When it comes to printed promotional products, branding and design are key. But if a company doesn’t have the resources to produce its own creative work or is unfamiliar with printing methods, it may struggle to execute a successful campaign. This is where print as a service comes into play. By offering to handle the creation of a client’s printed marketing materials, a promotional product agency can streamline its projects and ensure that logos, color schemes and themes are consistent across different pieces.
Printing methods are often a mystery to clients, with terms like card stock, coating, bleed, gutter or spread making them sound intimidating. Having an understanding of the printing process can help you better explain these concepts to your clients, so that they are able to make the best decisions for their campaigns.
In addition, knowing which printing techniques are best suited to which items can save you money and time. For example, if you have a large number of pens to print with a design that includes multiple colors and fine details, screen printing would be the way to go. But if you have only water bottles to print with a simple logo or text, digital printing may be the most economical option.
Similarly, if you’re creating artwork for a one- or two-color logo or piece of art, it will be more cost effective to use CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) colors rather than RGB (red, green, blue) ones. This is because CMYK printing uses four processes to create colors, while RGB only produces three.
It’s also important to keep in mind that white counts as a color, even though it doesn’t show up on the final product. This means that any white outlines or background areas must be removed from the artwork before uploading to a printing company.
In the same vein, it is also essential to understand dpi (dots per inch) and resolution when scanning images for print. If an image is scanned at a low dpi, it will appear grainy or blurry when printed. This is why it’s generally a good idea to take high-resolution photos instead of copying them from the internet.
Another technique that’s commonly used in the promotional products industry is embroidery, which is an art form that can be applied to a wide range of items. It’s especially popular for clothing and accessories, such as caps and bags, because it allows a high level of detail and eye-catching colors.
As a bonus, offering to handle your client’s printing services can help you close more sales. When people are buying a gift for someone else, they are often looking to minimize the number of touch points in the process, so having an agency that can also handle production and decoration is a big selling point. By taking the initiative to learn about the printing industry and offering to handle the creation of your client’s printed marketing materials, you can set yourself up for success and help them deliver a more comprehensive and cohesive project.
