Custom Packaging - A Great Marketing Tool!

There is a time and a place for using stock packaging. However, in today’s competitive market a custom package can be the way to set a product apart from the rest and make the sale. From printed plastic bags at the grocery store and custom printed boxes at boutiques to creatively-shaped labels on bottles, custom packaging is memorable and creative in addition to being practical and useful.

One of the big reasons to use custom packaging is that the packaging doubles as advertisement. A printed box does more for brand recognition than plain brown paper ever will. When a product’s packaging is customized, it allows customers to develop brand recognition based on packaging shape, the company logo and even the color scheme used on the label.

Custom packaging can also draw in new customers. Packaging is one of the first faces of the product that a customer sees, and you want that first impression to be memorable. Custom packaging gives you a wide variety of options for creative and eye-catching designs. Full color printing, glossy finishes and brilliant stocks are all available.

The right package can increase word-of-mouth promotion. Word of mouth is one of the most important ways to promote businesses. The right packaging lets you use that force for your benefit. When you make an impact with packaging, you create a strong image in the customer’s mind, and it can get people talking. New customers will ask about a product if they see something that impresses them, and it can make existing customers excited to talk about it.

The right packaging can set products apart from the many choices customers have. Make it more than just another product. A sleek black box can evoke a feeling of upscale quality before customers even open it. Colorful boxes can create an image of fun perfect for games, toys, and more. Food packaged in boxes with full-color photographs makes a promise to customers. The right packaging can highlight the quality, fun, or uses of a product and make sure customers know what sets it apart from the competition.

Perhaps the best reason to use custom packaging is that it is just that: custom. Packaging can be created to fit products’ size and style exactly. You can make cupcake-sized boxes in pastel shades, extra-large boxes with colorful designs for oversized children’s toys, triangular boxes for oddly-shaped products, or boxes with handles for added portability. Off-the-shelf packaging doesn’t give you that level of versatility and can be difficult to modify without expensive and complicated filler materials.

Inspired to help your customers create their own custom packaging? Take a look at the Presentation Packaging catalog to see our catalog options or give us a call so we can create something completely unique together.

What kind of custom packaging catches your eye when you are in a store?

The Advantage of Stock Business Forms Versus Custom Forms

Less expensive

Consider the purchase of Stock forms when you are in need of a small quantity of printed, multiple part forms.  Whether it be for computer output or for handwritten or typewritten applications, stock business forms are an alternative to having a custom form designed and printed for you.

Stock business forms are generic business forms that are printed in bulk, stocked in inventory,

and sold in small quantities and have your company imprint and logo if applicable on them.  Bulk printing reduces the unit cost of stock business forms so they can be sold in small quantity at a lower price than custom printed business forms.

Graphic Design Services

In addition to the cost savings offered by stock business forms, they also offer the advantage of savings on professional graphic design.  Stock business forms include all of the essential elements of any particular form:  invoice, statement, purchase order, delivery receipt, check, or sales order.  Stock business forms make an excellent starting point from which to develop a custom form later on.   Launch a new application by using a stock form to determine, through experience, what modifications, if any, need to be made to fit your special needs, then have a custom form designed to incorporate those changes.

Fast delivery

Another advantage of stock forms is their availability.  Since they are already printed and in inventory, non-imprinted stock business forms can be shipped within 24 hours.  If you want your company name, address, and phone number imprinted on the forms, along with a unique numbering sequence, shipment is made within 3 business days.  Unless you pay a rush charge, custom forms will normally require a minimum of 5 to 7 business days for completion, and that’s if the copy has been typeset and is ready for printing.  It can take many additional days to design a custom form and typeset and proof the copy.

Order your stock business form and/or custom business forms from Stargate Design & Printing.

Top 4 Eco-Friendly Promo Products

When it comes to shopping for environmentally friendly promotional items, there are so many different paths down which one can go.  From items made of corn plastic to energy friendly gadgets, there's a wide array of Eco friendly products available to shoppers.  To make life a little easier for those attempting to "go green," we've compiled a list of the top four Eco-friendly promotional products.

 

1.  Bamboo pen

ECO-Friendly Bamboo stylus and ballpoint pen

Few products exude environmental friendliness as well as the custom imprinted bamboo pen.  This stand-out pen features a natural design, made from wood, and provides a beautiful canvas on which to imprint your company name and logo.  Even better, this product is relatively inexpensive.  Who knew that being Eco-friendly could also save you a ton of money?  This bamboo promotional item is always a real winner at trade shows and other large events.

 

2.  Organic lip balm

All Natural Lip Balm

Within recent years, the "natural" craze has taken off.  People like to know that the items they use on a daily basis are coming from real ingredients.  The custom imprinted USDA organic lip balm is an all-star player in this category.  Imprint this fabulous product with your company logo; people are going to love its natural ingredients, which include organic palm oil and beeswax.  Plus, organic products are made from materials grown with limited impact on the environment, so this is a product you can feel amazing about distributing.

3.  Biodegradable balloons

#11RIS   11" Qualatex Latex Balloons- Standard Colors

When you think "Eco-friendly," you probably don't imagine balloons.  Indeed, average balloons can pollute the earth with their tough rubber skins.  However, the 11-inch pearl custom imprinted galactic balloons are biodegradable, meaning that they are easily broken down by living organisms.  These latex balloons are fully customizable; imprint with your corporate name and logo and choose from several colors for a look you're going to love.

4.  Recycled coasters

Items made from recycled materials are a great help in preserving our beautiful Earth.  The less garbage and trash that ends up on the street or in landfills, the closer we get to reversing the damage we've done.  You'll be pleased to know that this custom imprinted full color coaster is, in fact, made from 100% post consumer recycled tires.

#41000  ECO Coaster - Round - Full Color

There you have it!  These are just four of many go green promotional products from which you can choose.  Although they are some of our more popular products, you're sure to find a huge variety of other environmentally friendly promotional products that are sure to please.  Remember:  For a brand image and reputation that rocks, go green with your next promotional campaign.

Choose the best Corporate Gift this year

Choosing the perfect corporate gifts for your favorite customer can cause some stress and anxiety, and understandably so. You obviously want to pick something great, something inexpensive, and something that's geared toward your customers' interests. To help you out this holiday season, I've compiled a list of the top five corporate gifts. These products are also perfect for your hard-working employees, and can be found online on a variety of retail Web sites.

1. Briefcases

Do your staff members attend all sorts of meetings, conferences, and seminars throughout the year? I never felt completely organized at one of these events until I had a proper custom briefcase. Look for a high-quality briefcase that zips closed for added security. While all briefcases perform the same basic functions, your employees will get the most use out of one that has full-length pockets for maximum storage space.

#BC-6261                        Convenient conveyer briefcase made of 600 denier polyester PVC backing.

2. Reusable Grocery Bags

Not everybody does the grocery shopping in his or her household, but promotional reusable grocery bags still make fantastic corporate gifts. These items aren't strictly for use inside supermarkets! Reusable bags can be utilized at the beach, for picnics, during short trips, and more. Reusable grocery bags make particularly great presents if your office has recently decided to "go green." They'll help drive home that Eco-friendly message!

#GB1315                       Eco-friendly non-woven Grocery Tote 13"W x 15" x 8" gusset with reinforced handles and includes a plastic bottom stiffener.

3. Wine Sets

One thing we can all agree on is that after a stressful holiday season, a glass of wine is necessary. Reward your staff members' hard work with a beautiful custom wine set. Many come in classic and vintage styles that will help turn any old boring event into a sophisticated one. Your employees are going to be thrilled to own such a gorgeous set!

#WS765   This set comes complete with bottle opener/corkscrew, drip ring & a wine pourer.

4. 13 Month Photo Calendars

A 13 month photo calendar might be the most appropriate corporate gift! Not only are calendars used by literally everyone, but they are perfect for use inside the office. Calendars will help your employees and customers remain on top of big meetings, important events, and more. Plus, there are tons of other options -- you can choose from regular wall imprinted calendars, planners, and even calendar magnets. They'll help keep your staff on track all year long.

#5401U    Calendars are printed in full-color (four color process) on 80# Gloss Text.

5. Hand Sanitizers

These products are especially great for those with a smaller budget. Plus, they'll be super appreciated in your office during cold and flu season! Promotional Hand Sanitizers make the perfect corporate gift; they come in several different shapes and sizes, so you can surely find one that matches your company's look!

#SP101   Antibacterial Hand Sanitizer Spray. Includes full color decal your retail look. Size: 0.33 oz / 10 ml. Available Colors Cap Colors: Translucent: Black, Blue, Frost, Glow in the Dark, Green, Pink, Purple, Orange, Red, and Yellow.

Normal Production Time:3 Working Days

When all else fails, you can always send a fruit basket, chocolates with your company logo or simply take your favorite customer out to a holiday dinner. You can also send all your customers a Christmas Card. For more promotional products visit our site at www.stargateadvertising.com.

How Label Stickers Help Businesses

There are entrepreneurs who continue to ignore the value of special label stickers even though they have long been introduced to the many benefits of these items. Regardless of the nature of their respective products, entrepreneurs would definitely needs tags made of special materials to meet special business needs. Opting for their production can mean additional expenditure on their part, but in time the return of investment could way more than they expect.

Product labels are generally important in the proper identification of all the products sold in stores.
Consumers will never know what you are offering them if your products are simply placed on plain bottle, box or plastic container. Without any label stickers for identification, consumers will think that your products are unsafe to buy.

Besides simple product identification, these items could be helpful in giving your marketing efforts a boost. Take for example the resin-coated tags. These items are produced with the use of resins which are effective in giving print outs that dome effect making your product looking visually extraordinary. Moreover, there are tags which make products look like they are top of the line. These are the hologram stickers also known as seal of quality. Businesses providing health products to the public hire a printing company that can process their hologram stickers. This is because they are usually required to provide proof that they sell authentic products which cannot put consumers' health at risk.

Tags also help businesses in the proper inventory of their items. This is made possible by bar code stickers. Through these sticky tags, important product information shows up as the items on which they are attached get scanned. In conjunction with bar codes, security tags may be used to prevent products from getting stolen or used. If you are keen to observe, you will see these tags stamped on most medical products and items that are used for hygienic purposes. These items need to remain sterile to avoid spread of viruses and diseases. Since these tags are made of cut out marks and strong adhesive you would know right away that somebody planned to lift them off the product containers.

Lastly, there are tags which help businesses that offer fragrances. These are known as the scratch and sniff stickers. More often than not, they are seen on catalogues holding products for personal use like body mists, colognes and perfumes. As the name suggests, shoppers or catalogue readers can rub their wrists on the image of the scent they wish to know and it will quickly transfer onto their wrists. To make this happen, perfume is infused into the ink even before printing begins.

Special label stickers are not hard to find as a number of printers offer them. If you want to use them on your products, start by contacting a reliable service provider. Otherwise, you might end up with a firm that uses substandard materials in their printing projects. Search for the labels that you need here.

Brochure Printing – Design Your Brochure with Attractive designs

Brochure Printing is something which is gaining immense popularity around the world. It is also one of
the most famous online businesses these days. Due to the innovation of technology, this business has really gained immense popularity worldwide. This is a service which can make things better for your business and help you promote your products in the best possible way. Using this service you can easily reach a wide audience. With beautiful brochures, different companies can easily have a great control over what kind of information needs to be included. They are going to have ideal control of the design and layout.

Well, there are several benefits of brochure printing and you need to go through them before you opt for this service. Due to the low production cost and ideal opportunity to reach a wide amount of audience, this is a service which can be easily taken up by anyone. There are innumerable advantages of brochure printing. First of all, it is simple and direct and there hardly any pretentions. Clients even get to see what exactly they can expect from such a business.

You can easily have a free hand while choosing most of the specifications according to the needs of your enterprise. The options available with you when it comes to the color scheme are quite amazing in every sense. The innovations in printing industry permit you to get the best services you are looking for. The color combinations which are used here are simply up to the mark. Well, the decision to choose the right service should be made carefully so that the company can enjoy the best services.

It is your wish to make your brochure look good. Even though there will be several templates to select from you still need to have the liberty to select. Mixing and matching different designs can be easily done for better results. The best thing which you can do here is to go through the list of the services offered by the company. If you are satisfied with them then you should go ahead with the company.

Another great thing about brochure printing is that here you can easily get the brochure folded if you want. There is a strategy or technique that most of the business houses feel is extremely efficient. So, this was all that you must know about brochure printing. You got to design your brochure in an expert way so that you are able to get the best services and are able to promote the business in the right way.  For great design visit our Graphic Designer - Erica L. Rodriguez

Your Next Successful Promotional Campaign

The Most Effective Promotional Products:

First create a successful campaign 

Create a successful promotional campaign strategy by developing a goal for your promotion.  Determine how you will distribute the promotion.   Develop a design idea.  Let the recipients of your promotional item know that you have a new product or service that will save them time and money. When will this new product or service be available? Find an item that you know your customer will like and more important, find an item you know they need and will use.  Consult with a professional that you can trust, like Kathy at Stargate Design.

How do I know what product to choose?

I challenge all my customers to really think about when and where is a good opportunity to advertise their business. Where will you be in the morning? Where will your sales people be tomorrow afternoon? Most people will quickly realize that we have hundreds of opportunities to advertise our business every day. By using promotional products, we can take advantage of these opportunities and place an ad in front of potential customers quickly and in a positive manner. One of the really wonderful aspects of a promotional product is that you can target specific individuals in specific markets like no other form of advertising can do. 

What type of logo items should you use? Well lets talk about it for a moment. This will be different from business to business. What type of customers do you have? Where will they be when you want then to think of you? Will they be in the office, at the Airport, in a golf tournament or in their truck. Once you answer these questions, finding the right product to put your logo on will be easy. In the office I would recommend a nice promotional pen or paper weight. At the airport, I would recommend a large duffel bag or nice luggage tag with your logo. This would make his luggage easy to find on the carousel. In a golf tournament, I would recommend a promotional cap to keep the sun out of his eyes or a golf towel. If your client spends a lot of time in his truck, we could do a promotional mug that with reduced base to fit the cup holder.

Products under a Dollar:   Visit us for more great promotional products at www.stargatedesign.com or www.stargateadvertising.com

Business Card Magnet - 3.5x2 (Round Corners) - 25 mil.	Magnetic Real Estate Calendar - Jan. 2014 w/Cover
Memo Board - 8.5x11 Laminated - 14 pt.	Magna-Peel Postcard (8.5x5.25) with Business Card Magnet (3.5x2)

Advertising Favorites - Most Effective Marketing

In today's climate of increasing economic uncertainty, purchasing decisions for advertising and marketing are being scrutinized closely. Advertising specialties are a relatively safe advertising investment and are nearly recession-proof, because they provide a proven high return-on-investment at a low cost and have everlasting impact on target audiences.

#23073901   Keep your message hanging around and attach your business card!

We find that the most favorite advertising medium is Door Hangers with business card pocket on it.

For hand delivery: Magnet door hangers, Business Card door hangers are great for hand delivering to doorsteps.

The most cost effective advertising medium would be anything that does not need postage, such as door hangers (standard and magnetic).