Issue 1 May 2010 ULTRA WHOLESALE PR INT ING NEWS

The value of Print Hut’s printed media is not only about great quality and wholesale prices for everyone, but also about what you are saying to prospects and customers.

Print Hut’s Think b4u ink is here to assist our micro business customers with just that. In our fi rst edition we take a look at some basic design golden rules and how to tune in visually to your customers needs, forgetting about what you do for once and more about what your customers want. Printed media works, but only if you understand that the spadework has to be done.

Remember: ❝ Before you go to the printers think exactly what you are saying in your designs, because as sure as eggs are eggs, if you don’t, you might as well go up out in to the street and throw all your cash down the drain. ❞

Frank Golden

Don’t just throw your money down the drain

Welcome to Print Hut’s fi rst edition of Think b4U ink, marking 3 years since Frank Golden brought Ultra Wholesale Printing into the UK via an old Glass Hut just outside of St. Neots in Cambridgeshire.

A lot’s happened in those three years for this most irreverent of printing companies, not least understanding their clients needs not just exposing previous silly retail print costs from traditional printers, but also training their new customers to think before they ink.

It is said that eighty percent or more of the marketing messages

used in print media and advertising are 100% ineffective.

In order to capture your prospects attention you must fi rst give them a compelling reason to read your message. As simple as this may sound, most companies are guilty of simply announcing their name and list of services... yawn. An effective message will go beyond announcing services and more in to what the company has to offer to the client... and more specifi cally how the client will benefi t from these services. This is called benefi t oriented marketing and it is almost always overlooked.

ULTR A WHOLESALE PR INT ING NEWS

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Try ‘AIDA’ - Attention Interest Desire Action

The Attention part is the banner or headline that makes an impressive benefi t promise. Interest builds information in an interesting way, usually meaning that this must relate closely to the way that the reader thinks about the issues concerned. If you seek a response you must move then to create Desire, which relates benefi ts to the reader so that they will want them. Finally you must prompt an Action, which may be to call a telephone number or to complete and send off a reply coupon. Advertising that does not prompt action is a wasted opportunity.

Your message must be quick and easy to absorb

Use a clear layout, clear fonts and clear language. Do not distract the reader from the text by overlaying images or using fancy fonts. Use simple language, avoid complicated words, and keep enough space around the text to attract attention to it. Use simple traditional typestyles: serif fonts are quicker to read than sans serif. Use ten, eleven or twelve point-size for the main text; smaller or larger are actually more diffi cult to read and therefore less likely to be read. Look at newspapers and library books, which are almost always serif fonts of ten to twelve point size.

Your main message must be the most prominent

Do not be tempted to devote 50% of the space to a striking picture or a quote from Shakespeare. The biggest part of the advert must be your main-benefi t statement. This is the part that entices the reader to read on.

Avoid cluttering the design with fancy images, colours and backgrounds. Make it easy to read. For the same reason avoid italics, shadows, light colours reversed out of dark, weird and wonderful colours. None of these improve readability, they all reduce it. Use simple black (or dark coloured) text on a white (or light coloured) background for maximum readability. Involve the reader in your writing style

- use the 2nd person: you, your, and yours. Refer to the reader as ‘you’ and use the second person (‘you’, ‘your’ and ‘yours’ etc) in the description of what your business does for the customer to get them visualising their own personal involvement. Describe the service as it affects them in a way that they will easily relate to it.

0800 9545 0140800 9545 014National print-crimes Helpline

Suspect your business is about to be robbed by a traditional retail printer?… Call us now and we will investigate.

Is it worth it?

YayYay NayNayor

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Print Hut’s design team are specifi cally geared towards micro and small businesses wishing to optimise their print spend whilst capping creative cost at a realistic level. They can be contacted on 0800 9545 014 or via email at studio@printhut.co.uk

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Incorporate something new

People respond better and are more easily attracted initially to a concept that is new or original. If they’ve heard or seen it all before it will be no surprise that they take no notice at all. People must believe there’s something in it for them right from the start.

Develop a proposition that is special or unique and emphasise this

Your proposition or offer must be credible and believable

The Advertising Standards Authority or equivalent would prevent you from making overly extravagant claims anyway, but you should still attempt to make your offer seem perfectly credible. This is usually best accomplished by explaining ‘why’ and ‘how’ you are able to do the things you are offering, in support of your claims; you can also increase credibility by showing references or testimonial quotes from satisfi ed customers.

For example, if you claim particularly good customer service, this can be reinforced with an outline of your policy on seeking customer feedback and carrying out satisfaction surveys.

Use lower case type - WORD SHAPES ARE LOST WHEN CAPITALS ARE USED

People read by recognising word-shapes not individual letters, so don’t use upper case (CAPITAL LETTERS) for text, and ideally not for headlines either, as it takes longer to read and reduces impact. Headline should be three-quarters up the page or advert space. Position your headline statement where it can be seen quickest. Do not put headlines at the very top of the space. The eye is naturally drawn to between two-thirds and three-quarters up the page or space, which is where the main benefi t statement needs to be. Advertising is often referred to as a ‘Black Art’ because it is mysterious, and is rarely a precise science. Things sometimes work which you imagine wouldn’t, and plenty of things you think should work, don’t.

Why should people be interested if your proposition is no different to your competition? You must try to emphasise what makes your service special. Unless your code of practice prevents you from claiming superiority over your competitors, you should put

as much emphasis as you can behind your USP (unique selling point), and either imply or state directly that you are the only company to offer these things. Again refer to the selling article about developing unique selling propositions.

These tips have been provided to us from the business balls website. © Alan Chapman 1995-2010 www.businessball.com

Print Hut’s Charitable Chain The company has had a quick review meeting with the custodians of our charitable chain and we are well on track for smashing the target set last October of raising over £1,000 for local good causes. The chain allows both Print Hut’s wholesale print suppliers and micro business customers to match Print Hut’s donation of just £1 when an order is activated in their particular chain. The model of shared responsibility means

that the Cambridgeshire Air Ambulance will receive a cash injection around mid-October this year which will go someway to keeping their two helicopters in the air. A massive thanks to all involved. Don’t forget you can also go to our site and donate to the Air Ambulance when ever you feel the need,

www.printhut.co.uk/cambridgeshire-air-ambulance

Paper Mercy Mission As the dilemma with the World paper supply deepens, Print Hut’s purchasing arm, Prosis Print Management has been busy securing in excess of 140 tonnes of uncoated paper for expected forthcoming activity for the autumn quarter. As the team found out, making the paper is one hurdle, getting it out of Europe is another, but trying to fi nd somewhere in the UK to store it securely is an entirely different headache. It’s a bit like the day before Christmas, when the whole of the UK go shopping for 2 weeks worth of goods for no apparent reason. Looking at the whole paper crisis, it would seem to be a bit self-perpetuated; driven by panic buying which applies pressure on supply.

Young Enterprise Awards Night Print Hut’s very own Frank Golden was present at the Young Enterprise awards night on the 27th April as one of the panel of esteemed Judges. Frank’s role was to mark the teams on their problem solving abilities and product Development skills. Along with Frank on the panel were a host of other locally acclaimed business people, including Bob Bickerdicke, Seamus Keogh, Chief Operating Offi cer for Clancy Docwra Limited and Kevin Brown, Director for Anglian Water. The evening held at Wyboston lakes Conference Centre was hosted by Chris Newsome, Chair of the Huntingdon Area of Young Enterprise.

World Cup Fever is here at Print Hut Will England Lift high the World Cup Trophy or walk away with sweet SA?

(that was SA) Well it’s almost here and to celebrate all what’s

footie we have handed over part of the web site to those customers that simply can’t do without a spot of World Cup Punditry; Charlotte

has taken on the role of Blogg master, (or should that

be mistress?) with weekly updates of who’s in and who’s out. We also

have a World Cup Poster to download as well as an xls tracker to fi nd out if and when we might meet the Jerries. Enjoy!!... and just to make things a little easier we have even renamed the web site in honour of the greatest game. Go to www.sweetSA.co.uk.

Frank Hut’s World Cup strip

Web site Updates Visitors to the Print Hut site can now download our preferred guidelines for the supply of artwork. We hope this will prove helpful. So if you haven’t the faintest idea why Print Hut need crop marks and 3mm bleeds all is now explained in the this easy to use artwork guideline; the download can be found in prime position on the home page.

If you have had a happy experience using Print Hut’s printed products, please let us know and with your permission we will publish your testimonials. Simply call up or email your thoughts through to sales@prinhtut.co.uk

So you want to provide us with artwork?

provide rk? pp

Relax, Print Hut are here to help you out

Print Hut, A1 Lifestyle VillageGreat North Road, Little PaxtonSt Neots PE19 6EN

Tel: 0800 9545 014 sales@printhut.co.uk www.printhut.co.uk