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Production Tips:
A Better, Richer Black
Rich black refers to a way to use process colors in combination with process black to make your blacks seem richer and more opaque. Worth a read!
LEARN MORE ABOUT RICH BLACK.
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Postcard Marketing:
Five Tips to Better Results
A simple checklist to make sure you are getting the best results from your postcard mailings.
GO TO THE FIVE POSTCARD TIPS ARTICLE.
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For Crying Out Loud:
Ultimate Guide to Power Texting
OK, to those of us older than, like 15, it may be mind-boggling that we were able to easily compile around 1,800 abbreviations used in texting (and that's after stripping out hundreds of vulgar ones!). Nevertheless, here it is.
GO TO THE TEXT ABBREVIATIONS LIST.
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Want a solid black that's really black?
Avoid Muddy Blacks When Printing Process
Rich black refers to underprinting a screen of cyan, magenta and/or yellow below process black to make black appear richer and more opaque. Not only does it make large areas of solid black look great, it can make black type that overprints a four-color image much more legible. Rich black is an example of a production technique that invites the eye to take a second look at your printed material. It can make your printed piece stand out and draw the reader into the page.
It's Easy to Add Rich Black to Your Documents
Four color printing uses cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK) inks to reproduce color images. In order to make a wide range of colors with tints, process inks are transparent. In fact, process black ink is significantly less opaque than a spot-color black for this reason.
The transparency of process black ink can cause some common printing problems including, the mottling or streaking of large solid black areas on a page, or a situation where black type, when overprinting an image or pattern, allows the underlying element to show faintly through, as if it were ghosted or screened back.
The good news: There is an easy way to prevent this problem. Instead of using just black ink in these scenarios, create a color that combines black with one or more of the other process colors. This technique, known as rich black, will increase the density (darkness) of the black area, making it appear fuller and richer.
In your page layout application, create a new color. Call it rich black. Make sure you define it as a process color build or you will create an extra plate. Set K to 100%, and C, M and/or Y to between 20% and 50%. For an even darker, richer black, use two or all three of the other process colors and vary the screen percentages. Try printing the graphic below (CMYK JPG image) on an ink jet printer to get a feel for the difference.
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Postcards... Five Ways to Get Results
Postcards can be a very cost-effective way to generate website traffic, announce upcoming events, provide advance notice, encourage customers to take action and make special offers and promotions... if you do it right.
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Make a Big First Impression. People like getting postcards from friends and relatives. They don't like getting advertising mail. Make your postcard look at first glance like a message from a friend instead of like advertising. It creates a warm friendly reception for your postcard.
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Remember that your postcards will often be delivered in a pile of other mail items so using attractive images and sizes that will stand out in the pile will help your message get noticed and read. As a bonus, think about making the face of your postcard something that might even be worthy of framing...it will help keep your message around a little longer while your prospective customer gets around to framing the image. Making the postcard usable as a "free print" is a little "good will" gesture that will also set you apart.
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Get Right to the Point. Postcards get delivered in a format that's ready to read. Take advantage of this by making the biggest benefit you offer the first thing the reader sees. This will encourage them to want to read the rest of your postcard. Keep it simple. Be direct.
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For example, state your biggest benefit as a headline at the top of your postcard ...or make it the first item on a bulleted list of benefits ...or highlight it in bold type if it's in the body of your postcard.
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Choose the Right Purpose. Marketing postcards are most effective when they are used to generate website traffic or generate excitement and interest for "something to come". They are less effective for closing sales because they don't provide space for a detailed message.
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Design your message to "sell" the reader on seeking more information instead of trying to close sales.
For example, don't include much (if any) actual information about the product or service you are selling on your postcard. Instead, promote the major benefit (or benefits) they provide. Then persuade the reader to visit your website or to take some other action to get more information from or respond to a source where you can close sales. On occasion, you may be able to get your customer to take more definitive action if the matter is time sensitive and they can benefit from acting immediately.
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Be Clear and Direct. You have only a few seconds to get the reader's attention and to persuade them to take the action you want. So keep your message brief and make sure the reader can clearly understand with just a quick glance what action they should take.
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For example, limit your postcard to just a few short sentences with blank lines between them. Reduce several sentences to a short bulleted list to save space and reading time.
Always end your postcard by telling the reader exactly what to do to get more details - and include a reason to do it immediately.
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Stimulate Fast Action. Unless the postcard is being used as a teaser, just telling your reader how to get more information is not enough. Give them a reason to respond now or many will put your postcard aside to do later... then get involved with other things and never act.
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For example, offer them a discounted price, a special bonus or some other benefit if they reply to your postcard by a deadline. Postcards are not new or high-tech. But that's not a reason to ignore them. They are relatively easy to create and distribute. They can generate a lot of interest and improve the response to your existing marketing programs for a very low-cost.
Ready...set...mail!
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Morgan Press provides custom-manufactured solutions for a client base that includes non-profit organizations, publishers, and corporations of all sizes. This project, which is distributed to customers and others with whom we have enjoyed a prior relationship, is an example of our commitment to provide a higher standard of quality and service. Questions or comments always welcome.
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