Online Printing Blog

Creative Booklet Printing Tips

Booklets are one of the best ways to promote your products and services. They have been extensively used as a marketing tool along with brochures to sell products and services. This has also made the traditional booklet a little boring. Most of the booklets have the same rectangular shape and are printed four color on high quality paper.

Today’s competitive business environment requires more creative booklets which can catch the eyes of the target audience. Booklets arouse interest in minds of the people to purchase a product or a service and thus it is important to make your booklet attractive and make it stand out. The challenge is to look different at the same time meet the purpose. Here are a few tips for creative booklet printing:

• Alter Booklet Cover – Traditional booklet covers have been printed on slightly thicker paper than the rest of the booklet. Try using textured paper, corrugated paper, plastics, cardboards and other interesting materials to make the color booklet look different.
• Use Metallic Ink – Although there is nothing wrong with the four color printing that you are used to seeing, using metallic ink will make your booklet stand out. Also metallic ink has an external shine which makes it look great.

• Change The Binding – Perfect binding has been used so far when it has come to binding of booklets but you can experiment with other types of binding. Spiral binding or even special string or twine binding  would make your booklet look very attractive when compared to other types of booklet.
• Play With Shape – You can shun the traditional rectangular booklets and opt for some other shapes like square, triangle or even a circle. This will give your booklet an edge over it’s competitors and make a statement of your creativity.
• Add Accessories – This is another way of making your booklet look attractive. You can add things such as a ribbon or metallic studs, plastic shapes and even embossed elements. This will be very impressive.

For your creative booklet printing you will need the services of a good print service provider. This is where a printer like PrintPapa comes in handy. They have expertise in all kinds of printing and designing services. They use the state of art printing technology for printing posters, banners, business cards, letterheads, rack cards etc. They have built a list of successful clientèle over the years due to their high quality service.

How to Buy Your Own ISBN Number And Becoming A Publishing House?

In the publishing industry only one thing that separates between a publisher and a non-publisher is the ISBN number. The International Standard Book Number or ISBN number as it is simply known is the key value that identifies the publisher of a book in all of the online databases and inventory systems used worldwide. ISBN number is very important as without it you won’t be able to sell your book through online platforms such as Amazon.

This unique 10-digit number identifies books and book-like products published internationally right up to an individual publishing house. An ISBN number has four parts: the country identifier, the publisher identifier, the title identifier and the check digit.

If you take your book to a publishing house they get an ISBN number on your behalf but in case you are into self publishing you will need to get this done by yourself. This service is free of cost in some countries while charged in others. There are more than160 ISBN Agencies worldwide and each of these agencies is exclusively appointed for a geographical area and a country in most cases. Here are a few things you need to keep in mind while applying for an ISBN number:

• Fill up an application form with your designated ISBN agency and pay the processing fees in case it is applicable in your case.

• Give complete details of publishing firm name, complete address and contact numbers and details of a particular original publication. This is a must for ISBN numbers as incomplete forms are usually rejected.
• If you want to turn a full time publisher it is better that you apply for multiple ISBN numbers to assign to your future books. Most publishers do the same and get ISBN numbers in bulk. This process is also cost effective.
• The process takes about 15 business days in most countries. In case you want it earlier you can opt for services like Express ISBN Number. This will however come at a price but will guarantee you an ISBN number in two business days.

Once you get your ISBN number you need to get your book printed through a professional printer and print the ISBN number at the back of your book. This is where a printing agency like PrintPapa can come in handy as they have delivered quality printed materials on time to their clients over the years. They use the latest technology in printing and have expertise in printing brochures, catalogs, letterhead, business cards, posters, banners and all other types of printed materials.

What Are The Various Options Provided By PrintPapa For Self Publishing?

Self publishing of books has become very popular in the industry. More and more authors are preferring to publish their books themselves rather than knocking the doors of a publisher. Self publishing lets you have full creative control of the website and retaining the copyright for the book. You will have to make a sizable investment from your side but the benefits clearly outnumber the drawbacks.

As a self publishing author you will need the services of good printing agency. Self published books are no compromise to a book published by established publisher if it is printed well. You should opt for a professional printer like PrintPapa who have expertise in the job and are ideal for self publishing author especially if you are getting your first book printed. Some of the services that are provided by PrintPapa to the self publishing authors are:

• Your book might be in the form of word document or some other word processor. PrintPapa would convert it into a Print Ready PDF on your behalf. This process will take care of all the formatting required for the book.
• PrintPapa also provides proofing service for self publishing authors. It is ideal to opt for this service as many errors are corrected in this stage.

• Book cover plays a very important role in deciding the success of a book. PrintPapa helps you with the art work of your book. Designers at PrintPapa will design very attractive cover for you which will include the front, back and the spine cover.
• You will have the option to print the exact number of books you want. This will allow you to make a measured entry into the market as a first time author.
• As a part of it’s offer to the self publishing package, PrintPapa gives Perfect Bound with a soft cover which is the market standard.
• PrintPapa’s self publishing package also allows you to include pictures, graphics and other artwork in their books which can be printed in full color depending on your needs.

PrintPapa uses high quality paper and ink for self publishing books. Apart from printing books for self publishing authors, PrintPapa also undertakes all kinds of printing and designing jobs. Over the years they have built expertise in printing booklets, brochures, rack cards, catalogs, newsletters, door hangers and presentation folders. They use the latest printing technology and have a well trained team for the job. PrintPapa’s greatest achievement has been the long list of happy clients that it has built over the years.

Design Tips For Your Self Published Book Cover

There is a famous saying “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” but the truth is most people tend to do that. Thus book cover becomes very vital for a book. If you have opted for self publishing for your next book it is important that you make the cover of the book look attractive by focusing on the design. Here are a few things that you should keep in mind while designing the cover of your self published book:

• Theme It: The book cover should be themed around the genre of the book. The cover should be able to give a brief introduction of the book. You can use graphics, images, artwork or print a plain background depending on how you tend to convey your message to the readers. If you are targeting a specific age group you should theme the book accordingly.
• Make It Attractive: The book should catch the eye of the readers at one go when placed among a crowd. It should make the readers pick up the book and flip through some of the pages. Try printing the cover in bright color if it goes with the theme of your book. This will make it stand out among the crowd and look attractive in the book shelf.

• Images And Graphics: Try printing graphics and images relating to the book on it’s cover. If you are writing on a event, personality or a place you should print an image related to it. In case of fiction, graphics and artwork look much better. The cover can also be plain and simple if that conveys more message than images and graphics.
• Text Is Important: The name of your book and your name should appear prominently in your book. The name should be printed in big legible fonts both on the front page and the side. The back cover can be used to write a short gist about the book and testimonials if you have received any. You should also write a short biography about yourself.
• Add A Dust Jacket: Dust jackets bring in a very classy look to your book. You can print the same images on the front, back and side of the dust jacket as the cover of the book. You can use the side flaps to write a short biography or introductory message about yourself in the book.

Hiring the services of a professional printer to print the book and the cover is important and this is where Print Papa comes in handy. They are one of the best printers when it comes to self publishing authors. They are equipped with the latest technology and have expertise in printing booklets, brochures, rack cards, flyers, newsletters and presentation folders among others.

What Kind Of Topics Are Popular Among Self Publishing Authors?

Self publishing has gained immense popularity in the recent years. With the entry barrier low in the industry many author are turning towards self publishing. This relieves them of the terms and conditions of the publishers and lets them keep the entire profit. They have full creative control over their work and do not need to comprise with the content because of commercial interest of the publisher.

There is however a trend in the self publishing industry and not all author turn towards self publishing. Many authors have to turn towards self publishing as many established publishers do not want to publish their off beat books. There are certain genres of books that are popular among self publishing authors. Some of the popular topics among self publishing authors are:

•    Crime: This genre is often written from the protagonist’s point of view. This scares publishers  who don’t want to take the risk with such viewpoints. This is a very popular genre among many first time authors who opt for self publishing.
•    Religion: Self publishing authors often write religious books on a very small sect of a religious group. These books target a very niche audience and are not guided by commercial interests. It holds minimum value to a publisher looking for profits.

•    Fantasy: This genre goes as far as the imagination of the author and most of the times involves magic, mystic elements or supernatural creatures which are high risk topics for an established publisher. Fantasy is not always accepted by the readers.
•    Romance: It is one of the most popular topics among the self publishing authors who write their own love stories rather then a completely fictional one.
•   Science Fiction: Another favorite of the many first time authors. Most publishers consider these authors to be crazy and they opt for the self publishing route. Most of the recent science fiction books have been through the self publishing method.
•    Adventure: Adventure has been favorite with the authors for centuries. Many have written on their real life experience while others have written upon their fantasy. These days adventure has become very popular with the self publishing authors.

Self publishing has come as a god sent angel to many authors who are able to publish their work the way they want to. It is however important that an author chooses a professional printer for publishing the book. This is where a printing agency like Print Papa comes in handy. They are equipped with the latest technology and have expertise in printing booklets, brochures, rack cards, flyers, newsletters and presentation folders among others.

How To Print A Cheap Poster?

Posters are one of the best tools when it comes to promotions. Most of the events are promoted through posters along with banners and flyers. However poster printing can be expensive which may not be within the budget of many firms and cheap poster printing is the best option. Here are a few ways in which you can print cheap posters for promotion:

• Design Yourself: Poster designing is no rocket science and you can do it yourself using a publishing tool like Photoshop, Illustrator or Corel Draw. This will reduce the cost considerably as designers do charge hefty amounts. Make sure that you know the right poster sizes and for this you can contact a printer beforehand.
• Select The Right Printer: It is also important that you choose the right printer to reduce the printing cost. You can do an online research on the printers within your proximity who are offering discounts on poster printing. This will also bring down the cost of the poster substantially.
• Use Regular Paper: Printing paper can be expensive and to reduce the cost opt for regular printing paper than the normal poster printing paper. Although the quality won’t be the same, your purpose of getting cheap posters will be served easily.

• Reduce Wastage: One reason for the huge expense is any form of printing be it posters, flyers etc is wastage. If you can reduce wastage then that will result in saving huge amount of money. This can be easily done with some proper planning beforehand where you know exactly how many posters you require.

• Be Flexible With The Size: Not all sizes have the same printing and paper cost. So try opting for the paper size that is cheapest in the market.

Hire the services of a printer like PrintPapa which regularly offers discounts to its customer. They have   experience in printing and print promotions and can reduce the cost of printing by optimizing the process.  They have build expertise in printing both domestic and corporate materials like brochures, calenders, doorhangers and rack cards. The message in the poster is more important than its quality and if it can appeal to the audience than it has achieved its purpose.

Tips To Make An Instructional Booklet

All major products that are purchased these days come with instructional booklet. While brochures and catalogs help in selling a product, instructional booklets helps an user to understand it’s working. Instructional booklets are thus very important part of a product sale. Here are few tips that you should keep in mind while designing an instructional booklet:

• Logical Flow: A good instructional booklet should have a logical flow. As a designer your focus should be on the composition of the booklet. The flow should be logical where one step leads to the other. The overall outline should also bear the same flow. In an instructional booklet of a electronic equipment the Installation page should be put first followed by Setup and Troubleshooting.
• Be Precise: You need to be to the point in a perfect instructional booklet. The language has to be simple as in it needs to address the common people. A reader should at one go understand what you meant. Avoid writing long sentences as they confuse a readers instead of offering any assistance.

• Index The Book: If your instructional booklet has many sections and sub-sections it should have an index. Make sure all the sections and sub sections are listed under the index which will make it easier for the users to find the solution they are looking for from the book.
• Sections Are The Key: The booklet should be divided well into sections as it makes reading easy. Avoid jumbling up different sections in the single page. Do not cut any section just to avoid going to the next page.

• Use Illustrations: They are the most important part of any booklet. A single illustration is worth many lines of text and thus it relieves you from the pain of narrating every step textually. In most cases, people understand things better when they see how it works rather than if they read about it. In steps which are difficult use, you should use multiple illustration to make it easier.
• Troubleshooting: Your instructional booklet should have a page on troubleshooting if the product is electronic in nature. Many people take time to adjust to a new equipment and troubleshooting page helps them in solving their problems.

A well designed instructional booklet should only be printed by a professional printer like PrintPapa.  They have an excellent infrastructure with the latest machinery available in the printing industry. They have expertise in printing books, calenders, posters, catalogs and rack cards.

Tips & Tricks To Print Notepads Cheaply but not making it cheap?

Notepad is one of the most commonly used items in office. Unlike business cards and letterheads which need to be printed on high quality paper, notepads can be printed on ordinary paper to reduce the costs. The idea is to reduce the cost and not the quality and thus you should not just be concerned about cutting the cost. Here are a few tips that will surely help you in getting notepads printed cheap:

• Paper Quality: This often determines the cost of a notepad. So if you want to cut the costs of your notepad you can choose less expensive paper stock. The paper should be good enough for people to effectively write on the paper without any trouble. It should not start to blot once a gel or an ink based pen is used. At the same time the paper quality need not be that of your organization’s letterhead.
• Consider The Size: The size of the paper often determines the cost of printing your notepad.  These are cut and printed on large sheets of paper and choosing an odd size can lead to huge wastage of paper. Choose a notepad size that leads to the minimum wastage of paper as this can bring down the cost of the notepad considerably. This can be easily done in consultation with your printer prior to designing the notepad.
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• Outer Cover: The outer cover of a notepad is usually printed separately and accounts for a good percentage of the total cost. Avoid going for a very high quality full color cover for your notepad as doing this will help reduce the cost by a huge margin. Also choosing lighter paper for your notepad will help your cause to a great extent.
• Avoid Spiral Binding: It is quite common to see company notepads having spiral binding. However if you are planning to reduce costs  with your notepad avoid spiral binding as this leads to additional expenditure. You can opt for perfect binding as they are cost effective.
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The final link in printing a notepad cheaply lies with the printing agency. Search for a printer who offers you good rates without compromising on the quality. Here is where the services of a professional printer like PrintPapa will come in handy for you. They have expertise in all kinds of printing including cost effective printing. They take on all kinds of printing jobs including books, brochures, catalogs, posters etc. They are equipped with the latest technology in the printing industry and have regularly satisfied their clientèle with their work.

Design your Business Card such that It Sells You!!

Business cards are one of the most important corporate documents. Along with letterheads, envelopes and notepads they form a complete corporate printing material. The purpose of a business card is not just to provide contact details and address but to promote the business organization. It is thus important to create an attractive and interactive business card which  promotes the business. Here are a few tips that you should keep in mind while designing an interactive business card:

• Play With Color: Color attracts human eye and thus printing a card in full color will make it interactive. Try to print the card in some bright shades which will ensure that it stands out among a bunch of cards.
• Write A Slogan: Try printing a slogan on the back of the card that defines your business well or  writing one yourself will serve the purpose even better. This will create an impression in the minds of the people who see the card.
• Shape It: There is no rule which says business cards need to be rectangular so you can be creative with the card shape as well. In case you are into car rentals you can shape your business card in the shape of a car. This will immediately attract a person who sees it and thus promote your business.
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• Use Your Photograph: If you are an agent dealing with real estate, insurance etc. it is advisable to print your photograph on the business card. This will make sure that people will recognize your face easily which is really beneficial for your business.
• Make It Two Fold: This is a uniquely new concept where a business card is two fold and the size of a standard business card. This is ideal in cases where your business card needs to carry a lot of information about your business. The front and the back remains as usual while the inner folds carry the detailed information about your products and services.
• Print A Calendar: You can print a calendar on one side of your business card. This will make your business card useful for the persons who receives it and ensure that you get more publicity from your business card.
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An interactive business card won’t materialize unless you get it printed from a professional printer on high end printing machines. This is where the services of a professional printer like PrintPapa can help you. They have been in the print and designing business for long and are equipped with the latest printing technology. They have built expertise in printing catalogs, door hangers, brochures, books and other printed materials.

Tips To Design Bumper Sticker

Stickers are used by people of all ages from small to aged. In short they are liked by one and all. Understanding this potential of the bumper stickers they have become important marketing tools for a large group of marketers. Even though the size of the stickers is small yet it can lead to a lot of brand promotion. They can be placed in the cars, helmets or on the computers. Such stickers can be distributed with the mails or at trade shows and they bear the logo and name of your company. There are so many companies including Print Papa that offer bumper sticker printing services. But when you are looking to order for printing services then there are certain considerations that you should take into account.

Firstly you need to provide enough time for the designing of the stickers. It usually takes two to four weeks to produce a high quality sticker. You should have a major say in the design of the stickers and try to find out how other companies are promoting with stickers. Also try and access the purpose that the stickers are meant to serve. While designing do not go too much out of the ordinary, always bear in mind the limitations of the printers.

It is very important that you do a market research to find out the processes and resources of other sticker manufacturing companies. This will provide you with a cost effective means to produce a sticker. Also try and keep the sticker as simple as possible, do not forget that stickers are meant to communicate a message easily and clearly from a distance. It is best to avoid stickers with a lot of details, more than three colors, complex graphics and more than one message or image. As stickers are often claimed as a miniature sized billboard so the headline and the logo should be clearly understood.

When you are printing stickers it is not necessary that the sticker’s background should be in white. If you are printing one color stickers then you can use a printed color as the background of the sticker. Do not waste the white space behind the sticker. This can be used for advertising, news, coupons, etc. While designing a sticker on clear material for windows application you have to use white ink as this will reflect more visibility than the other darker shades.

Creating a unique sticker will give tremendous boost to your marketing efforts. In the recent past stickers have proven to be one of the best advertising mediums. But to get the best results you have to use high quality printing services. Print Papa is a company that has a huge amount of experience in this field. They are printing service provider of repute. You can also order for other promotional materials such as books, brochures, business cards, presentation folders, envelopes, etc.