Direct mail remains one of the most effective marketing methods. A recent study revealed*:

• 72% of adults said they have replied to direct mail pieces that contained a “buy one, get one free” offer.
• 63% of people have responded to direct mail that offered a percentage discount on a purchase.
• 85% of women age 25-44 read direct mail.

For new ideas involving marketing initiatives contact Allegra Hamilton at 905-528-2999.

* Source: Vertis Communications

• 93 percent of respondents believe companies have a responsibility to help preserve the environment.*
• 91 percent say they have a more positive image of a company when it is environmentally responsible.*
• 77 percent of working women said that environmental friendliness is either a major or moderate influence on their purchase decisions.**

*Cone Consumer Environmental Survey

**Center for Women’s Business Research

Today’s conscientious printer quickly dispels any myths about print communication’s role in environmental misuse. Many “green” practices can be incorporated into everyone’s daily work routines, whatever the industry.

Here are a few ideas for around your office:

1. RECYCLE

• Identify all of the material that is potentially recyclable. Then, target the highest volume of materials that would be the easiest to separate.



• Create incentives for employees. Having an active role in a recycling program that grows, reaches goals and creates benefits will motivate employees to participate.

2. REDUCE

• Use local suppliers and carpool to limit vehicle emissions.
• Rely on technology for information storage.
• Use recycled or reusable materials when possible (coffee mug vs. Styrofoam cup).

3. ENERGY EFFICIENCIES

• Turn all switches to “off” when not in use and set temperatures back.
• Pay special attention to conference rooms, basements, restrooms, walk-in coolers and storage areas.
• Replace incandescent bulbs with compact florescent bulbs.

For your printing, publishing and marketing needs in Hamilton area contact a printer that is conscious of environmental challenges facing today’s businesses. Contact Allegra Hamilton. We will lhelp you put your “green thumbprint” on the environment.

Every second counts, they say. Thankfully in most business environments, evaluating success or failure by a single moment is the exception and not the rule. When it comes to your print communications, there are ways for you to save time without cutting corners.

A SINGLE SOURCE

Missed deadlines. No accountability. Details overlooked. All tend to go hand in hand with projects that are divvied up to multiple vendors.

In addition to cost savings, using a single source for designing, printing and mailing also saves time. With one point of contact, project management becomes a whole lot more manageable. The process becomes seamless, you know who’s responsible and who’s going to deliver.

Look to us to handle your jobs from start to finish. And put your time to better use.

THE NEED FOR SPEED

For all businesses, time is money. Technological advancements have made it easier, faster and cheaper to get your hands on a high-quality printed product. The source: digital printing. In contrast to traditional offset printing which uses a press to lay ink on paper, digital printing is like an extremely high-quality color copier.

Digital goes directly from the computer to the printer and takes just minutes. Because it does not require film, plates and other pre-press preparations of offset printing, the time and cost savings is significant.

DESIGNED TO SAVE

When you are designing your materials on computer disk and/or providing a digital file, we’ll output a sample to verify the accuracy of the layout and any color separations.

Also, make it a time- and money-saving habit to complete your revisions before you turn over your layout or digital files.

Finding the right mix of reach and frequency for your marketing messages is a moving target – especially when you are trying to do more with less. Direct mail continues to rank among the best means for communicating with your customers and prospects in a highly targeted and personal way.

Keeping costs in line with your budget is easier than you think. It’s best when your print
communications provider can be involved in the up-front planning, including the graphic
design.

Here are a few simple guidelines that will help you to keep your printing costs in check:

• Stick with standard finished sizes to reduce paper waste and minimize your costs.
• Be careful when using bleeds, that is, color or images that run to the edges of the paper.



• Sometimes they require larger sheets that need to be trimmed, meaning higher costs and longer production time.
• Use color to print a large quantity of “shells.” Then, customize the text as your projects come up throughout the year with one color of ink.
• Similarly, spread the cost of color between several jobs. For example, design a series of brochures that share the same colors, and print them at the same time. It can be cheaper than paying separate set-up charges for each.
• Before placing a special order, ask if there is a paper stock in inventory that might be right for your project.

For more cost-saving tips on printing and copying, see the pros at Allegra Hamilton today.

If your New Year’s resolution is already a fading memory, don’t despair. You’re in good company. People who like to track this type of thing have concluded that about 35% of us kick our good intentions to the curb by the first of March. On the bright side, every day presents a new opportunity to get back on track. In business, being able to shift gears quickly and navigate new terrain is a sure path to success.

Keeping a keen focus on the big picture can quickly be derailed by the simplest tasks. When meeting or event preparation includes document duplication, it can eat up your time in no time at all. This holds true for the day-to-day doings of any office, too. How much time do you or your staff members spend standing in front of the office copier?

Just because you can do it “in house,” does that make the most sense? It’s true; not every printed project requires all the bells and whistles. But, every time you put together a package of information that lands in someone else’s hands, it deserves the kind of attention to detail that shows you take your professionalism seriously – from top to bottom. Is your company logo on the piece? Then it represents not only your department but your brand, too.

Whether you are printing everyday business forms or copying single-use presentation materials, today’s high-speed, high-volume printing and copying solutions take the pain out of duplication without sacrificing quality.

GO DIGITAL

Today’s digital printing technologies give you great flexibility with speed, personalization and quality. Electronic files go directly to print, eliminating the prep work that’s required with traditional offset printing. That means high-quality results without added costs.

Printing your collateral materials “on demand” allows you to tailor the content to make it relevant to your audience by creating multiple versions. Without the prep work, you can do 50 or 500 and the cost per piece is the same. If your business requires you to make frequent updates to sales sheets or flyers, digital printing will be a welcome partner. You’ll store far fewer, and obsolescence due to outdated facts and figures will become a thing of the past.

ORIENTATION AND TRAINING

And, don’t overlook your internal audiences. To succeed in today’s competitive marketplace, you need a well-trained, well informed staff. Orientation information for new employees and training materials for all staff members should be clearly written and presented in a convenient, easily accessible printed format. Professional-quality manuals, handouts, brochures and a variety of finishing services make the right impression when you want to hire and retain the best for your staff.

Your print communications provider can help you to determine the best solution to meet your project needs. By adding tabs, covers and the right binding, you’ll take your printed materials from just so-so to super.

For expert consultation and superior results in printing, call or visit your Allegra Print & Imaging Hamilton professionals today.

Whether you are producing a company or customer newsletter, direct mailers, even event signage, you will instantly increase attention and retention when you use colour.
Research shows that colour:

• Increases brand recognition by up to 80%
• Improves readership as much as 40%
• Increases comprehension by 73%

When possible, using four-colour makes the most dramatic impact. However, the infusion of a second or third colour takes black and white text and images up a notch, too. Fortunately, a range of cost-effective solutions exists to add “punch” to your printed materials.

Designers often manipulate colour to create interest and variety from a single image. Following are a few terms to help you know your colour options.

• Spot colour – Adding one or more single flat colours to a printed piece. You can
  also create monochromatic (single colour) photos.
• Halftone – A pattern of dots of different sizes used to simulate a continuous-tone
  photograph, either in colour or black and white.
• Duotone – Created by printing a photographic image in two colours. They often possess greater depth and warmth than photos printed in one colour. Most are printed using a hue naturally dark in colour, like black or blue, and a naturally light hue, such as gray or yellow.
• Tritone – A halftone using three colours to produce more contrast and detail than
  a duotone.
• Mezzotint – Computer-generated reproduction of an engraver’s method which creates various textures and patterns to create artistic effects.
• Posterized – The colour palette of an image is manipulated and recreated using only flat colours.
• Traps – Trapping is a term that describes the method used to make two colours fit
  together perfectly without any white gaps between them.
• Screens – Varying the screen percentage can give you the illusion of printing with
  multiple colours. For example, a 50 percent screen of a solid red creates the illusion of pink.

See the pros at Allegra Print & Imaging in Hamilton for creative ideas on adding colour to your next print projects: from business cards, flyers, posters, banners, to trade show displays.

When used intentionally and thoughtfully, colour can go a long way in defining your print communications, and subsequently, your business or organization.

When it comes to influencing buying decisions, appealing to your customers’ emotions rather than their logic does yield the best results. All of our senses are heightened when a purchase is on the line. When you’re using print communications to motivate, sight moves to the forefront. Connecting to your customers’ sense of sight can be greatly enhanced by adding colour.

According to a recent study, people make up their minds within 90 seconds of their initial interactions with either people or products. About 62 to 90 percent of product assessment is based on colour alone.

To find out more about how using colour can benefit your business, contact Allegra Print & Imaging at 905 528-2999. We’re serving Hamilton, Burlington, Ancaster, Dundas, Flamborough, Waterdown and Stoney Creek areas.

With all of the available options – print and electronic – direct mail remains the #1 choice in top direct marketers’ bag of tricks. For both B2B and B2C communications, direct mail carries many advantages unmatched by other forms of direct advertising.

Direct mail continues to provide measurable results and noteworthy ROI, thanks to its flexibility in format and ability to deliver targeted, personal and lasting messages. To be successful, apply the following principles of direct response communications:

• Target your audience
• Craft a worthy offer
• Include a call to action
• Provide a response vehicle

YOUR LIST

Your list can make or break your direct mail campaign. If you are not talking to the right person, the message you deliver – no matter how specific – will be meaningless. One of your most valuable business assets is your “house” list. Why? Customers cost less. It costs eight times more to obtain a new customer than retain an established one. Your house list is five to 10 times more likely to respond to your campaign than any other list. And, it’s free. You own the data, so you can use it as you like without incurring additional costs.

YOUR OFFER

Once you have your targeted list, choosing the right offer to appeal to your audience may take some time and testing. One of the top 10 mistakes with direct mail is not making a specific offer or request – and expecting the recipients to determine what they’re supposed to do.

YOUR CREATIVE

After settling on the offer, it’s time to choose a format. Which is best? It will depend upon your campaign objective. The primary formats include: postcard, self-mailer, letter, package with multiple elements, and dimensional enclosure.

Your brand, image, message and of course, budget, will help bring focus to the creative development of your direct mail, both in look and copy. With all of the pieces in place, your direct mail campaigns will deliver results.

For direct response planning, printing and mailing, see your Allegra Print & Imaging Hamilton professionals today.