Businesses of all sizes and types can now customize their business envelopes, letterheads, business cards and other stationery or print items into more attractive, creative, and yet maintain that professional impression. With the use of a custom printer, you will be assured of a product that meets your expectations and demands.  Just make sure that you or your hired expert makes use of the right printer to achieve the desired results.

You can simply make use of your imagination and creativity to downsize the logistics as well as the budget that you need.  If you have the tools at hand plus the desired design, then you’re on your way.  However, if you need an expert’s assistance, there are certain custom printing service providers that can help you do the job at reasonable prices.  A company can always consult with these professionals and they can even provide suggestions, innovations and templates at no cost at all! The expertise that they possess is a guarantee of an achieved output that you have in mind.

By using a custom printer or custom printing service, companies who are seeking to essentially make the most of their stationery and other print items, will discover the exact merchandise and professional design that they need. You will benefit from the high quality and essential services that feature full-printing in small and large sizes.

With the numerous choices of templates available, you will have the opportunity to customize your printing project just as exactly how you want it to be.  The price also meets a wide range of business budgets. You will be benefited with a higher quality printing but at a cheaper price due to the decrease in the manufacturing costs.

However, in any company, one should always be reminded to adapt to the changing needs of their business.  Replacement of machines and updating one’s knowledge is needed to cope with the latest innovations and services needed.

 Business cards,stationery , envelopes-every business uses them. They're the foundations of our professional and corporate identities. For many business owners, their business card gets into more hands than any other marketing material. With that in mind, these items might be more important than we sometimes treat them in our businesses.

Are your office essentials living up to their potential? Do they work together to convey the core message of your company and build your brand?

If not, you could be missing out on a powerful tool to improve your professional image. This issue of the ACE Newsletter will cover why a unified suite of corporate branding materials is a smart move.

"Successful people do not achieve success on their own; instead, they surround themselves with a well-developed, sophisticated support network. In a world that grows more complex and more competitive every day, networking is necessary not only for survival but also for high achievement."

~Dr. Ivan Misner

Office Essentials

Branding is essentially about distinction and recognition. You want customers to recognize your brand, and to distinguish it from your competition. Ideally, it will clearly communicate your uniqueness in a way that makes potential customers think of you as the best source to solve their problems. That's hard to do if they aren't seeing the same basic design elements within all of your communications.

A unified branding message is the first step in building brand recognition, especially for your office essentials like business cards, stationery, and envelopes. It means that every piece of mail or collateral you send out will be instantly recognizable by your customers-which makes them more likely to open and read it. That's the power of building brand recognition and trust.

Matching office and marketing materials provides benefits like:

• Better brand recognition
• The impression that you're an established company
• A more professional image
• Increased customer trust and loyalty

Once you have your basic branding elements in place, you can expand your strategy-and get more of the benefits-by including elements like signage, presentation materials and folders in your branding toolbox. Promotional items like pens, mini calendars, or clothing may also become part of your strategy. As long as you have a solid brand image, it's easy to add new pieces to the puzzle and drive more business your way.

Starting with the office essentials is key for any new business, or any business trying to redevelop their brand. That's how ACE approached our new brand when we decided to place environmentally friendly printing services at the core of our business. We changed our business cards and other office essentials first, before starting new marketing efforts with the revised logo. If you start with the basics, then re-branding yourself will be an easier task.

ACE Printing and Mailing Services can help you get your branding under control. Our in-house graphic designer can develop a new logo or design, and our staff can print all of your office essentials. Call on us for signs and promotional items, too. We'll even deliver them to your door. We want to help your business succeed.

Call us today at 415-460-2800 or visit us online at www.acepms.com

We've said it before: Ace Printing and Mailing Services wants to be a profitable resource for your business. That's why we make the effort to get to know our customers and our community through multiple networking organizations.

Our belief is that strong, local business relationships make us a better company, and keep us performing at our best. We're committed to earning your business every time through the service, experience and professionalism of our team.

If we can be of service to you and your organization, please tell us how. In this issue of the Ace email newsletter, we'll talk about what gets lost when price is the main factor in a purchasing decision.

"Referrals are very powerful. When I refer you, I give a little bit of my reputation away. If you do a good job, my friend that hired you is pleased. But if you do a bad job, that reflects badly on me. People forget that."~Dr. Ivan Misner

The High Cost of Deep Discount Printing
You've probably seen advertisements online offering free business cards, or other printing at unbelievably low prices. It sounds like a great deal, but you could be missing out if you choose your printer based on price alone. Remember, you get what you pay for-and you might pay for the lowers price by losing important features of professional printing.

Quality
Product quality is often the first thing to go when any item is sold at an extreme discount. That's true of almost any product, and it's true in the printing business.

Since the finished piece represents your business, the quality of your printing job reflects on you and your professional image. A professionally printed business card, brochure, or sign makes you look more professional, and can bring you more business.

Guidance
Where do you turn if you have questions about your project before you order printing? You might hire a graphic designer or marketing professional to help you create your piece. Or you could use some software to pull something together yourself. But you probably won't get much guidance from an online company with a low price.

Unless you're a professional designer, your best bet to get a professional looking finished product is to hire a designer-which means your discount print job isn't as cheap as advertised.

A printer that is dedicated to quality, like Ace, has a designer on-site who has expertise with both the design and printing sides of the business. Whether you need something designed from scratch-or just need a minor tweak-the designer works with you to get a great result, and is there to answer any of your questions.

They'll also ensure that your files are formatted and prepared for the best printing possible. When you send it to an online mass-printer, it's a guessing game whether your design will come out as planned. Any mistakes in the file can mean reprinting the piece, and paying twice.

Service
What happens if you get your new brochures in the mail, and the colors aren't right, or they haven't been cut to the right size? If you call the online company, can you get anybody on the phone?

Discount printers have to cut corners if they want to make a living, and one of the easiest places to cut is on customer service. And even if the company you deal with has great customer service, they're still not local. Problems can only be fixed at the speed of mail.

 A local printer provides an opportunity for an ongoing business relationship that an online company can't match. You can easily reach a live person on the phone, and if necessary, go to their place of business. And the person you're speaking to probably has the authority to fix your problem.

At the end of the day, your local printer, like Ace, is more accountable to your project and your business success. You are more than just an invoice number to them, because they deal with you face to face. They take the time to ask questions to get you the best result when you order printing. They have a larger interest in getting your project right. Plus, because they don't have to ship your finished piece, they can handle jobs faster than orders done online.

Ace wants to build successful business partnerships with our clients to help everyone succeed, and to boost the local economy. We want to earn your business, and we believe that our commitment to service and superior quality will give you a better product that improves your customer response. In the long run, what would you rather have: a Partner, or a Price?

Call or visit ACE Printing and Mailing Services today

At Ace Printing and Mailing Services, we're committed to providing you with the highest quality. When you decide to leave a project with us, we take responsibility for giving you the most professional service and enhancing your image. That commitment extends to every detail, even the mailing list for your promotion. We'll help you choose the best mailing list for your business and for the specific piece you're mailing. Then we'll ensure that your mailing is done accurately, so it gets to the right people.

"If you tell yourself, 'I can't succeed in this economic downturn,' you probably won't. But if you focus on specific solutions to the particular issues and challenges and opportunities of your business-your niche market, your current and prospective customers-you are likely to enjoy more success than all the naysayers put together would have predicted."~Dr. Ivan Misner

In this ACE Email we'll show you a little more of the process in choosing your mailing list for maximum effectiveness, and how mailing with ACE is a smart move for your business. 


If you're planning to create a direct mail promotion for your business, do you know who to send it to for the best response? Sellers of mailing lists will offer you lists based on almost any criterion you can think of. But that sea of choices doesn't always help you get the best list. 


The software systems that mailing list providers use can sort markets by both broad and specific factors. You can choose to send your mailing to all of the homes within a certain zip code. Or you could focus on a precise market like married, professional couples who make over $150,000, live in a home that is 25-30 years old, enjoy extreme sports, and have pets but no children. Obviously, the more precise your list, the more expensive it will be. 


ACE's experienced staff can help you narrow down your options even before your mailing piece has been printed. Our relationship with several list providers can save you time in searching for your list. We also understand how each promotion is directed toward a particular target market, and we can help you be sure that your marketing budget isn't being wasted on unqualified prospects. 


To be doubly sure, ACE runs every list through the National Change of Address Database put out by the Post Office. This is necessary because every year, over 40 million Americans change their address, according to the USPS. By running your list through the NCOA database, we help to reduce waste caused by undeliverable mail. That helps you save money by reducing wasted postage, and gets more of your mailing into the right hands. But we go even farther by checking your list for duplicate entries, for instance, from multiple people in the same home. This check often saves our clients money by sending only one piece of mail per address. But what if you already have a list? 


We work with many clients who have a list already in place. And we take the confidentiality of your list very seriously. In the past, we have worked with sensitive lists for non-profits and businesses. We guarantee that your list will never be sold, and that it will be used only for mailing your direct mail piece. Your existing list gets the same accuracy checks as a purchased list, to make sure that your list is current. 


Clients who decide to trust ACE with producing and mailing their marketing can save money. When your piece goes straight from printing to the mailing house, the sales tax is waived. Plus, your business can take advantage of ACE's ability to use the standard and bulk mail rates for savings on postage. Often, the savings on postage and taxes is enough to pay for the mailing fees. We specialize in mailing for non-profits, who always receive extra discounts.


 Call or visit ACE Printing and Mailing Services today at 415.460.2800.

Digital media may get more attention in the news, but Direct Mail is still one of the most popular ways for businesses to market themselves. That's because it works. 

Direct mail is cheaper and more targeted than mass marketing strategies like radio and TV. 

Ace Printing and Mailing Services has expertise in the production and delivery of direct mail. We can simplify the process for you and ensure a professional result. And taking your mailing from concept to completion with us will save you time and money. 

Rod Shoja, Ace's owner, has provided a question and answer session to give you a tour of our Mailing House.  

An Interview with Rod Shoja 

Q: Who uses mailing services? 
A: "Non profits and businesses both use our mailing services. It's not limited to any specific type of business. We have had database and survey companies use our mailing service, as well as landscapers. If you need to reach an audience with direct mail, relatively cheap, we can help." 

Q: What are the benefits of mailing with ACE? 
A: "We make sure that it gets done professionally. Ace's service is easier than doing it in your own office. It is faster than stuffing it yourself. Our mailing center equipment is state of the art. "The inkjet printer that applies the addresses makes a clean professional look, unlike address labels.

 We also use the Zip+4 and add a digital barcode for maximum postal savings. The 'intelligent barcode' also helps with delivery, to minimize returned mail. Other services can be added, like delivery confirmation. We can mail anything the Post Office can. "We always use the Post Office's National Change of Address database to make sure the addresses on the list are correct. After that, we check for duplicate addresses to make sure that there's no wasted paper or postage. It's part of our being a green printer. We make sure that there is a minimum of waste in the process." 

Q: What are the costs of mailing with ACE? 
A: "It depends on what services the client needs. More complex projects take more work. For instance, some pieces have to be hand-folded, and that takes more time. "Clients can always save on sales tax if going straight from printing to the mailing house. There may be discounts on mailing as few as 200 pieces, because we can send mail in several classes. "Non-profits also get extra discounts."
 
Q: How can clients prepare their mailing to make the process smooth? 
A: "If they have their own list, they need to prepare it with the right fields. Make sure that there is a field for the first name, last name, business name, address, city, state, and zip. A second address field for suites or apartment numbers is helpful. Professional titles are another option. "Making sure that the right fields are in place, and are properly named will also help prevent waste and returned mail, because the NCOA database needs an exact match to give the right information. 

"We can always help clients to prepare the list so that the process goes smoothly." 

Q: Can you help people with mailing lists? 
A: "We have relationship with companies that can provide almost any kind of mailing list. Just ask, and we'll get the right list for the target market of the mailing." 

Q: What sort of lead-time do you need for mailing? 
A: "Once proofs are approved, 5 days is typically enough for most printing and mailing. It is somewhat job dependent. If there is a higher level of service, such as hand stuffing, it may take longer. But we are always fast and efficient."
 
Find out how Ace can help your direct mail campaign get results. Call us today and take advantage of our monthly discount.