Tri City Printing Resource Center
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Announcements |
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 Tweet These! Every story is now tweetable.
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Basics of RFQs, POs, File Types and File Transfers |
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 Job Release Guidelines. Some tips on sending us your files.
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 Packaging with InDesign. If you use InDesign, here are step-by-step instructions on packaging your job files.
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 PDFs: Proofing Glitch, Easy Fix. If you use Acrobat to proof your print job, make sure your screen settings are correct in Acrobat. Here's how.
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 Production-Ready PDFs. For smaller jobs, the traditional rules of PDFs do not apply. Learn the rules, and see six examples of proper—and improper—PDFs!
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 Understanding FTP. Here's a basic overview of FTP. Call us if you need to send us large sets of files.
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Communications |
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 In our clients words... The words of our customers speak for themselves.
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 Six Tips to Writing Better Copy. Make your headlines and paragraphs more effective by following these six easy copywriting tips.
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 Thank You! Just so that it's said, we would like to thank all of our customers, and wish everyone a safe, prosperous and happy New Year.
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Creative |
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 Cost Savings Checklist. Check out our cost savings checklist to keep your marketing costs down.
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 Creating Logos and Other Design Marks. If you are considering a new or redesigned logo and/or corporate identity, here are some ideas to keep in mind.
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 Creative in Technology Sector. Check out this gallery of 25 tech ads whose imagery transforms electronic gadgets into lifestyle essentials.
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 Font Files and Formats. Postscript! TrueType! OpenType! Learn all about these font formats and much, much more!
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 Fonts: Facial Recognition. MyFonts.com has this cool feature where you can upload an image of type and it will tell you the name of the typeface. Does it really work? We tested it with 40 randomly selected fonts to find out.
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 Free Font Collections. Check out these trendy font collections, all free to download.
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 Images: Resize, then Import. With image-intensive projects, you should always resize images before importing them into your layouts.
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 Innovative Image Fonts. These wild fonts look like images and speak as a typographic metaphor like no other typefaces can.
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 Pantone and the Value of Great Identity Design. A brand so strong its target audience pays a premium to see it on a mug? Impossible? Not for Pantone.
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 Psychology-Based Color Palettes. For a wacky take on color, visit this site that purports to use pyschology to build your color palette.
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 See Your Activated Fonts on the Web. If you want to quickly review your activated fonts visually via a browser, check out this site.
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 Six Examples of Shopping Infographics. Infographics are tall, visually-compelling, poster-like images, typically covering a single topic. Here are six examples related to shopping.
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 The Ultimate Resource List. We've compiled hundreds of resources that are industry specific. A fantastic resource.
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 Three New Hilarious Sappi Video Parodies. There are three new Sappi video shorts you really need to watch. We've posted them here, along with the prior videos in the series. Enjoy!
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 Type Terms, Tips and Tweaks. Kerning vs. tracking. Descenders, ascenders and baselines. Sixteen type classifications. Master this and be a type guru!
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Digital Printing |
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 Conditional Logic and Variable Data. Writing a letter can be as tricky as writing computer code! Here's why.
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 Digital Printing Data Strategies. If you are looking for a comprehensive guide to what's possible with variable data, you've found it.
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 Digital Printing: Folding Improvements. We have a new secret weapon when it comes to digital folders, brochures, etc. It's new equipment and a process that won't result in cracked ink along the fold. It really is a huge improvement.
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 On Demand, Jim Rockford Style. Digital printing used to be hard. Now it's much easier. See just how hard with these two examples from history.
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Direct Mail |
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 5 Takes on the USPS Crisis. The USPS financial crisis is quickly coming to a boil. We provide an overview of the crisis and suggest some common-sense fixes, in five parts.
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 17 Ways to Increase Response Rates. With successful direct response campaigns, three critical elements converge to entice your readers to take action. Those three elements are the list, the offer and the creative.
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 Coming May 2011: New Business Reply Requirements. As of May 2011 the USPS requires you to implement new barcoding procedures for all reply mail including business reply cards and envelopes.
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 Damaged Direct Mail. PIA recently made a set of recommendations to minimize automation damage as your direct mail piece is processed by the Post Office. These recommendations will help you minimize automation damage.
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 Design with Mail in Mind. One of the ways to keep your direct mail costs in line is to design with the Post Office in Mind. Here are some USPS strategies.
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 Direct Mail Delivers Best B-to-C ROI. Target Marketing Magazine readers indicated B-to-B delivers the best ROI for B-to-C among all types of approaches.
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 Five Ways to Improve Your Postcards. The postcard is simple, cost-effective and can deliver results. To get the best response from yours, keep these five tips in mind.
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 Four Subject + Headline Strategies to Get More Opens. An email has a subject, a direct mail piece has a headline, but really they function the same: Open it and read on! Here are four strategies to get more readers to do just that.
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 IMB Needed for All Automation Mail by 2013. Beginning in January 2013, the USPS has issued a requirement for the use of Intelligent Mail Barcodes (IMb) to qualify for automation-compliant rates.
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 List Acquisition. Read all about list acquisition, consumer and business lists, and the secret sauce of great campaigns.
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 Most Important Landing Page Feature. What is the single most important feature of any landing page? It's the laser focus on getting the reader to take the next step in your marketing effort.
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 Newsletters... Reeling in the Readers. Identify the eight type of stories that get the best readership, design strategies and much more.
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 Personalized Mail Up 46% In 2 Years. Over 48 months, direct mail campaigns that were personalized jumped from 25% to over 40%.
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 Photoshop Variables Tutorial. Want to create variable image objects using Photoshop? Here's how.
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 Postcard + Newsletter = Perfect Match? The postcard newsletter is a great concept, allowing you to provide valuable information in a condensed format that is more likely to get read.
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 Postcards Outside the Box. These postcard design tips focus on print options that add value by increasing response rate.
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 Reminder: BRC Deadline Is Jan. 28. Just a reminder that effective January 28, 2013 the Postnet barcode cannot be used on any outgoing mail or on Business Reply cards or envelopes.
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 Taking Advantage of the NCOA Database. The NCOA database helps you ensure your mail gets to its recipient, improving deliverabiity and getting the most from your marketing.
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 Using Print to Build Your Email List. Would you like to see your email newsletter list grow more quickly? Here's how you can build your email list using print.
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 USPS Jan. 2012 Price Increase. The USPS is set to increase prices for both First Class and Standard Mail. Here are the details.
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 We Do Direct Mail! When it comes to direct mail, we've got all the services you need under one roof. Your campaign will proceed smoothly and effectively.
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Environment |
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 Going Green. Get the skinny on reducing your carbon footprint.
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 Green Your Mind. The Rest Will Follow. Switch your bulbs, why choose the tap tap and other tips on how a little green can make a big difference.
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 Greener Mail. Looking for ways to become an even greener mailer? Check out these suggestions from the USPS and the Direct Mail Association.
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 Video: Is Print Dead? We found this video that does a great job communicating the benefits of print from both effectiveness and environmental points of view.
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Equipment and Capabilities |
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 Product Focus: Loop Stitching. Loop stitching is a great bindery option for brochures or catalogs that need to be included in a three-ring binder. They lie flat while opened, unlike materials that rely on drilled holes.
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 Product Focus: UV Coating. Did you know UV coating looks great and can protect your print jobs from automation damage and even normal wear?
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Images |
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 16-Bit Images: Better than JPGs. We opened an image as both 8-and 16-bit. Compare the two after a few adjustments and you'll see why.
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 Digital Photography... Take Your Best Shot. Tips for taking great digital photographs!
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 GRACol and G7: Standardizing Color Appearance. Standardizing color across your workflow is easier than you think!
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 Improving Web JPGs for Print. Need to print an image graphic from the Web? Here's how to reduce the JPG artifacts in your original.
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 New Thoughts on RGB and CMYK. To convert to CMYK or not convert.With new technologies come new options.
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 Photography Basics. Learn about f-stop, ISO and other key photography concepts with sample images.
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 RGB To CMYK... What You Need to Know. For a quick but thorough review of color theory and how it applies to creative, production and printing, look no further than this article.
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 The Weekly Palette. Check out our new weekly palette, where we take a photo each week and turn it into a color palette.
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Marketing |
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 1:1 Marketing and Variable Data Printing. This article delves into the concepts driving one-to-marketing and digital printing, touching on databases.
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 Comprehensive Guide to Surveys. Learn the fundamentals of creating, deploying and optimizing customer surveys.
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 Comprehensive Marketing Testing Primer. This mini-whitepaper provides a primer on testing strategies, concepts and options.
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 Crafting Your Unique Selling Proposition. While others may sell products or services that compete with yours, chances are pretty good there is something or some combination of things.
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 Data Mining for the Rest of Us. How small businesses can use simple data collection methods to gain insight into their opportunities, design promotions, and ultimately sell more.
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 Determining Your Pricing. How are you determining the prices of your products and services? Here are some considerations to keep in mind.
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 Generating Sales in a Down Economy. Times may be tough, but with a little thinking outside the box, you may see new opportunities for sales.
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 Help Test Enhanced QR Codes. We found a bunch of enhanced QR codes. Many would not scan. Hence the group effort to test them.
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 Holiday Marketing. What's your marketing plan for the holidays? Here are some great ideas to consider.
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 List Rental: Great for Print, but Not for Email. List rental has been a standard practice in the direct mail industry for years. Email marketing, not so much.
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 Postcards...5 Tips for Better Results. A simple checklist to make sure you are getting the best results from your postcard mailings.
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 Response Rates and Gender. Does your marketing subtly appeal to one gender more than the other? What can you do about it?
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 Return-On-Investment (ROI). Some thoughts on creating and communicating an effective ROI message.
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 Situation Analysis. You can use a 5C framework to evaluate your marketing situation. Learn more.
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 Ultimate Guide to Texting Abbreviations. It may be mind-boggling but we were able to easily compile around 1,600 abbreviations used in texting.
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 Why Print? The catalyst for this story is a fantastic brochure produced by The Print Council simply titled Why Print?
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Paper |
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 Paper Glossary. Here's the key to keeping up when inundated with paper jargon. This one's a keeper!
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 Paper Thickness. How thick is a given weight of paper? It all depends on the type of paper it is. Confused? Read this and you won't be.
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 The Right Paper. Ever wonder which stock you should specify for which type of project? Wonder no more; they are all listed here!
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 The Ultimate Paper Guide. Look no further if you need a tutorial...
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 Understanding Paper Brightness. Brightness not only determines how vibrant an image is but also determines a paper's color cast. Explained.
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 Video: How Paper Is Made. Choose from both an article and a video on the process of manufacturing paper from start to finish.
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 When Do You Need a Paper Merchant? If you require assistance frequently with exotic stocks or paper research issues, we can introduce you to a specialist known as a paper merchant.
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Production Articles |
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 5 Common PDF Problems. Want to know the five most common PDF problems? We list them here.
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 Folding: Common Terms and Diagrams. Wouldn't know a French fold if you were engulfed in one? Read this and you'll never be flat on folding.
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 Guide to Rich Black. Rich black uses process inks to make your blacks seem richer and more opaque.
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 Heavy Coverage... 10 Job-Saving Tips. 10 tips to keep in mind when your print job has heavy ink coverage.
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 How Many Pages Is My Project? When describing your project to us for quotation purposes, it is important that we're both on the same page in terms of the definition of pages. Here's how a project's pages should be counted.
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 iPhones, Androids and Print Production. It may be tempting to edit and send us a file from your smart phone or approve a proof from your iPad. We find the technology is not quite ready.
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 Pocket Folder Inspiration. Explore some great pocket folder links, each with free die outlines available for download.
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 Rich Black Ink. Make your black backgrounds deeper and richer by adding some color to the 100% black ink.
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 Setting Up Folders in InDesign and Quark. Setting up jobs that require die cuts such as folders and packaging is easy if you follow these simple guidelines.
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 Take the Printing Terms Quiz. Our printing terms quiz is a test of 20 questions. See how many you can get right!
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 Ultimate Folding Guide. We lay out typical folding options and their relative advantages!
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 Varnish, Coatings and Other Effects. Want to know more about varnish? This tutorial says it all!
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Production Tools |
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 Side-By-Side Font Comparison Tool. We built a Web page that helps you compare font styles. Very cool.
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 The Ultimate CMYK Duotone Guide. We selected 25 portraits and applied different CMYK duotone to each image. You can even download the curves we used.
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 The Ultimate Envelope Guide. Find specifications on over 100 sizes in 12 categories, with a downloadable die file available for each envelope.
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QR Codes |
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 Basics of QR Codes. What is a QR code? How are they being used? Who invented it?
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 Getting Started with QR Codes. QR codes explained and suggested actions to take to get QR savvy.
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 Moving Beyond Static QR Codes. Thoughts on marrying QR code with personalization... Think of it as a PUQRL!
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 QR Code Experiments. How much contrast does a QR code need? How much of it can be obscured?
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 QR Code Testing Results. We had over 100 readers who volunteered their time to test modified QR codes. You will be surprised by the results!
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 Quick QR Code Generator. Just type in a web URL and in a few moments you will have its QR code, generated in four standard sizes.
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 Ten Reasons to Include a QR Code. Read 10 great reasons why you should consider integrating a QR code into your next print campaign.
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 Updating Your Print for QR Codes. We discuss four areas of your print footprint that need to be updated in the age of QR codes and smart phones.
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USPS |
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 Creating a USPS IMb Mailer ID. Follow these simple steps to create your own USPS Mailer ID.
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 USPS Address Panel Updates. A fantastic PDF detailing the new requirements for the address panel for any Standard Mail project, i.e. direct mail.
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 USPS Mailing Panel Location Change: Important! The USPS has changed folded mailpiece requirements effective January, 2013. Here is a summary of the changes.
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 USPS Mailing Panel Location Change: Infographic. Over 80% of recent projects have required a modification to avoid penalties that can nearly triple your postage costs.
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 USPS Mailing Panel Location Change: Video. For a clear explanation of the new USPS folded self mailer requirements, watch this great video by Trish at foldfactory.com!
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Work and Play |
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 $3 Gas? 3 Steps You Can Take. With gas hovering between $3 and $4, you can follow these simple tips to keep more gas in your tank and more money in your wallet.
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 A Tale of a Cat Who Killed My Mac. When the cat recently wrecked the Mac, we learned some lessons the hard way that all laptop users should heed.
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 An Inspirational Steve Jobs. We found this video of Steve Jobs from when he spoke in 2005 at Stanford University's commencement. It's a touching and fitting way to remember him.
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 Awesome Pumpkin Pie. When the holidays roll around and you need a quick, easy-to-make-yet-awesome pie, this is the recipe for you.
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 Catch a Counterfeit! Find out quickly if your larger denomination US currency is authentic.
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 Guide to Google Advanced Search. This is one of the easiest-to-follow guides on Google searches you will ever find. Case study based, live links to each example.
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 Lessons Learned from a Young Bassoonist. Why would a gifted musician choose such an obscure instrument? What can the rest of us learn from him in terms of managing career and opportunity?
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 Quirky, Cool and Awesome Web Sites. Off-the-beaten-trail sites you will like: wacky, wallpapered, and wonka-ish.
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 Take the Color IQ Test. How well do you see colors? This unique test gives you a grade beyond pass or fail.
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 The Eggcorn Is Born. An eggcorn is an unintended pun of sorts. A term only recently coined, it's taken on a life of its own.
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 The Time It Takes. How long does it take to...
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| Author: Patrick White © 2013 |
