

The Stationery Subscription Box has suddenly catapulted in to the stratosphere, largely due to our inherent love of stationery. Even though the digital age was supposed to have done away with dated pens and paper the sales of stationery continues to increase year on year.
The advent of high-quality digital printing is making entry to the world of bespoke stationery printing exciting and affordable. Couple that with an easy route to market with ‘off-the-shelf’ e-commerce websites and the stationery boom has gone from a rumble to an explosion. And as far as we are concerned – it’s great!
A Local Printer uses Carbon Capture material for many of our products, which translates in to money donated to Woodland Trust to plant trees. With our paper merchant partners the combined donations are now in excess of £800,000 which equates to rather a lot of trees. 260,000 to be precise!
It is now official that grey is more popular than black – in terms of car colour at least. But in terms of all aspects of design grey has been steadily marching up the charts for several years. A trendy pub or restaurant will greet you with calming grey walls and dark grey trim; soft furnishings match and compliment grey tones; cars, clothes, nails and even hair are now vamping up grey.
Grey has played a strong supporting role for years, particularly with blues and oranges. Its very neutrality makes it a background of choice for layering colour without being overpowering. But what is grey and how can it be used to best effect?
When we first went online as a business in 2006 pretty much the smallest quantity we offered of any product was 500. This was back in the day when commercial digital presses were still in their infancy - struggling with inconsistent quality, prohibitive costs per click, paper limitations and various other undesirable elements that made digital printing second place to litho printing. Trying to print small runs on a litho press was not really an option. By the time you got the print in registration it was time to switch the press off again! So higher quantity orders were the norm. In time digital printing became more reliable and with it the realisation that being able to offer much smaller print quantities was a real winner. So much so that today the volume of our digital print order is on a par with our litho printing. So why is digital printing a win-win proposition for you and us?
One of the main benefits of being parked in the office that manages the bespoke enquires we receive is that I can spot a trend in products that our customers are interested in. Our customers are our barometer on new product requirements and as such we are able to respond very quickly to new market interests. This year we have added 18 new products to our website based upon enquiries from our customers.
Read on to see what you are responsible for!
The fashion industry is under the spotlight. And not in a good way. 2018 is the year that the fashion industry is being held to account in terms of how eco-friendly their products are, and they are being found wanting.
Shocking fact – it takes up to 10,000 litres of water to make a single pair of jeans. Frightening.
Selling your own greeting cards must be one of the most satisfying ways of making some extra cash to splash at Christmas. Greeting card printing is popular all year round, but at this time of year the take up rate goes sky high! There are so many different routes available to market and sell your cards too; via online shops for those of you who are very organised, at school fetes, church and town fairs for others. And let's not forget that boot fairs and local shops and businesses are also good avenues to pursue.
There’s no getting away from it – stickers are a fun product that is loved by people of all ages and a throwback to childhood that are still universally enjoyed. Who doesn’t get a frisson of pleasure at peeling off the backer to release a sticker? And who doesn’t get a tingle of satisfaction deciding where to apply said sticker? Versatile and easy to use, stickers are a proven way to expand your market reach and a perfect product for branding or personal use.
Climate change is a serious problem and it is not going to go away unless we all take steps to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (greenhouse gasses) released from the burning of fossil fuels. Going totally carbon neutral would be almost impossible to achieve, but seeking out and using carbon neutral products is a great way to start.
What is the similarity between flyers and flags? They are both designed to get attention, they both communicate, generally they are both colourful and sometimes they are both made from paper!
Flyers are a tremendous and inexpensive way to create a buzz around a promotion, event or product. As a marketing tool your potential customers can see what you are advertising, and then have the ability to physically take that information away with them. Flyers can be targeted to a specific location or market segment – essential when return on your investment is key.