5 Ways to add a Touch of Luxury to Business Cards

Whether your customer is trying to reach out to a more upscale clientele, updating their brand with a more luxurious feel, or wants to promote a particularly stylish event, adding a touch of luxury to their print order is a good way to create that high-quality feeling. What print products can they use to achieve that look? Here are our tips for adding a touch of luxury to your customer’s print order.

Capture the Look of Gold or Silver Leaf with Foil Stamping
Nothing says “luxury” quite like a metallic, and bringing that metallic to your customer’s design is a great way to give it a touch of luxury and to emphasize their message or their logo. Whether your customer wants the tried-and-true look of gold foil on an ivory or white stock, pairs the sheen of foil with muted colors for a vintage look, or is seeking the sophisticated and chic look of foil paired with darker hues like black or jewel tones, foil stamping is a great choice. It makes an especially big impact on business cards, where it shows off that high end feel with every networking event or sales meeting.

Add Depth With Enhanced Finishes
An alternative to traditional foil is the variety and luxury provided by Enhanced Finishes. Choose Spot Gloss to add a glossy finish, Raised Foil to add depth and shine, or Raised Spot Gloss to provide a tactile element to a spot gloss finish.

When in Doubt, Paint it Black
Black never goes out of style, and there is a reason for that! Black can be elegant or edgy depending on your customer’s style—use black ink to print text paired with foil stamping or embossing to emphasize classic elegance or use heavy black coverage and a glossy finish for an edgier style.

Choose a Heavyweight Stock for a More Substantial Feel
Sometimes, luxury is something you have to feel, and heavyweight stocks are one way to convey that luxury if your customer wants to use a full color image in their print. Extra thick stock can give business cardsannouncements, or postcards a substantial feel that instantly makes an impression, and color core pairs that heavyweight feel with a vibrant colored core that shows along the edge of the print piece. Choose the color core stock that matches their design, or use a black core to add a sleek touch that matches any design.

Looking to Make Something Really Extraordinary? Consider Crystal Glitter Stock If your customer wants something completely unique and eyecatching, they should consider a design that takes advantage of the heavyweight thickness and unexpected pop of color that comes from color core stock with the sparkle of a glittered surface!

Do your customers look for luxury touches for their print? Which ones are their favorites? We’d love to see your recommendations for luxurious print in the comments below.

Why are Presentation Folders Important?

Do you have a customer who is unsure about whether or not they should order folders? Folders are an ideal place for personalization in any market because they are as practical as they are versatile. Whether your customer wants the flexibility of full color or the precision of spot color print, folders can be printed to suit their brand perfectly. There are plenty of reasons why you should consider introducing your customers to custom folders on their next order!

With an average retail order value of $800, presentation folders have the opportunity to increase your profit potential. Each folder order is an important high profile, high value, high risk/high reward sale for you and your customer. Presentation folders of all sizes, certificate holders, table tents and card carriers, are all options to consider with your next customer order!

Presentation Folders are used across nearly every vertical and customer regardless of their business type. Just take a look at the businesses within your community, nearly all of these businesses require some type of folder. Here are a few of the vertical markets in your community that have a need for folders:

  • Education & Academics
  • Automotive
  • Construction & Contractors
  • Finance & Banking
  • Government
  • Healthcare & Medical
  • And more


Want to Know More?

These aren’t the only customer groups looking for personalized folders; every customer potentially has a need for folders! We’ve created this helpful tool Keep Your Marketing On Target to help you prospect your local businesses.

Did we miss a Vertical Market that your business has been successfully selling Folders to? We’d love to continue the conversation with you in the comments below.

Shelf Appeal with Custom Labels

With just seconds to grab a consumer’s attention, are your product labels doing their job? Labels generate shelf appeal. Shelf appeal generates sales. Whether you find yourself gravitating towards products that are bright and flashy or clean and simple, labels play an important roll in getting your product noticed.

Traditional 1-color to Process color labels offer a classic approach with bold designs. Add a touch of elegance by simplifying your design to a foil and/or embossed imprint. With quick turnaround times and low minimum quantities, these labels are a cost-effective solution for short-run, seasonal or variable applications.

Want the look of a foil imprint AND process color printing? Our Color-Logic™ labels allow us to produce up to 250 different metallic colors using five inks on a single print run. Create stunning dimensional effects and gradients that bolster added excitement not found in traditional process color labels. A little shimmer and shine is sure to get your product noticed.

On a shelf full of standard shaped labels, achieve an instant impression with a uniquely shaped label. Our freeform™ laser cut labels allow you to create attention-grabbing, custom shaped labels without the custom die or setup charges! And with low minimums and quick turnaround times, we make it fast and effortless to be unique.

Like the idea of disrupting the shelf, but want to take it a step further? Try Limitless Unique Labels! Create one-of-a-kind labels that offer individual customer experiences. Our software crops, scales and rotates a single art file to create randomized outputs – leaving your product with a 100% uniquely custom label every time.

With a combination of stocks, adhesives, sizes and process options, we’ll find the right label solution for your product!

  • Digital & Flexographic printing
  • Foil stamp & embossing
  • freeform™, Color-Logic™ & Limitless Unique Labels
  • Liner side & adhesive side printing
  • Variable data, consecutive numbering & barcoding
  • UV & moisture resistant varnishes
  • Gloss & matte laminations

Give our label experts a call today at 800.522.3558 or visit www.labelworks.com to learn more and order online.

Signage Helps Healthcare Improve Patient Experience

About 3.8 million inpatient visits and 20 million outpatients visit healthcare facilities in the United States on a daily basis. If you work with customers in the healthcare industry, every one of those millions of visits is a chance to improve patient experiences, and signage is an excellent way to create a smoother patient experience and much more! Here are six signs perfect for your customers in the healthcare industry.

1. ADA Signage
Public buildings need to consider ADA accessibility, and for hospitals and clinics this is even more important. Stock ADA signage for room identification and restrooms takes the guess work out of ADA compliance.

However, if your customer wants to create ADA compliant signage with branded style, custom ADA signage can be a way to bring together both their brand and accessibility. This means that the signage will blend harmoniously with their interior décor for a polished and professional look.

2. Floor Decals
Floor decals are a great way to give instructions or further personalize a space. They can be used to mark the start of a line for shot clinics, highlight the path leading to a pediatric department, or simply add style and visibility to a ramp. Because they are printed in full color, they can be created to coordinate with event banners, match interior décor, and more.

3. Wall Decals
Whether your customer wants to make their waiting rooms friendlier with colorful wall art or wants to add signage information directly to the window at the welcome desk, full color wall and window decals are easy to apply to almost any smooth surface. Not only are they easy to apply, they can easily be removed or repositioned as needed.

4. Window Decals
Want to add a full color image to a window or glass door without decreasing visibility? We offer two options designed to pair full color print and easy visibility. Clear decals feature a transparent stock that is easy to see through, while perforated interior window film lets your message be seen from the outside without blocking visibility from inside.

5. Desk Signage
From welcome desks to doctors’ offices, desk signage can be a good way to add identification or instructions to a desktop. One classic way to use desk signs is to use them to show who works at any given desk, but they can also be used to mark welcome desks with instructions for patients, mark tabletops at shot clinics, and more.

6. Wayfinding Signage
Going to a hospital or clinic can be a nerve-racking experience for many patients, and being uncertain where to go can increase those feelings of uncertainty. Wayfinding signage, however, is a great way to guide patients through healthcare facilities, label departments, and more. Not only will this improve patient experiences, but it will also help many patients navigate facilities themselves without need for employee support as they go from location to location.

Want to know more? The specialty products perfect for the healthcare market don’t end with signage. We’ve created a sales pack to help you increase your business with signage in the rapidly growing healthcare vertical.

In addition, we have developed a catalog specifically for ADA, wayfinding, and architectural signage.

Do your customers in the healthcare industry have a favorite signage option? We’d love to hear your top suggestions in the comments below.

QUIZ: Which Luxury Print Option Are You?

Whether your customer is looking for a way to reach out to a high-end clientele or simply loves the finer things in life, luxurious print is an appealing way to make their print stand out. And every luxury print option has a personality. From classic print options to something brand new, the print you and your customers use can say a lot about you. So, which luxury print option fits your personality?

1) How would you define luxury print?
A) High-quality materials
B) Elegance
C) Subtlety
D) Standing out from the crowd
E) Classic details that stand the test of time

2) What does your workspace look like?
A) I invest in a sturdy desk and a computer that will last me a long time
B) I have a few pieces of décor that add style
C) I like to keep things clean, so it’s normally pretty minimalist at my desk
D) It changes with the season—I love changing things up
E) I’ve got an antique desk and a few favorite photographs

3) You’ve got an evening to yourself—what would you like to do?
A) A nice dinner is always a favorite
B) Sometimes I enjoy heading out for a drink, but I can be just as happy to stay in and watch the latest movie
C) I keep things quiet
D) Concerts are always entertaining
E) I love a good book

4) What makes you stand out the most?
A) I’ve got a strong presence
B) I am great at showing people what their skills are
C) I’ve got a quiet presence, but I make an impact when I need to
D) I energize people
E) I’m well established, and people recognize me

5) What’s the last thing you wrote by hand?
A) A check
B) A letter to a friend
C) A note to yourself
D) A birthday card
E) A thank you note

ANSWERS
Mostly A’s: You’re extra thick stock. You stand out immediately, but you’re just as practical as you are a presence in every room you enter.

Mostly B’s: You’re foil. You’re as versatile as you are stylish. Colored foils add a touch of fun, while silver and gold keep things classic and elegant—just like you are flexible and love a bit of shine.

Mostly C’s: You’re embossing. You’re subtle, but you’re also definitely stylish. You might not have all the frills of another print option, but you’re classic and dependable.

Mostly D’s: You’re glitter stock. New, exciting, and glitzy, you’ve got a lot of personality and are sure to make a splash.

Mostly E’s: You’re engraving. You don’t mind being a touch old fashioned because some of the best things are tried-and-true.

So, which luxury print option are you? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

5 Creative Uses for Announcements

Whether your customers use them for “thank you” notes or holiday greetings, they’re probably familiar with their announcement options. However, the announcement can be a canvas for much more! With a wide variety of stocks and print processes available, announcements are an excellent opportunity for creativity. Here are our five picks for creative uses for announcements.

1. Recipe Cards
Whether your customer wants to inform consumers about what they can do with a new product or wants an informational piece for outreach programs, flat announcements make great recipe cards. Print one side with the recipe title and a photograph of the finished recipe for a mouthwatering option or use spot color to create a minimalist and readable design.

2. Information Cards
Does your customer want to inform the public? Announcements are a great option for botanical gardens or zoos that want visitors to take home more information about the things that they have seen. They can be used to highlight individual products at home shows.

3. Mini Menu
Whether your customer wants to create a small menu for a catered event or wants to highlight seasonal options, announcements are the perfect size for small size menus. Full color print allows them to be printed to match event décor or restaurant branding with ease. As an added bonus, announcements are just the right size to set on a plate as an addition to a well-coordinated place setting.

Speaking of menus…

4. Menu Signs
Announcements can be used to create simple table tents for labeling menu items. This makes them a great option for customers looking to name menu items at a catered buffet because they can be mixed and matched or to label products in a bakery display case. They can easily be changed out for seasonal offerings whenever your customer changes their menu—all at an affordable price point.

5. Special Touches for Events
Announcements might be primarily associated with the invitation to an announcement, but announcements can also be a great addition to the event itself. Is your customer planning an event with reserved seating? An announcement printed with the word “Reserved” can be set on chairs or at tables to mark that place. Are they hosting a corporate event? Announcements printed with uncoated stock are a great option for bingo cards or other games.

How do your customers use announcements? How do they get creative with their print order? We’d love to hear more about the creative uses you’ve seen for announcements in the comments below.

4 Ways to Use Post-it® Notes in the Holiday Season

The holiday season is fast approaching—do your customers have the print they need? Not only is the holiday season a great time to order your customer’s tried-and-true favorites, it’s also a great time for them to get creative with their print orders. In that spirit of creativity, we wanted to share a few ways that your customers can use Post-it® Notes during the holiday season!

1. Coupons
Coupons are a great way to bring customers into crowded stores during the shopping season. For coupons that really stick—tucked into mailed orders, stuck to receipts from in-store purchases, or handed out to those browsing before the holiday season—consider Post-it® Notes. Not only do Post-it® notes stick securely and remove cleanly from wherever they are placed, they’ll stay where they are placed until consumers are ready to use them.

2. Donation Drives
Is your customer looking for a way to give back to their community during the holiday season? Post-it® Notes are a fun visual way to keep track of their donation drives. They can be displayed on a wall, used to fill a chart, and be an inspiration for others to donate, too!

Post-it® Notes can also be a good way to show community members what to donate. Personalized with the name of the charity, these sticky notes can be labeled with the needs of a single person in a sponsored family or the needs of the entire family. Post-it® Note adhesive makes them easy to display on walls or bulletin boards for donors to browse and plan their donations.

3. Gifts for Employees or Customers
If your customer wants to use the holidays to recognize employees for their hard work or to connect with top customers, Post-it® Notes make great gifts for employees or customers! Not only are they practical, making sure that employees can use them in the office and customers will use them time and again, full color print allows them to be versatile. Your customer can match them to company branding, event décor, and much more.

4. “From Santa…” Notes
If your customer works in retail, Post-it® Notes could be the perfect addition to their holiday gift wrap station. Adding a “handwritten” note from Santa either inside the wrapping paper or on the outside can be a fun addition to gifts wrapped for children, and the note is easily removed from the packaging when it’s time to play.

Do your customers get creative with Post-it® Notes for the holidays? What’s their favorite use? We’d love to hear more about their favorite uses in the comments below.

4 Marketing Tips You Can’t Live Without

MarketingWhether your business is large or small, whether you rely on an active sales force or advertise so that customers will come to you, marketing is an essential part of bringing in new customers. And, when you’re marketing, sometimes getting back to basics is the best way to keep your strategy strong. There are many must-have marketing tips—these are four of our favorites.

1. Plan Ahead—No, Farther Ahead
Businesses large and small know the value of planning ahead, but in marketing you might want to plan ahead farther than you think! Thinking several months in advance will ensure that you have the time necessary to create ads, get photographs for social media posts, and get your talking points ready. Not only will this ensure that you are ready, it also means that you won’t be in a pinch if you are approaching a deadline and one of your customers comes to you with a pressing concern.

Need an idea for what to do? Look no further than your suppliers’ marketing calendars. Not only do many of your suppliers—including Navitor—give you a look ahead at what products will be on display in the coming months, some offer free sales tools that you can use to give your marketing a boost.

2. Don’t Just Say What You Can Do—Show It Off
Do you have great quality print? A picture—or a sample—is worth a thousand words. Do you offer a wide variety of products? A digital catalog will show your customers just how wide your selection goes. Do you promise friendly service? Have your smile ready for when customers walk through the door. Showing your customers the value you offer them will help make that value more real and get them more emotionally involved in the purchase.

3. Keep the Audience in Mind—It’s Your Customer
It can be tempting to think about what you want when marketing your business, but remember that anything you send out to your customers has to speak to what they want and need. Your marketing is about showing your customer that the print pieces you offer are the solution to their problem, whether they know it or not. By thinking about how your customer would feel about what you’re saying, you will ensure that you’re always speaking to those needs.

4. Don’t Leave them Hanging—Always Have a Next Step
Having a clear call to action is a common suggestion when you’re building your marketing pieces, and there’s a reason it’s essential. Whether you want your customer to head to your website, give you a call, or wait for your email once you’ve got their order quoted, knowing what comes next will help keep up your marketing momentum.

And what’s your next step? We’d love to see your must-have marketing tips in the comments below.

The First Word in Safety: Label Works’ New Reflective Stock

Labels are an efficient way to call attention to important information in a host of different settings. But what about poorly lit areas? It’s hard to read information that cannot be seen. Do those areas just become no-label zones? Certainly not!

Some labels are necessary even in less than optimal conditions. Low light settings, dark environments, and poor weather conditions can pose a challenge. But at Label Works, we say, “Challenge accepted.” We’d like to introduce you to our Retro-reflective stock! This stock works wonders in dark and poorly lit spaces. Retro-reflective stock renders high visibility even in low light, and also remains visible through poor weather conditions. We like to think that labels have a place anywhere and everywhere – you just need the right tools to get the job done!

Retro-reflective stock is slightly different than true reflective stock. Ready for a bit of a physics lesson? Here we go! Reflective stock reflects light in the same manner a mirror does. Light hits the mirror (or reflective stock) and bounces away at the same angle of entry but in the opposite direction. Imagine bouncing a ball away from you on the floor. The ball will hit the floor but bounce away instead of coming back toward you. The same is true of light hitting a reflective stock. Retro-reflective stock, on the other hand, works with innovative technology to optimize the use of what little light is available. The surface of the retro-reflective stock is covered in very small glass spheres. The rounded shape of each glass sphere creates the retro-reflectivity. Light hitting the surface of the stock is reflected directly back toward the source of the light. Imagine shining a flashlight on an item in a dark room labeled with retro-reflective stock. The light won’t reflect and bounce away. It will be reflected directly back at you, resulting in high visibility of the label. Voila! Label visibility even in the darkest of places!

Now that we’ve touched on the science of the retro-reflective stock, let’s shine some light on the practical applications for this stock!

  • Safety decals
  • Warning and security stickers
  • Hard hat stickers
  • Parking permits
  • Emergency service vehicles, equipment, and tools for Police, Fire Department, and EMTs and Paramedics
  • Outdoor enthusiast organizations and associations, including motorcycling, bicycling, snowmobiling, boating, sailing, skiing, hunting, and fishing
  • Warehouse rack labels where messages need to be easily seen when hit with a beam of light
  • Security and Warning applications
  • HVAC, Well and Pump
  • Shelving labels, pallet labels, and asset labels

Retro-reflective stock is a hard-working label which comes with permanent adhesive and lamination for extra protection from the elements. Because of the nature of many reflective labels, this stock has to be tough, and ready to take on less than perfect weather conditions. A few things to note about this stock:

  • Retro-reflective stock appears slightly grey in color rather than a true white due to the glass bead technology used to produce the reflectivity.
  • It is thermal-transfer compatible (recommended to test ribbons).
  • Retro-reflective stock bounces the light back to the source, therefore making it a great option for scanning. This stock is especially productive for long-range scanning.

Curious to learn more about our new Retro-reflective stock and the host of possible applications for this innovative technology? Call Label Works at 800.522.3558 to speak with one of our Customer Support team members and we’d be happy to send you more information!

5 Creative Uses for Trading Cards during the Holiday Season

Whether your customer is gearing up for a big holiday season or is preparing to simply get through that busy time and start strong in the New Year, considering creative print should be on their schedule! Trading cards might seem like a simple print piece, but they’re a great canvas for creative print, and that creativity can cut through the clutter of the busy holiday season. Here are our five top choices for using trading cards during the holidays.

1. Previews of New Products
Does your customer have new products coming in the New Year? Trading cards are a fun way to preview those products and cut through the increase in marketing during the holiday season. Include a photograph of the product and the high-level details about that product to provide a preview that packs a punch.

2. Something Different From the North Pole
Is your customer hosting a “meet Santa” event at their retail location? Consider trading cards as a fun giveaway item for kids. This is an especially good fit for stores that specialize in sports and games, but it could be a fun addition to any retail location.

For an added bit of fun, Santa can “autograph” these trading cards for the kids.

3. Fundraisers
If your customer is looking for a lightweight piece to sell for their holiday fundraisers or a fun “thank you” piece to send to donors after a successful holiday fundraiser, trading cards can be a great fit. Instead of player statistics, trading cards can also be created to highlight different aspects of a nonprofit’s mission, different nonprofit employees, and more. They could also be printed with the statistics of a nonprofit’s 2019 activities, the results of holiday fundraisers, and more.

4. Checklists
Whether creating blank wish list cards or highlighting the favorite new products that could make great holiday gifts, a trading card makes an excellent canvas for a pocket-sized checklist. Use one side of the card to highlight what store provided the checklist and the other to create the checklist itself.

5. Creative Event Tickets
Printed with artwork that matches your customer’s event décor or their branding, trading cards could be a fun, creative ticket option for their holiday event. For company events, they should consider including an employee photo for the front.

And, of course, your customers can create much more with trading cards. These small print pieces are an excellent canvas for creative employee profiles small informational pieces, and more!

Do your customers order trading cards? If they do, do they keep things traditional or get creative? We’d love to see you join the conversation in the comments below.