Tag: digital printing

Posted on by

Colors and Purchase Decisions

interior_design4Regardless of whether you are a business owner, property manager or an office manager, you probably take a lot of pride in the environment you create with the help of architects and interior designers.

As you work towards building a more prominent presence in the marketplace, your branding strategy should help support your efforts. From customer lobby signs to car wraps and window decals, the use of colors say a lot about your brand. Even designs through custom wall papers and murals décor tell something about you and your business. The colors you use have a great influence on your visitors and customers. Decision making is affected a great deal by visual cues that depend mainly on colors.

While smell and texture play a role in buying decisions, visual appearance and colors have proved to have a bigger influence:

–          Multiple studies have proved that customers have named color as a primary reason for why they decided to purchase a specific item.

–          Consistency in color helps business develop brand recognition while increasing the levels of positioning with consumers.

–          Different colors have different effects and influences on different cultures:

  • Yellow projects optimism.
  • Red provides energy.
  • Blue reflects trust and security.
  • Green perpetuates wealth.
  • Black creates a sensation of luxury.

–          Different colors have different effects on specific customers.

While color has a major influence on decision making, keep in mind that it is not the only factor to be taken into consideration. Reputation, design and customer service are only a few elements to not ignore.

Posted on by

11 Eco-friendly Solutions to Consider

If you are a green company and deeply committed to more environmentally friendly printing and signage solutions, you may want to consider the following tips for eco-friendly printing:

  • E-Communication – replace paper communication with emails.
  • Double-sided – if for some reason you need to print handouts, and cannot use an electronic file, consider printing/photocopying double-sided documents which will save, not only the trees, but also money, space, and cost.
  • Overprint – sometimes it is best if you take time to know more about how many copies you need, instead of overprinting and causing waste.
  • Proofing – make sure the content and graphics of your to-be-print piece is proofed for any possible errors to ensure correct information before printing pages and pages of non-useful output.
  • Energy Star – do you use Energy Star equipment? If not, this is where you want to start.
  • Switch off – it might take some getting used to, but something as simple as switching off your equipment can bring you closer to running an eco-friendly operation.
  • Sleep mode – almost every technology has some kind of a sleep mode which will allow you to set your equipment to the lowest available setting that matches your needs.
  • Maintenance – proper equipment maintenance keeps your machines at a high performance level with efficient delivery.
  • Recycling – do you recycle internally? If not, you may want to consider doing so by placing recycling bins around your office to dispose of paper and recyclable products.
  • Electronic waste – make sure you have a process to get rid of your electronic waste.  It might take years and years for such equipment to break down in landfill. Reach out to your local waste management company and talk about options.
  • TakeBack Programs – ask your suppliers if they offer a takeback program that will allow you to keep upgrading on your equipment on an as needed basis without the requirement to fill the landfills with unnecessary waste.
Posted on by

Steps to a Successful Design Process

Logos, signs, wall murals, vehicle wraps, and the list keeps going… all are pieces that require a successful and diligent design process in order to stand out while reflecting your brand and message. Many think that once the idea is put together, the design piece is almost completed. Not necessarily so!

Design is a process that offers solutions to specific problems. You want to strive for the best solution and focus your efforts on hiring a company that can meet your needs, and solve your problem, while creating designs that will leave a lasting impression on your target market.

Design is subjective and does not always come easy. There is no exact “how-to” manual for the process. Each designer develops his/her own process as he/she builds on experience. Your goal should be to identify a company that has a vast portfolio of designs and that could offer insights on the following:

  • Design approach for online versus offline pieces
  • Budget restrictions
  • Color versus black and white
  • Recommendation on size

These are considerations that will clarify your expectations while giving graphic designers a clear understanding on parameters within which they can work as they develop the design piece.

The design piece has to help your audience take notice of your message while supporting the sale of your product or service.  You also want to make sure that the company you are hiring will:

  • Be familiar with your industry
  • Be clear on who your target audience is
  • Understand what you are trying to accomplish through the design piece (sell, promote, announce…)
  • Provide you with many samples
  • Offer design adjustments
  • Be flexible if your needs change
  • Deliver in a timely manner to meet your deadline

Like many fields and industries, the design process requires a specific set of skills and knowledge but the most important place to start is by being clear on what you, as a business owner, are trying to accomplish through the design piece that you need:

  • Are you selling a building?
  • Are you announcing availability at a new property?
  • Are you revamping your office decor?
  • Are you running a promotion?