Coming Soon to Navitor.com: Glitter Stock!

Posted on August 1, 2019 Written by

Are your customers ready to try something new? Have they been looking for an eyecatching stock that will get them noticed? Do they want to add a touch of luxury to their print order?

Have we got news for you!

Coming soon to Navitor.com is Crystal White Glitter Color Core stock. This new addition pairs the heavyweight thickness and unexpected pop of color that comes from color core stock with the sparkle of a glittered surface! Here’s what you need to know about this new option for announcements, business cards, and postcards.

Get to Know the Sparkle: Crystal White Glitter
The crystal white finish of our glitter stock is more than just sparkly. It has a subtle, iridescent look that adds depth and visual interest to the glitter finish. And we are pleased to note that the glitter stays put on the stock’s surface—this means that it won’t lose its sparkle before it’s been handed to the customer.

The glitter also adds a textured surface to any business card, announcement, or postcard that uses glitter stock, adding an extra touch of tactile appeal. This means that when a design features heavy ink coverage and the glitter itself is covered by that ink, there is an appealing textured surface on those areas.

We are debuting Crystal White Glitter as a color core stock, so not only will your customer’s print order include a striking touch of sparkle but it will also feature their choice of five colored cores. And because of the colored core, Crystal White Glitter Color Core stock will weigh in at an impressive 45pt. thickness that is sure to stand out from the crowd.

Truly New!
We understand that your customers want to stand out, and that’s why we’ve brought glitter stock into our offering! It’s truly new to the personalized print market and will make your customer’s business card, announcement, or postcard stand out even more because of that.

Want to know more? Before this new stock goes live on Navitor.com, you can click here to download a free PDF flyer for more information. Be sure to update your email subscriptions, too, so that you won’t miss out on the email when this new stock is available for purchase.

Are you excited about our new Crystal White Glitter Color Core stock? Do you have customers who have been looking for that bit of extra sparkle? We’d love to see you join the conversation in the comments below.

Filed Under: Business Cards, Education, News, Print Products, Resources, Stationery

Doing More With Less: Creating Great Minimalist Design

Posted on July 26, 2019 Written by

do more with less minimalism for personalized print typographyMinimalism has been on trend for some time, and if your customers come to you to ask for your design advice you want to create something eye catching. If what they’re looking for is minimalism, you need to ensure that your design does more with less. Here are our tips for achieving great minimalist design.

Highlight What’s Most Important
Minimalist design relies on choosing only the most important details and leaving the rest behind. If you’re creating a design for your customers, be sure that they pick the information that’s essential. For event invitations, that’s the information necessary for RSVPing and attending. For a business card, that’s your customer’s essential contact information. Use those details as the foundation of the design.

And stick to what’s most important in terms of color, too! Focus on your customer’s brand colors or the colors for their event to ensure that their minimalist design contributes to a cohesive overall look.

If you’re looking for some design inspiration, check out this post from 1st Web Designer to look at some eyecatching minimalist business cards.

Embrace the Unexpected Detail
Sometimes, an unexpected detail is what you need to make minimalism really work for your customer’s print order. A touch of spot gloss or raised print can add unexpected texture. A heavyweight stock can catch attention immediately. A pop of bright, branded color in an otherwise muted business card will stand out all the more because of the minimalist design.

Choose Just the Right Stock
Because minimalist design is focused on only the most important details, your customer’s stock choice is even more important. Minimal designs let the space around the text do much of the talking—and that can make an impact that’s anything but minimal! Minimalist designs allow the texture of the stock to take center stage, whether the stock is smooth and sleek or features a subtle texture with handmade appeal.

Stock can also be the source of those unexpected details I mentioned before. A subtle shimmer from a pearlized stock adds a luminous touch. An extra thick stock has a surprising heft when held. And for an additional pop of color, consider color core stock.

Consider The Print Process
Minimalist design is also a chance for your customers to use print processes that add an extra touch of professionalism to their design. Full color print is a great option for many customers, but when your customers are interested in minimalist design they should consider the many other options available to them.

Thermography is a great place to start. Whether paired with full color print or spot color, thermography adds depth and texture to your customer’s design. That texture can add a lot of interest to their print piece.

Speaking of depth, for a truly extraordinary finishing touch, consider enhanced finishes. Spot gloss and raised spot gloss can be used to enhance your customer’s minimalist design or on their own for a subtle, shiny look. Raised foil creates a classic metallic look with style.

Do your customers love the look of minimalism? What details are their favorites? We’d love to see you join the conversation in the comments below.

Filed Under: Business Cards, Design, Education, Folders, Labels, News, Print Products, Promotional Products, Stationery

Print to Add Polish to Nonprofit Fundraisers

Posted on July 24, 2019 Written by

Nonprofits of all sorts will soon be hosting the last outdoor fundraisers of the year, and just as soon they will be preparing for the events they host at the end of the year. When they’re planning their events, they should also be planning the print that adds a great finishing touch to their fundraisers. Here are our choices for the print pieces that will add profit to your customer’s next nonprofit fundraiser.

Posters
Are your customers trying to get the word out to a wider audience? Posters could be the best way to raise interest in their community events! And with a variety of quantities available, posters could also be a colorful addition to event promotion even in smaller communities.

Announcements and Postcards
Some of your customers’ events focus on previous donors or top donors, and announcements and postcards are a great way to add polish to those event invitations. Choose postcards for a more informal feel, or use announcements to make the occasion feel a little extra special.

Brochures, Rack Cards and Sales Sheets
Whether your customer wants to include them with a mailing or wants a piece to show donors what their gifts will be doing, informational pieces are an essential way to get the word out about the good work that they do. Brochures, rack cards, and sales sheets are classic pieces that can include text to show off essential statistics or photographs that highlight the people who benefit from a nonprofit’s work.

Event Tickets
If your customer is hosting a raffle or fundraising event, event tickets are essential! These tickets feature practical details like perforated ends for easy raffle use and numbering to make it easy to keep track of attendees. Even better, when your customer chooses full color print they can help make their nonprofit’s branding more memorable.

Folders
Whether it’s organizing instructions for volunteers, putting together forms and information for donors, or keeping documents organized afterward, branded folders are a good way to keep organized. As a bonus, using branded folders is a good way to add that extra touch of professional polish to every document.

Badges
Speaking of event volunteers, badges are a great way to show which people at your customer’s event are working and which are simply attending. Choose labels as temporary name tags for events with a lot of short-term volunteers, or consider window badges, chalk badges or erasable badges  for flexible badges that can be used at event after event.

Banners, Signs and Other Décor
Once your customers are actually at their event, indoors or out, it’s time to personalize the space. Banners are a great fit for events indoors or out, adding a splash of color in your customer’s choice of a variety of styles. Freestanding a-frame signage can guide attendees through buildings, personalize stages and accent sidewalks outside outdoor event venues.

Do you work with customers in the nonprofit sector? Which print products are their favorites? We’d love to see you join the conversation in the comments below.

Filed Under: Business Cards, Folders, Labels, Marketing, News, Print Products, Promotional Products, Resources, Stationery

Good, Better, Best: Forms and Personalization

Posted on July 19, 2019 Written by

A personalized form offers your customers a variety of benefits: brand recognition, tailor-made information, the ideal size, and more. However, your customer’s form choice has a big impact on their opportunity to personalize their forms, and some forms offer more personalization potential than others. If your customer is looking for the opportunity to create something perfect for their business, this is your guide to the options they can explore!

Good: Personalized Formatted Forms
When your customer wants just a bit of personalization, formatted forms are ready-made for a variety of different uses. Register forms, receipts, purchase order forms, and sales order forms are all flexible options that many customers can use. Repair and road service forms are more specialized.

And, while we say this option is good, it might be the best option for your customer—it depends on what precisely they need. Formatted forms allow your customers to include text to personalize their forms with information like their company name, address, and phone number. When your customer wants a simple form that simplifies the design process, these could be the forms for them.

Better: 1-Color Custom Forms
If your customer is looking for more control over the content of their forms, 1-color custom forms are a great option. These forms are printed in black ink and offer your customer the ability to design their form from scratch, so unlike formatted forms your customer can choose which information to include and which information isn’t relevant. They can choose the size of form that works best and the number of parts they want on each form.

Custom forms are also available in a wide variety of quantities. For your smaller customers, quantities as low as 250 are available. For larger customers, quantities of 2500 are available in our standard offering, and you can contact us for quotes on larger orders.

But there’s one type of form that offers even more personalization potential…

Best: Full Color Custom Forms
Custom full color forms offer your customers the peak of personalization potential. Not only do these forms offer them the opportunity to design their form from the ground up, they also allow for a wider variety of colors and imagery. Full color gives your customers the chance to personalize their forms with their brand colors, full color logos, or images of their products. They can use this versatility to boost their brand, highlight new products, and more.

Which forms are your customers favorites? Do they love the ease of a formatted form, or do they prefer custom forms? We’d love to see you join the conversation in the comments below.

Filed Under: Education, News, Print Products, Resources, Stationery

Spectacular Spot Gloss: What You Need to Know About Designing for this Enhanced Finish

Posted on July 18, 2019 Written by

Whether flat or raised, spot gloss is a finish on the rise, and for good reason! This Enhanced Finish is becoming a popular option for a variety of print pieces, and it can be an excellent addition to your customer’s business card, announcement, or postcard. However, the real strength of spot gloss and raised spot gloss are in the design. Here’s what you need to know about creating spectacular spot gloss.

Having Your Formatting Right is the Foundation of Great Design
Great design starts with great execution. That means having your fonts correctly sized, using the right file and color formats—and, for spot gloss and raised spot gloss, taking a look at our instructions for file creation. Having these basic guidelines in mind will help ensure that your design choices are executed perfectly, making your whole design more impressive. Click here to download our design guidelines, or take a look at our youtube video if you’re more of a visual learner.

And don’t forget about the option to bring spot gloss to new heights. Raised spot gloss can be used in a similar way to spot gloss, but with extra depth added to the shiny accent. It’s a slightly different look—and an interesting, tactile texture—that your customer should consider for their print pieces.

Do You Want Your Spot Gloss to Stand Alone or Make Details Stand Out?
Gloss is a particularly versatile finish because of the sheer number of ways that it can be used—emphasis on “sheer”! Because spot gloss and raised spot gloss are transparent, they can be used to create a wide variety of different looks.

Spot gloss can be used on its own or over a flood coat to create a subtle design element. This option will appeal to customers seeking a minimalist look for their business cards, but it can also create stylish patterns, interesting borders, or subtle text.

When paired with a full color design, on the other hand, spot gloss and raised spot gloss can highlight different bits of the design. Be strategic about the design. Spot gloss can be used as a glossy accent on the most important word of a message or to add a luminous quality to elements of an image like the stars in a night sky or the fire in a fireplace.

What Does Your Customer Want to Emphasize?
Whether it’s your customer’s brand colors, their logo, or a particular part of their marketing message, spot gloss can be an unexpected detail that helps emphasize what’s essential. An unexpected touch of spot gloss in the shape of their logo can be a memorable way to change things up. Using spot gloss or raised spot gloss over the most important part of their message on a postcard can ensure that message is noticed.

Would Coated Stock Be a Better Choice?
If your customers are excited about spot gloss, we understand the temptation to use it everywhere, but it really works better as an unexpected accent. If your customer wants a lot of shine for their piece, they might be better off using a glossy coated stock and leaving spot gloss for a special occasion.

Have your customers ordered spot gloss or raised spot gloss? How have they made sure that their design is extraordinary? We’d love to see you join the conversation in the comments below.

Filed Under: Business Cards, Design, Education, News, Print Products, Promotional Products, Resources

5 Direct Mail Statistics Your Customers Should Know

Posted on July 17, 2019 Written by

a personalized printed direct mail envelope in a mailbox surrounded with icons representing statisticsWith every year, your customer has more and more options for their marketing campaigns. Email, print ads, television ads, digital ads, and direct mail all compete for their time and budgets. However, direct mail is an essential tool for their marketing campaigns, and the statistics prove it. Here are five direct mail statistics that your customers should know!

1. 90% of Millennials Think Direct Mail Advertising is Reliable
Millennials might be a digital generation, but they definitely value the information they receive in the mail! Not only do 90% of them think that direct mail advertising is reliable, more than half of consumers in this age group have made purchases based on direct mail offers. 50% of millennials surveyed also ignore digital ads, compared to only 15% of millennials saying they ignore direct mail. You can learn more about how this age group responds to print in this whitepaper from the US Postal Service.

2. Adding a Person’s Name and Full Color in Direct Mail Can Increase Response By 135%
According to Canon Solutions America, personalization and color can make a huge impact on the effectiveness of a campaign. And no wonder—we all love the feeling of receiving a personalized piece, and full color print can help your customer’s postcard catch consumer attention among plain white envelopes.

3. Direct Mail With Digital Ads Yield 28% Higher Conversion Rate
Direct mail pieces don’t have to work on their own—in fact, according to NonProfit PRO, when your customer pairs their digital ads with direct mail, both are more effective! This makes direct mail and digital ads a great team, and it also makes a direct mail piece an important way to boost the effectiveness of your customer’s digital ad.

4. 18.4% of Former Customers Respond to Direct Mail
If your customers are looking for a way to bring back customers who haven’t done business with them in some time, direct mail is a great way to get them to respond. According to the US Postal Service, direct mail will bring nearly 1/5 of former customers back to give your customer’s business another look.

5. Oversized Envelopes Attract 6.6% of Household Responses
According to the DMA, oversized envelopes have the greatest household response rates over other mediums. Their impressive 6.6% of household responses is followed by postcards at 5.7% and letter-sized envelopes at 4.3%.

Are your customers ready to start building their direct mail campaign? We’re here to help. With a wide variety of postcards available and more arriving soon, your customer can create an extraordinary direct mail piece that is sure to gain attention in the mailbox. Click here to explore the selection of postcards available online, or check out our catalog for more information.

Were any of these statistics a surprise to you? Do you think there are any statistics that we missed? We’d love to see you join the conversation in the comments below.

Filed Under: Education, Marketing, News, Print Products, Stationery

Campaign Labels Get Our Vote!

Posted on July 11, 2019 Written by

The turning of the calendar page to July means we’re in the last half of 2019. And as the weeks and months roll by, 2020 comes more closely into focus. Before you can say fireworks, we’ll be finding ourselves once again in a raucous presidential election year. Show of hands, who’s excited? Whether you’re the type who closely follows every new development on the road to Election Day, or someone who would like to veto the very existence of political TV and radio ads altogether, one thing can be counted on—it’s bound to be another interesting election year!

But in the midst of the caucuses, polls, town hall speeches, and party platforms, we can’t forget the local campaigns that take place right in our own communities. These tend to be overshadowed by the large, nation-wide attention of the presidential elections. But they are just as important! What’s more, they are a front runner for potential label sales, often beating their national level election campaigns by a landslide in terms of units sold at the local level.

Hogwash? Fake news? Absolutely not. Labels can help create buzz, allow people to show support, and generate conversations with a variety of different applications. They help to reinforce branding, and can be printed to match campaign yard signs, mailings, and advertisements. Which types of local elections stand to benefit from the use of labels? Here are just a few examples of campaigns that should add label usage to their agendas!

City Council – Driven to solve community issues?  Working to strengthen relationships with local law enforcement and emergency personnel? Pushing to save taxpayer dollars through preventive maintenance and increasing economy? Help convey community vision through the use of lapel stickers, bumper stickers, window decals, and more.

 School Board—Are safe learning environments a priority? Is fiscal responsibility at the top of the list? Working toward academic growth opportunities? Employ stickers, bumper stickers, and mailing labels to help bolster public dialogue and community engagement when it comes to school board elections.

 Referendum—Is a new school building being proposed? A community center, perhaps? Maybe a revitalization of city parks and public spaces? Stickers on local stores’ shopping bags and window decals can help show support to local causes.

 Whether it’s a local election for county sheriff, city manager or treasurer, or any of the above, lobbying for the use of labels is a smart choice. Label Works offers a wide variety of labels that can be put to work in creative ways to support candidates and causes. Some additional ways labels can be effective on the campaign trail include:

  • “I Voted” stickers—drum up excitement for getting to the polls!
  • Window decals and bumper stickers—free advertising on doors, windows, and back bumpers!
  • Water bottle labels—hand out some much-appreciated H2O at parades, picnics, or other local get-togethers
  • Address labels for mailings—help convey logos and brand identities for a cohesive campaign plan
  • ID or nametag stickers—ovals, circles, or a customized shape using our freeform™ laser cut labels!
  • Tech decals—drum up excitement with students by handing out stickers that address issues and causes. Suggest they adhere them to laptops, smartphones, iPads, and other tech devices to spread the word!

Label Works offers low minimums starting at 100, as well as quick production time. In most cases, we can have labels in your hand in as little as 24 hours (no bribes necessary!). Encourage your customers to cast their ballots in favor of campaigns that include the use of labels. They’re guaranteed to be a winning addition to their campaign endeavors!

For questions about any Label Works products, please call us at 800.522.3558. Our customer service representatives are happy to answer any questions you may have.

Filed Under: Labels, Marketing, News, Print Products, Resources

The Anatomy of an Event Ticket

Posted on July 10, 2019 Written by

Have your customers taken a closer look at their print? While it can be easy to think of their print pieces as a simple piece of paper, the details of their print piece are essential to creating a great print piece. This is especially true of event tickets. That’s why we’re breaking down the details of an event ticket and what makes tickets a great tool for your customer!

The Stock: Stylish Color or Brilliant White
The foundation of great print is a great stock, and event tickets start with a white stock that provides a great foundation for vibrant full color print. Your customer can also choose white, yellow, or blue stock for a spot color event ticket to add a bit more color to a simple and readable design.

And speaking of print…

The Print: Perfectly Suited to Any Event
Full color print is a great choice for event tickets. It can be used to coordinate tickets with event décor, highlight your customer’s branding, or show off a relevant photograph. Not only does this make the event ticket more visually interesting, it also gives your customer a chance to create an exciting look for their event. That can be a great way to build buzz for fundraisers or community events long before the day arrives.

And if your customer wants to keep things simple, we have an option for that, too! Spot color print is readable, and your customer can choose from three different stock options that are a great fit for raffles, community events, and more.

The Cut: Conveniently Sized With a Perforated End
One of the details that your customers should pay close attention to is the perforated end of their event tickets! A perforated end makes it easy to divide raffle tickets from matching stubs or to show that drink or game tickets have been redeemed.

The Numbering: A Practical Addition
Whether your customer wants to keep track of the tickets sold for an event or needs conveniently numbered raffle tickets for a fundraiser, numbering is a useful addition to any event ticket. If you want numbered tickets from Navitor, we offer this practical addition to your customers’ event tickets through our catalog.

The Order: Online or Catalog
Are you ready to place an order for your customer’s event tickets? Choose the ordering option that works best for you! Event tickets are just a click away on the Navitor.com online ordering tool, or you can order them through our catalog. Our online ordering tool includes options like instant proofing and simplified reorders, while ordering through our catalog allows your customer to choose additional options like numbering.

What details do you think are most important to creating a great event ticket? What do your customers love most about their event tickets? We’d love to see you join the conversation in the comments below.

Filed Under: Design, Marketing, News, Print Products, Stationery

Door Hangers are Perfect for These 5 Markets

Posted on July 5, 2019 Written by

When your customers are thinking about their print order, door hangers might not be the first thing they think of—but they should! Door hangers are a perfect fit for a wide variety of different markets, from hospitality to education. Here are five of our picks.

1. Hospitality
When you and your customers think of door hangers for the hospitality market, you probably think first of a “do not disturb” sign, but that is only the beginning of the possibilities! Whichever option your customer in the hospitality market chooses, flexible full color print allows them to match the print piece to your customer’s brand and décor.

Door hangers can be used to create practical room service menus that can be filled out and left on the door to order breakfast. They can be used in a bed and breakfast to let guests know what the next day’s schedule will be. They can be hung on bathroom doors to tell hotel guests where to put towels they intend to reuse. They can be left on doors to say that a room has been cleaned—and, for an added personal touch, your customer can feature which member of their staff prepared the room for the next day.

2. Political
When your customer’s political campaign is planning a door-knocking campaign, they should always have a leave-behind for when a voter isn’t home. That’s where door hangers come in! Not only are they a great way to give high level information about a candidate’s position on key issues, but full color print makes it easy to include necessary personal touches like a photograph of the candidate or the colors for their campaign.

3. Lawn Care
Whether your customer is working on a marketing campaign or wants an additional touch point for lawn care services done while homeowners are away or while businesses are not open, door hangers are an excellent option. For marketing campaigns, they can be a great leave-behind when visiting neighborhood houses. They are also a great touch point if lawn care services have been done on a weekend or while homeowners are away—personalized with your customer’s brand, they’ll add a polished finishing touch to the work done.

4. Car Dealerships
Your customer might not think of a door hanger as an essential for a car dealership, but it can be! Door hangers can easily be hung from rear view mirrors to convey essential information about a car and to add a branded look to the showroom floor.

5. Education
Testing at any level of schooling can be a challenge, but door hangers can make the process run more smoothly. Whether your customer works in school administration or produces standardized tests, door hangers can be a good way to prevent interruptions during essential testing times.

Are there other markets that should look into door hangers? What do you recommend? We’d love to see your advice in the comments below.

Filed Under: Marketing, News, Print Products, Stationery

Bringing in a Heavyweight: Navigating Paper Weight and Thickness

Posted on July 3, 2019 Written by

When your customer is creating a print piece, often their stock choices are one of the biggest factors in how that project fits into their budget. With stocks labeled with both points and pounds, though, it can be tricky to decode what these labels mean. Luckily, we’re here to help! Here is a little advice on navigating lightweight stocks, heavyweight stocks, and everything in between!

Pound vs. Point
Two of the most common measurements for paper are pound (lb.) and point (pt.), but it can be challenging to know what this stock information means. What really makes these measurements difficult to navigate is that they are literally measuring different aspects of paper.

Pound is a measurement of how much a one ream of a paper stock weighs; weights range from 20 to 80 pounds for bond paper and 50 to 140 pounds for card stock. Point is a measurement of the paper’s thickness, with each pt. equal to .001 inch—14 pt. paper, for example, measures in at .014 inches thick.

With both of these measurements, though, you can be sure of one very important thing: the bigger the number, the more heft the stock will have.

How Do These Stocks Measure Up?
Unfortunately, it can be hard to match up thicknesses and weights because the measurements simply aren’t easy to translate. For example, 12 pt. cardstock weighs in at approximately 100 lb., but they aren’t exactly the same thickness. Your best bet is to focus on the type of paper first and the weight or thickness afterward.

This confusing set of measurements also means that your customers might have a hard time visualizing the stock thickness when they’re just reading numbers. After all, unless they are looking at stocks that are both measured by weight, the comparison is a challenge. That’s part of why swatch books are so important to have on hand when you’re making a sales pitch—they allow for easy stock comparisons.

Keep an Eye Out for New Heavyweight Champions
We know that many customers are looking for heavier paper options—that’s why we’ve got exciting new stock options coming soon! Keep an eye on your inbox for news about new stock options in a variety of different weights. And, if you’re not signed up to get Navitor’s emails, take a moment to sign up or update your email preferences.

Do you have any other questions about how to navigate stock choices? We’d love to see you join the conversation in the comments below.

Filed Under: Business Cards, Education, Folders, News, Print Products, Resources, Stationery
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