Print is often the first point of contact between customers and brands— and printed pieces are often remembered and kept longer than their digital counterparts. We talked with four outstanding print providers about how printers can help customers sustain and grow their brands.
Here’s 4 Tips for printers to help customers reinforce their brand in print:
- Be Consistent.
“First, we encourage the customers to use spot inks, and we explain their advantages over four-color builds,” Chilton explains. “Once a client has printed their initial collateral, the colors are set and must be maintained. We keep sign-off sheets on file to match future printings. We also order drawdowns when printing corporate colors on anything other than white paper. Inks are transparent and a colored sheet will change the color drastically.”
- Make an Impression.
“Once we have a good understanding of the message our client’s brand is trying to convey, we can utilize unique papers, interesting formats or cool coating techniques to assist the client in communicating that message,” says David McNerney, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Think Patented. “For example, a reticulating varnish can make a piece appear high tech or high end. A soft-touch coating can give a sense of warmth.”
- Build Relationships.
“Variable campaigns talk to the consumer in a more personal way, offering content that is customized to their needs,” he maintains. “We’re also proponents of augmented reality to tie digital mediums into print and create additional touch points. Their strong analytics capabilities aid in measuring response rates and campaign effectiveness.”
- Be More Than a Vendor.
“Our focus is to provide great communication experiences using all aspects of our technology and in-house talents,” said Scott Gray, Vice President of Branding for MET Fine Printers. “Our bindery experts have pushed boundaries with wood, acrylic and metal works. Our large format teams install event-specific environments. And our new media team creates immersive tours with computer generated images that allow users to virtually explore high-end properties and even change lighting and color schemes, with photo-realistic results.”
- Make it a Partnership.
“When clients, designers and printers collaborate, you can expect great results.”