The benefits of bespoke printing

If you’re looking to make a statement with your printed media, bespoke printing could be the answer. With bespoke printing services, you can create custom pieces that are tailored exactly to your needs and wants, so that they stand out from the crowd. In this blog, we’ll be taking a closer look into the benefits of bespoke printing. We will explore some examples and look into some top tips on how to make the most of these services.

What is Bespoke Printing?

Bespoke printing is a service that allows you to work closely with your chosen graphic designer, creating custom designs and materials that are tailored to your needs.

Custom printing services can be used for almost any product in any industry and are a great way to help improve brand recognition, boost customer loyalty and gain personalised marketing materials. Common uses of bespoke printing include business cards, envelopes, brochures, letterheads, labels and packaging. Often, a printing partner will work with you to give you advice on the best type of presentation for these items, but still give you full creative control over your brand’s items.

Some specialist printers like Reynolds Press produce highly bespoke items that push the boundaries of print, ink and material technologies to create highly unique and bespoke items.

Printing onto OSB wood and recycled coffee bean board.

The Benefits of Bespoke Printing

If you’ve been considering bespoke printing, there are various benefits of custom printing to consider. Let’s take a look at them in more detail:

Improves Business Exposure and Brand Recognition

Did you know that your business exposure and brand identity can be improved with bespoke printing? The process allows for the creation of customised marketing materials that stand out, such as business cards, flyers and brochures. When customers come into contact with a unique piece of printed media, they’re more likely to remember your brand and be impressed by the quality of the item. This can help convert the viewers into loyal customers.

 

Attracts New Customers

Interesting physical content is a great way to entice new customers and even increase sales. By having customised designs, you can create something that is memorable, personable and effective. This helps customers remember your company name and makes it easier for them to get in touch with you.

 

Gives You Creative Freedom

When you choose bespoke printing over general batch printing, you’re making a choice to invest in a personalised service. Let your creativity take over and choose from paper type, size, designs, colours, methods and more! An experienced bespoke printer will help you leave a lasting impression on your audience.

 

Stand Out From The Crowd

In today’s world, it can be hard to stand out. After all, how many ads pop up on your phone on a daily basis? And of those, which ones do you remember? Bespoke printing is a cost-effective way to have complete control over your audience’s impression of your brand. This crucial factor can help establish trust with your target audience, as they’ll have a printed product to remember you by.

More Cost Effective Than Batch Printing

Bespoke and batch printing both have their advantages, but in terms of cost, bespoke printing is more cost-effective. With batch printing, you must produce large quantities in order to get the best prices. Whereas with bespoke, only a few items are required, and the design can be changed without much effort. This allows you to cater for your bespoke audience in a cost-effective way.

 

Examples Of Bespoke Printing

Have you been considering going bespoke? Let’s take a look at some examples of how bespoke printing can be used to make your brand stand out from the crowd:

Business Cards – These are a great way to introduce yourself and make an impression on a potential customer or client. Set yourself apart from the competition with a unique product! Would you consider moving away from standard business card sizes and materials to get yourself a totally unique look and feel?

Business card printed on kraft paper.
Business card printed on kraft paper.

Brochures – Custom brochures and lookbooks can help draw more attention to your business by providing clear information in an eye-catching design.

Pashley Cycles Range Brochure.
Pashley Cycles Range Brochure

Labels – Labels are used for a variety of purposes, including product packaging and shipping items. With bespoke printing, you can create custom labels that will enhance the look of your products, you might need them to work in extremely hot or cold conditions or stick to the most awkward surfaces.

Stickers – Stickers are another great way to market your business, as they can be used as promotional materials or even just to decorate items.

 

Top Tips For Bespoke Printing

When embarking on a bespoke printing project, it can be challenging to know where to start. Here are our top tips on how to make the most of custom printing:

– Choose a quality printer who you can work closely with and give you the level of advice you need.

– Take your time when creating the design, as it is important to ensure that the final product reflects your brand and leaves a lasting impression.

– Research paper types, ink use, finishes and other materials you like, so that you can convey your printer upon consultation.

– Consider the different printing methods and how they can help enhance your design.

– Make sure you ask for advice. A printer’s job is to help you get the best result and they know what works best in terms of quality, cost-efficiency, sustainability and design.

 

Do you Require Secure Bespoke Printing from Industry Experts?

If you’re looking to invest in bespoke printing services for your business, we’d love to help! Here at Reynolds Press, we’re industry experts, having been in business 76 years we have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to creating bespoke printed pieces. We use advanced printing technology and quality-assured environmentally friendly paper, inks and finishes to ensure you get the results you are looking for.

As the longest-established printers in Coventry, we’re proud to have a loyal customer base and take each project seriously. Founded in 1947, our love for printing has never diminished, and we’re proud to offer excellent service and a personal touch. If you’d like more information on our services, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

 

We hope that this blog has helped introduce you to the world of bespoke printing and given you a better understanding of how it can benefit your business. Whether you’re looking for non-standard, bespoke print, there is no limit to what custom printing can do for you. Why not get started today?

 

Bespoke Printing FAQs:

We’ve answered some of the most frequently asked questions about bespoke printing below:

 

What are the advantages and disadvantages of custom printing?

Customer printing offers a range of advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, it allows for complete control over the design process, allowing customers to create unique products with customised shapes, designs and colours that stand out from the crowd. Additionally, due to economies of scale, custom printing often results in lower costs than mass-produced items. The downside is that the process can be time-consuming and costly, especially for complex designs. However, by planning ahead this won’t be a problem.

 

What Does Bespoke Mean?

Bespoke simply means non-standard, custom-made or tailored to a particular customer’s needs. In the printing industry, it refers to producing products with customised shapes, designs, colours and applications that are not available off-the-shelf.

 

What are the advantages of bulk printing?

Working with a printing company for bulk orders offers a range of advantages. The main is that bulk printing ensures that there’s always an adequate stock level and reduces lead times as orders for printed materials can be placed ahead of time.

 

What are the three advantages of print?

Print has many advantages over digital these days. With a high ROI, it is tactile, long-lasting and can convey emotion and perceived value. It appeals to visual and kinaesthetic learners and is very flexible in terms of design.

 

 

Embossing – What is it and how do you use it?

Embossing dates back to the 15th Century and is a development of the letterpress printing process.

Whilst letterpress (done correctly) leaves no impression on the back of the paper, embossing or debossing uses a raised printing plate, heat and pressure to create an outline of the image in the paper.

When used in conjunction with a recessed counterforce, the raised embossing die forces the paper into the counterforce creating a crisp contoured image.

Hand operated embossing machine, image courtesy of Wikipedia

Up until the 1970’s it was common for companies to have their own embossing ‘stamp’ as a security feature for business contracts and paperwork.

Nowadays embossing is used as an embellishment to enhance the look and feel of a printed item, most noticeably in stationary, brochure and packaging print.

Luxury goods packaging

Embossing is best used on a plain background where the raised image stands out the most.

Blind embossing a blue cover paper.
Blind embossing on a blue cover paper

The term ‘blind embossing’ is used where there is embossing only and no foiling.

Pashley book cover

Embossing and printing the same image creates a textured 3D effect.

–Article by Reynolds Press

Exhibition Installations

The life of an exhibitions installer…..

Some clients prefer to turn up to events with their stand all ready to go, and I completely understand why they may want to do this, it takes away the hassle and the stress and it saves on hotel bills. We are the people who fight through the traffic, use all our people charms to find a place to park at the exhibition hall or hotel complex without getting a parking ticket (a huge task I can assure you, especially in London!!)

Reynolds Press are often the first there so the hall is often not cleared from its previous use. Whilst this can be chaotic, it gives us a chance to bag the best place for our client and find a suitably level spot. Being the only ones on site means we have plenty of space to unpack the graphics (in our case we take our own sheeting to protect your graphics from dirty floors).

We have the time to make sure your stand is set up perfectly and arrange your props as per the clients wishes. All plugs, sockets and lighting is tested. Around the time we are leaving, other stand installers are turning up and you can see the envious looks from others wishing their graphics looked as good.

If possible we do a physical hand over to the client but often it is completed before they arrive early the next day. A long trip home follows with maybe a quick McDonalds on the way back and we’ll be in bed sometime in the early hours.

The exhibition break down strangely enough is often more stressful! We have just a tiny window of a couple of hours to clear the space and everyone is doing the same. Fighting for parking spaces, queues at the lifts and corridors is commonplace with people tripping over each other and tempers short from exhibitors having to do their own packing up after a long day manning the stand.

Our chilled out client just leaves it all for us to do and takes the train home (first class I hope after a successful event!)

10 Top Tips for great mailing results

We have a European-wide client who provides a specialist service to help people who have suffered due to miss-selling.

By understanding their clients and investing in their service, staff and processes we help them achieve incredible 5-10% conversion rates on their mailing campaigns!

This is in contrast to digital campaigns where conversion rates tend to be a lot lower.

Reynolds 10 Top Tips:

  1. Your mailing data has to be top quality, low or poor quality data is a waste of money to buy and also in postage costs.
  2. Understand your clients and what ‘call to actions’ they prefer. If, like our client, the majority of respondents prefer to telephone in, then you need to be ready for that. If they prefer to email, set up response mechanisms and the same too for online forms.
  3. Design your mailings to work within the most economical Royal Mail discount schemes. Thousands of pounds can be saved working with our knowledgeable print and mailing team who can help advise you to get the best savings.
  4. Send a test mailing to yourself first to check how it looks in your letterbox.
  5. Build your 7 touch points around your mailing and website. A lot of ‘know, like and trust’ can come across in a well-designed mailing piece and complimentary website.
  6. Testimonials are crucial to the trust element; our client has 91 of them on their website!
  7. Explain your offering very clearly, you are paying for a minimum of 100g of Royal Mail postage, you might as well use all of it, adding a letter and forms to your brochure makes it all the more engaging.
  8. Be there for when the client wants to contact you and respond timely and professionally.
  9. Measure your response rates.
  10. Register with the ICO and comply with GDPR regulations, there is so much you can do within the regulations that people are not aware of.

Mailings are very powerful, especially so in this digital world where being heard above the noise is so important.

Let our business help you achieve incredible conversion rates.

Creative Collaborations

An example of where working collaboratively created amazing results.

—By Reynolds Press

What do we mean by ‘Owning the Solution’?

Why being remarkable at one thing drives our business.

Why not owning our own printing equipment is a strength

Do you want your jobs printed on the best technology available or on the old press at the back of the factory?

—By Reynolds Press

Valentines Day

Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity to show your clients how much you love them.

Here are 10 great ideas where you can share the love……

Printed Valentine’s Day Business Cards

Run a fun campaign, personalising each card with your client’s details with a message of appreciation. More so now than ever, it is important to let our clients know that we love them.

Chocolate campaign

Buy branded or unbranded chocolates and send them with a personalised card. We can order, mail merge, print, fulfil, distribute and show proof of delivery for you.

Personalised printed card with mug and chocolates

What could be nicer than a branded mug of your own and a small chocolate gift for your clients. Your mug will be a timely reminder of your thoughtfulness.

Flowers and a personalised card

You can’t go wrong by sending flowers, chocolates and a personalised card.

Love themed poll

Run a poll on what your customers would love to receive this Valentine’s Day and give the results back in an e-shot and prize for best entry.

Donation

Donate a sum of money to a local charity and ask your customers to recommend a charity of their choice. List the charities and the winner and share a photo handing over the cheque.

Toblerone

Clients will be impressed by the lengths you go to create special packaging just for them. The memory of the personalised packaging will remain longer than the taste of the chocolate ☺

Valentine’s Day lollies

Cupcakes

Love hearts

Our company can create you a branded container to send out these awesome sweets. It was one of our most successful campaigns ever…

If you love your clients and would like to knock around creative Valentine’s Day campaigns, please give us a ring. If nothing else we can have fun coming up with ideas together…

 

Proofing

Proofing is the part of the print process where you get to check what we are about to print. It is the final time you have any involvement with the print files before you hand over to us and is one of the most important parts of the print buying journey.

If we are creating your artwork from scratch or amending your existing files, then you will experience a number of proofs along the way. If you are supplying your own artwork to us from your own graphic designer, then we proof your file once we have preflighted it.

Preflighting is the art of checking fonts, image quality, resolutions and file types, colours, traps and bleeds. Around 80% of all jobs need adjusting at this stage to get optimum results on the press. It is a black art of which Reynolds Press is probably one of the best preflighters in the country.

Our clients feel so much more secure when we pick something up and we let them know. This is a key building block of our relationships and demonstrates our supporting values. 

The majority of online printers don’t even offer a proof, they print your job regardless, so, if the job is wrong, it is your fault…..

If you want peace of mind, Reynolds Press will give you print perfection. We have a 100% satisfaction record of preflighting your files for print.

Business Card

Perhaps one of the most enduring pieces of print that is still as popular today than ever before. 

In this digital age a lot of print has moved on from transactional (invoices) and publicity (brochures) to experiential engagement material ie exhibitions, graphics, signage, packaging or anything where people meet other people to network or trade. 

Business cards seem to be one thing where people still want quality – cheap printed business cards look…. cheap! It is usual for us to quote many variations of business cards but very rarely are the least expensive options actually ordered. 

What makes a business card feel ‘quality’? Thickness of card is the initial indicator of quality, where once 300g was the norm, now 400g and above can be produced at very reasonable prices. 

If you like thick business cards then you will like duplexing which is the process of gluing 2 pieces of paper together so 700g business card are more frequently seen these days. 

We once triplexed ours with a middle sheet of purple card and they looked awesome!

Laminating was once a favoured finish to business cards but is dropping in popularity. Laminating had to be applied to both sides of the card otherwise the cards would bend with differences in air moisture content. 

Laminating is a great carrier for spot UV varnishing which was the rage for the past few years

Current popular demand is for uncoated papers to be used, often papers with a textured surface that have a natural tactile feel. These can be much harder to print on using digital print engines but we know which engines print best on which materials so you will always get best quality.

Embossing is a long time favourite, not cheap but perfect for the ‘less is more’ look. This style is a favourite for timeless brands for a unique look.

Laser die cutting is our current favourite, we used this process on our current duplexed business cards to let the paper do the talking. It has a simplicity about it and is very tactile and highly memorable.