Plan Early for the Holidays!

Planning early for the holidays is always a good thing! You can avoid last minute rush fees, delays in production and expedited freight charges. Factories very often get backed up in December so this is the time to start planning your holiday gift giving. They sometimes offer discounts if you place your orders by a certain date. I will keep updating you with new and different holiday gift ideas over the next few weeks and my next newsletter will focus completely on holiday gift ideas.

Gourmet Snack Stack

This is a new gift idea- perfect for the holidays and easy to share throughout the office. Once the candy is gone, it is ideal to keep little odds and ends organized!

Printed Mints

How cool are these??!!!

h2go Bottles on Clearance!

Some of my favorite water bottle styles are being discontinued BUT the good news is that the prices are dirt cheap right now on inventory that is still available!


To see all bottles and mugs on clearance click here.

Butt Station

This may be a little personal but I am the first to admit even as a "mature adult" that there are still some things that crack me up to no end- hopefully you are getting my gist here when you see the picture below. This just came across my desk and I had to share- what can I say, it made me laugh! Talk about a promotion that will not be forgotten!!



Click on the image for more product information and pricing!

Everyday Products from Recyled Materials

Halloween

Fun holidays are a perfect opportunity to brand yourself and make a lasting impression! Below are some of my favorite Halloween ideas plus some specials that are running right now.

These images maybe small but I wanted to share a little case history with you to give you an idea of what it means to make a big and lasting impact on your target audience. About 8-10 years ago when I was still fairly new in this industry, I decided to send out a sound card for Halloween to remind my prospects that I was still around and hoping to earn their business. I chose Halloween because it's a non-denominational holiday, relates to fond memories and fun, and has wide appeal. I choose a sound card that did not require much personalization (easy on the small business budget), it was simply a matter of sticking my business card into the slot. On the cover of the card was a witch with the expression, "Trick or Treat". When they opened the card, it activated a sound chip that made an eerie ghost sound and inscribed was, "it would be a real treat to earn your business". Can I tell you that this many years later, people still come up to me and say, "remember when you sent us that Halloween card"- it made a huge impression, to the extent that they still remember their surprise and amusement this many years later. Of course, most important of all, they remember that I sent it to them!

That sound card is still available, you can view more details by clicking here.

Technology Trends and Gifts

How outstanding is it to finally have a keyboard you can wash in your dishwasher?! No more sticky food stains, crumbs that have fallen down below the keys or coffee that has spilled. You can rinse this keyboard out in the sink or wash it in the dishwasher. There is an anti-microbial version which is excellent for shared computers- we won't go into the germ and infection factor, just know that it is no longer a issue when you use this keyboard. For the typer on the go, there is also a flexible silicon version. The added benefit of giving these as gifts is that your logo is up in that top right hand corner- not some other retail brand- you can count on many daily repeat impressions for your brand. For the basic version, these are starting at $45.99 at 12 pieces on down to $39.99 at 250 pieces.



MOGO is just about the coolest thing to hit our market as of late. This is a high end retail piece now available to be branded with your logo. It stores and charges in your PC card slot. When you take it and fold down the kick stand, it becomes a wireless mouse. I took it for a test drive last week and it's very comfortable, lightweight and it moves easily on whatever surface you are working on. It uses wireless Bluetooth technology and includes an adapter. The MOGO starts at $89.95 for 12 pieces and runs to $79.95 for 250 pieces.



This is a fun and functional gift. It's a digital picture frame with a large imprint space- more than you see on most digital picture frame keytags. It holds up to 70 images and with larger quantities, you can preload it with your logo, pertinent photos and information. Right now the price on this piece is running from $32.99 at 25 pieces to $23.99 at 500.

Visual Communications

Visual Communication tools are for any of your display, event and tradeshow needs. Portable displays and visual communication products are positively influencing, informing, and impacting people on the go- don't lose this valuable branding and advertising opportunity. BRAND: CREATIVE can be your complete source for all of your needs, delivering quality on time, every time.



Find the perfect banner for your event. Utilize scrolling banners at tradeshows, flags outside to grab the attention of your customers, indoor or outdoor banners for sponsorships, retractable banners for guideposts and tear or sail signs for events.




Make a good first impression with a table cloth to fit your 6' or 8' table. All over and full color imprint available.





Image is everything! Put your best foot forward with panel floor displays, pop-up displays, table displays and trade show flooring.




Don't forget your accessories to maximize your exposure- items like the literature display shown, carts, chairs, demonstration stands, lectern banners and podiums.





Event tents draw attention to your brand at any outside venue in addition to providing adequate sun protection. Perfect for sporting events, street fairs, festivals and concerts.





Signage isn't just for tradeshows, they can be used for real estate agents, retail sites, exhibits and directions to name a few.




Pre-designed packages are an easy way to meet all of your needs without have to reinvent the wheel.





Contact me for some information on great specials running right now that will save you money and maximize the budget you have for display items.

Let's talk artwork!

Providing the correct artwork for your projects is one of the key elements for insuring success through a clean and clear decoration application on the item of your choice. We need art that has been created in a vector based program. "Vector Graphics", according to dictionary.com is a method of electronically coding graphic images so that they are represented in lines rather than fixed bitmaps, allowing an image as on a computer display screen to be rotated and proportionally scaled. Simply said, it means QUALITY. Very often I receive JPEGs that have been resaved as EPS files. When they look fuzzy on the screen and when you print them out is usually a good indicator you are not working with an original file. The good news is, if you have a professionally created logo, your graphic designer should provide you with that vector based file upon completion or request. It is always a good idea to keep a copy of all of the format versions of your logo on file for reference as well. If your original designer or files are MIA, we can easily clean up your art and recreate it as a vector based file to the tune of $60-80 in most cases. I often tell my clients, this is a good and inexpensive investment for the future whether it be for branded items through me or business cards, stationary, etc.


Here are some other terms that may come in handy as we communicate about your artwork...

• PMS (Pantone Matching System)- this is a printing color method based on a list of specifically mixed colors that are considered to be true and pure- many factories offer a PMS color match for an additional fee, sometimes it's free, but it may not always translate exactly because the final appearance of the color may vary based on the material that you are printing on- if there is any question and time is not of the essence, we can always do a pre-production sample just to be sure the color meets your expectations
  
• CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black)- by using these four colors most other colors can be achieved- this is often acceptable for four or full color process printing
• HALFTONES and GRANDIENTS- the first is a series of dots that determine the shade of a color, the second changes the density of color from light to dark by gradually increasing or decreasing the density of the dots- it can sometimes pose problems in the printing process depending on the DPI of the screen but on the upside, it is often a way to turn into a 1 color imprint into a 2 or 3 with variations on the main color
• DPI (dots per inch) is the unit of measurement for the resolution, communicating the density of dots in a print image- the higher the DPI the better resolution- we usually request a minimum of 300 DPI
• FONTS can be converted or corrupted in transmission when transfered from one software platform to another therefore it's important to convert all fonts to outlines/curves before sending your digital files- once you lock it in with outlines, you won't be able to make changes so keep an additional manipulatable file on hand for future changes- we will also work together to make sure that the point size of the font meets the requirements of the material we're working with (side note: embroidered letters always have to be a minimum of 3/16" to be legible)

That is a lot of detailed information I know! In a nutshell:

• Send me 100% vector based art
• Convert all fonts to outlines
• Save the file as a PDF or EPS

Unless we are dealing with a rush order in which we have to forfeit the proof, we also provide a proof- these days it's usually electronic via e-mail but we still have an occasional factory that sends it via fax. This part of the process allows us both to confirm that we are the same page as the factory in terms of logo, layout and colors.

For questions or more specifics that weren't covered here drop me a line!