With regards to mailing for direct mail, we have discussed the weight of paper and the two general measures used, U.S. Basis Weight and GSM. So onto thickness and size. Both of these are characteristics of printing papers that can affect mailing costs and mail-ability.
Political printing services run the full spectrum. Whether you are printing direct mail, billboards, yard signs or any other type of campaign material, this post is for you. When it comes to quality and service, some political printers are fantastic, while others seem like you might find hamsters running the presses. Here are some tips for separating the worst from the best political printing services.
So you send your final political direct mail file off to the printer and breathe a sigh of relief. Not so fast! Political printing is a much longer process than that. After you send off your final political direct mail file, the printer will send you back something called a print proof that you need to approve. A print proof is an exact mock up of what your piece will look like when it prints so its important you take the time to look it over carefully. If you don't like how your piece looks on the printer proofs, you won't like how it turns out when it's printed. Below are a few items to be sure to look for in your printer proof:
Regardless of how you cut it, writing and producing quality political direct mail and doing political printing is no easy task. There are a lot of things that go into quality political printing and it takes quite a bit of time and practice to be able to do it well. With that said, below is a quick list of dos and don’ts to producing quality political printing.
DO'S
The hiring process for a Democratic direct mail firm generally involves a set of the firm’s direct mail samples from past campaigns. Obviously, it’s important to review a mail firm’s proposal carefully, but it’s also important to take a close look at their direct mail samples. The direct mail they actually produce can tell you a lot. Here are a few questions you should run through as you review any direct mail samples:
I was reading a printing blog the other day in which the writer was emphasizing how printers should be selling themselves to designers, so that designers know the newest trends and are able to make cost effective decisions based on new technology. I was reminded of the book Youtility by Jay Baer. This was a book The Campaign Workshop read in a recent company retreat. This book focused on the future of marketing, customer support, and the importance of being useful to your clients. This got me thinking about our company and my position as a production manager.
The USPS is starting to clean up their data and streamline mail entry so that it is not as manual and paper based. One part of this is that companies don’t need to open up permits at every facility location where their mail is verified, and can instead utilize a “Mail Anywhere” service. Entering mail is all being streamlined to a digital process where fewer eyes look at it and fewer hands touch or physically verify.
Political yards signs are everywhere during elections—both traditional political yard signs and larger highway signs on street corners. There are a few tips to help you plan for the design and production of these signs to get the most bang for your buck.
Two things off the bat to consider are costs and timing. First, die-cuts add costs, so it's not something to suggest on every campaign. Second is the time factor, die-cuts do add time to the production of the piece, so this needs to be worked into the schedule.
Political campaign photography matters. The quality of the photos provided for mail, walk cards, etc., are crucially important. Nowadays, everyone is used to seeing glossy, vibrant photos on screen, and assume they can grab a digital photo off the Internet and include it on their campaign lit. They are often surprised that the photo is not as clear, crisp or vibrant as the on-screen versions.
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