Business Cards - Still the Most Important Marketing Tool

Even with the popularity of social media and online marketing, one of, if not the most important marketing tool is the business card. Business cards are the easiest way to publicize your business and provide potential customers with your information.

Here are some ideas to make sure your business card work for you:

Include complete contact information:

• name
• company name
• phone number including area code
• email address
• website address
• social media addresses

You can also include QR Codes to provide integration with your online media and to automate tasks. For example, you can add QR Codes that will

• add your contact information to a smartphone's directory
• connect the smartphone to your website and/or to a specific page on your site
• add an event to the a smartphone's calendar

Need help? Give us a call! Wilson Printing can help design your business card, and we can show you a variety of papers that will make you look your best.

Wilson Printing is your source for business card printing!

Important! Changes to USPS Direct Mail Guidelines

The USPS has implemented new guidelines for folded self mailers and for barcodes. Please see the USPS website for additional information

New Regulations for Folded Self-Mailer, implemented January 05, 2013

New Regulations for Intelligent Mail Barcodes, implemented January 27, 2013

Wilson Printing

Every Door Direct Mail Program Simplifies and Lowers Direct Mail Costs

With the abundance of email and online content, and with fewer direct mail pieces being distributed, direct mail marketing is making a comeback and getting more attention.

To help smaller companies with their direct mail marketing, the USPS has implemented a great program called Every Door Direct Mail.

Now you can tell the whole neighborhood what your business has to offer.

With Every Door Direct Mail® service from the U.S. Postal Service®, you can reach the market that matters most to your business: nearby neighborhoods. Postage is as low as 14.5¢ per piece – and you don't even need to know names or street addresses. You simply identify the neighborhoods you want to target, and your printed piece is delivered with the day's mail to every address.

Choose the option that is best for you.

• Every Door Direct Mail – Retail® - Most local businesses choose this service. It's our simplest, most cost-effective option. Every Door Direct Mail – Retail lets you send up to 5,000 mailpieces per day and doesn't require you to purchase a postage permit. What's more, you can take your mailings right to the front counter of the Post Office™ that serves the neighborhoods you want to reach. You can pay for postage with cash, check, or debit card.
• Every Door Direct Mail - This option is designed for businesses that want to send larger mailings. You submit your mailing at a Business Mail Entry Unit (BMEU).

What Every Door Direct Mail brings to your marketing efforts.

• Reaches consumers in their homes. With Every Door Direct Mail, you can saturate an entire neighborhood with your message, and your mailing gets directly into the homes and hands of consumers.
• As much or little space as you need. Every Door Direct Mail offers a flexible range of sizes, making it ideal for anything from a quick sales announcement to an in-depth product story.
• Helps your messages work harder. With Every Door Direct Mail, you can include coupons, menus, event calendars, store maps, and more — all of which can help bring customers to your door.

For more information, call Wilson Printing!

Santa Barbra: 805-964-8875
Ventura and North Los Angeles: 805-501-9919
Pismo Beach: 805-709-1324


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Newsletter Printing

We recently printed the The Monarch Press, the City of Goleta Newsletter.

Newsletters are one of the best ways to reach an audience. Why? Direct mail is re-surfacing as the way to get through the clutter and get people's attention. Email in-boxes are getting filled with spam. Social networks are being filled with random information. Because there has been an over-all reduction in the amount of direct mail people receive, direct mail is now the way to get people's attention!

Wilson Printing has a number of affordable newsletter printing options. We can print in full color, black and white, or a combination of the two. We also have many paper options including eco-friendly papers!

Wilson Printing is proud to be the printer of choice for the City of Goleta.

Answers to Poster Printing FAQs!

After over 36 years of printing, Wilson Printing has seen quite a bit of poster printing. We also have seen poster printing change - especially with recent integration of QR Codes making posters interactive. So we decided to put together some info on posters!

Answers to Poster FAQs:

What size posters can you print? We can print any size up to 41.5" in one direction. Some typical sizes include 16" x 24", 24" x 36", and 40" x 75".

Do you print high quality art prints? I would like to make a poster of a photo and have it framed. Yes, we can print very high quality art prints and also recommend the best papers for you to use. We recommend that if you plan on framing your print, you should buy the frame first and format your image size to fit the frame. If you have someone print first and it is an unusual size, custom framing can get very expensive.

We need small handouts and posters. What's a good size to design for? A good size for smaller sized handbills is 5.5" x 8.5" and 4.25" x 5.5", and flyers at 8.5" x 11". These sizes allow us to setup multiple copies of your piece on a single page, making it less expensive for you.

Can you print a low cost poster for us? Yes, we can print economical, good quality color posters up to 12" x 18" on our Docucolor color laser printer.

Can you mount posters on a hard backing? Yes, we can mount posters on either black or white foam board / foam core / Gator board / PVC board.

We need posters for outdoor use. Do you print UV resistant posters? Yes, we can print on either gloss stock or vinyl canvas (scrim vinyl) with UV resistant inks for durable outdoor signage our large format printers up to 42" on one length (effective print area is 41.5", the other length depending on length of roll.)

We need a large run of high quality color posters. How large of a poster can you print? We can print large runs of posters up to 19" x 27" in full color on our Lithrone press (offset process.)

Can you customize or personalize posters without us having to submit a design for each version? Yes, we can print customized or personalized posters up to 12" x 18" on our Indigo printer. For example, we can print one poster design and digitally modify each poster to have a different address, or image, or any other element that you would like to be personalized.

Can you print us a poster that will automatically call our ticket office? Yes, we can! (Well, not automatically. We can add QR Codes to your poster design that, when scanned, will call your ticket office.)

For all of your printing needs - posters, business cards, books, brochures, stationary... visit our web site or give Wilson Printing a call today at 805-964-8875!

Get Your FREE 2011 Desktop Calendar

The famous Wilson Printing desktop calendar is now available! This is our large 17" x 22" format desk calendar with the fish images everyone seems to love. If you don't have a 2011 desk calendar yet, Wilson Printing still has a quantity on hand. Come by and pick up a free one, or call your Wilson Printing rep to bring you one.

Santa Barbara Zoo Uses QR Codes to Integrate Print and Online Media

The Santa Barbara Zoo recently used a QR code in their Zoo News newsletter to integrate their print and online media. The QR code directs the reader to a video on YouTube about Zoo Camp. The Zoo's Winter Zoo Camp is about to begin and using a video is a great way to show how fun the camps are for kids.

The Santa Barbara Zoo has also implemented QR codes in their exhibits - making for a whole new experience at the Zoo. When visitors scan the QR codes with their smartphones, the phone's browser opens to an informational and entertaining video about that particular animal.

"This technology allows us to deepen our guests' experience at the Zoo in an innovative, yet inexpensive way," says Zoo CEO Rich Block. "We've looked at many other options for handheld devices that were either too complicated, more costly or could be outdated as technology marches along. Using QR codes couldn't be easier for us and for our guests."

Try it for yourself! Scanning the QR code will direct your smartphone to the Santa Barbara Zoo Camp video.

Wilson Printing is proud to be the printer of choice for the Santa Barbara Zoo.

Integrating Your Print and Online Media With QR Codes

You probably have been seeing more images similar to the one on the left - it is a QR code, linked to a web page. To see what it does, you'll need a smart phone with a QR code reader or bar code reader. Scan the QR code and you're phone's browser should open to a web page on our site www.wilprint.com.

Integrating Print and Online Media
It seems like the ease of use - simply scanning the QR code with a phone rather than typing in a web address – is making this a very popular means of integrating media.

Marketers are coming up with many ways to use QR codes. A QR code can be linked to a web page, used as a Vcard with all of your contact info, used as a VCalendar card with info about an event, automatically dial a phone number or send an email.

Specific examples of QR codes:

1. Use QR code to link to a web page specific to an event – the QR code is placed in a printed piece promoting an event. The user scans QR code and their browser opens bringing them to the web page where they could register for the event or buy tickets to the event.

2. Use QR code as VCard – the QR code is printed on a business card. The user scans QR code and info is automatically entered into their address book on their phone.

3. Use QR code as VCalendar – the QR code is included on an event poster. The user scans QR code and the event info (event title, date, time, location, description) is automatically entered into their calendar on their phone.

Some Things to Keep in Mind:
As with any technology, it is important to test your QR codes. The more text you have, the more complex the QR code - which can result in poor user experience (their reader won't be able to decipher the code.) Certain characters, such as ":" and ";" also need special handling.

Creating QR Codes For Our Customers:
Wilson Printing now offers QR code creation - we can create QR codes linked to web pages, VCards, VCalendars - that we can insert into your printed piece. Give your sales rep a call to discuss how we can integrate your print and online media with QR codes.

www.wilprint.com

Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation's Stables Fandango

Wilson Printing recently printed this beautiful invitation for the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation's (SBTHP) upcoming Stables Fandango. The piece was printed on Sundance Felt paper stock, which not only has a texture that adds to the event's "stables" theme, but is also a Green Seal Certified paper.

SBTHP works to protect preserve, restore, and interpret historic sites in Santa Barbara County. Please support this great organization and attend the Stables Fandango this Friday, June 11. For more information, go to www.sbthp.org

Santa Ynez Winery Map - Drawing Thousands to the Santa Ynez Wineries

How do you get customers to drive over mountains to reach your business? And how do you get them to leave with your sales brochure?

With a beautiful - and cost effective - full color map and business guide.

The Santa Ynez Valley is home to some of the finest vineyards and wineries. The problem is that Santa Ynez is on the other side of the mountains from Santa Barbara and other major populations - very hard to get to. The solution is a beautiful one-sheet map and business information guide.

While being very inexpensive to produce, these slick one-sheets with their vibrant colors, draw thousands to the wineries of Santa Ynez every year. In addition, the maps become a sales tool long after their initial use. The high quality of Wilson Printing make these maps a keeper - many people hold on to their Santa Ynez Winery Map after their visit - inspiring many return trips and purchases!

Wilson Printing is proud to be the printer of the Santa Ynez Winery Map. We design, we print, and we deliver the brochures you need to help drive more traffic to your business.

For more about Wilson Printing visit our website www.wilprint.com.

Santa Barbara Zoo Rack Card - Helping Tourists Find Your Business

The Santa Barbara Zoo is an amazing place to visit - with all the penguins, condors, elephants, gibbons, giraffes, gorillas, otters, snow leapards... but it is a hidden treasure in Santa Barbara, tucked away behind East Beach. How do you reach someone who may be in town for just a few days? Rack cards!

Rack cards are a very inexpensive and effective way to reach tourists of Santa Barbara. The Zoo uses rack cards to publicize the Zoo to tourists. The cards are distributed to hotels and restaurants - the places that tourists are - and are going to be looking for things to do while in Santa Barbara.

Wilson Printing's high quality print, paper and coatings result in a great looking piece that attracts more tourists to the Zoo. Call Wilson Printing to see how we can attract more customers to your business too!

For more about Wilson Printing visit www.wilprint.com.

2010 Goleta Magazine - Promoting the Beauty of Goleta

Wilson Printing recently printed the 2010 Goleta Magazine. The project is a full color, 56 page, saddle-stitched magazine. The 2010 edition includes stories on ATK Space, Computers for Families, Girsh Park, The Lemon Festival and much more!

Our pressmen continuously make sure that the colors match the job - resulting in a perfectly printed piece - helping make Goleta look the best that it is.

If your organization or company needs a magazine printed, contact Wilson Printing today. We can handle any size job - from newsletters to magazines - we will make sure you look your best.

For more about Wilson Printing visit www.wilprint.com.