As a graphic designer, you already offer your clients professional design and print-ready artwork. However, adding a full printing service not only gives you control of how your design looks in print but it adds value to your overall service. Your customers will love that they can trust you to take the hassle out of organising and ordering print. In short, by adding print or print management to your design service you are offering your clients a full one-stop print marketing solution from concept to the delivery of their printed job.

The most important thing about offering a printing service
Your customers need to trust you completely. When it comes to the quality, service, and delivery of the print you supply, the buck stops with you. Customers won’t care that your printer lets you down or that delivery was late through no fault of yours. When you take on a customer’s print, you take full responsibility of every element from the quality of the print, colour and image reproduction to the delivery of the job when and where it’s required.

Choose your supplier carefully
Clearly then, you must only work with a trade printer who can consistently delivery all of these. That means you need a printer who uses the very latest technology, presses, and production systems to ensure the finest quality print, fast turnaround times and compete for reliability every time. If a printer can’t guarantee all of this – avoid them. In a country like Ireland, a single unhappy customer can cause a huge amount of damage to your business.

We launched TradeDigitalPrint.ie in 2013 with the aim of supplying high-quality print and service to trade customers throughout Ireland. We print only on top of the range HP Indigo presses and Roland large-format presses. We strive to continually build on our already impressive reputation for quality print, exceptional customer service, and reliability.

Our trade customers enjoy excellent trade prices, exclusive offers, rewards, and benefits
We guarantee our print quality our delivery times. Trade customers can get an instant quote, upload artwork, order and arrange delivery online. Our easy to use website was designed specifically to serve industry professionals like designers, advertisers, and marketers. To find out more about the benefits of choosing a multi-award-winning trade printer as your partner in print and to see the full range of products we supply, simply visit www.TradeDigitalPrint.ie or contact our Ireland based customer service team today.

The value of trade printing for graphic designers is a post from the Trade Digital Print Blog.

The marketing industry is like any other. Some customers want the cheapest product available regardless of quality while some will pay more for a quality product and see overall value for money as more important than initial cost. If you’re a designer, marketer or in the business of buying print, you’ll already know the importance of understanding the category into which your customers fit.

Understand your customers
If you’re experienced in advertising, marketing or design you’ll already have decided on the type of customer you want to target. If you’re new to reselling print or simply haven’t thought about targeting, ask yourself what type of customers you want. What are their print needs? How much do they spend annually? Even if you’ve been in business for some time it’s sometimes easy to lose focus on exactly the type of customers you want to serve. It’s worth taking a fresh look at your targeting every few months. Are you still focusing sales in the right areas? Has your ideal customer changed?

Why choose you?
In today’s marketplace, customers have a huge range of choices when they need work printed. So make sure those customers have a good reason to choose you. What extra services can you add to their business? Is there a particular field in which you specialise? Make sure potential customers know right away what makes you different; what makes you better. Of course, the service you offer will depend on your print supplier.

Choose your print partner – Their print is your reputation
The print you supply bears the name of your business, so of course, you need to have complete trust in your printer. Check their product range and delivery options. Are products and turnaround times guaranteed? Check for testimonials or online reviews. Independent websites like Google Reviews and Reviews.co.uk are useful for finding out what customers really think of suppliers. Some printers appear to be based locally but outsource their print to Britain or abroad. Find out if a printer is really based in Ireland. Can you contact them directly about your job? When your reputation is on the line you need complete trust in your print partner. You need to know that your printer knows your job and understands your specific needs.

When suppliers become partners…
When you work with a printer you can trust to deliver the quality, service, and type of print your customers require you can build very effective and beneficial partnerships. Customer rewards, loyalty bonuses and offers can further reduce what should already be good prices for trade. And you’ll build personal relationships that will greatly benefit both parties.

We launched TradeDigitalPrint.ie with the aim of supplying high-quality print and service to trade customers throughout Ireland. We print only on top of the range HP Indigo presses and Roland large-format presses. We strive to continually build on our already impressive reputation for quality print, exceptional customer service, and reliability. To find out more about the benefits of choosing a mmulti-award-winning trade printer as your partner in print and to see the full range of products we supply, simply visit www.TradeDigitalPrint.ie or contact our Ireland based customer service team today.

Understanding your customers and the print industry is a post from the Trade Digital Print Blog.

Our five-point checklist will help you ensure your creative design prints exactly as expected.

In today’s marketing world many creatives design for both print and online media. Of course, artwork requirements differ for each form of media and even designers who design exclusively for print can accidentally miss something that will have a major effect on how their design will look when printed. It’s easy to overlook smaller, functional points when you’ve been concentrating on the design or layout and creative elements. That’s why it’s so important so run a checklist on your artwork prior to uploading it.

Here’s our five-point checklist to help you ensure your printed job perfectly matches your artwork.

1. Check your bleed
Make sure the artwork you supply includes 3mm bleed all around. With leaflet printing as with any print there’s always the possibility of a slight degree of movement on during printing process. Bleed ensures all graphics and images will run off the page where they’re supposed to. When saving artwork it’s easy to forget to add crop marks and bleed so make sure you check as we can’t add it later.

2. Check all colours are CMYK
Make sure that all colours are in CMYK mode throughout your document including in the original files of any placed images or graphics. If they’re saved as RGB your printer will convert these but some colours may look different to how they looked on your screen.

3. Check your image resolution
Any images you use in your leaflet should be 300dpi at the size they’ll appear in print. Often clients will send images from websites for inclusion and designers will use them as placeholders while they find or wait for print quality images. Over time it’s easy to forget this so it’s important to double- check all images before you send to print. A good idea is to mark or name low resolution, temporary images “LOW RES” so that you’re constantly reminded to replace it.

4. Make sure your type is easily read
Type that’s very small or reversed out of a solid colour or background image can be hard to read. It’s always best to print out your leaflet artwork at actual size rather than check type on screen as only then can you really tell if it’s legible.

5. Proof, proof and proof again
We know it sounds obvious but all designers know that after looking at an artwork over long periods it can become so familiar that errors or typos can go unnoticed. Proofread your artwork carefully, word by word. A second pair of eyes is very useful so let someone else check it too. It can’t be changed once the printing process has started.

At TradeDigitalPrint.ie we supply a full range of printed marketing and large format products to trade customers. We launched last year to supply a professional, Ireland based trade printing service and use market leading HP Indigo and high definition presses that supply the best digital and large format print you’ll find online. Our website allows trade customers to get instant prices, upload artwork, order and arrange delivery from a range of options. You can also download editable artwork templates and check out our support pages to find out more about designing specifically for digital print. For more information on our products and our trade leaflet printing service, to register as a trade customer or to order your printed leaflet today visit www.TradeDigitalPrint.ie or contact our specialised trade print team today.

Ready to order your print? is a post from the Trade Digital Print Blog.

Creative sticker campaigns and perfect product labelling

These days sticker printing is used for everything from promotional campaigns, product labelling and branding packaging to updating existing print. Advancements in print technology have greatly improved what can be achieved in sticker printing and that means as designer or print reseller you have more options when supplying stickers for clients. Of course, the creative process begins with good communication between designer and client. It’s not always easy to find out exactly what the customer wants but there are a few things you can do to ensure you can use your creativity to its best effect.

Tie down the target market
Before thinking about design, make sure your client has a clear target market in mind. Age, gender, profession and the lifestyle of your ideal target can be used to create a persona. You’ll find it much easier to design your sticker or label when you have this persona in mind rather than a rough demographic.

Stand out with great colour choices
Modern high definition digital printing techniques produce exceptional colour reproduction. Your images and graphics also reproduce with stunning clarity. That means you have a much greater creative choice when it comes to sticker design. With label design the colour of the product itself will help you choose label colours that will stand out from their surroundings, so make sure your client gives you all the information you need before you choose.

Check out the competition
Who are your client’s competitors and what are they doing? Finding out as much as you can about competitors’ advertising means that yours can stand out by being different. And there’s also nothing wrong with taking or improving the things competitors are doing well.

What’s the point?
What is your client’s goal for the sticker? Is its purpose to grow the brand? Drive traffic online? Is it to tease or tie in with other advertising? Sticker or label space is often limited so make sure the client clearly communicates their goals before you begin the creative process.

Thought of upselling?
Ask your client if they brand their packaging and envelopes. Creative sticker printing is a perfect way to grow the brand and build customer loyalty even before a package or envelope is opened. Many businesses give away free stickers with goods or services. Don’t be afraid to suggest ways to help your client’s business – they’ll appreciate it.

TradeDigitalPrint.ie offer our trade customers a full sticker and label printing service. All of our stickers are printed on our cutting edge Series 3 HP Indigo digital presses. These market leading machines produce exception print with superb colour and image reproduction. Our trade customers enjoy fast turnaround times along with excellent trade prices, exclusive offers and trade benefits. Register today to get 50% off your first order and free delivery by visiting www.TradeDigitalPrint.ie.

How working with close clients ensures successful sticker design is a post from the Trade Digital Print Blog.

Different medium – different rules Roll up banner stands are as important as any part of the marketing mix, but their design rules differ slightly due to how and where the stands are used. Roll up banner stands need to grab attention and get their message across in seconds. To make sure your roll up banner stand is really effective we’ve published a few tips you can use as a guide. Put your logo at the top  

The eye will go to the top first, so put your logo there for all to see. Make sure it’s a vector file or high res image.

Put your main message under your logo – and keep it short  

People read from the top down, left to right. Get the attention quickly but don’t try to sell all of your services or products on your roller banner stand. Your message should be short and easily read in seconds.

Big is beautiful  

Use big lettering in a clear, easy to read font. Your type and your graphics or images must have immediate impact. Remember that your stand must be seen from distance and may be competing with other stands or media.

Be brand consistent  

The design of your roller banner stand should be consistent with all of your marketing, from the fonts to the colours and graphics used.

Think about the location when designing your roller banner stand

If your banner stand is to be used in multiple locations, remember to keep the headline generic and relevant anywhere. If part of the stand may be obscured by a table or counter at a future event, make sure the design and text are high enough to be seen.

Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum – stands for all purposes

At TradeDigitalPrint.co.uk we supply a full range of roller banner stands from our entry level Bronze stand – great for single and short term use, to our top of the range Platinum stand that will last a lifetime. The only difference in our stands is the weight and strength of the frames. The graphics are all printed on the same material using our high resolution large format presses that produce superb colour and image reproduction.

Whatever your budget, we’re sure you’ll find something in our range of roll up banner stands to suit. Our trade customers enjoy special benefits, exclusive trade offers and deals as well as immediate rewards. Once you register you’ll get 50% off your first order and free delivery. We’ve over 20 years’ experience in trade print and we’re proud of our reputation for exceptional quality, service and reliability. To find out more about the advantages of becoming a trade customer, to see our full product range or to order your print online, visit www.TradeDigitalPrint.co.uk or contact our expert trade print team today.

Top tips for designing an effective roll up banner stand is a post from the Trade Digital Print Blog.

Printed stickers can be a really creative way to promote brands, events or businesses. They’ve become popular marketing tools as part of advertising strategies and as stand-alone marketing campaigns. If your client is embarking on a promotion, they might be very receptive to the originality and flexibility offered by printed stickers.

Printed stickers – perfect targeting tools

A huge advantage printed stickers enjoy over other forms of advertising is that the campaign can be located anywhere and is completely adaptable. For example, this month alone Dublin hosts the Women’s Rugby World Cup, Comic Con and the Dublin Horse Show among other events. Throughout the summer there are festivals and shows all over Ireland from Cork to Cavan; Donegal to Dingle. Advertisers know the sort of audiences who’ll be visiting these events so campaigns can be created to appeal to those specific demographics and located where they’ll be seen by the large numbers attending. Printed stickers are really cost effective even for small quantities so you can customise their design for different events.

Push the boundaries of your creativity

Stickers can go anywhere and sizes range from 25mm diameter right up to A3. Rather than rely on using areas where you might expect to find stickers and posters, many advertisers are looking at places where the design and location of the sticker will be a surprise and so stand out even more. A sticker on a shop wall might be designed to look like a hole in the wall showing something inside. A window sticker might look like a crack in the glass. Of course, the quality of the print is vital to carry this off effectively. Our trade customers know we only use HP Indigo digital presses that produce the best colour and picture quality on the market. That means your stickers will look sharp and your images realistic and sharp, giving your creativity even more scope.

Perfect print partners

We’d love to work with you to produce superb stickers for your clients. We’ve built a reputation for exceptional print, reliability and excellent customer service. We’re delighted that so many of our trade customers post reviews of their experiences and we’d love to help you deliver perfect print.

If you’re not already registered as a trade customer with TradeDigitalPrint.ie, sign up today to get 50% off your first order and free delivery. You can price your job online and save your quote so you can compare our prices before you order. And if you find a better like for like quote elsewhere, we’ll endeavor to match or even beat it. When you’re ready to go ahead, just upload your artwork, order your job and arrange delivery online. Trade customers enjoy exclusive deals, monthly offers, benefits and of course special trade discounts. To register or find our more, simply visit www.TradeDigitalPrint.ie or contact our expert print team.

Watch sales soar with printed sticker advertising is a post from the Trade Digital Print Blog.

As a designer, you’ll know just how much competition there is for design and marketing services. It’s not often easy to convince clients how much their sales could increase from using a professional designer. Many designers use custom printed leaflets to promote their services but also realise that every job they do for any client is an opportunity to showcase their creativity and advertise their design skills. Of course, there’s plenty of competition when it comes to printed marketing. Fortunately, there’s also plenty of research that that helps us determine what works when it comes to design that both looks great and does its job. Based on that research we’ve published a few pointers to help you:

1. The two-second rule
Two seconds. That’s how long a leaflet or marketing item has to make a positive first impression. That means your printed leaflet can fail in those first two seconds. Fortunately, it can also succeed where competitors fail, giving your leaflet and its message a serious advantage. That’s why the front cover of any folded leaflet is by far its most important element. Great image; attention-grabbing headline; striking graphics – one or all of these will appear on the cover of a successful leaflet.

2. Match your professional design with professional, high-quality print
Even the best design will fail to make a good impression if printed poorly on cheap or low-grade paper. Research shows that customers will often dispose of a cheap looking leaflet without reading it, assuming that the product or company it represents is equally cheap. Make sure you only work with a printer who offers a range of quality papers, weights, and finishes. Good printers will happily send sample books. Ask to see examples of previous print so you can be sure that your creativity is not compromised by cheap looking print. Quality leaflet printing is a worthwhile investment that will pay for itself many times over.

3. Stretch your design skills
High-quality print allows you to stretch images and large text across the folds. The print won’t suffer damage through folding and opening, so you can design the inside of your folded leaflet to work when flat. That gives you more scope to make an impact with large, seductive images and more choice in your typography.

4. Simple = successful
Successful leaflets will typically have a simple, direct message. However, it’s not often easy to convince clients that a folded leaflet isn’t the place to list and explain all their products or tell the story of their business. Having to include too much information will choke your creativity and limit what you can do with your design. Show examples of great design and successful campaigns to help clients understand that the great strength of a folded leaflet is in growing brand awareness and standing out with a clear, simple message. They can always include online addresses or contact details where potential customers can get more information.

TradeDigitalPrint.ie offers our customers a full trade printing service including folded leaflet printing and a full range of other printed marketing products, all printed using our market leading HP Indigo Digital presses. Trade customers enjoy exclusive deals, special offers, trade only prices, benefits and rewards. It’s easy to register and when you do you’ll get 50% off and free delivery your on first order. We’re fiercely proud of our reputation for excellent quality, reliability, and exceptional, trustworthy service. To register as a trade customer or to see our full product range, get instant quotes or to become a trade customer, simply visit www.TradeDigitalPrint.ie

How best to utilise folded leaflets to advertise your design skills is a post from the Trade Digital Print Blog.

If you have an upcoming trade show and want to make the best possible impression, there are certain things you can do to help yourself along. A trade show is a great way to showcase and demonstrate your products or services to company representatives. Running a trade exhibition can be a great way to gain new leads, but it can also leave you feeling exhausted. It’s a lot of work, which is why it’s important to know how you can make the most out of your time. Here are some helpful ways you can make your time at a trade show more productive and profitable:

1. Roll Up Stands
When you’re at a trade show booth, it’s safe to assume you’re competing with a large number of businesses and each one is fighting for attention. Make sure you stand out from the crowd with some cheap roll up stands. They are very easy to put up and extremely lightweight, which is perfect for transportation and adjusting their positioning with minimal effort. Our roll up banner stands includes a padded carry bag, which adds to the ease of transportation. With high-quality printed graphics and eye-catching colour, it won’t be long before you’ve got a swarm of interested people at your exhibit.
2. Keep it Simple
One of the biggest mistakes is to overkill on the furniture and décor. Yes, you want to attract as many people as possible to your booth, but you also need to leave enough room for them. If you have too much going on, it’ll put people off. To avoid this, it’s a good idea to keep things simple and plan your booth before arrival.
3. Choose the best location
When you arrive at the trade show late, there’s a good chance that all of the best spots are taken. Arrive early and pick the best possible position that’ll ensure you’ll reach the most people. Think about where people tend to linger at this type of event. Near the refreshments, outside conference rooms and towards the middle are all great choices.
4. Eye-catching Stand Design
Whilst you want to keep things simple in terms of furniture and space, your stand still needs to stand out. The best way to do this is with excellent graphics and to offer them something they can’t find elsewhere. This could be in the form of a demo or talk every so often to showcase your business in the best light possible.
5. Business Cards and Brochures
A trade show is a perfect place to do some networking. It’s worth printing some high-quality and informative brochures, booklets and leaflets etc. and letting people come by to pick some up for themselves. You can also disperse your business card to potential clients to help spread the word about your business. Utilise your time and don’t forget to mingle. This is your chance to represent your company and make first impressions, so make sure it’s a good one.

With the right planning and professionally printed marketing, trade exhibitions can be goldmines for any business. TradeDigitalPrint.ie supply an extensive range of printed marketing and large format products. We use only top of the range HP Indigo presses to produce the exceptional print quality and our high definition large format printers are at the leading edge of their field. Trade customers enjoy exclusive offers, trade only deals, low print prices and trade benefits. To register and get 50% off your first order as well as free delivery, visit www.TradeDigitalPrint.ie or contact our trade print team today.

5 ways to get the most out of a trade show booth is a post from the Trade Digital Print Blog.

When discussing document binding with your clients, it’s important to understand that different binding methods are suited for certain documents. For example, a small document such as a simple brochure or booklet is easier to bind than a thick document. If your clients are unsure of what type of binding is right for them, it’s a good idea to point them in the right direction according to their specific needs and preferences. Below, we have gathered some of our top tips for choosing the right binding option for certain documents and how you can discuss these options with your clients:

Understand that one size doesn’t fit all

There are so many different types of binding methods that your clients can use for their documents. It’s important, though, that they understand that one type of binding may not be the best solution for all their binding needs. For example, if your client is looking to print and bind their catalogue or an illustrated book, they may prefer to use a hardback binding or paperback binding depending on personal preference and cost etc.

Choose Wire binding for an elegant option

Some of your clients may prefer a wire binding for their document, which is great for a simple but elegant look. When choosing this type of binding, you need to use a 12mm border on the edge of the pages that will be bound. This is to avoid losing important content during the design and printing process and ensures no text or graphics are missing. Wire spines come in different sizes and thickness, allowing you to bind up to 300 pages.

Emphasis the versatility and quality of a Perfect Bound

This is one of the most popular binding methods and for a very good reason. They’re perfect for a beautiful, premium finish to your client’s documents and are incredibly versatile. Perfect binding can be used for the company magazine, catalogue or a simple brochure. With a perfect bound, your client can add a matte, gloss or soft touch laminated cover for an even greater impact. This form of binding is often used for books and involves the use of a very strong thermal adhesive for a secure and lasting bond.

Help them save money with Saddle Stitch binding

For a simple binding method, you may want to advise your client to choose a simple saddle stitch. This is the easiest form of binding in which the pages are folded, creased and stabled professionally. If your client wants to save money on their binding, this is the one for them. It’s perfect for binding booklets, magazines, manuals, catalogues and brochures etc.

Top tips for discussing document binding options with your clients is a post from the Trade Digital Print Blog.

1. Really know their objectives
Often clients might decide or agree they need a brochure but not really know exactly what for. Is it a price list? A catalogue? A company brochure might be used to introduce a new business or a new brand. It might list products and services. Will the booklet itself sell products or is the objective to drive traffic online? Nailing down the objective saves time and stress.

2. Really know their target audience
There’s nothing worse than designing a quirky, fun brochure only to find out after the first draft that your client wants a straight, corporate feel. Find out from the outset who the booklet will target.

3. Hit them with a big impact cover
Your cover will sell your booklet. Many of our customers tell us that if their client doesn’t like the first cover they see they’ll be harder to please throughout the process. At the initial brief, find out what sort of things they like visually and you’ll be at an immediate advantage. Remember that saddle stitched binding allows your design to go right across any spread including the front and back cover so you can really get a big impact with your design.

4. Advise on paper
Many clients don’t even think about paper choices. Advise on paper and involve your client from the outset. With saddle stitched binding you have the choice of all the papers we supply including our beautiful luxury paper range. Show samples and show them you’re really thinking about their job.

5. Give more than one initial option
More than one design option or style at the first stage can save a lot of time later. When the client likes a rough design you know you’re on the right track to take it to the next level.

6. Explain the importance of high res images
Many clients think that you can drag any image off their website and use it in print. Often they’ll tell you, “That’s all we have. It looks fine to me”. Don’t agree to using poor images. The decision will almost certainly come back to haunt you when your client sees the poor quality image on their new booklet. If necessary, print out the image as large as possible to show how poor it will look in print. Clients will appreciate good advice and it’s part of your professional service.

Perfect print and service – guaranteed
Once your design’s approved, upload it to our website at TradeDigitlPrint.ie and relax in the knowledge that your print will be of the finest quality. We use only HP Indigo presses to supply rich, vibrant colours and perfect image reproduction. We’re extremely proud of our reputation as Ireland’s most trustworthy suppliers of perfect print and superb service.

Our website allows you to get instant quotes, upload your artwork, order your job and arrange delivery online. As a new trade customer you’ll get 50% off your first order and free delivery. If you’re already registered you’ll know all about the benefits, special deals, exclusive offers, trade discounts and rewards enjoyed by our trade customers. We’ve over 20 years’ experience in printing high quality booklets along with a wide range of printed marketing. To find out more or to price and order your saddle stitched booklet, simply visit www.TradeDigitalPrint.ie or contact our team of expert printers today.

Six steps to improving your saddle stitched booklets is a post from the Trade Digital Print Blog.