The value of the 5th color

When you see a color brochure, pocket folder or newsletter, you may not realize all that is involved with printing these pieces in such vivid and accurate detail. Perhaps your company has a very specific blue or green that you use in your logo, online and throughout your print. In the printing industry, we use a color matching system called Pantone Matching System, or PMS. This allows us to specify spot colors by a number or name, ensuring that they are matched pretty precisely with our ink.

When this gets tricky is when we’re printing a four-color piece, which uses “process colors” or colors that utilize a ratio of each element in CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) to produce all the colors used in the design. In cases where matching a certain PMS color is critical and we are printing out of four-color process, we would suggest adding a fifth color from PMS. Then your piece prints in C, M, Y, K and that specified PMS color.

To give you an example, we print a five-color newsletter for one of our clients whose company’s blue is PMS 300. It’s important within their branding standards that PMS 300 blue be properly represented in all printed pieces, so we not only print this newsletter in four color process, but we also add in PMS 300 as a fifth color to ensure that the areas printing their blue match precisely.

Have more questions about when to add a fifth color? Contact your sales rep or CSR today to ask for more information. As always, we’re here to guide you through the process!

Don’t be laid out by your files | File Preparation

Are you stuck in your page layout program? Does it feel like a foreign adventure for you to layout your book or your business card? Do you fear that you have made a mess you can’t recover from? Call us - we can help! We are familiar with almost all design-related software and can assist in most circumstances to get your file ready for print, or take what you’ve started and turn it into the masterpiece you were striving for.

We recently had a client working in PageMaker who had never used that program before. She was worried that she messed up her page layout to the point of no return. Upon meeting with her, we were able to put her at ease and offer some coaching. Sometimes an experienced eye is all it takes when a computer program is making you feel like you are on another planet. Use us as a resource to help you in preparing/building your next file for print!

Beyond assisting with troublesome files, we also offer a full array of design services to take your project from a simple idea to a creatively designed piece. Ask your sales rep or CSR for more information today!

Take it to the table

A tabletop display is a great way to make a statement at eye-level when you’re at a trade show, conference, event or need to share information from the front desk. Perhaps you’ve taken a look at your tabletop display recently and decided it needs a fresh look or isn’t quite right for the space you have available. We have several creative and functional options to consider and whichever you might choose, we can print the art for your display in vivid color, including metallic inks!

• Attachable Easel Backs
• Cardboard Easel Back - the most cost effective, but meant more for temporary display. Bonus - it collapses flat for shipping.
• Plastic Easel Back - still cost effective, but better durability for the tabletop displays you are going to use again and again. Bonus - it also collapses flat for shipping.

• Tabletop Pop-Up Banners
• Available in both vertical and horizontal orientation.
• An easy and compact way to transport your message. Something different to draw attention!

• Tripod Easel Rest
• Might be the solution you need if you will be interchanging your signage often. Bonus - the legs collapse for shipping and unit can support up to 5 lbs.

• Bamboo Stand
• An easy, creative solution to a quick display. We print the banner for you, add grommets and roll it up for transport. The stand can be assembled quickly and the sign attached through the grommet holes.

• Spider-Spreader Stand
• Similar to the Bamboo Stand, but a varies slightly in that the legs spread and lock into position and it has more of a wire look to it that can be more subtle.

• Acrylic Sign holder
• Great for when you want a flyer or a poster to stand on its own and be protected from the elements. Ideal for restaurants or offices where people might touch the sign a lot and where the sign will be interchanged frequently

Still looking for something different? Let us research other options for you. Discovering new and creative ways for our clients to display their signage is just one of our specialties.

Taking Advantage of Every Door Direct Mail

Looking for a way to increase the likelihood of your mailer being opened and read? Add a promotional item! Attach a magnet to an Every Door Direct Mailer and people could be looking at your logo every time they open their refrigerator! Insert a calendar, pen or a flash drive for an additional reminder about your company.

For ease, we can design and print your piece, and provide your imprinted promotional items. Then, by using the Every Door Direct Mail program, your marketing piece can be sent for as little as 14.5 cents each.

Below is some general information about the Every Door Direct Mail program:

• You can reach your customers by neighborhood, city or zip code without specifying addresses.
• Your printed piece is simply delivered with the day’s mail to the area you select.

Size the piece how it best works for your product or service.

• Flexible range of sizes offered.

• Every Door Direct Mail is a simple/cost effective option to send less than 5,000 pieces without a permit for postage.

Your messages will work harder since you are selecting your audience. What a great, cost effective way to promote your product or service! Don’t forget that postage rates changed in January -- ask us for the scoop.

Did someone say yes to the question? Let us help you with your special wedding day invitations.

Always remember - pick your envelope out first - then decide on the size of your design. 
The last thing you want is printed invitations with no envelope to fit them! We learned early on to lead people towards envelopes first, so there is not a panic six weeks before their big day that invitations may not mail on time.

LCI Paper has a great website for double envelopes.  We love this website because they will let you order samples, which allows you to see the color before ordering. This will also allow your graphic designer to color match and to test to make sure all the pieces fit in your envelope before you print them.

Save yourself from unnecessary stress when planning for your big day or helping to plan someone else’s! If you know of any other great wedding envelope resources, share them here. We would love to hear from you!

New Marketing

Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two—and only two—basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. - Peter Drucker

The first thing that companies generally cut from their budgets when times are tough is marketing. What do you need most when times are tough? Marketing. Evolution and KPB are here to help!

We have recently found that a fair number of our customers do not know the scope of what we do. We are constantly changing and improving, but some of our oldest and best customers only think of us for certain items. As we grow and change, we need to make sure that we are continuing to educate our customers at the same time. The same is most likely true for your business if you are multifaceted.

With the new year just around the corner it is a great time to impress your customers and to let them know your business is truly great. Update your marketing materials, tighten up your message and provide great customer service. This will help you stand apart from your competition. In addition, it can be a great way to re-introduce yourself to existing customers.

Evolution and KPB offer so many things that can help you with ongoing marketing and grow your sales. Between the two companies, we can do everything from updating your design, to printing new marketing collateral, to providing premiums. If you think doing these things is too expensive, check in with us. We can help you come up with a customized plan regardless of your budget!

Don’t leave your business to chance, have a marketing plan and materials that are as savvy as you! Reach out to Evolution and KPB today, we can help you get a jump on 2013.

Tired of always making new holes in the walls?

Tired of always making new holes in the walls? Try repositionable vinyl for your next poster projects instead of the traditional framed look.

This product works great on glass and is a fantastic fit if you have limited walking space through a hallway. It is low profile, so it takes up very little space.  Repositionable vinyl is also a cost effective alternative if you have to hang something for a limited time. Perfect to use for signage for an upcoming event or for a limited announcement.

There’s a variety of vinyl’s available to fit all your needs. We carry white and clear - permanent adhesive and removable. The permanent adhesive is ideal for applying to beverage bottles, salsa bottles, vinyl binders or even covering up that pesky little typo on your large vinyl banner that you don’t want to reprint. We’ve even had clients adhere them to boxes that will be shipped and large machinery. The removeable is more ideal for window displays and temporary applications or adhering to something you may want to peel off later.

Add repositionable vinyl into your marketing repertoire. It is a fantastic complement to all of your other print collateral. Call your Sales Representative or CSR today to see how this product may work for your next poster job!!

Binding Your Book

Have a book project? Wondering how it should be bound? Here are your options...

• Saddle Stitching - With this option, the book is folded in half and stapled along the spine. Just remember, if you choose this style, the total number of pages in your book needs to be divisible by four. Think magazine!
• Perfect Binding - The inside pages of the book are printed and glued together. The cover is designed to include the spine, which then wraps around the insides of the book. A good example of perfect binding is a softcover novel.
• Tape Binding - With this book, a thermal tape that holds the book together is heated and glued to the spine of the book. It has a perfect bound appearance, only it includes a textured piece along the spine. The tape used along the spine comes in a variety of color options. This is a cost-effective method, but you may find that for heavily-used books, the tape wears out over time.
• Comb Binding - This book has wide holes punched on the bound edge and a wide-toothed plastic “comb” placed through the holes. This is an older method now becoming outdated as companies that used to own equipment for the technique found that, with use, pages snagged on the combs. Training manuals are often bound this way.
• Plastic Coil Binding - Small holes are punched on the bound edge of the book and a spiral plastic coil is then fed through the holes. The plastic coiling used comes in a variety of color options. Recipe books are a good example as spiral binding allows books to lay open easily. This method is the fastest-growing as it replaces comb binding.
• Wire Binding - Holes are punched along the bound edge of the book and a wire coil is fed into them. Although more expensive than coil, it adds a bit of class to your book and is not easily removed. From the old school days, this was how a teacher's grade book was bound.

Contact your sales rep or your customer solutions representative today to discuss the different binding options and what will work best for your project. Whether it be budget, time, or design that is dictating the finishing touches of your project, we can help you choose the best option!

Cincinnati State Internship Program

KPB is proudly partnering with Cincinnati State through their Internship Program. Cincinnati State is focused on helping students gain the knowledge they need to be employable and successful in their chosen field.


Here at KPB, we have had the opportunity to work with students pursuing various careers in the Printing and Design fields. We give them irreplaceable hands on experience throughout our operation and share the same interest in their success. The focus of each intern has varied; however, they have been exposed to all areas of the process. By working within the industry while in school, they have been able to practically apply the knowledge that they are gaining during their education.


We at KPB have enjoyed the chance to be their academic/career partners and mentors; giving them a stepping stone into their future. We will continue to work with Cincinnati State to help open the door for new students.

Timeliness vs. Quality

As a printer, if you found a mistake on a piece and knew that fixing it would make the job late, what would you do? Even though it can be an uncomfortable conversation, these are our thoughts ….

Contact the customer, share the issue, and let him or her make the decision.

A recent example: A large, new client has a quarterly catalog they brought to us to produce. We saddle-stitched the books incorrectly and went into panic mode to correct the problem and still deliver the product on time. There was no way we could meet the deadline if we fixed all of the books. We called the clients, tail between legs, and told them the books did not look good. They kindly agreed to give us the time to fix the catalogs. In return for their understanding, we added a complimentary varnish that enhanced the look of the catalog and reduced smudging.

In the end, everyone was thrilled with the outcome. We were lucky they had a little time to give and they were very pleased with the high-quality product we provided. There are definitely situations when meeting a deadline may reduce the level of quality able to be provided, but we have found that keeping clients in the loop is vital in empowering them to make the final call that best suits their needs. Just like mom always said, honesty is the best policy.

What have you done in a sticky situation like this one? Would you admit the mistake? Let us know; we always want to learn from others’ experiences!

Making your payment

Tired of writing checks? Need miles for an upcoming trip? Did you know?

KPB Commercial Printing accepts credit cards! In order to make things easier for customers, we will gladly accept Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. If you prefer, ACH direct deposits and email invoicing are available.

We love to make life easier for our customers, so make your payments work for you!

Print Request List for Forms

Are you prepared when you call your printer with an order for a form? Here are some questions you will be asked...

Print Request List for Forms:

• What kind of paper?

• 20# White or Color paper
• 2 part White and Canary paper
• 3 part White, Canary, and Pink paper
• 4 part White, Canary, Pink, and Gold paper
• Do you need a heavier stock?
• What is the size of the form?
• Does the form print 1-sided or 2-sided?
• What color ink and how many colors of ink will you be using?
• Does this form print to the edge of the paper (bleed)?
• Will it have holes drilled?
• Holes drilled in the top of the sheet - 2, 3 or 5?
• Holes drilled on the side of the sheet - 2, 3 or 5?
• Do you want this form to pad?
• Top or Side?
• 50 or 100 sheets?
• Do you have an artwork file created or will we need to create the form for you?
• How would you like the form to be packaged?

Next time you are placing an order for a form, go through and answer these questions before you call your printer. It will really help expedite the process!

Formating Your Project

Do you have any formatting problems?
Let us come up with a creative solution!

Recently, a customer dropped off a Word file for the printing of a very professional book. The file they sent us was a bit of a mess. The headers, spacing, type size, and page numbers were inconsistent. We gave their book to our Microsoft expert who re-worked the entire file to create a crisp, clean, and consistent look. In addition, we were able to keep the file in Word for the client, so they could easily make future changes for the next printing.