Business cards have been used for traditional networking and marketing purposes for many years. Along with other print materials and commercial stationery, a business card is often the first thing a potential customer will see, so it’s essential to make the right first impression.
Read our guide to three things you need to know about business cards.
Digital marketing plays a huge part in maintaining client relationships, but it’s not so effective when it comes to securing new business deals. Even if you don’t use business cards as a sales tool, business cards still matter as an expected convention in various business situations to pull out a business card. What if someone offers you their card and you don’t have one to give them in return?
All business cards are plain, regular rectangle shaped, right? Not when you come to AB Print! We take time to understand your requirements and make sure the design and layout works for you with creative options including rounded corners, embossing and foil blocking.
Just like digital and print marketing, you might have brand guidelines to follow. The recipients of your business cards should feel like they’re holding a part of your brand so it needs to represent you. If you’re starting up a new business or going through a rebrand, establishing the look and feel of your business cards can help with the rest of your branding too.
If you need help with your business cards or other print requirements, get in touch with the AB Print team on 01924 473481.
Even as the UK starts to emerge from lockdown, there’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the everyday lives of all of us and will continue to have an impact on daily life as the restrictions ease.
Here at AB Print Group, we are continuing to work while following government guidelines to keep our staff and customers safe.
We will still face challenges after lockdown and this means adapting to follow increased safety measures.
AB Print can help with the following solutions:
One-way flow of pedestrian traffic is important to maintain public safety in the retail environment (and other areas too as lockdown restrictions are gradually relaxed). Directional arrows offer a highly effective, low-cost solution.
Help customers, staff and visitors maintain correct two metre distancing with rugged but inexpensive floor graphics. From simple ‘Stand here’ spacing to branded messages of support, we can help you to follow safety guidance with the correct two metre measure.
This is a time when information is key as we all adapt to new situations. Leaflets and flyers can carry messages of reassurance or provide guidance on new procedures and requirements in order to maximise the safety of everyone visiting or working in a building or facility.
Hi-vis vests/jackets provide the wearer with authority and give others the reassurance of knowing that someone is responsible for monitoring and managing safety procedures. We can provide a full range of branded clothing including hard hats.
Clear protective screens have become essential in supermarkets and retail environments. Now with more retail stores starting to open to the public again, protection screens are another measure you can put in place to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission. We can provide freestanding or fixed options, printed with any brand or message, for reception desks, retail, hospitality, public buildings etc.
The use of lightweight, inexpensive cones enables areas to be closed off and access controlled in shopping centres, public buildings etc. We can also provide restriction cones for outdoor use that are designed to be weighted down with sandbags.
Dedicated info stations in foyers/reception areas – complete with masks and hand sanitising facilities – are a likely next step as COVID-19 restrictions are slowly eased and we can supply complete units as well as traditional display/POS units.
Branded walkway barriers are the perfect way to create safer queuing conditions or to divide spaces to reduce risk. We can supply bespoke or off-the-shelf systems for indoor or outdoor use, or produce retrofit graphics for any existing aisle divider system.
Banners are a highly visible medium for directional instructions, health advice or reminders of the importance of social distancing. We can produce banners for indoor or outdoor use, and can also supply fixing accessories such as hanging kits for suspended ceilings.
Window graphics are a high-impact medium for providing information and guidance to help keep customers, staff and other visitors safe – or simply to let people know you’re open for business! We have products for inside or outside use.
If you can’t see a product you need, please get in touch with the AB Print team today.
When it comes to printing promotional items and marketing materials, you might have come across the terms ‘coated’ and ‘uncoated’ used to refer to paper, but what’s the difference? Is one better than the other for your individual print project? Read on to find out more.
Coated paper is paper which has been sealed with a polymer to give it a smooth finish. The smooth finish of the paper allows for a smooth print and uniform finished product. Paper that is coated in this way also stops ink from soaking into the paper so the reduced ink absorption results in a sharper finish and vibrant design. Coated papers come in various different finishes depending on your project and specification- they can be matte, gloss, silk etc so are not always a glossy coating like you might have imagined.
Uncoated paper does not have this coating, meaning it is more porous and ink absorbent. The finish of uncoated paper often looks more textured than coated paper and this can provide a vintage or natural feel depending on the marketing message you are aiming for.
Coated paper is typically used for printed promotional materials like leaflets, flyers and posters- anything where you want to give your business a modern and high quality feel. You’re more likely to see uncoated paper used for commercial stationery like letterheads and compliment slips but this is not always the case. The natural, vintage feel can also complement your marketing if that’s the look you want to achieve with your printed materials.
Let the team at AB Print guide you through your print project from start to finish with expert advice and full in-house print capabilities. Get in touch with us using our contact form here or call us on 01924 473481 and see how we can help you.
Lithography, known as litho printing or offset printing, is a print method involving printing from a plate covered in ink to produce the image you want on your printing surface.
The print material absorbs the ink from the plate to produce the final result.
Litho printing is great for all kinds of promotional marketing materials where you need maximum precision and high quality print finish. Some examples include:
As a more recent technology, digital printing might be seen as a threat but offset litho printing remains the best option in many cases such as if your print project requires maximum control, colour accuracy and overall print quality. Digital printing can be quicker for small jobs as the setup is faster but litho is usually a more effective print method for larger quantities.
With our experience in lithographic printing and commitment to developing our print technology, we are proud to say we offer alcohol-free printing methods. This not only allows us to achieve the best print quality, but it also has a positive impact on the environment.
To find out more about litho printing and what we do, give us a call on 01924 473481 or contact us today and see how we can help.
Whatever industry your business is in, commercial stationery is an important part of any company and any brand. If you’re still not convinced you really need to invest in branded stationery, have a read of some of the best advantages it can bring to your business.
In a digital world where communicating your message to your customers and getting your voice heard is becoming increasingly challenging, something as simple as a branded letterhead or custom-printed envelope allows your brand to stand out as instantly recognisable to your customers and employees. Your company logo and good print design can transform your brand’s commercial stationery and establish your identity.
One of the most obvious advantages of custom business stationery is its ease of use as a marketing tool. Providing a cost-effective way of getting your name in front of the right audience, there are plenty of options from branded pens, printed ring binders and an extensive range of branded promotional items to choose from.
While printed stationery alone won’t suffice as a marketing strategy, it does work collectively with your other marketing efforts to bring a cohesive branding experience together that your customers will recognise.
Investing in high-quality branded stationery is not only a way to market your business, but it’s also what gives your company the professional and organised look that will impress new and existing customers.
At AB Print, we offer our range of services all under one roof, meaning we can handle your print project from start to finish with the quality you expect every time. Get in touch with us today to find out more.
We’re always looking for new ways to improve our in-house printing services, and our latest offering is the addition of PVC printed bunting.
Promotional bunting is ideal for use at all kinds of indoor and outdoor events including store promotions, parties, fetes and school events.
We recently printed PVC bunting for the Wakefield Baby Week event held at the Ridings shopping centre and helped to make the event stand out with bunting used to cordon off a section of the shopping centre and highlight the area for busy shoppers.
Custom printed bunting from AB Print is printed on PVC material, ensuring the bunting is waterproof for external use and can be printed to any size with varied spacing and either single-sided or double-sided full-colour print.
At AB Print, we offer our range of services all under one roof, meaning we can handle your print project from start to finish with the quality you expect every time. Get in touch with us today to find out more
Local charity Yorkshire Cancer Research has recently been announced as the official charity for the upcoming 2020 Tour de Yorkshire. Naturally, such a big announcement is worth shouting about- and the team at Yorkshire Cancer Research were able to do just that with the help of AB Print.
We stepped in to help them with their printing needs, supplying a full-colour printed PVC banner to showcase their campaign to ‘shift gears on cancer.’
As the official charity of the four-day cycling event, Yorkshire Cancer Research is offering people with a personal experience of cancer a unique opportunity to cycle the final kilometre of the route at the four finish location for each day of Tour de Yorkshire at Redcar, Leyburn, Huddersfield and Leeds.
Part of the regional charity’s campaign will also include fundraising and volunteering opportunities to help raise funds and awareness of their work to save lives through cancer prevention, early diagnosis and bringing pioneering treatments to the Yorkshire region.
The team at AB Print were delighted to help promote such a worthy cause with our vibrant PVC banner printing highlighting the campaign in clear branded colours along with the Yorkshire Cancer Research and Tour de Yorkshire logos on a 1829 x 610mm sized banner design.
AB Print received great feedback from this project and have to admit the banner looked amazing in the official campaign photography.
Yorkshire Cancer Research was founded in 1925 and is the largest independent regional cancer charity in England.
To get involved with the Shift Gears on Cancer campaign, visit them today.
Foil blocking is a popular and effective print finishing technique used to add a distinctive touch to marketing materials including brochures, business cards and stationery.
The foil blocking process involves applying metallic foil or pigment to paper while a heated metal piece stamps the design onto the print surface. Foil is typically gold or silver in colour and has a high gloss finish, but we can apply foil in various colours and finishes including silk, matt, pearlescent and patterned.
Foil blocking or foil stamping is thought to have roots in ancient Egypt. The early methods used tools to beat gold into paper for decorative purposes.
The process evolved from beating gold to fixing gold to paper and creating entire rolls of paper gold that could then be transferred to stamped designs with heat. The expense of using gold meant different metallic foils were explored, expanding the foil blocking process further.
The metallic finish foil blocking creates gives a prestigious finished result and has become a popular printing method with its many applications.
Foiling is a great way to add something extra to your branding, highlighting logos or graphics and allowing light colours to be applied to dark backgrounds.
It can also be used for printing tickets, vouchers and certificates that require authentication to prevent counterfeiting.
At AB Print, we offer our range of services all under one roof, meaning we can handle your print project from start to finish with the quality you expect every time. Get in touch with us today to find out more.
Even with professionally designed artwork, getting it ready for print can be a hassle if you’re not sure what you need to do. Read our guide to find out how to prepare artwork for print, so that your print project is delivered on time, on budget and to the high quality you expect.
Low-resolution images can lead to low-quality prints. The image resolution is how much data it contains, determined by dpi (dots per inch). For print projects, you’ll want your final design to be 300 dpi. Computer images are typically a lower resolution because this is what looks good on your screen so you need to ensure that you start out with high-quality images in your design. Remember that if you save an image at 300dpi and later enlarge it in your artwork, its effective resolution will be reduced so you need to make sure the images used are at 100% size or smaller in the finished design.
By default, most computer images will be saved as RGB to produce the colours you see on your screen. For print projects, you’ll need to check that your images are CMYK. That’s cyan, magenta, yellow and black- the 4-colour process used in printing. If you’re using a program like Adobe InDesign, this colour space will be determined by whether you set the intent to web or print, but you can also select Package from the File menu to flag any RGB images if you’re using a lot of images.
Ideally, you should send us a print-ready PDF.
AB Print Group can handle everything for you. Not only do we have a full range of printing equipment, but we also offer complete finishing services including embossing, foil blocking, spot UV varnish and glow in the dark printing. Let us take care of your print requirements and deliver the quality you expect every time. Get in touch on 01924 47348 to find out more.
Screen printing and digital printing are both popular print methods and which one works for you depends on your artwork, what material you want to print on and the quantity you need.
The process of screen printing involves using a stencil (what printers call the ‘screen’) and applying layers of ink to the printing surface one colour at a time. This means a new screen is needed for each new colour. Screen printing is very versatile as it can be used to print on virtually any surface including fabric, plastic, metal and card with a high level of vibrancy.
Digital printing is a newer process, once considered the poor relation of litho, digital print uses computers to process your artwork and print directly onto the surface. This print method can provide a lot more detail but the colours might not be an exact match to the original image when printed.
As a versatile print technique, screen printing can be used to print on just about anything, regardless of shape, size or thickness. It’s often used to produce high quality point of sale, signage and display graphics.
Digital print is perfect for high quality short print runs for everything from direct mail to leaflets, vouchers, brochures and posters.
At AB Print Group, we can handle everything for you. Not only do we have a full range of printing equipment, but we also offer complete finishing services including embossing, foil blocking, spot UV varnish and glow in the dark printing. Let us take care of your print requirements and deliver the quality you expect every time. Get in touch today to find out more.
To find out more, please call, email or send our enquiry form. We look forward to speaking with you.
