FROM THE BLOG
- Variable Data Printing Service (London SE1) 31st March 2020
- Southside Print & Coronavirus (COVID-19) 16th March 2020
- Packaging Printers & Designers 28th February 2020
WHAT WE DO:
We’re graphic designers; we’re digital printers; we’re litho printers; we’re large format printers; we provide print management; we’re website designers & we offer a copying & duplication service in SE1.
CONTACT US
Southside Print London Bridge
27 Tabard Street
London
SE1 4LA
t: 020 7378 6754
Email us here
Variable Data Printing Service (London SE1)
/in Borough, Digital printing, Direct mail, London Bridge, Mailers, Marketing, Marketing Collateral, Personalised printing, Printers, Printing, Printing services, SE1, Southside Print, Variable data printing /by Mark at PilotUsing ‘variable data printing’ is a way of personalising sales and marketing literature to individual recipients. It’s a great marketing tool too. People are far more likely to notice a mailed flyer, for example, if it addresses them by name, right there in the colour printing, as part of the actual design. You may have received brochures personalised to you, perhaps. They may have mentioned your name here and there throughout, in colour. That is a sure-fire way for a sales or marketing piece to get noticed and taken more seriously. Receiving such tailored communications suggests an existing knowledge of the customer, as an individual. It also comes over as being highly professional and a bit more ‘grown up’ than the usual anonymous approach. It also lends the printed piece an element of gravitas, subconsciously saying ‘this is an important message to you‘.
Personalised text
Personalising the text of a brochure or mailshot to include the recipient’s name is an obvious example of variable data resulting in personalised printing. As well as a name, though, the person’s location could also be included for that extra personal touch. Or there could be mention of a previous purchase, a brand usually ordered, or anything else that’s relevant. This is all possible so long as it’s included within the database being supplied to your commercial printer. All of this extra personalisation can demonstrate a real knowledge of the customer within the sales piece, potentially becoming integral to the sales proposition as part of a strategic, well thought-out approach.
Personalised images
Variable Data printing doesn’t need to end with text though. It can also merge images, diagrams or illustrations into the printed piece. For example, a particular image can be printed in a printed document meant for one recipient, while a different image can be printed for someone else. For example, a mailer used to sell health supplements might include a featured image of something the customer has ordered before, now on special offer perhaps. If they’ve ordered before and are reminded of what they purchased, that’s certain to really catch their eye and generate additional repeat sales from the recipient. That’s just one example of how variable data printing can be used to personalise sales and marketing literature.
How Variable Data printing is achieved
This kind of document personalisation is all made possible using
Southside Print & Coronavirus (COVID-19)
/in Borough, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Graphic design, Graphic designers, Large format printing, London Bridge, News, Printers, Printing, Printing services, SE1, Southside Print /by Mark at PilotTo confirm, it’s ‘business as usual’ for us here at Southside Print in London SE1, despite the potential threat from Coronavirus and COVID-19. We remain open for business and are fully operative for all services including graphic design, printing and production. Just let us know if you need any print and design produced and we’ll be very happy to help.
So, the message is that we’re open as usual and are operating an uninterrupted service. Rest assured that quality and service levels remain excellent, as always.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) posters available to buy online
The posters include very important information and guidelines including:
The posters are available to buy online. They are A3 in size and are gloss laminated, allowing the surface to be wiped clean. They cost £15 excluding VAT and postage. Most credit and debit cards are accepted, as well as PayPal.
Packaging Printers & Designers
/in Artwork, Borough, Digital printing, Graphic design, Graphic designers, London, London Bridge, Packaging, Printers, Printing, Printing services, SE1 /by Mark at PilotPrinted literature for packaged products
We also routinely produce the kind of printed literature that you find inside product packaging. This includes instruction manuals, assembly instruction sheets, information pamphlets, warranty documents, guarantee registration cards, vouchers for cross-selling, catalogues, price lists, order forms and so on. If it involves printing on paper, card or board, we can print it!
Advanced print finishing techniques to make your packaging stand out
As well as our digital printing facilities, we also have a whole range of in-house ‘print finishing’ options to make your printed packaging really stand out. Options include lamination (matt, gloss etc.), encapsulation, gloss U.V. varnish including spot varnishing, die-cutting to give your packaging non-standard shapes, traditional hot foil stamping and digital foiling. We can also perforate, score, crease, fold, collate, drill holes, add eyelets, ribbons, add and affix glue tabs, and so on. So, please remember that we’re a print finisher as well as being a printer.
A Handy Guide to UK Paper Sizes
/in Borough, Envelopes, Graphic design, London Bridge, Paper, Paper sizes, Printers, Printing, SE1 /by Mark at PilotPaper sizes are something even seasoned print veterans find themselves looking up occasionally. While some paper sizes are used on a daily basis at printers and design studios, there are others that are only used a handful of times a year. Those tend to be the sizes most easily forgotten, so we’ve come up with this handy reference guide that can be referred to any time, 365 days of the year. Don’t forget to bookmark it!
The following is not an exhaustive list of paper sizes, but it should cover the most commonly used sizes used by designers and printers around the UK. For the sake of brevity, we’ll leave out the more rarefied ‘legacy’ sizes that we simply tend not to encounter any more.
ISO Paper Sizes
You may not have heard of ‘ISO’ paper sizes, but you will have used sizes like A4 and A3 perhaps on a weekly basis. A4, A3, A5, A2, B4 and B5 are probably the most easily recognisable examples of ISO ‘A’ and ISO ‘B’ paper sizes.
ISO ‘A’ sizes:
The ISO ‘A’ series of paper sizes is most widely used for printing and design in the UK; most people will use A4 paper, for example, on a daily basis. As we mentioned above, each ‘step’ down from one A size to the next is exactly half the size, as you can see in the diagram above/right. Here are the main A sizes:
If you want to go larger than A0, the next size up is called “2A0” (1189 x 1682mm). Use the maths trick above to go up from there to 3A0, 4A0 and beyond.
ISO ‘B’ paper sizes:
Exactly as with the ‘A’ sizes, each ‘B’ paper size can be
An A-Z of Printing Terms
/in Graphic design, Printers, Printing, Printing jargon, Printing services, SE1, Southside Print /by Mark at PilotIf you’re involved in buying printing but are not a designer or printer yourself, you’ll probably have come across some printing jargon that, at some point, has left you a little confused. ‘CMYK’, ‘bleed’ and ‘outlining fonts’ are possible examples. Such terminology often crops up at the worst possible time too — in print quotes or just when you are in a hurry to finalise artwork. Fear not, though, as we’re here to help you make sense of it all. Here is our handy A to Z of common printing terms:
Looking for an Eco-Friendly Printer in London SE1?
/in Borough, Borough High Street, Digital printing, Graphic design, Graphic designers, Large format printing, London, London Bridge, Printers, Printing, Printing services, SE1 /by Mark at PilotAt Southside Print, we’re passionate about doing our bit to save the planet. With such extreme weather around the world and record-breaking temperatures becoming the new norm, it’s more important then ever to reduce our carbon footprint and generally be more eco-friendly as a company and as individuals. We’re certainly stepping up to the mark.
Are you looking for a ‘green’ printer near London Bridge?
We hope that being ‘green’ is important to you too. If so, you’ll probably want to find an environmentally-friendly printer, i.e. one who uses eco-friendly practices and chooses sustainable materials wherever possible. That’s where we come in because we genuinely care about the environment and our impact on the planet. So, when you choose Southside as your environmentally-friendly printer, you know you are making a green choice and are also playing your part in the much bigger picture.
How we are environmentally friendly
At Southside Print, there are a number of ways in which we help to minimise waste and reduce our carbon footprint. Just a few examples include the following:
Contact SE1’s eco-friendly printer
If you are as passionate as us about the environment and are looking for an eco-friendly printer, please give us a try at Southside Print. Printing need not cost the Earth, so
Logo & Corporate Identity Design in SE1
/in Borough, Branding, Corporate identity, Digital printing, Graphic design, Graphic designers, London, London Bridge, Marketing Collateral, Printers, Printing, Printing services, SE1 /by Mark at PilotSouthside Print offers a full logo design service along with corporate identity design from our print works near London Bridge in SE1. In this blog post we explain a little about the way we approach this type of design work.
Logo design – the brief
Getting your logo design right is incredibly important; after all, your logo is very much the face of your organisation or brand. As such, it needs to convey the right first impression, the right values, look attractive and be memorable as your primary branding device.
As part of any logo design brief, we’ll ask for guidelines about what values the logo will represent and what kind of visual feel you have in mind. Does it need to look eye-catching and punchy, contemporary and clean, hip and funky, earthy and natural, or understated and dependable? Does it need to look upmarket, cheap and cheerful, or somewhere in between? It all depends upon what you wish to convey when people see your new logo. It’s also important to know the answers to these questions from the very beginning so that our designers can embark upon the design journey knowing that they’re aiming in the right direction from the outset. After all, getting a logo 100% right is incredibly important for any business, organisation or brand.
Designing … or redesigning your brand
Our designers are here, on tap, to professionally design your logo – or even to redesign it, should the need arise. That service is useful if your business or organisation is a start-up, of course, but also if an existing logo is looking tired, dated and in need of a refresh. Updating your logo can be incredibly powerful as a marketing tool and in some ways it can be very much like a rebirth when it happens — a chance to re-launch your offering to your target audience.
Designing your logo
The design journey for logos varies enormously depending upon the company, organisation, product or service in question as well as the brief supplied to our designers. Also, of course, the available budget has a big impact on how much work, and how many iterations, we can supply as part of our logo designing service. Therefore, perhaps surprisingly to some, logo design is possible for a range of different budgets.
Design budget
At the very lowest end of the budget scale, we could agree to professionally design a logo based closely on something our client has supplied, e.g. a sketched out idea. In that scenario, the customer already has a fixed and clear idea of what they want and so we can arrive at an agreed logo design fairly quickly and easily — and therefore inexpensively. However, it’s worth mentioning that,
Opening Times for Christmas 2019 & New Year
/in Borough, Buy printing online, Christmas, Christmas cards, Digital printing, Graphic design, London Bridge, Printers, Printing, Printing services, SE1, Southside Print /by Mark at PilotA very Happy Christmas to all our customers! We’d also like to pass on every good wish to you for the New Year when it arrives. Thanks to each and every one of you for all the lovely graphic design and printing work that you’ve given us throughout 2019 — it’s been a wonderful year and we really appreciate all the work you have passed our way — Thank you.
Christmas 2019 & New Year Opening Times
We close for the Christmas festivities on Friday 20th December at 5.30pm, remaining closed throughout the Christmas period until January 2nd 2020 when we re-open at 9am — and then it’s all back to normal. In the mean time, if you have anything urgent that simply must be ready in time for Christmas, don’t delay. We’ll need your artwork and order right away please.
However, our online print shop will be available to everyone during the break. So, if you need anything like brochures, posters, letterheads, compliments slips, business cards or leaflets, simply order them online (follow the bold links) and we’ll print and dispatch those for you as soon as possible.
You can also continue to request quotations over the Christmas break and, again, we’ll sort those out for you as quickly as we can so you have prices ready for the New Year. You can also call 020 7378 6754 to speak with us either side of the break.
Thanks again to each and every one of you. We wish you a happy Christmas and all good things for the 2020.
The Southside Print Team, Tabard Street, London SE1.
Winners Announced for the SE1 Charity Prize Draw
/in Borough, Christmas, Christmas cards, Digital printing, London Bridge, Printers, Printing, Printing services, Prize Draw, SE1, Southside Print /by Mark at PilotMany thanks to all the lovely SE1 charities that took part in our Christmas 2019 charity prize draw. £550 worth of printing vouchers were up for grabs, split into four prizes for the lucky winners. Our team at Southside Print came up with the draw as alternative to sending out Christmas cards this year — and we think it’s a very worthwhile idea — and one that should help excellent causes save some money.
The Winners
We can now confirm the lucky winners are as follows:
In first place was Hestia, who won the top prize of a £250 printing voucher. This SE1 charity, which is based just a stone’s throw away from us in Borough High Street, supports adults and children in crisis across London. This includes those who have suffered domestic abuse, modern slavery, mental health issues and homelessness, to give a few examples. The charity also campaigns and advocates nationally on the issues that affect the people involved. Each year, the organisation helps approximately 9000 adults and children in the London area. We wrote an in-depth blog article about Hestia way back in February 2018 and you can also visit Hestia’s website to learn more about them.
A further three winners, each receiving a £100 printing voucher, were:
Safer London
Safer London is the first of three SE1 charities that each won a £100 printing voucher in the Christmas prize drawer. Based in Union Street, the charity believes that every young person should be given the opportunity to live free from violence and exploitation including exposure to gangs, sexual or other exploitation and crime — and we couldn’t agree more. The charity works around the clock to help this aim become a reality. This is done through mentoring, education, empowerment, access to safe housing and, above all, one-to-one support. Learn more about the excellent work Safer London does on their website.
Bankside Open Spaces Trust (‘BOST’) is another SE1 charity that won a £100 printing voucher. Based just around the corner from Southside Print in Redcross Way, BOST is an award-winning environmental and volunteering charity that aims to create and improve gardens, parks, green spaces and open spaces in and around the Bankside region of London. These include many ‘community gardens’ where sustainable food is grown; food which directly benefits people living in nearby social housing. We have written and published several blog articles about BOST, which can be found here. You can also learn more about the charity on their website.
RSPB
The London office of the RSPB, which is based in Southwark Street, London SE1, also won one of the £100 printing vouchers. We were delighted because we simply love birds here at Southside Print. The RSPB (full name: The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) is the largest nature conservation charity in the UK. As they say in their Mission Statement, “Our birds and wildlife are increasingly vulnerable in a rapidly-changing world. Together, we can create bigger, better, more joined-up spaces to save our wildlife, and our shared home.” The nature reserves over which the charity is custodian help to improve the situation for species that are too often in decline. Their recovery is nurtured through conservation, research, partnerships and the tackling of threats that so badly affect them. Learn more about the RSPB here.
Congratulations to
Charity Christmas Prize Draw for SE1
/in Borough, Borough High Street, Christmas, Digital printing, London Bridge, Printers, Printing, Printing services, Prize Draw, Promotions, SE1 /by Mark at PilotIf you’re a charity based in London SE1, you could soon be in for an unexpected treat. As an alternative to sending Christmas cards this year, Southside Print is donating a total of £550 worth of printing services to SE1 charities via a December prize draw.
Win free printing!
Four lucky charities will split the winnings, with a top prize of £250 worth of printing going to one charity, with three other charities each receiving a voucher for printing worth £100. Charities need not be existing customers of Southside Print.
Prize Draw Rules
A few simple terms and conditions apply, the main caveats being:
Submit your entry here
If you are a charity based in London SE1, you have nothing to lose, so register now! Vouchers can pay for the equivalent value of any of our in-house printing services. These include digital printing, large format printing, lamination and digital foiling. Winners can use them for ordering things like