Can you create accurate PMS colors using its 4-color build?

The answer is….sometimes.   This is a common problem and when designers go to choose colors for a job a swatch book not only gives a pantone color, but also the correct blend of cyan, yellow, magenta and black to “build” that color.  The problem is that rarely is this an exact match to the actual print ink.  When we print a PMS color offset we order a premixed ink in the exact PMS color specified and it is always spot on and that ink is loaded directly in the press and an accurate color output is achieved.  In 4-color process, the match is a blend of colors that will produce the closest possible output, but it rarely is an exact match to the PMS colors.  Even with today’s high end digital devices achieving an exact PMS match is virtually impossible.  Typically 4-color process builds tend to mute the color or flatten them out and the reality is that the recipe of these builds are not the exact match to the actual PMS recipe.  The results of a 4-color build are often ok if you are not trying for an exact PMS color match and often there is a cost savings in not using PMS inks.  There is a PMS “Color Bridge” book that will show the spot color and the 4-color build of that PMS side-by-side.  This can be very handy in trying to determine which 4-color builds are acceptable and when it is necessary to print using a PMS color. 

Why Listen to the Boss?

It’s Wednesday and I’m looking for an inspiration for today’s post and voila…I stumble upon our Company video. I click the take a tour and up it pops, with no sound since I have my speakers off. Did you ever notice how different something can be interpreted when you don’t listen? I see my boss’s lips moving and smile because it reminds me of previous meetings I have had. The lips are moving, my mind is wandering so I don’t absorb a word. This is all part of the clutter that makes up our daily lives and the challenge of making a memorable impression. According to a recent study we encounter over 2904 media messages a day and we only remember 4 of those messages. Sure makes you want to run out and advertise when you hear such great statistics. The answer is you have to be one of those 4 messages and to be memorable you have to be relevant. This challenge is not so daunting when you break it down to 3 simple steps…the design, the database and the offer. If you create a functional design that effectively communicates your message, send the message to the right people, and have a dynamite offer you can achieve staggering results.

Let's Meet!

Whoa!!! Not so fast. Check out the article below from MSNBC, meetings may actually make us dumber. Before rushing to call your next meeting, the study shows that it may be best to allow people to come up with ideas on their own, rather than group brainstorming.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17279961/

From the minds of kids

Over the weekend I was taking down my Holiday decorations and putting them in the basement for another year. This is not a project I particularly enjoy, so as I painstakingly packed up each box and carried it down the stairs I would get distracted by something more interesting. What I stumbled upon was a trip down memory lane. I opened a box that contained different items I had saved from the kids over the years and went through the old report cards, sports photos, father’s day poems and then I struck gold….I opened a spiral bound report that my daughter created when she was in 5th grade. At the age of 10, students were given an assignment of following their parents to work one day and writing a report on what their parents do.


Before I divulge the magic of the report let me give you an assessment of that day. We both got up, I put my tie on and Kristen got dressed up in a cute little dress. Away we went, arriving at the office around 7:30. I went through the normal routine of coffee (she had hot chocolate), checking e-mails, going through my mail, approving quotes and reading a couple articles from a trade publication I particularly like. The field sales group doesn’t generally stroll in until 8:30 so I had an hour of quiet time to get the day rolling. After completing the first tasks, I needed to make a few calls to clients and respond to questions, follow up on jobs…nothing special just stay in touch. The day proceeded and I had a brief meeting with one of the reps regarding his day and a strategy for an upcoming call, answered numerous calls and had a client come in for a facility tour. There are more details, but obviously none were important enough to make her report.

Now let me get to her report and her assessment of my day.

Job shadowing assignment, a day in the life of my Dad.

Overview – my Dad works at Velocity Print Solutions. His title on his business card is Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing. His job is very boring. He drinks lots of coffee. He dresses very nice.


 The Morning – in the morning my Dad drinks coffee and talks on the phone. His job is selling printing and he has lots of friends. He also reads a lot at work and sits at his desk. He likes to send e-mails.


Lunch – lunch is my favorite time. We went to Subway and ate. Dad was still talking on his phone. I don’t think he sold anything.


The Afternoon – We went to a meeting in the meeting room. He was talking to people and then showed them the big machinery. They looked very bored. After they left we went back to his office and he had more coffee.


I think my Dad’s job is very boring and I would not like his job. I want to play music when I get older. It would be a lot more exciting.


Overall this was a typical day with a couple meetings, some good customer calls, interaction with the sales team, a facility tour, but I failed to impress any sense of accomplishment on my little angel other than I like coffee. I thought she would come away impressed and her perception was completely different. We have all probably encountered situations where we thought something went much better than in reality it did and our perceptions were off. The important thing to always remember is that the mirror never lies and as long as you feel good about the person staring back at you generally you are doing the right things.

Video - Psychic Sales Pieces

This is a great little video highlighting the importance of variable data printing. The more personalized the pieces, the better the response rates. Click on the link below and enjoy:

www.watchprintwork.com/?viewVideo&id=1E3656E0493466CF82321F45FCBC0D89

The Fall Season is Here…Let’s Think Variable

Living in the Northeast, I am lucky enough to get the full effects of all four seasons. The first snowfall is always beautiful. Spring brings the flowers and a welcome relief from Winter, Summer is all about the warmth and barbeques, and Fall brings the incredible foliage. The variable leaves make fall interesting and leaves that for most of the year are taken for granted are now the center of attention (with their brilliant gold, reds and yellows). With variable printing you can make your normally mundane mailings scream for attention. Many of us receive postcards daily and often don’t give them more than a glance before deciding whether or not to read on or toss in the recycling bin. If the postcard is screaming for attention and talking directly to your audience it deserves attention just like the fall foliage.

Velocity recently did a variable mailing with over a 400% increase in response rates over a previous static mailing. We are experts in variable and know about all aspects of the process including: design, database and the offer. All three are key components to the success of a campaign and need to be analyzed carefully. Simply putting someone’s name on a postcard is only a small step towards running a successful variable campaign.

Kaizen

Kaizen (Japanese for "improvement") is a Japanese philosophy that focuses on continuous improvement throughout all aspects of life. When applied to the workplace, Kaizen activities continually improve all functions of a business, from manufacturing to management and from the CEO to the assembly line workers.

Kaizen can be applied to any process and continuous improvement should always be the goal. When applied to Variable Data Printing we must ask ourselves some key questions. How do we increase response rates? What will achieve the best ROI? Is our offer good enough? Could the design be stronger? Is the data good? These are all key factors in the success of any variable campaign.

In a recent marketing campaign for Velocity Print Solutions, our goal was to enrich our client database, as well as, collect data on new prospects. In our initial mailings, we offered entry into a gas card drawing in exchange for answering a few short questions. Responses from our initial campaign (1.1%) were lower than expected considering we were not trying to sell anything, rather just improve our database. When looking at marketing there are 3 main components: the data, the design and the offer. In this case, we believed our data was strong since it was largely existing clients. So we needed to look at the design and the offer. What we ended up coming up with was a revised design that was not so wordy and changed the offer to a new Ipod Touch. Our next mailing went to the same recipients and the results were dramatic. What we experienced was an almost 400% improvement in responses and valuable client data.

Variable Data Printing can produce amazing results, but, it does take some effort. To achieve the dramatic improvements over static mailings you must be willing to put your project in a constant state of Kaizen. Even Velocity, who handles variable data campaigns for our clients on a daily basis, has sent mailings with less than stellar results. Just adding a level of personalization will not guarantee the results and you must be willing to make adjustments as you move forward. Talk with your variable data provider and discuss your goals in advance of your next mailing. They should be able to provide great insight from past experiences and help you achieve your goals.