Archive for the ‘Counter Mats’ Category

Fading of Color Printing

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

What You Did Not Know to Ask

 

First we must set a baseline for the discussion about the fading of color printing. Fading of color is a dilemma common to all industries. The plain truth is all color fades. Products such as carpeting, cars, decals, signs, banners, and a host of other products printed or pigmented with color fade.

The question we need to ask, “How quickly does a products color fade?”  This answer to this inquiry depends on the method of how a product is tinted.

The product that is pigmented implies the product’s color  is imbedded into the substrate. The pigmented product such as carpeting fades very slowly, but the product still fades. The product that is painted such as automobiles also fades gradually, but still fades.

The products that are printed such as decals, banners, signs, and other products exposed to sunlight. The process of printing these products utilizes two methods of printing, digital and screen-printing. The other methods of printing such as, flexography, offset will not be considered. These techniques are exclusively for indoor use.

I will highlight one product line, the plastic security sign. The plastic security sign is printed using the screen-printing method of printing. This technique is extremely fading resistance, but as noted before everything fades.

The question again, “How quickly does a products color fade?” The answer to this query depends on a few factors. The security lawn sign printed correctly will never fade to white. The printed colors will lighten over time, red may morph to an orange, dark blue may lighten.

The factor that lengthens or shortens the fading effect of a security sign is placement. The sign that is mounted facing north will not have significant color modification for five or more years. The security sign that is placed on the southern exposure will see color transformations in shorter durations. The east and west placements also have varying times of color degradation.  

Little known fact

Screen-printing companies test the veracity of their inks, by placing the security sign on a test board facing south. Every month a sign is left on the test board is equivalent to four months of sun exposure.

To conclude plastic security signs will not fade to white. Color changes will occur differently due to sign placement. So the question,” How long will my plastic security sign last”?  The answer is a general between 3-10 years.

The Decal Factory’s first and foremost desire is to make sure our customers are satisfied. When we print your decal, sign, banner, or security sign, we desire to keep printing your products for ever. The company has a long history of servicing our customer for decades. The Decal Factory works for you.  

Doug Bryant

<br><a href=”http://www.decalfactory.com“>The Decal Factory – The best decals, signs, labels, posters, stickers and banners in the industry for business and hobby.</a> <br>Toll Free – (800) 369-5331

Fiduciary Relationships Do They Still Exist?

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

In general as consumers we purchase many various products, and services. Can we rely on the perceived fiduciary relationship as presented in commercials, or by sales people, or is it truly buyer beware.  

We as a society have become very specialized in our chosen expertise. We call the Plummer to fix our broken pipes because they are an expert. We use an accountant to file our taxes, because they are an expert in their field.

This idea of a fiduciary relationship is seen more clearly when you either sell or buy a home. Most of us understand that if you are purchasing a home, you enter into a purchase agreement using your own real estate agent. We would feel uneasy about purchasing a home from the seller’s agent.

The reason we employ our own real estate agent is because by law, they represents you in as fiduciary. Your, purchasing agent looks out for your interest, not the seller’s interest. In real estate by law there is a line of demarcation separating the selling agent from the purchasing agent.

The agent that represents the home seller and the home purchaser must by law inform the purchaser and seller that there is a dual fiduciary. By informing both parties of the dual fiduciary the agent is communicating that the fiduciary relationship is in question.

The captured sales agent for a printing manufacture has a fiduciary relationship to that manufacture. Those agents only sell what that company manufactures, and will not inform you if their products do not fit your need.

The Decal Factory® is not a captured agent of any manufacture. Therefore The Decal Factory® can promote and nurture fiduciary relationships, because we answer only to our customers.

The singular fiduciary relationship is practiced by many printing distributors like The Decal Factory®.

Doug Bryant

<br><a href=”http://www.decalfactory.com“>The Decal Factory – The best decals, signs, labels, posters, stickers and banners in the industry for business and hobby.</a> <br>Toll Free – (800) 369-5331

Counter mats colorful point of purchase advertising!

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

Point of Purchase Advertising-Counter Mats

There are many types of in store advertising that companies can utilize, such as floor decals, shelf talkers, shelf danglers, mobiles and product displays.   The counter mat is usually displayed at the point of purchase in a retail store.  We have all seen the counter mat at the local auto parts store, or electric supply house when we are paying for the merchandise we have purchased.  Why do manufactures of products use the counter mats to advertise their products at the register? 

To most of us if we have not purchased the product advertised by the counter mat it seems to the buyer to little too late.  It only seems that way.  Advertising is not only asking the consumer to buy the advertised product, but the intent is to build brand awareness. 

Let us look at a possible situation.  You and your family for years have seen the Television commercial for ketchup advertising a very well known brand.  Even if I do not write the brand name and keep most of you guessing of what brand I am eluding to.  I will wager that most of us already see the word Heinz as the brand of ketchup, I am thinking about. 

The company who manufactures this brand of ketchup has succeeded in keeping the consumer aware of their brand of ketchup.  This would hold true also with peanuts packaged in a jar.  Even if I do not divulge the brand name most of us have already seen the word Planters Peanuts as the brand I am writing about. 

How many of us when we visit a grocery store to buy a product to blow our nose say we are going to purchase a box of Kleenex and not tissues.   The company that manufactures Kleenex has done such a good job of identifying their brand of tissues that the brand name has become the generic term for the product.

The companies that manufacture these products have done such a suburb job of advertising their brands that each brand name has become synonymous with the product they produce.   If we visit a retail store to buy ketchup we usually buy Heinz brand.  The same is true if we go to the store to purchase jarred peanuts we usually leave with a jar of Planters Peanuts brand.   We blow our noses with Kleenex not tissues.

How was this accomplished by these companies, advertising, advertising, and more advertising?   Advertising in any and all venues, such as; TV, radio, magazines, newspaper, banners, decals, product labels, floor decal, and shelf strips, shelf danglers, and counter mats where possible.

So why do manufactures use counter mats at the point of purchase?  The counter mat is just one part of a company’s attempt to build brand awareness.  Since advertising is subliminal it takes constant advertising to build the consumers awareness that a brand is synonymous with a particular product or service.

Counter mats are used, in the construction trade, electrical contractor outlets, hobby stores, lighting retail stores, auto part outlets, and many other venues that have a counter.

Doug Bryant

<br><a href=”http://www.decalfactory.com“>The Decal Factory – The best decals, signs, labels, posters, stickers and banners in the industry for business and hobby.</a> <br>Toll Free – (800) 369-5331