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There is a wide variety of printing papers available; coated, uncoated, 100% cotton, recycled, FSC certified—the varieties can seem endless. Here are some “Paper Basics” you should know to better understand paper specifications on your next printing quote.

Paper weight is complicated. Basis weight is the weight in pounds of a ream (500 sheets) of a paper at its basic size. The basic size is the size of the uncut sheet supplied to the printer. For example, the basic size of book paper is 25 x 38 inches, and a ream weighing 70 pounds would be called 70-lb. book paper. (Not all paper grades have the same basic size, but as a print buyer you don’t have to know them all.) Sometimes the metric system is used: 70-lb. book paper is equivalent to 104 g/m². Occasionally, paper is specified in thousand-sheet increments: a 70-lb. book paper might be listed as 25 x 38—140M. “M” means “1,000,” so 1,000 sheets of book paper at this basic size weigh 140 pounds. Since a ream is half that, it’s 70-lb. paper.

Cover, card, and other thick stocks are often specified by thickness, measured in “points,” abbreviated “pt.”— for example, “8-pt. cover.” One point is 1/1000th of an inch, so this means that the stock is 0.008 in. thick. By law, postcards need to be at least 7 pt for up to a 4¼ x 6″ card and 9 pt for larger postcards.

Paper grade refers to the end use of that paper. Bond paper is used for letters and documents, book paper for books, offset for offset printing, and so on. Thicker grades include cover, bristol, tag, and index. Digital papers have been optimized to perform on digital presses, and digital press manufacturers offer or recommend specific grades for their equipment.

Paper is often coated during manufacture, which improves the reproduction of fine halftone screens and color fidelity, as coatings keep ink from getting absorbed into the paper, unlike uncoated paper. C1S means “coated one-side,” which is useful for labels, packaging, and other materials designed to be printed on only one side. C2S means “coated two-side” and is preferred for two-sided commercial printing.

Brightness refers to the percentage of light that is reflected from the sheet’s surface. Basic white copy paper has a 92 brightness. Brightness by component wavelength (red, green, or blue) is also determined for papers, as papers can reflect different amounts of certain colors, imparting a color cast to a printed piece if you’re not careful. This is extremely important thing to consider since inks are transparent.

There are many other characteristics of paper, but these are some of the ones you are likely to encounter. Design magazines such as Communication Arts and HOW usually bind in paper samples. While this can make these magazines hard to flip through, they can help with the paper specification process. PaperSpecs is also a very good online resource for all things paper.

Look at your business card. What does it say about you and your company? Does it convey your brand promise, or is it simply a piece of paper that contains all your contact information. If it’s just the latter, you are missing a big opportunity.

In the last decade, the business card has fallen victim to cheap digital printing and lack-luster paper selection thanks to consolidation in the paper industry. Sure, you can buy 500 business cards online for under $50, but what does it say about your company? If the printed goods are like the items I’ve seen, it probably says “you’re cheap”.

Now, I’m not saying digital printing is a bad thing. It’s made short-run, four-color printing an affordable option for many. But it’s not always the answer. There are many shortcomings that you must consider. For example, did you know that not all PMS colors can be reproduced in four-color process? Plus stock choices are limited.

The design and execution of a business card is just as important as your company’s website or product brochure. In many cases, it’s the tool that will introduce a person to you and your business; so you want to make sure it reflects the brand promise and corporate image you are trying to create. And, just like your brand message, it should stand out from the crowd. Maybe your message would be better served by a die-cut, embossing or foil-stamping? Perhaps a non-traditional size and unique paper stock would make your business card more memorable? To answer these questions you need to reflect on your brand’s personality. But remember you have many more options than four-color, digitally printed cards on white paper stock.

Here’s a link to an entertaining video about business cards. Take a look at it and see if you are impressed.

“The Experience that a website design produces for visitors is critically important to the success of any business, whether the end goal is to sell product, market services, build a brand or all of the above. If the desired path toward conversion is in any way obscured, today’s users will not hesitate to abandon the site and find what they need elsewhere.” Linc Wonham, Associate Editor Website Magazine.

But how do you get users to your site in the first place? Search Engine Optimization!

There are two forms of search engine optimization: organic and paid.

Paid would be your keywords that you buy form say Google AdWords. It is important to note though that these keywords buy you ads, and not an actual spot in search results.

Organic SEO is probably the most used form of SEO, mainly because it’s free. But it requires quite a bit of work and preparation. It is also important to understand that SEO takes months, it’s not an overnight process. A good place to start is an analysis of your site, and where your traffic is currently coming from. Google Analytics is a great free tool to do this. Once you know which search engine is used most, which I usually find is Google, you can start optimizing your site.

Some Organic SEO tactics are:

1. Keyword rich content
   When writing your content, keep in mind which phrases people would use to search for your site.  Make sure your text is very descriptive. For example, here at Willow, we will us the phrase “Willow Marketing offers….” Instead of “We offer….” when describing our services.
2. Inbound links
   This can be as quick and easy as dropping your site url into your social media platforms. Tweet a link to the new product you added. Twitter is crawled by search engines constantly, so the link will be discovered quickly. Use a site like ping.fm, which allows you to post a message and link to dozens of social media sites simultaneously to increase your chances of being found.
   Offer testimonials to business vendors you work with. It’s an easy way to get a link to your site in return for writing something favorable and sincere about a vendor.
3. Blog
   If you have a blog, make use of the category and tag systems to better organize and label your content. Actively tagging posts is the most effective way to enhance “searchability” and usability.  Plus, the more user friendly your site is, the more likely users are to return or recommend your website and services.

SEO is constantly evolving, and search engines are becoming more strict about what is allowed. It is vital to them to provide accurate search results to maintain their credibility, and when you don’t play by the rules, your site might be penalized for banned tactics.

The top 5 outdated tactics are:

1. Keyword stuffing
   Using popular keywords that don’t even relate to your site, but position them off the page so the user does not see them.
2. Blog Comment spamming
   Aggressively dropping links in comment sections on blogs.
3. Search engine submission
   Paying a company to submit your site to a search engine.
4. Meta Tag Optimization
   Using popular keywords that don’t even relate to your site, in the <HEAD> area of your site’s code.
5. Link Exchange programs
   Aggressive link exchange schemes to intentionally influence rankings.

SEO takes time and effort, but it will definitely pay off in the long run.

Sources: www.websitemagazine.com

A few years ago who would have thought that we would be developing specific marketing plans for using social networks to promote our brands? Or text campaigns to reach our consumers? Or QR codes to promote our campaigns and events? Or viral videos to expand our reach? There are always going to be new trends in the industry….so I ask, what do you think is going to be the next BIG marketing trend?

With today’s technology-powered society, information is easier to share, yet at the same time harder to keep private. Before getting to the office each morning I’ve typed the password to my phone at least 5 times, given access to the gate code and logged on to my computer and the server. Throughout the day there are passwords required for email, uploading files to FTP sites, Google analytics, Word Press and Flickr passwords. There are social media passwords for LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. I think you see my point.

While flipping through the online pages of mashable.com, I found an article dealing with just this…passwords, an online site called LastPass. Mashable describes it as “the best password manager on the planet, and it works on browsers running on Linux, Mac and Windows machines, as well as on all mobile platforms. Type in one ultra secure password, and LastPass will remember all your other passwords, and even enter them automatically if you wish. It’s your loyal assistant, filling in forms and credit card numbers, and dreaming up impossible-to-crack passwords and automatically entering them, and best of all, it’s free.”

At Willow, the word “PROFITABILITY” is occasionally heard shouted from the hallway, viewed in all caps at the end of emails and stated time and time again within Willow Wednesday meetings. Last Pass is a tool to help do just that, streamline time and increase profitability! Now it comes down to just taking the step and handing over all personal information and passwords. Is it worth it?

Sources:

http://lastpass.com/