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!

Email Etiquette

The word “etiquette” is defined by Wikipedia as “a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group.” While on Downton Abbey it may apply to appropriate dinner attire or which fork to use during which part of dinner, today we will be discussing how it relates to email. Whether you’re an expert at the art of email or rarely use it, here are some refreshers on how to effectively communicate your intended message.

Use the subject line of your email to succinctly introduce your email.

• This will give the recipient a clue as to what’s coming, if it’s urgent, etc. For those of us on Gmail, it’s also a really helpful way to search for an email later. Something more descriptive than “Hi” and less wordy than “There is an issue with the file for that print job you are working on for me that’s due May 18” is optimal.  

Be conscientious about who you copy on an email.

• CC literally stands for courtesy copy, so if you’re working with a few folks on a project and primarily need one person to know the information, but want to keep the others in the loop, CC’ing them is a good route to go. Don’t overuse CC -- this just clutters up inboxes and turns messages into the electronic version of white noise.
• Limit blinding copying (BCC) to when you’re sending an email to a large group of people and want to save them from having to weed through a long list of email addresses to get to your message. Sneakily blind copying someone’s boss to tell on them can get you trouble if the boss doesn’t realize it was a blind copy and mistakenly hits reply all.

In the body of your email, adhere to general grammatical and punctuation rules.

• Be yourself, even be a little casual, but don’t be careless. Misspellings or LOL’s can reflect on your professionalism.
• Use capital letters only when appropriate (acronyms, etc.), because otherwise it’s the on-screen equivalent of yelling. If you want to highlight something, make it bold or underline it instead.
• Be clear in your message, but try to be concise. If you have a long list to communicate, consider using bullet points. This just helps your recipient get the point that much quicker.

Create an email signature.

• And always, always, always include your contact information in it (phone number, address, fax number, website, etc.)! It can be frustrating when you can’t find the info. they need to contact you, especially if it’s urgent.

Finally, remember that email is not private!

• Your recipients can forward your words to anyone at any time, and in the workplace, emails are company property. A good rule of thumb is if it’s something you wouldn’t put on a postcard, don’t put it in an email.
  
  

Proof It!

In a rush for a printed piece? Think you’ll just skip the proofing stage to save time? We advise you to think twice. Proofs can save your print job and your wallet.

The pace of our world continues to increase these days, while the time to produce (planning for an event, creating an invitation, brochure, or mailing, for example) is decreasing. We all tend to find ourselves running on this inevitable treadmill. But, even as deadlines get tighter and expectations grow, accuracy still needs to trump speed. As Charley Lindemann, one of KPB’s owners, often  says, “You may feel like you don’t have time, but you certainly don’t have time to print it twice”. In most cases, not only do you not have time to print something twice, you likely don’t have the budget.

That’s where the proofing process comes in to save the day. Proofing is essential to an accurate final product. Seeing something one last time before you print it can save you the headache of spelling someone’s name wrong, realizing your corporate red actually looks pink, catching an incorrect event date, or seeing that holes punched are going through critical data. These are just a few examples of the many things that clients catch at the proofing stage of a job. Always remember, bypassing a proof might save you time in the short run, but ask yourself, what could it do to your budget, or even worse, your clientele, in the long run?

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.

Large and In Charge!

The effects of over-sized marketing can be seen far and wide, helping to bring your brand into view even from a distance. We have a variety of large format print options to choose from.

These options provide:

• high-quality, versatile wide-color gamut capability including white and silver
• printing on clear film, vinyl, canvas, photographic paper and most popular substrates
• a guarantee for up to three years outdoors without lamination.
• ultra-smooth gradations and transitions through the use of light inks in conjunction with CMYK
• creative options and market appeal without compromising your budget.

Communicate your message in style, using vivid colors, solid whites and a range of special metallic effects!

The array of uses for attention-grabbing is wide:

• full-color posters
• indoor and outdoor banners
• window clings and graphics
• floor and ground graphics
• pop-up and trade show displays
• outdoor signage
• feathers and sails
• product prototypes
• wayfinding signage
• vehicle wraps and graphics
• wall and building murals

Give your sales rep or CSR a call today for big ideas you can use to enhance your current marketing campaigns!

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.

Every Day Direct Mail have you confused?

Every Day Direct Mail (EDDM) is a great way to saturate a market with direct mail. Every address in an area will receive a piece of your marketing material. You can save money as you do not need to buy a mailing list and the POSTAGE is lower. Even with the new rates below, you can save up to 30 cents per piece in postage from a first class mailing.

Here is the new postage and a quick explanation.

The new rates for EDDM went into effect January 27^th, 2013.
>Retail rate $0.16.  This is the rate the was formally $.145.  This is the rate that people use that do not have a permit number.  These pieces are to be delivered to the post office of the zip code area being targeted.

The Business Mail Entry Unit (BMEU) rate is $.149.  This is the rate you would use if you have a permit number and you bring it to the BMEU and submit paperwork and then transport to the delivery Post Office. This means you still deliver each bundle to the post office of the appropriated zip code but you save money by having a registered permit number with the post office.

The BMEU rate if you have a permit and you take to the BMEU and leave it at the BMEU for the Post Office to transport to the delivery Post Office the rate is $.158. This saves you time but costs you money. You do NOT have to deliver the pieces to the appropriate post office. You SIMPLY drop it off at the BMEU and they handle the shipping to the post office of the assigned zip code. No need to drive to multiple post offices to drop off your mailing. Simply deliver to the BMEU post office and know that your mail will make it to each household in your selected zip codes.

Sound confusing? We handle these mailing frequently. Contact us at 513-681-4450 to see if EDDM is a mailing solution that makes sense!

Changing Culture

Changing culture in itself seems as though it would be easy. Get rid of the people that created the culture no longer desired. Bring people in that embrace the culture that is anticipated. The culture has changed, right?

Not so easy. When we changed ownership of our company over a year ago we wanted to make a few changes in culture. We knew we wanted major changes:

1. for the employees to feel as though they mattered and were heard
2. a shift in attitude to buying the best may be a better answer than buying the cheapest.  
3. quality was of utmost importance
4. if something was broke we wanted to fix it

The owners were all of this mindset. We went about our business of educating employees about quality, buying new things, improving equipment, and the building. We had lists from the employees of what they desired for us to fix and buy. Nearly every item on the list that was reasonable, was purchased. By fulfilling requests and through our attitude, we really felt that we were setting a good example for the desired culture. Yet, we found that some employees still do not feel included, some won’t tell us when parts break, and others still brush off quality.

It is difficult to know we still haven’t made a full impact, but the culture is slowly changing. It is evident in the laughter heard through the building, the productiveness of the employees, and the overall quality of jobs that are shipped. It is joyous to see that the culture is changing, but it was not easy and we are not all the way there yet.  However, the results are so worth it.

Read about some historical transformations in this article:
http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20121106193412-1213-why-relationships-matter-i-to-the-we

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!!

From the Outside Looking in

By Dana Johnson

I can remember the first time I met the KPB team, nearly five years ago. They were a new vendor that our marketing team was trying on. Maybe it was the southern lilt to one member's voice, the easy enthusiasm they all exhibited or the genuine way they talked to me, but it only took a few moments of conversation before I felt like we were friends. And it took probably five minutes after that before I stopped viewing them as a vendor and started viewing them as a partner. You can’t fake those things. They just are. Follow up the personal connection with unwavering consistency, meeting ridiculous deadline requests with a smile, and suggestions for how to save cost, and you have a winning combination. KPB provided all of those in spades!

Consequently, my vendor did become a true business partner and ultimately, a friend. But it’s not just me with whom this has happened. I’d venture to say it happens with most of KPB’s clients because caring about people is not just their business philosophy, it’s what drives them as a company.

Fast forward five years and imagine my curiosity as I found myself working here. Would the impression I had as a client hold fast behind closed doors? Could the philosophy of investing in people be felt by the employees? Would the commitment to excellence be evident in the culture here? The answer to all of these is yes. The owner’s personal brand does not stop with them. It permeates throughout the building. Even on the busiest day, you’ll see people banding together to make it all happen. This translates to a supportive work environment where each person is dedicated to producing a great product every time.

Stop by sometime; you can feel it in the air!

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!