Among the outdoor industry’s virtues are its passionate stories that connect products to personal stories, a commitment to quality manufacturing, and the building and celebration of a community that is avid about the places and experiences in the great outdoors.
Therefore it is key that printed collateral capture attention of onlookers and provide an effective impression to connect your story and imagery of your brand with your audience. However, print materials are only effective if they are well-designed and printed on quality materials with the right printing techniques. That means that if you skimp on printing costs or go to the first print shop you see in search results, you may not be happy with the results—and you may miss out on potential new customers. To ensure that you’re satisfied with your outdoor marketing collateral, brochures, posters, and direct mail marketing flyers, consider the following factors as you search for a full-service printing company.
Printing Technology that Conveys Quality
You will probably have a clear vision for what you want your ads and printed marketing collateral to look like. You’ve spent time deliberating the visuals and graphics that best convey your product and it’s incredible features. You know that your demographic values quality in their avid outdoor lifestyle products, and reflecting that quality in your materials is just as much of a competitive advantage. Keeping your marketing details sharp and eye-catching comes down to the final execution. However, not all printing companies will be capable of bringing your vision to life in a variety of different mediums. Often, colors can become distorted and images may become blown out or blurry. To avoid these issues, look for a printer that has G7 Master Printer certification.
G7 certification means that the printer uses a specific grayscale calibration technique, which ensures that colors will be printed true to form in any output. Even if you work with several different printing companies to create the full range of your marketing materials, you can expect the exact same color qualities across the board if all printers carry G7 certification.
Staccato printing is another element to look for. This technique yields prints that are free of visible dots, rosettes, screening moire, and jumps in color tone. While many printers will have a screen frequency of 175-200 lines per inch, those that implement Staccato printing feature 20 microns (about 500 lines) per inch, which results in crystal-clear, high-definition images.
When 1Vision assisted in the development, printing, and fulfillment of a nationwide new eyewear campaign for Magpul, an outdoor enthusiast accessories brand, we knew the quality of the wide-format panels needed to be a sharp and as beautiful as the eyewear product they were manufacturing. Utilizing the G7 master printer, we could ensure that the color and print quality for their new kiosks would be executed perfectly!
Local Expertise
There are many printing companies that provide services nationwide, and you may be tempted to seek them out for the one-time sale or promotion they may offer. However, it is often beneficial to work with a locally-based company for your outdoor brand materials. With local expertise, your print experts will know the exact environment your signage and outdoor prints will face, so they can account for those conditions. A local printing company with their heart and free time personally invested in the Denver and Colorado region is bound to better understand your target audience and your competitors, so they can provide insight on your graphic design solutions and print material distribution.
Environmental Impact
A local presence also helps to ensure that your printing company is doing the right thing in terms of environmental impact. Large-scale printing can be a drain on resources, but there are eco-friendly methods that you can look for to curb the impact. Look for printing services boasting no VOC emissions and ozone-free printing processes. This will ensure that your paper selection, ink choices, and production practices do not cause needless waste within the manufacturing facilities where they are produced.
Convenience
Though there a temptation to source a printer with a short term sale or promotion, the long term convenience strategy is to look for a company that not only boasts the above qualities, but will also help you anticipate what you need and provides you a partnership that takes the weight off your shoulders.
With the Magpul project, we were able to select a substrate that made sure the project came under budget and on time all the while continuing to be eco-friendly! Their materials were printed to slide into eyewear kiosks at retailers throughout the country.
At 1Vision, we understand that our clients aren’t printing experts. We have the expertise you need to fulfill any order, and we do our part to make that order environmentally sound. We are members of the Colorado Environmental Leadership Program, and a PIA and FSC Certified Green Printer. Plus, we go the extra mile with technology specifically designed for a variety of printing solutions, so you can expect the highest visual quality with smoother gradients, finer detailing, and color purity in every project through every step in the process with all our in-house capabilities. To learn more about what we can do in the Rockies and beyond, visit our website or give us a call at 1-800-833-4263.
