The world of print can be a confusing place
The world of print can be a confusing place, even for those of us who have worked in the industry. Perhaps it’s for this reason that marketeers can be put off choosing print as their weapon of choice, especially for smaller campaigns, and who can blame them? After wading through jargon filled print specs, littered with restrictions, additional charges and lengthy lead-times, surely it’s so much easier to stick to online marketing?
Well, no. It doesn’t have to be.
Print is powerful, and luckily for us digital printing gives us the versatility and creativity we need to deliver a personal, tailored message without a huge headache. Unlike more traditional print methods such as litho, digital printing is agile - let us explain:
1) No set-up fees
Being stung with huge set-up fees is not something you want if you’re producing a short print run. It can take all the value out of a project. The great news with digital printing is that a one-off fine art print is just as cost effective to produce as, say, a box of two hundred event programmes.
2) Flexible design
Targeted messaging - one of the champions born of the digital age; the ability to have your marketing campaign speak personally to the user. This needn’t be ignored when it comes to print. Digital print enables us to implement one, two, ten different designs within one print run if we need to. This means we can create bespoke messages to suit our audiences and we have the ability to personalise without paying through the nose.
3) Fast turnaround
Sometimes most crucial in today’s world - digital print is fast. Generally speaking, the longest part of creating a digital print campaign is the designing. Production can be turned around same-day, and with the right team behind the wheel an idea can become reality within a few days.
About what about the environment!? We hear you cry. And rightly so.
Finding a print partner who can create an impact with your design without creating an impact on our planet can be tough, but with modern printing presses being what they are there is no excuse. Challenge your suppliers - ask about recycled paper stocks, about FSC Accreditations, about green processes. Your printer should have an environmental policy - and they shouldn’t mind sharing it with you.
Print as a medium can be so dynamic - it’s tactile, it’s beautiful.
We can engage with it in a totally unique way, compared with something we see on-screen. Consumers are more engaged when reading printed material; studies have shown that people read digital text 20% - 30% slower than print. That’s not to devalue the place of digital media in marketing, and the incredible reach we can achieve online - but digital print gives us the power to regain a sense of closeness with our audience, a closeness that’s been lost in the gap between long-run print campaigns and personalised online media platforms.
We all know the special joy that can be found in the opening of an invitation received in the post, or in the reading of your favourite brand’s latest catalogue - pages glittering with new products. For businesses it can mean the difference between staying current in a potential client’s mind or being forgotten about in a junk email folder - and, let’s face it, nobody wants to end up there.
If, like us, you still believe in the true power of print, then we’d love to hear from you and discuss your project. We offer a wide range options to ensure you get the very best quality print for your timeframe and budget. Feel free call on 01273 702525 or email us directly at info@nexudp.co.uk
Image Source: Underconsideration.com
