Gimbel & Associates Blog

Digital printing has been an intrinsic part of the printing industry for over two decades, yet many printers still struggle with finding a successful sales strategy. Even the term itself has gone through various iterations, and the technology has evolved considerably over those 20-plus years.

For our purposes, we’ll take a broad view of digital printing, encompassing the first-out-of-the-gate toner technology, followed by inkjet and its incursion into most applications including flexo. Digital technology also has been a game changer for finishing, with raised UV, die-cutting, foils, and specialty inks.

Fonts have personalities and convey different moods. A typeface or font matched to the personality or attributes of a specific individual or group can be the element that makes designs resonate with the viewer. Today’s variable printing technology makes it possible to match typography to audiences, but font usage in variable documents can be tricky. Fonts will display differently, depending on their attributes.

Font Considerations for Variable Documents

When designers create a variable project, they leave spaces in the documents into which the software will place the variable text. Since data files are not always available at design time, designers may guess at how much space to reserve for the variable data. Choosing too large a font for the data will cause unwanted line wraps or printing over static graphics or text. A too-small font results in odd-looking unused document spaces.

In-plant printing centers operate in an in-between world. They’re not commercial printers who must constantly hustle for business, but their continued existence is not guaranteed, either. The traditional model for in-plants to passively print documents for internal departments no longer works well. In many instances, those departments can outsource work to third-party printers or turn jobs over to staff members who may have only a passing acquaintance with design and production.

In this environment, we recommend in-plant centers develop strategic approaches that keep their operations relevant and thriving. In-plants can build a good strategy around adding value, selling services, and a little self-promotion.

Data, as they say, is king. But data, in its raw form with lines of numbers, can be challenging for readers to absorb and process, especially if you want them to discern key themes or trends.

The human mind processes information in various ways. Writers and communicators can produce reams of copy but, depending on what is being communicated, this approach is not a welcoming or interesting presentation. By itself, copy and numbers are not visually appealing, they don’t draw us in or encourage retention. Most of us, however, are receptive to visual information, that’s just how our minds work best. That is particularly true when dealing with data.

The best way to drive home a point that includes data is with data visualization.

Well before the pandemic, Gimbel & Associates published “Making Your Event a Success” to help print industry professionals plan and execute in-person events. This free guide is still available and includes useful tips about any kind of event, whether in-person or virtual. You’ll find in the library section of rogergimbel.com.

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Gimbel & Associates Sr. Consultant for New Market Development, Randall Swope, will be the featured speaker delivering  an insightful 1-hr complimentary webinar on when and how to hire a business consultant.

Hiring a Consultant is not an easy decision to make, but it is an important one! Consultants generally save companies both time and money.

The story of color is changing. An overenthusiastic use of loud, bright hues in recent years has, ironically, dulled their impact. Perhaps we’re all yearning for more mellow, calming

experiences, or perhaps we simply want a visual change. Whatever the actual reasons, design trends are shifting to a more muted, less vibrant color palette.

With that in mind, let’s consider how the printing process can affect color choices and see how to use color cost-effectively without reducing its visual appeal. Besides the amount of ink needed to print a brochure or a wine label, crucial elements such as the number of colors, and the paper or other substrates on which the images are printed, have a great effect.

A difficult, painful lesson from 2020 is that sometimes we simply have no control. But, while we can’t change the course of a pandemic, we can control how we react to it and move past it.

So, onward to the hope of 2021 and to thinking about how to position your company for the expected recovery. Projected GDP growth will reach 3.7% this year and, according to industry association Printing United Alliance, commercial printing will grow by 2.5% to 4%.

Print service providers: Have you taken the time lately to analyze your competition? It might not be the shop across town anymore, but a business in another state, or even overseas, that is soliciting business from your customers. Even if you have done competitive research before, you may need to update it. Much has changed since the pandemic started.

Portable Document Format files (PDFs) are an efficient way of digitally sharing and outputting files across multiple platforms, including printing, losing no essential information in the transmission. Adobe introduced the file format almost 30 years ago.

Because PDF is now really an industry standard, a set of regulations was established and continues to be developed by the PDF Standards Committee. Specialized versions of PDFs have been created for specific purposes. PDF/a is for electronic document archives, and PDF/UA was formed for accessibility purposes. PDF/X drives general commercial printing, and variable and transactional documents use PDF/VT.

Printers are always helping their clients raise awareness for their products and services. They send out marketing postcards or donation requests for them, print door hangers, or create entire marketing campaigns in service of their customers.

In marketing their own services, though, many printers struggle with knowing what to do, where to spend their marketing dollars, and how to find the time to take care of a campaign of their own.

Fortunately, Gimbel & Associates has lots of resources to help you conquer the marketing challenge. Watch this short video, read the corresponding blog article, and download items in the Gimbel Resource Library to get started on the marketing activities essential to your business success.

Some print shops outsource this critical step and partner with an established mail services company, while others opt to bring the function in-house. Which is the better? The answer is highly individual, based on the amount of mail you need to process, client requirements, and so on. It has to make business sense.