Union Printers

Post-Election Campaign Shutdown Checklist

Nov 05, 2020 by Ben Holse (he/him) and Martín Diego Garcia (he/him)

Our Quick Post-election Campaign Shutdown Checklist

Is it time for the post-election shutdown for your campaign?

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Union Printers Make Great Political Direct Mail Campaigns

May 27, 2020 by Joe Fuld (he/him)

Union Printers and Union Printing - Why We Use Them.

Here at The Campaign Workshop (TCW), we work with union printers. Union printers are not only committed to providing a safe workplace and fair wages but also benefits to their employees. Without going into a massive labor history lesson, unions are really important both to the middle class in this country and the progressive movement; something we certainly can get behind at TCW!

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Don’t Let Proofing Errors Derail Your Direct Mail

Apr 09, 2018 by The Campaign Workshop

Using the Best Practices to Make Sure Your Political Direct Mail Is Accurate

Printing errors and typos can turn your direct mail message into a crisis overnight. Whether it is a mailing of a holiday card or official ballots in an election, it is imperative to implement the best protocols and practices to ensure that your direct mail job gets into mailboxes without a hitch. There are many high profile printing errors and typos every election that probably could have been prevented with better planning and proofing.

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Political Direct Mail Part 2: Size Matters

Jun 30, 2016

When it comes to political direct mail...size matters

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.

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Production Youtility

Nov 26, 2015

Production Youtility

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.

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USPS Streamlining

Oct 26, 2015

How is the USPS Streamlining?

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.

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Die-Cut Mail Pieces

Jun 01, 2015

Die-Cuts Are a Great Way to Ensure Your Mail Stands out and Reinforces Its Message

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.

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Load Leveling: What does it mean for political direct mail?

Oct 27, 2014 by The Campaign Workshop

Giving You the Information You Need to Plan Your Political Direct Mail

On April 10, 2014, the United States Postal Service (USPS) implemented a new policy called Load Leveling on standard (bulk) mail drop shipped to the DSCF level. This new policy changes the way mail enters the DSCF level and moves through the postal system. The new policy is meant to “allow a more balanced distribution of DSCF standard mail across delivery days.” This basically means that this mail, if accepted by the DSCF on a Friday or Saturday, will now take 4 days (the previous the standard was at 3 days) to move through the postal system and to local post offices for delivery. This is intended to decrease the volume of mail being delivered on Mondays and level that mail throughout the week.

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Political Direct Mail Printing, Ultimate Guide Part 4

May 19, 2014 by The Campaign Workshop

Political Direct Mail Printing—Everything You Were Afraid to Ask. Final Installment

Political direct mail printing: #4: In previous installments of this series we covered finding a printer, managing schedules, specifying paper and digital vs. offset printing. This week is the final installment of the series and we’re going to talk about photos, file preparation and proofing.

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Political Direct Mail Printing—Ultimate Guide Part 3

Mar 31, 2014 by The Campaign Workshop

Political Direct Mail Printing: Everything You Were Afraid to Ask —Part 3

Political direct mail printing part 3: In previous installments of this series on political direct mail printing we covered finding a political direct mail printer, managing schedules and specifying paper. Today, we’re going to get technical and talk about presses. We couldn’t have political direct mail printing without presses to get the job done, so let’s examine the differences and uses for digital and offset printing.

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Ultimate Guide to Political Direct Mail Printing—Part 2

Mar 27, 2014 by The Campaign Workshop

Everything You Were Afraid to Ask About Political Direct Mail Printing—Part 2

In part one of this series we talked about the characteristics of a good printer for political direct mail printing and how to find them. This week we’re going to talk about schedules and paper.

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