Affordable Print Embellishments Can Be a Game-Changer for Our Customers

For printers to be truly successful, I’ve always believed that we need to understand the challenges of our customers and then provide products and services to help overcome them. 

For example, you can’t help but sympathize with the dilemma of a lot of marketing teams: They're expected to “be creative” while they’re often leaping from one project to the next without a lot of time to step back and ask, What can we do better? Meanwhile, they need to constantly have their eye on the budget, a point especially true for nonprofits. 

Not necessarily the kind of conditions that foster creativity. 

So what can we do to help? One way is by offering affordable print embellishment options that can elevate the power of their message and expand their creative possibilities. 

The Power of Print Embellishments

Stunning, impressive, memorable, eye-catching, engaging — the Thesaurus can only go so far in helping make my point here. Suffice it to say that these descriptors all point to one thing: Print embellishments allow creative ways to improve the quality of print collateral. 

And when our customers can elevate the quality of their material, they can influence how their own customers — and potential ones — view their organization. Want proof? Neuroscientist David Eagleman, PhD, and marketing researcher Joann Peck, PhD, have both demonstrated this. 

Turning Cost-Prohibitive into Cost-Effective

At my company, we’ve made a concerted effort to bolster our offerings not just with new tech and equipment but, more specifically, with capabilities that make print embellishments more affordable. Also, these options are ideal for shorter run requests, meaning there’s no need to make giant orders so that it’s “worth it.” 

Here are four examples. 

1. Digital diecutting. What can’t be done with this tech? We’ve been using our 3D printer to make dies from hardened plastic. However, with our new digital diecutter, we totally removed the physical die step. Now, a lot more customers can take advantage of this option. That means they can now afford to: 

• Have uniquely shaped items that match with their identity. 
• Create functional materials like folders, door hangers, or branded leave-behind boxes that can hold additional material.
• Make small orders of high-impact pieces for events/promotions that have huge potential.

2. Gold foil printing. Once again, new technology allows us to forgo metal dies in place of a digital process. Sometimes referred to as “sleeking,” this technique is truly amazing. Then there’s also the explosion of color foil options — way beyond the conventional gold and silver (though they are still great choices). This feature is great for: 

• Adding an upscale style to create foil business cards, foil postcards, foil brochures, foil posters — any item that showcases luxury products or services  
• Underscoring specific elements like a name, years of business, or key dates.
• Creating elegance for special event materials like awards ceremonies, corporate anniversary parties, or invite-only fundraisers.

3. Textured spot UV coating. The real strength of this option is that customers can add texture to materials for a fraction of the cost of embossing or specialty papers. As I’ve written about before, research has demonstrated that texture can help create more effective marketing materials. This option lets customers:

• Create a memorable, multi-sensory experience with their collateral.
• Match a texture with their brand to drive home their identity.
• Use texture to draw attention to specific features of the collateral.

4. Laminating. We’re now way beyond your old laminated library card. Laminating has evolved to become a remarkable embellishment option in its own right. Your customers can:

• Create mirror effects and even holographic-like effects.
• Simulate specific textures such as leather, velvet, and linen paper.
• Select specific parts of a page to laminate and draw attention to (rather than cover an entire sheet).

Getting our Customers to Grasp the Potential

Do we sometimes struggle with getting graphic designers and others to grasp just how awesome and effective these creative possibilities are? Yep. 

But we also have customers who are embracing this new generation of affordable print embellishments. In fact, some of their creative ideas are now pushing us to go to new places with our capabilities. And that’s when being a printer really gets fun. 

About the Author

Chris Yuhasz founded POV Solution as a basement desktop publishing business 28 years ago in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, just outside Cleveland. Today, POV Solution provides printing services to customers coast-to-coast, including commercial printing and spot UV printing for finishing services.