Paper Grades and Weights

Paper Grades and Weights

Paper Grades and Weights

Have you ever heard someone refer to the weight of a piece of paper? When getting printing quotes, do you call out what kind of paper you want, or do you leave that up to the printer to determine? There is no right or wrong answer, but see our tips below on typical paper weights, grades and uses.

Paper Grades:

Bond paper – most commonly used for letterhead, business forms and copying. Weights usually range from 20lb for copying or 24lb for stationary.

Text weight paper – most common in printing. This is typically high quality paper with some surface texture. Text paper can be coated or uncoated and weights are typically 60, 70, 80 or 100

Cover weight paper – used with creative business cards, postcards and booklet covers. These again can be uncoated or coated and weights are usually 65, 80 or 100.

Paper Weights:

Paper weights are based on the weight (in pounds) of 500 standard sized sheets of paper. While there are many different terms and names to call out paper, there are some typical names across brands and companies. You can have a text or cover paper grade, with a same weight, that are not the same type of paper. For example, a 60lb text and a 60lb cover are two different types of paper.

Note that just because someone says “65lb” paper, they are not specifying the type of paper. Paper types need to be called out not only by weight, but also type. For example, “60lb text” or “100lb cover” are what you would see. Often times you can get even more fine tuned with saying “80lb cover uncoated”

 

Check out our articles here and here for more about uncoated vs. coated stock and more fun facts about paper!

How to Save Time During the Print Process

How to Save Time During the Print Process

Looking to speed up the print process? We can help!

While each project takes a different amount of time, depending on the project, there are some things that you can do to help speed up the print process. We go through each project as meticulously as possible to make sure that everything is in order before going to print. We also send a PDF proof with every job, no matter what! That said, there are some things that can help save us (and you!) some time and money on needing to fix files before printing.

 

  • Convert all images from RGB color to CMYK – don’t know the difference? Check out our article here
  • Make sure the final image(s) has a high enough resolution (must be 300dpi or higher)
  • Make sure you have enough bleed (1/8”) if your printing requires it
  • Make sure all fonts are included
  • If images or graphics are being printed, make sure to send us links, as necessary
  • Make sure the file is in a proper format (Ai, High-Res JPG, PDF, TIF). If the file is too big to send, be sure to ask for our drop box or TFP access folders to drop your files.
  • Does not require any additional modifications before going to press
  • Got questions – just ask! We are happy to help!

Direct Mail – The Best Way to Reach Customers

Direct Mail – The Best Way to Reach Customers

2020 has been one for the books, and it isn’t even over yet! Who would have thought that a couple weeks of quarantine, would turn into months of quarantine, work from home, and distance learning for our children? Summer came and went in a flash and much of our regular routines have been stripped away. With the ever-growing use of technology, from zoom to Netflix, digital ads are no longer getting the attention of your customers and clients. How to solve this? Direct Mail! Below are some great tips on how to use direct mail and its benefits

 

Target: digital marketing often does not go the desired targets, but rather a more general audience. Direct mail can get be nailed down to hit your target specifically to make sure you are getting more bang for your buck. Want to hit only a certain demographic within a certain neighborhood? We can help! Want to only send to certain age groups or employment types? We can help!

Track: did you know that we can monitor who receives direct mail and who is responding or using it? Depending on how your direct mail media is built, we can help track users and responders. This is a fantastic way to measure your return on investment!

Mix: It has been shown that adding direct mail into your marketing mix increases your chances of your target audience remembering your brand and taking action. Direct mail mixed with digital helps to increase brand awareness.

 

Looking to increase your marketing ROI and attract more customers? Direct mail is the way to go. Contract us today, we’d love to help!

 

Cascade Print Media voted one of Washington’s Best Companies to Work For

Cascade Print Media voted one of Washington’s Best Companies to Work For

We are so excited to be ranked as one of Washington’s Best Companies to Work For by Seattle Business Magazine. 2020 has thrown us a ton of curve-balls, but we are happy to adapt and change with the ever transforming needs of our customers.

How we do it? Our Employees! We look for the best people during the hiring process – those who are willing to go above and beyond, every day to get the job done. We look for people who are passionate about what the do, and are ready to dive into each and every project with the same enthusiasm as the last! We look for people who want to work hard, and have fun doing it! Thank to you our amazing employees, without you we would not be where we are today. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

Education Marketing Essentials

Education Marketing Essentials

Education marketing is critical, now more than ever, to get attention and focus on your brand or product. Did you know that most people absorb more information when reading it on paper than on a screen? What better way to get your point across about your brand than through print? Below are some education marketing essentials to help spread the word and educate the audience about your products and services. It’s a win-win!

Booklets: Need to showcase a lot of material to your students, alumni or prospective students? Creating a booklet of classes, updates, pictures and other informational content is a great way to pack a punch in a small and budget friendly way.

Direct Mail: Sending direct mail is a great way to reach current and potential customers near and far. You can showcase a new class, updated curriculum or new campus activities with a quick postcard or a more in-depth information packet.

Brochures: Showcase your school or tutoring company with a brochure! Give detailed information about classes, location, curriculum and more for students.

Magnets: Similar to business cards, magnets are a great way to convey vital information in a small package. It helps keep information top of mind, while also being useful to the end user.

Newsletters: Newsletters are a great way to get out updates about campus projects, new classes and upcoming events to a lot of people. They can be sent to alumni, current students and prospective students to keep them in the know and encourage them to participate in community events.

Postcards: Need to send a quick update, important facts, or a friendly reminder? Postcards are great to help students and parents understand important information, and something they can easily keep on their fridge without a lot of clutter!

Stickers/Labels: Sticker and labels seem to make their way to almost any surface. Road signs, cross walk poles, car bumpers and more. Get your school or business name out there – who knows where it will end up!

Bookmarks: Bookmarks are a great way for students to place where they left off, and helps keep your class or company top of mind.

Banners: What better way to congratulate or celebrate a big win than with banners! Have a big hiring fair? Want to celebrate a big game or event coming up? Banners are a great way to get the word out and let people know.

Apparel: Have you ever walked down the street and seen someone wearing a sweatshirt with an educational organization’s name on it? Spread school spirit through your current students and customers. It’s the best form of referral marketing there is!

Promotional Products: Did you know that almost 90% of people remember a promotional item given to them, even after two years has passed? Something as small as a pen or notebook can make a huge impact on your audience.

 

We would love to help you showcase your school or educational organization with its best foot forward. We have been in business for over 55 years and are the leading print provider in the Pacific Northwest. We would be happy to help offer some suggestions and help you create the perfect medium to convey your brand!

 

 

When to Use Promotional Products

When to Use Promotional Products

Are you looking for a way to show off your new product line or announce your new company? Promotional products are a great way, at an affordable cost! Over 18 billion dollars are spent each year on various promotional products, at that number grows year by year. People recognize brands and love receiving promotional products, especially when they are everyday items. Promotional products offer a big bang for your buck in that they create a loyal fan-base. Below are some great ways to use promotional items to expose your brand and products to almost anyone.

 

Holidays: giving a corporate gift to your best clients or team members? Add your logo to almost anything to help enforce your brand

Vendor Acknowledgement: Want to show your vendors how much you appreciate them? Give them custom products that fit with your brand voice as well as their need.

Trade Shows: Meeting lots of new and prospective clients? Remind them of your brand and who you are with a small gift they can take home and remember, well after the trade show ends

Employee Engagement/Recognition: Help promote employee engagement and recognition with branded products like water bottles, bags and more!

New Product Launch: Help get the word out about new products with branded promotional products. T-shirts, pens, notebooks and more help spread the word fast.

Website: want to showcase your website? Hand out promotional products that feature the web address to draw people to more information that showcases your business and brand.

Customer Appreciation: Show your clients how much you appreciate them with branded goodie bags, electronics, health and wellness products and many other options

 

Promotional products are low-cost, effective marketing tools to let the general public know about your brand and services. Even something as small as a pen or pencil can circulate into the hands of many! Promotional products are said to create instant brand recognition, great brand exposure and fantastic customer loyalty. Did you know that almost 90% of consumers can recognize a brand even two years after receiving a promotional product?

Have a product in mind that you would like to use? Have no idea where to start? We can help! Contact us for a no-obligation estimate. Our promotional product experts can walk you through various products, suggest some go-to items and help find the best products for your budget.