photoshop.
- Not having a bleed. Having a bleed means your image extends to the edge of a document, leaving no white margin. This ensures that once an item is printed and cut, no edge will be unprinted. If you send an item to the printer with no bleed, you could end up with a poster or card with white edges – something you didn’t design for. We recommend having a 1/8” – 1/4” inch bleed on all projects.
These are just a few of the common printing mistakes we see here at BPC. While working with you on your projects, we’ll ensure we do absolutely everything we can to avoid these and any other common printing mistakes we see.
Every year, a new wave of printing trends emerges. Some trends are short lived while others make a lasting impression. These are the printing trends we think you’ll be seeing a lot of come 2018:
- “Year in Review” cards: We’re starting with this one because they would work well for both end of year OR beginning of the year situations. “Year in Review” cards are similar to the notes you receive from friends, detailing what they’ve been up to the past year. But, instead of text, they’re beautifully illustrated/stylized and printed on nice, sturdy card stock. The card can touch on company milestones, big wins, takeaways, new hires, etc. It’s a nice way to tell a lot about your business without being extremely sales-y
- Direct-to-garment printing: This trend gives printers the ability to print anything onto a garment or accessory. No matter what you or your business come up with, printers are able to recreate it on any piece of clothing, hat, or uniform. You name it, it can be printed on. One of the best parts of direct-to-garment printing is that the ink dries quickly and becomes a part of the clothing. This means the graphic won’t peel, crack, or wash away over time. Above all else, it will also significantly bring down the cost of creating custom apparel.
- 3D printing: We know, people have been talking about this forever, but the time seems to be now for 3D printing to explode into commercial spaces. The possibilities are endless when it comes to 3D printing and being one of the early adapting companies will probably prove to be a win for everyone involved.
- Eco-friendly printing: We’ve talked about going green in a paper world before on this blog, so feel free to jet over there for more in-depth information. We’re pretty sure 2018 will show a sharp growth in green inks, papers, and packaging. People are more conscientious of the environment and actively work to reduce their own carbon footprint. Businesses are likely to follow suit.
These are the big things we see coming in printing in 2018. BPC is ready to tackle all of these new ideas and more with you. Give us a shout when you’re ready to get started!