What is Spot UV?

Spot UV works by printing a clear glossy area on top of your printed business card or other item,

The simplest way of setting up your artwork so this process is successful is by creating an additional page, highlighting the area you require to be with the clear glossy area.

Here is an example.

This is the finish printed design:

Jack, wants the logo and the wave at the bottom to be the area that is clear glossy over the print.

Jack provided us with a second page in the pdf artwork so it shows exactly the area needed to be covered. All the dimensions are the same from the initial artwork. He has made this one colour as the following image:

In order to ensure that there are no white edges, it is important to include 3mm bleed in the artwork, exactly how first page should also be. Here is an image:

Once we receive your file, we will check that it is correct for the printing of your spot UV business card. If there is any problem, we will work with you until you have the artwork correct. If you are still not sure, send us your file and describe where you want the UV spot to be and we will quote you on any work that is need to achieve your print project.

We look forward to helping you with your Spot UV project.

• Is this the best way to represent my business?
• Is this the best way to attract and engage my target audience?

According to the Greeting Card Association here, “The history of greeting cards dates back to the ancient Chinese who exchanged messages of goodwill to celebrate a New Year, and to early Egyptians who used papyrus scrolls to send greetings.” The first Valentine’s Day card was given in Europe, in 1415. The first Christmas card was published in London, in 1843.

Greeting cards have been a staple form of communication in cultures around the world, for hundreds of years. Not only are they used to express well wishes on holidays and birthdays, but they are also used to announce special events, to promote new products, and to bring unexpected yet timely encouragement to friends and family members. This article provides a list of helpful tips for designing the best greeting cards.

1. Form your recipient list. Before you begin the process of designing a greeting card, determine who will receive it. Is your address book or client list up-to-date? Who’s not in your address book or on your client list that should be? You could filter your list, so that one section is to people who have certain likes or purchase a particular product.
2. Start early. Printing projects, especially those that have intricate designs and a wide range of colors, take time. If you want to send your friends and family members a holiday card, you don’t want to wait until the week of that holiday to present your design to the printer. Remember, your procrastination isn’t your printer’s emergency. Give your printer a reasonable amount of time to review your design, give professional suggestions, and complete your project with enough time for you to add personal notes and mail your greeting cards.
3. Don’t leave people guessing. As soon as the recipient opens the envelope and removes the card, they should know what they have received. The front of your card should make the reason or occasion for the card obvious. Use text, symbols, and designs that catch the recipient’s eye and doesn’t leave them wondering what they will see inside the card.
4. Consistency of content. Whatever sentiment, verse, poem, or pithy quotation you choose for the text inside the card, make sure it is consistent with the design on the front of the card. For example: if you have created a cover for a Christmas card, your inside text should have something to do with that holiday. This may seem obvious, but it wouldn’t be listed as a tip if everyone succeeded in doing this.
5. Room for a personal note. The presence or lack of a personal inscription inside a greeting card can say a lot to the recipient about how important he or she is to the sender. Make sure to leave room inside the card for the sender to add a personal note. It is possible however to replicate writing across multiple cards – by printing in colour the handwriting as part of the card design. It certainly saves passing multiple cards around a work place if you want the card to be signed by every employee.
6. Be culturally sensitive. If you are going to create a greeting card that will be sent to a wide variety of people, and not just close friends and family, make sure the symbols and verbiage you use are generic enough to avoid awkwardness or offense. Some words and images mean different things in different cultures. For example: you should never send someone in the Chinese culture a greeting card in which the text is in red ink. Red ink represents death. To many people in Chinese culture, to receive a card with their name written in red is to wish them bad luck, or worse.
7. More than a sales pitch. If you are sending greeting cards to clients, the first card you should send is a “thank you” card. Let your clients know that you haven’t forgotten about them and that you appreciate their business. Remind your clients that your business exists to serve them. Have you thought about sending your clients a “Happy Anniversary” card to commemorate the first day or time they ever did business with you?

The award winning Afford A Print exist to help you get the most out of your printed page. Allow Afford A Print the privilege of handling your greeting card project. Contact Us today.

At Afford A Print, we realise you have many options when it comes to selecting a professional printer for your print-related projects. That’s why we are committed to providing you with the best cleanest designs, the highest quality materials, competitive prices, and the best customer service in the industry.

Here are just five reasons you should choose Afford A Print as your professional printing partner.

1. Fast Delivery – We realize that most customers want their print projects completed yesterday. While we can’t do that, we don’t make promises we can’t keep. At Afford A Print, we understand that projects carry with them varying levels of time sensitivity. Our commitment is to finish your project in a timely manner and to meet agreed-upon deadlines.

When necessary, we can deliver some orders within 24 hours.

Just ask Steph Walters of The Positive Element 

“I gave Nigel at Afford A Print very little time to help me out with my printouts for an event I did last week, but he still gave exceptional service at a really good price. He was also very honest about something we couldn’t do, but instead of leaving it at that, he was proactive in helping me find ways to solve the problem a different way. Overall, I have been very impressed with the service from Afford A Print, Nigel’s values in how he does business, and the really great quality of the prints. Thank you, Nigel. I will definitely be using you again and recommending you to people I know.”

2. Specific Delivery Hours – In many situations, we can work with you to determine a specific day of the week and let you know the time of day, down to the hour, for your delivery, or arrange for it to be delivered to a neighbour or local shop. At Afford A Print, we will do everything we possibly can to meet your specific delivery needs.

3. Five-Star Customer Feedback – You can believe us when we say we say, “Our passion is your satisfaction.” And our customers agree. Look at what a couple of our customers have said about Afford A Print’s service:

“Afford A Print helped us design and produce some leaflets for our charity. They went out of their way to be accommodating and helpful. Nothing was too much trouble. They let us make numerous revisions to the design and promptly sent us the leaftets which were very good quality. The price was very reasonable. Thank you for all your help. We will use again.”
~ Jennie Prewett, Incredible Kids Charity

“I have now used Nigel at Afford A Print on several occasions. Very competitive pricing and fantastic customer service. Speed of delivery has also been very impressive – would not hesitate to recommend Afford A Print to friends and colleagues.”
~ Jeff Pellett, A-Plan Insurance

4. Achieving YOUR printing goals – The award winning Afford A Print exists to help our clients get the most out of their printed page. Whether it is matt finished or gloss laminated business cards, small to large sized posters, Afford A Print can print an extensive range of products for you. Our designs are created using high resolution, which produces amazing results.

5. Competitive Pricing – Afford A Print’s pricing is competitive with other printing companies, throughout the UK. Our pricing is in keeping with our commitment to full customer satisfaction. Contact us today with as much detail as possible about what you are looking to achieve – we look forward to hearing from you!

A business card should not be the first impression you give to a potential client or contact. “Here’s my card,” should not be the beginning of a business relationship. You should be the first impression a person receives of your business. Your warmth, politeness, respect, expertise, and communication and listening skills should be the first and lasting impression left upon your potential clients. However, your business card, coming on the heels of a great first meeting, most certainly will leave an impression, too.

A business card is more than a piece of advertisement that will conveniently fit in someone’s pocket, wallet, or purse. The business card you design and distribute should serve as a reminder to your client that they’ve established a relationship with a professional. You don’t want your business card to be one of many forgotten cards in a person’s desk drawer. You want your business card to be one of the few that a person keeps close at hand—the cards that represent the most important business relationships.

In this article, we will look at the important design elements of a professional business card.

Your Business Card as a Portable Billboard

When designing your business card think about the elements of a billboard that catch your eye, in a positive way. Your business card should likewise catch the eye of and provide the most important information about your business for your client.

Your business logo should be the first thing people notice on your business card. Therefore, it must be a size that allows for all of the design elements in your logo to be seen. We at Afford A Print will help you design your logo.

In addition to your logo, elements such as typography, paper, layout, texture, even shape (business cards don’t have to be rectangles) are critically important to developing not only an eye-catching design, but a memorable business card. You want your business card to burn an indelible image in the mind of your potential clients.

What Your Business Card Should Include

The last thing you want to do is develop and print a business card that doesn’t provide your clients with all of the necessary information to connect and interact with you. Your business card should include:

• Logo
• Tagline (For instance: the tag line for Afford A Print is, “For all your printing needs”)
• Name and job title
• Full contact information
• Website (but perhaps not your home page; offer a page on your website that either introduces you or your company’s story to the client)
• Social media pages
• White (or blank) space to give the viewer’s eyes rest while looking at your card. Don’t make your cards too busy.

As you can see, there is much more to consider than card stock colour and font size when developing the design of your business card. We at Afford A Print are here to bring your business card vision to life. We will design your cards in such a way that your clients will know you mean business.

So, contact us today and let us help you help you take your business to the next level through print.