Archive for the ‘Promotional Products’ Category

Reflective Security Signs

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

The typical road sign such as warning, informational, and speed signs are manufactured with traffic and engineering grade reflective sheeting. The reflective properties are achieved using beads of glass that will reflective light from any angle. The road signs would be considered the high end of the reflective sign products.

There are two types of plastic security signs, the first a non-reflective, the second, is a reflective security sign. This article will highlight only the reflective security signs.

The reflective security signs are not to be confused with self- luminous materials. Reflective materials require light to illuminate or reflect. These signs are similar to the road signs we all observe while we are driving. The reflective materials used to manufacture a reflective security sign also employ the glass bead to reflective light.

The yard security sign is the best advertisement for the home owner, because the sign communicates to a potential burglar that this house is protected. Since most criminals are opportunistic and will gravitate to the path of least resistance. These home thieves’ will not attempt a B&E because of the security devices in situ in a home. Most burglars’ do not want to be caught they will move on to a home that does not have a security system.

The reflective security sign continues to advertise after dark that a home has a security system. The potential home invader then chooses a home without a security system to burglarize. The reflective security sign increases the security customers’ peace of mind.

There are two schools of thought of how a reflective security sign should be printed. The first idea states, that the sign must be printed with transparent inks, so the entire sign reflects light. This is similar to how road signs are printed; the whole sign reflects when automobile lights illuminate the sign.

The second proposal of how reflective signs should be manufactured. The inks on the sign should be opaque. The areas of the sign without ink will reflect the lights of an automobile.

The background of the sign would be printed, utilizing opaque inks. The letters or words of the sign would be reflective as they are reversed out of the opaque background. The following is an example of this process. If a sign had the imprinted message, HOME SECURED BY ABC SECURITY, only the words, HOME SECURED BY ABC SECURITY, would reflect the illumination of cars lights. The background of the sign at night would be invisible.

Both printing paradigms are valid, and will convey the message desired, by the security company and the home owner.

If I had to choose I would rather have a reflective security sign protecting my home.

Doug Bryant

The Decal Factory – The best decals, signs, labels, posters, stickers and banners in the industry for business and hobby.
Toll Free – (800) 369-5331

Posted in Branding, Customer Service, Decals, Four-Color Process, Promotional Products, Screen Printing, Security Dealer, Security Signs, Small Business | 8 Comments »

Brewing Beer Process Continued

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Brewing beer is an interesting process.  Basically what you are trying to create is an infection in the beer.  I will explain about that later.

The night before brewing, I had to cold steep coffee in other words I had to take my ground coffee add cold water to it and let it sit overnight.  Then the next day we added that coffee mixture to the water.  Because the coffee has certain oils in it, it will actually kill the head of a beer.  So as part of the grain mixture we had to add carapils.  These make the head frothier to counteract the oils in the coffee

You start off with 6 gallons of purified water (which gets boiled off to 5 gallons).  Once you bring the 6 gallons to a boil you start adding the ingredients.  The first thing you have to do is add the barley grains.  You can use wheat but for my brew we used barley.  You use a grain bag which is essentially a mesh bag you use to put the grains in and steep the grains.  Much like you would steep a tea bag in a hot cup of water.  However this cup is 6 gallons.  After the water has cooled down to 170 degrees you put the grains in the bag and you steep them for about 20 minutes.  Basically you are adding the grains for color and flavor only.  You are not extracting sugar from the grains with the steeping (which is called mashing).  The reason you are not extracting the sugars is because I bought a recipe that had an extract in it.  Once you add the extract the mixture is now called the wort.

Once the extract is added then you bring the wort to boil.  Then once the mixture is at a rolling boil you start a timer for 60 minutes and you add the hops.  When you add hops this early in the boil you will not get any of the aroma or the flavor.  These are called the bittering hops.  They add bitterness to the beer.  The reason these are bittering the beer is because all of the boiling you have to do is extracting the alpha acids out of the hops.  Once you add those hops it gets boring because you are just letting the wort boil.

Just before the boil ends I had to add the lactose (which is milk).  I wanted to brew a coffee milk stout so I have to have lactose in there. Now the lactose has to be un-fermentable sugars because I wanted the milk taste in the beer.  I did not want the yeast to eat the lactose sugars.

Once the boil ends things get very fast and interesting.  You have to take the wort off of the burner and you have to put a wort chiller in the wort.  Basically it is a heat transfer system.  It is a very long copper tube that is twisted around and around in a circle and goes in the wort.  You run cold water through it and the cold water cools down the wort, to the point where it is safe to pitch (add) the yeast.  Basically you have to pitch the yeast at a certain temperature.  Too cold and the yeast takes longer to get active.  Too hot and the yeast dies.  You want to infect the wort with the yeast ASAP.  Basically you are infecting the wort with the yeast so that nothing else can infect the wort.

Once the wort is chilled, you transfer it to a car-boy.  A car-boy is a 5 gallon glass bottle.  Up until this point it has been very easy to keep things sanitized because everything that you are working with is at a boil so anything that got in there was killed instantly because it was boiling.  Now that we are no longer boiling it can get infected very easily, and everything must be sanitized.

Once the wort is transferred to the car-boy you pitch the yeast.  What the yeast is going to do is eat all the fermentable sugars and poop alcohol, and fart CO2.  That is how the beer gets its alcohol content.

That is basically how you brew a coffee milk stout.  Or at least it was my observation of the whirlwind of activity in the process of brewing beer

Jason Bryant

www.decalfactory.com

Posted in Banners, Branding, Brewing Beer, Labels, Promotional Products, Screen Printing, Security Signs, Small Business, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

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

Posted in Banners, Branding, Counter Mats, Customer Service, Decals, Four-Color Process, Labels, Promotional Products, Security Signs, water Slide-off Decals | 15 Comments »

Flexography Printing Vs Screen-Printing Advantages and Disadvantages

Saturday, June 5th, 2010

Flexography also known as Flexo or roll-to-roll or roll label printing, this method prints labels from a roll of stock to a finished roll of completed labels. Material is loaded onto one end of the Flexo press and the material threaded through the press and each print station. Laminating and cutting stations are set up at the end of the press so completed labels are produced in one pass on the Flexo press. The printing head of a Flexo press is on a cylinder and prints directly, on to the substrate.

The Flexo presses have different printing stations for each color. Some machines have three colors stations some have six color stations. The cost of a Flexography print machine is a function of the number of color stations and the web width; a 3-color press narrow web would cost much less than that of a six or eight color wide web Flexo press.

The Flexo press can have another attachment; that is known as a turn bar. A turn bar is an apparatus that turns the stock over so you can print on the liner without removing the print job from the press. The other styles of printing do not offer this feature, if a print job calls for a coupon on the liner, the screen-printing press operator would remove the stock then reload the stock to print the liner.

The Flexo press also has an in-line cutting station. The labels can be left on the roll or can be individually cut into single units. In the other styles of printing, cutting of the label is accomplished off-line.

The advantage of the Flexo printing is once the machine is set up to print, the press operator would not have to touch the stock again until the completed labels are taken off the press. The other advantage of this method of printing is it is very fast.

Flexography printing is designed for large quantities; because set-ups and make-readies are expensive, thus roll label printing is not a good solution for 500 labels. The normal minimums for this type of printing would be 1,000 labels. Large quantities for this method of printing would be 100,000-millions.

The disadvantage of roll label is not a good solution for small quantities. In addition, the inks used by most roll label manufactures are water based and will fade in direct sun light. 

Flexography printing can print on paper and plastic substrates, and is a great solution for inside applications. This type of printing is used to brand consumer products from salsa to televisions, and warning labels for inside factory machines.

Screen-printing is a very old type of printing invented in China during the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD). This type of printing called silk-screening, because the mesh used to press the ink through was made of silk. The term silk-screening has not been used since the 1960’s. Currently synthetic threads commonly used in the screen printing process; the most popular mesh in general use is made of polyester. Special mesh materials of nylon and stainless steel are available to the screen printer. 

Screen-printing uses a mesh of polyester, which resembles a screen hence the term “screen printing,” the mesh coated with emulsion that is photo-reactive. When this emulsion exposed to light is leaves a stencil imprint of the graphic that is to be printed, each color to be printed has its own screen. 

Screen-printing method because resembles a stencil and forces ink through a screen deposits many times the thickness of ink onto the substrate being printed. Each color has to be printed separately after the first color dries. Since the ink deposited is thicker, the resistance to fading due to sunlight exposure is a benefit. Disadvantage is each color is printed by resetting a new screen for the next color to print.

Table below will explain advantages and disadvantages better than a host of words will.

                                                                   

Attributes Screen-Printing Flexography Printing
Small Quantities Yes cost effective in quantities of125, 250, 500 Not available under quantities of 1,000
Large Quantities Yes cost effective in quantities to hundreds of thousands or more Yes cost effective in quantities into the millions
Outdoor Only   Designed for outdoor exposure3-7 year life outdoor  Not designed for outdoor useIf used outdoors life limited to months
Indoor Only   Can be used indoors  Designed for indoor use
Fade Resistance to UV Exposure  Very fade resistant to UV light exposure will discolor after years but never fade to white  Not fade resistant to UV light exposure will only last a month in direct sunlight
Pricing  Considered low pricing in terms of years in service promoting brand or disclaimers   Low pricing usually used to label retail products
Set-Up Cost  Low or No set-up cost  High Plate cost
Cutting Die Cost Low cutting Die Cost High Die Cutting Cost
       

 

Obviously there still will be many questions, please free to call or Mr. Decal aka Doug Bryant at dougb@decalfactory.com or (800) 369-5331, to ask your question, because nothing is ever black and white there are exceptions to the standard guide lines.

Call The Decal Factory (800) 369-5331 for more information on your label or decal requirements.

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

 

Posted in Branding, Decals, Four-Color Process, Labels, Promotional Products, Security Signs, Small Business | 35 Comments »

The Small Business; How to Increase Marketing Impact through Partnerships

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

The cost of market and advertising the products or services the small business produces is usually purchased at a premium. The reason is clear to people who operate a company employing 1-20 employees, purchasing power.

The company that can purchase mass amounts of broadcast media time pays less for that commercial spot. The enterprise that purchases ad space in a particular magazine will pay a lower cost for a twelve-month insertion order verse a one-month ad term. The basic premise of advertising is purchasing more is the pathway to better pricing for your advertising dollars. Therefore, the small company that purchases in smaller quantities pays a higher price to implement their marketing plan.

That being stated most small businesses do not use the mass media outlets of television, radio, or national magazines to advertise. These forms of advertising for the small business are too costly.

Smaller enterprises that sell a product or services do utilize trade shows and trade publications to target their marketing dollars to a particular customer or industry. There is another form of print advertising and product branding that is very cost effective. The product I am referring to are decals. The decal can target a small audience or can inform a mass market. Although even trade fairs, trade publications, and the employing of decals the small business can still pay higher cost because of purchasing small quantities.

How can the smaller companies change the cost dilemma of small quantities equal higher cost? The one-word answer partnerships with other companies or pooling your purchasing with other companies purchasing the same items.

What do partnership look like in the different advertising opportunities available at trade fairs, trade publications, and decals. The trade shows the company could collaborate with a non-competitor where the symbiotic relationship of the two products or services would complement each other’s business. To do this both companies could purchase a larger booth splitting the cost the benefit of having a larger space is location, location, location, both companies will have a larger presence and a better booth location, which translates into higher traffic counts.

Advertising in a trade publication collaborating with a firm again that is not a competitor and their combined products or service complement each other. Each company purchases a full page of ad space instead of a one-quarter page splitting the cost. The most import fact of this partnership the full ad space purchase has a greater impact, verses if each of the companies purchasing smaller ads separately.   

The decal used correctly is a powerful tool in the toolbox of a marketing team, because of two factors. The first is the cost of the decalcomania, which is very low; the seconded is the message duration, counted in years not minutes or months. The ubiquitous decal if designed correctly will communicate brand awareness long after broadcast and print media, complete its task, the decal will keep reminding the consumer of your brand as a 24-hour a day silent sales person.

Even the decal if not purchased in larger quantities the cost is much higher for small quantity purchases. The average small business that orders decals usually orders quantities of 250-1,500 decals.

    New Program Offered

 The Decal Factory® has a program to take advantage of the large number of small businesses that order decals. The Decal Factory® gangs all the various orders together thereby the 500 unit decal order will be priced like a 10,000 unit decal order. Therefore, The Decal Factory® felicitates and creates the partnerships with various companies that purchase decals. To participate all you have to do is order your decals from The Decal Factory®.

Call The Decal Factory® if your company wants to take part in this new and exciting program.

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

Posted in Decals, Promotional Products, Security Signs, Small Business | 4 Comments »

The promotional product; the ruler is mightier than the pen

Saturday, April 10th, 2010

Promotional products come in various colors styles and types, an example of just a few products, decals, mouse pads, counter mats, and floor decals. This certainly is not a comprehensive list of products, which promote a company’s brand.

There is a subset of products used to advertise brand these other products known officially as collateral products unofficially known as trinkets and trash. The term trinkets and trash usually refers to an item cleverly designed, but usually has no apparent use, which end up in the round file.

These products include such items as stress balls, which in the using cause stress so the user tosses the product in the round file. These promotional items usually freely handed to each attendee of a trade show. Because of the sheer volume of trinkets in your possession the hapless consumer is must locate a bag to haul the giveaway items around the trade fair. This same attendee packs the various collateral items to travel home.

In the solitude of their offices, the trade fair spoils divided among the useful, the novel, and trash. The items, which seem to find a home on or in the desk of the trade fair devotee, such as pens, calendars, mouse pads, and rulers.   

I have attended and have been an exhibitor at many expo product shows, and my company manufacturer’s promotional products. I have found and maybe you can agree the most often used collateral item given away at trade fairs is the writing instrument, the pen or pencil is so ubiquitous the advertising impact is lost. The promotional item almost non-existent as a collateral item is the measuring instrument.

The ruler is an item that does not end up in the round file, unless it is broken, because it is so functional. Ask yourself have any of us every thrown a ruler away? I submit that the ruler is king of promotional products in any office, pun intended.  The Pen is thrown away when it function ceases by running out of ink a pencil when it is sharpened to the last nub.

The ruler is on or inside the desk of the consumer, promoting the brand, product, or service, until the rulers use fullness ends. Over the years, I have employed the longevity of the ruler to promote our brand and the proof is in the pudding not in theory.

A personal case history of the rulers’ promotional longevity in 1986 I designed a ruler to promote our company in a particular industry. The ruler was a simple 2 ½” wide by 15” long measuring instrument, imprinted with our logo and products we manufactured and contact information.

I distributed the ruler to trade show attendees in 1986, and I continued to receive calls from potential customers into the early 1990’s. The callers noted they got our company name and phone number from a ruler they had on their desk. The requesters could not remember where they acquired the ruler, but when they needed our products we manufactured our name was the first to come up. The reason we stopped receiving calls from the ruler after 1993 is we move the company and changed our phone number. Remember this all occurred pre-internet.

The ruler is king of the collateral products; the pen is food for the round file. The next time you need a promotional giveaway product rulers never die they just rule.

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

Posted in Promotional Products | 19 Comments »