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1. An Urgent Printing Service in London

   22 February 2022 22:26 Leave a Comment

   Do you have an urgent printing job that simply MUST be turned around super-fast? If so, Southside Print can help. Subject to timing and workload, we offer:

   • A same day printing service in London;
   • Next day delivery for many locations* in the UK;
   • Next day print & dispatch, for arrival anywhere in the UK* in 2-3 days;
   • Plus our usual fast turnarounds for less urgent printing.

   Same Day Printing Service for London

   More often than not, we can turn around printing on the same day for local customers, particularly if we’re given advanced warning and artwork files are supplied according to pre-agreed timetables. If you’re in London, we can courier your printed jobs to you later on the same day, or they will be available to collect from our print shop near London Bridge and Borough, London SE1. Depending on the size of your printing job, the latest we’d usually need your artwork files and sign-off to proceed is 1pm, but obviously the earlier the better with timing being so short.

   Printing Needed Within Just Hours?

   If your print job is even more super-urgent, talk to us. Depending upon workloads and existing commitments, it may even be possible to turn around some jobs within just a few hours. While it’s not quite a while-you-wait service, it’s the next best thing.

   Next Day, 24-Hour Printing Service

   24-hour print turn around is also available for those jobs that simply must be with you the next working day, wherever you are in the UK. Our 24-hour print service will suit companies, organisations and individuals anywhere in the UK* as we can dispatch via overnight courier for next-day* delivery. It helps, of course, if we are forewarned so that we can clear the decks, ready for your job and to ensure that we have the right paper/volume ready. It works best when our clients hand over artwork files and/or give us sign-off to proceed no later than the times that we will have pre-agreed. Usually, the latest we’d need them is 1pm, but it does depend upon the size and complexity of the print job.

   * ^{Subject to availability. Some areas of the UK, for example more remote islands, may not be eligible for next day delivery via overnight courier, simply due to the limitations of the courier services themselves.}

   Next Day Dispatch (2-3 Day Service)

   This is similar to the above, except the printing is dispatched the day after we receive the artwork and order to proceed, so will usually take a day longer to arrive with customers. We usually require artwork files and sign-off to proceed no later than 3pm on the first day.

   We are a Green Printer!

   Did you know that Southside Print is a very green printer? We’re even attaining ISO 14001 accreditation. There are not many eco-friendly printers around who will also be able to turn around printing super-fast, so bear us in mind next time you require urgent printing that’s also produced in a sustainable way, using recycled or eco-friendly materials and green processes.

   We Can Print Virtually Anything

   Whether you require printed brochures, booklets, posters, annual reports, manuals, stationery, banners, exhibition displays, mailers, menus, newsletters or anything else, we can almost certainly print it.

   The Very Best Quality & Service

   Our quality and service levels are superb and you don’t even need to take our word for it — our full suite of 5 Star Trust Pilot ratings speak for themselves.

   Do You Need Urgent Printing?

   If you have an urgent printing requirement and are looking for a super-fast printer that’s also high quality, reliable, eco-friendly and competitively priced, please get in touch so that we can schedule your print job in.

2. Personalised Christmas Cards for 2021

   1 November 2021 23:22 Leave a Comment

   With the clocks having now gone back and the final part of the year upon us, Christmas will be here before we know it. The last post dates for Christmas are Saturday 18 December for 2nd Class, Tuesday 21st for First Class and Thursday 23rd for Special Delivery. Whichever way you look at it, you need to start planning for your personalised and corporate Christmas cards now if you’re to avoid a last minute panic.

   Southside Print can help! In line with previous years, we have a varied selection of attractive Christmas cards ready and waiting for you to personalise and overprint at www.christmascardgallery.co.uk. Every one of them is attractive and you can choose cards which may be metallic foiled, high gloss varnished, printed on textured card or featuring a combination of several different finishes. Each can be personalised professionally for you, including a logo if required. Many can now be personalised on the front too. Click the links and images to see the huge range available.

   Contemporary Christmas cards

   Our contemporary cards are sure to impress and every one looks especially festive! There are 21 modern designs including portrait, landscape and square formats. With either a gloss finish or gold foil, they feature anything from fancy baubles and magical reindeer to beautifully painted trees. View all the contemporary cards here.

   Animal & bird cards

   Our range of over 20 animal and bird cards is always popular — who doesn’t love a fluffy robin, penguin or polar bear! Joining them are cards featuring highland cattle, stags, hares, blue tits, sheep, owls, cygnets and squirrels, each in a gorgeous, wintery scene. The photography is stunning. View the animal & bird cards here.

   Traditional Christmas themed cards

   Of course we also have a range of Traditional Christmas themed cards, featuring illustrations and designs that have a distinctively Christmassy feel about them. All 18 of them are attractive and extremely festive in feel. You’ll find snowy scenes, wreathes, Santa scenes, snowmen, choirs, village scenes and more in this section. View the traditional Christmas themed cards here.

   Fine art & religious cards

   Our selection of religious and fine art greetings cards is simply beautiful. From angels, nativity scenes, the Three Kings, stained glass windows and churches to images of works of art, they all have a distinctive, Christmassy feel about them. Various sizes and shapes are available and they’re all ready for you to personalise. View the fine art and religious themed cards here.

   International Christmas cards

   Our International card range will particularly suit businesses and organisations who have a worldwide clientele. Images include globe motifs, flags, world landmarks, doves of peace and Christmas trees in a wide variety of visual styles. Sized at A5 and featuring a variety of different finishes and textures depending upon the card chosen. View the International themed Christmas cards here.

   London scenes

   Our London themed Christmas cards are perfect for many of our clients as so many of them are based in the heart of the city. The choice of 17 different cards features landmarks such as The London Eye, Big Ben, St Paul’s Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Regent Street, Westminster Abbey, Tower Bridge and even the Natural History Museum. Perfect! View our London themed cards here.

   Photography Christmas cards

   Always popular, we couldn’t forget our photographic range of festive cards. These are attractive, featuring stunning photography, and of course are non-religious, so will suit a wide audience. Images include anything from swans on the river and snowdrops to snowy landscapes and frosted holly berries. Various sizes & shapes. View the photography themed Christmas cards here.

   Tree cards

   No collection of Christmas cards would be complete without a wide selection of tree images and ours is no exception. Choose from 17 different designs that include images and styles that will suit anyone. With the added bonus, for some, that they’re non-religious, these will have wide appeal and will suit any age group too. Sized at A5 or square and featuring a variety of finishes. View the tree themed Xmas cards here.

   Funny cards

   New for 2021 are our range of over a dozen humorous cards. They feature anything from amusing cartoons to light-hearted characters including vegetables with faces and woolly hats! (A merry veg-mas to you all!). There are also some rather fetching gingerbread men, some jolly snowmen, funny reindeer and even an elephant masquerading as Rudolf! View the humorous card range here.

   Team themed cards

   If you work in a team and want to send your colleagues a team-themed Christmas card this year, we’ve something new, just for you. Our range of 12 new cards features team themes in a range of delightful styles. There are teams of penguins, reindeer, robins, snowmen and even mince pies with faces and hats. They’re delightful! View the team themed Christmas cards here.

   Automotive & Contractor themed cards

   Our final new range for 2021 is our automotive and contractor range of Christmas cards. All available to overprint and personalise, these illustrative cards feature Santas, festive construction themes with a Santa twist, beautiful classic cars in snowy scenes and even a van, doing deliveries, that can feature your company name on the side. View the automotive & contractor themed cards here.

   Ready to order?

   Take a good look at the available cards and, when ready, make a note of your preferred card’s reference number (the ‘Card Code’). Then fill in the order form here. We will then be in touch to confirm costs and delivery options with you before proceeding with your order.

   All cards come complete with a high quality envelope. The minimum order is 25 cards. Orders usually take about ten days from approval of your proof.

   For more information on overprinted Christmas card options, contact us here or call us on 020 7378 6754. We’ll be happy to help.

3. Using Print to Support E-Commerce

   22 October 2021 23:00 Leave a Comment

   Does your company or organisation have an online shop? If so, are you making the most of it from a marketing perspective? Does the online shop feature cross-sells, up-sells, recently viewed products, wish lists, live chat and a simple e-news sign-up to build a re-marketing list? Does it have voucher code functionality, a customer review facility, a decent user experience and an easy-to-accomplish check-out and payment facility? These are all the kind of things any decent e-commerce store should have if you are to get the most from your online shop.

   How About Offline?

   If you’re not using printing to support your e-commerce store, you are missing a trick. Printing, combined with your e-commerce operation, can make a huge difference to your success. We’ll explain how and why …

   Example:

   You receive an online order for a product. You dispatch it the same day with a packing slip and an automatically-generated email confirmation. It arrives the next day.

   Perfect surely?

   Well, not really. The speed and efficiency of your fulfilment offering is impressive, for sure. However, you have missed many golden opportunities if that’s all you do when dispatching online orders to customers. Take a look …

   How to Make the Most out of Online Orders Using Print

   1. Printed Branding

   Firstly, think about brand recognition. A good, well-recognised brand is worth its weight in gold if you get it right. Thinks of Virgin, Ted Baker, Apple and even an organisation like The National Trust. Each has a brand that’s instantly recognisable. You could put their logo on almost anything and it would instantly make that product more desirable. So, the lesson here is to ensure that your brand looks great in the first place (our talented graphic designers can help with that), but also that it’s presented to best effect on everything the customer sees when they receive their order. The packaging should be well-designed and showcase your brand. So should the packing slip; labels too. That’ll all help with brand recognition. Keep doing that and your brand should become more and more popular and valuable over time.

   2. Cross-Selling, Up-Selling & Repeat-Selling Through Print

   As well as the nifty packaging and attractive paperwork, ensure you give your customer every opportunity to remember your e-commerce shop and brand. You can do this through the inclusion of a variety of printed materials:

   • Include 2 or 3 attractive business cards or postcards for your customer to keep for future use. These are something that’s easy and compact for them to keep, ready to remind them to visit your store again in the future. Including more than one also gives them the opportunity to pass one on to a friend or relative (that’s free marketing for you).
   • Take this a step further by including a compact but beautifully designed brochure about your brand or product(s). What’s the history? Is there a U.S.P. — something unique about your product or brand that sets it apart? What is the mission or ethos of the company? If it’s green make sure you tell your audience in the copy. Make your brand relevant, and the message and presentation engaging, and your customers will buy into it.
   • Top Tip: One immensely worthwhile item to include with orders is a catalogue or mini catalogue. These are a great way to showcase additional products that the customer might have overlooked online. Such marketing pieces can include nicely shot product photos and descriptions along with quick/short links for online purchase — or order forms for offline ordering. As well as encouraging sales, printed mini-catalogues are also a great way to sell off discontinued products that are still in stock, or sale items that you’re keen to clear.
   • Include a discount voucher or code, to encourage them to make another purchase. Even better, make it time-sensitive, so they’re spurred on to act (i.e. buy again) without delay.
   • Include a printed ‘refer a friend’ offer of some kind. This could be printed on any of the above but might be easier to notice if it’s a on separate card, simple leaflet or coupon. It’ll stand more chance of success if there’s some sort of incentive for both the customer and the friend they are referring, so have a think about what you could offer each.
   • Printed loyalty cards are also a good thing to send with orders, especially if you also offer a service. They are yet another way to keep customers coming back again and again to buy more!

   Including printed items like these, with every online order, is a great way to remind your customers about your brand and products. It’s also a way to help customers ‘buy into’ the brand, feel part of it, and for the business to become much more tangible and real. After all, there is a real bricks and mortar business, with real people, behind most online shops. Printed collateral like this will help your offering stand out from the crowd and become memorable. At the end of the day, that means repeat business, more profit, and a likely increase to your business’s value as it grows. What’s more, before you know it, you’ll have both an online store and be supporting it with a parallel mail-order business. One shop suddenly became two in effect, with only modest extra cost and effort. Don’t forget to take that a step further, too, by bringing in all the relevant social media channels. Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, for example, are brilliant for lifestyle type product marketing, without it looking too ‘salesy’.

   Printers in London Bridge, SE1

   If you are looking for high quality, reliable printers in London Bridge, please do get in touch. Our print shop is located in Tabard Street, close to Borough High Street, just a short distance from London Bridge station. We supply digital printing, large format printing and we’re also a very green printer. Quotes are free, so please do get in touch for more information.

4. 5 Star Reviews for Southside Print

   23 August 2021 23:14 Leave a Comment

   At Southside Print we have virtually a full suite of 5 Star reviews on Google for our printing and design services. A staggering 19 out of the 21 Google reviews that Southside Print has received are 5 star reviews. That’s the highest possible star rating for over 90% of all customer reviews — and we’ll be forever grateful to customers who went out of their way to leave such glowing reviews for us. Thank you to each and every one of them.

   The highest possible rating in over 90% of customer reviews

   Here’s what just some of our past customers have said on Google:

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   Thank you again to all of the above and the many others who left such positive feedback on Google for Southside Print.

   Existing Customer? Please Write a Review

   Southside Print SE1 would love your feedback. If you are an existing or previous customer of Southside Print and were happy with our service, please consider posting a review to our Google profile. Here’s how:

   1. Log into your Google account
   2. Go to https://g.page/r/Cctja4YTEM9bEAg/review
   3. Submit your review

   Thank you.

   We’re Printers in Borough/London Bridge, London SE1

   Southside Print are printers in London Bridge, Borough and SE1 in South London, producing outstanding digital printing, large format printing, graphic design and artwork and online printing.

5. Sustainable Printing for the Environmentally Conscious

   23 June 2021 22:49 Leave a Comment

   If you are an environmentally conscious individual or represent a business or organisation that is, Southside Print can help by providing environmentally-friendly printing. More and more people are rightly concerned about the impact that their buying choices have on the environment. With temperatures and sea levels across the world rising, long-frozen ice caps melting and the world’s biodiversity under enormous threat, it’s becoming increasingly important to make good choices about where and how products and services are produced. Indeed, many companies and organisations across the globe now have sustainability policies in place to ensure that they are sourcing services and products only from environmentally-responsible, sustainable sources. That includes, of course, paper-based products and printing services. Well, at Southside Print, we supply sustainably-produced printed products for many environmentally aware clients including individuals, charities, green businesses, certified B Corporations (B Lab/B Corp) and so on. Our ‘green’ printing is perfect for anything from brochures, leaflets, annual reports and posters to large format printing, banners and letterheads — and much more.

   Sustainable Printing at Southside Print

   • All paper used at Southside Print is FSC accredited (more about that below).
   • It’s also at least 20%-30% recycled.
   • Customers have a wide choice of sustainable papers, card and board to choose from, including 100% recycled options and even some eco-friendly paper stocks that contain no wood pulp at all.
   • We recycle all paper and card off-cuts, whenever it’s possible, throughout the year.
   • We use only the most energy-efficient printing and finishing machinery and technologies.
   • Our printing is fully digital, meaning we don’t use nasty chemicals in our print processes.
   • Even our website is hosted on green servers, which use energy from renewable sources and the most energy-efficient server technologies, resulting in minimal CO₂ emissions.
   • When delivering finished print orders around London, we even use ‘green’ couriers whenever possible.

   FSC Accreditation

   We mentioned that all our paper is FSC accredited. This means that our papers, cards and boards are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as containing wood or pulp from responsibly managed forests and/or from recycled post-consumer waste. That’s important to us and our many environmentally aware clients.

   Paper — The Eco Facts

   Some studies suggest that there are misconceptions, particularly amongst young adults, around sustainability in the printing and paper industry. The truth, however, is very positive and, indeed, the paper industry is one of the few that is genuinely and inherently sustainable.

   “The paper industry is one of the few that is genuinely and inherently sustainable.”

   • Over 12½ million tonnes of paper are used in the UK every year. About 80% of that is recycled, which is incredible when you think about it.
   • About 57½ million tonnes of paper per year is recycled in Europe [2019 data], with up to 78% of it being recycled there.
   • European forests are actually growing rather than shrinking. In the last 15 years or so, they have grown by more than the equivalent of the land mass of Switzerland — that’s a growth rate of about 1,500 football pitches every day.
   • Paper can only be recycled 5 to 7 times before the fibres become unsuitable in the production of ‘new’ paper, so the role of new wood fibre/pulp from the FSC managed forests is essential.
   • The biggest use of wood from the world’s forests is for fuel (logs etc.) — that accounts for 50%. Meanwhile, 30% of timber is used in the manufacture of more industrial products like furniture or in construction. Only about 13% of the world’s wood is used in the manufacture of paper.
   • Printed paper products are one of the lowest greenhouse gas emitters in today’s world of electronic communications. In fact, they produce just a tiny fraction of what is produced by the ICT industry itself.
   • Over 60% of forests in the EU are FSC certified (or PEFC equivalent), with over 42% of Europe being covered by them. (PEFC is similar to the FSC, with both independently verifying that wood fibre used in paper production has been sourced from sustainably managed forests).
   • 71% of wood and 83% of pulp purchased in Europe for paper production is either FSC or PEFC accredited.

   For more details about the incredible sustainability of paper and printed products, download an excellent 26 page report by the organisation Two Sides.

   “From newspapers to magazines, from photocopies to leaflets, we believe Print and Paper cannot be beaten for attractiveness, impact and sustainability.”

   Your Eco-friendly Printing Supplier

   So if, like us, you believe that sustainable, eco-friendly choices are crucially important, then Southside Print can help with all your printing requirements. We’re a high quality printer in Borough, London SE1, near London Bridge, but we can supply anyone, anywhere. We care deeply for the environment and are keen to do everything we can to help others improve their ‘triple bottom line’ (social, environmental and financial) whilst also playing our own crucial part to help Planet Earth. Please do consider us if you would like to produce environmentally-friendly printing materials for your sales, marketing, corporate or private needs. Choose an appropriate button below to make contact and we’ll be happy to help.

6. Looking for an Eco-Friendly Printer in London SE1?

   24 January 2020 22:55 Leave a Comment

   At 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:

   • All paper, card and board off-cuts are saved for recycling wherever possible. As printers, that’s a no-brainer and results in a huge amount of paper-based material going back into the production of things like … more recycled paper! Speaking of which …
   • While the final decision about paper and card is down to the individual customer, we try wherever possible to suggest the use of sustainable papers. Depending on the job in hand, these might include paper that is 100% or at least partly recycled, made from pulp from sustainable sources, a mixture of the two, or even paper and board that contains nothing from trees at all — for example, paper made from sustainable cotton — this has a lovely crispness about it too. There is a wide variety of eco-friendly paper, card and board available on the market, so it makes total sense to offer such options to customers. Together, we can then help the planet and reverse some of the damage already done.
   • We also endeavour to choose only energy-efficient machinery. These days, this is easier than ever because most modern machines have energy-efficient modes and other eco-friendly options. These save energy, minimise heat loss and can even reduce the amount of wasted material and consumables used during production.
   • At Southside, we often also go the extra mile by using green cycle couriers to deliver to London customers wherever possible. There are not many printers that go to such lengths!
   • It may come as a surprise to some but our website hosting was also carefully chosen; at Southside, only ‘green’ hosting will do! The servers used to display our website are hosted in an energy-efficient environment and one that takes enormous measures to limit heat loss. Such measures help to reduce carbon dioxide building up in the atmosphere — that’s an incredibly important step towards reducing the greenhouse effect that can so badly add to global warming.

   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 we’ll be able to offer various eco-friendly options with prices to suit and then you can make an informed choice. Together, we can all play our part to help the environment.

   “Printing need not cost the Earth”

   We’re based in Tabard Street in SE1, so are particularly convenient for those in or near the London Bridge and Borough areas of south east London. Call 020 7378 6754 if you’d like to chat things through or, alternatively, request a quote online here and we’ll be happy to help. Our core services are digital printing, large format printing and graphic design along with a whole host of other printing-related services. Click any of the bold links for further details.

7. Printers in Borough, London SE1

   14 October 2019 10:49 Leave a Comment

   We are printers in Borough, right in the heart of London SE1. Based in Tabard Street, Southside Print offers high quality printing to individuals, businesses, shops, charities and organisations across the Borough & SE1 region. So, whether you’re a resident who needs personal stationery, a cafe that needs printed menus, a pub that needs posters to promote gigs, an SE1 charity that needs fundraising literature, a shop that needs printed booklets or catalogues or one of the many businesses in the Borough that requires sales and marketing collateral, we can help. We’ll print everything for you at the highest quality, for a competitive price. What’s more, our turnaround times are hard to beat and we offer free local delivery and a click and collect service for those close by.

   Further afield?

   Perhaps you’re a little bit outside the Borough region. No problem! We print for companies and organisations everywhere in the UK and abroad and even have a web print shop where anyone in the world can order popular items like stationery, posters, brochures, leaflets and bound documents 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Simply choose your desired options, submit your payment and we’ll take care of the rest. And don’t forget that ‘click and collect’ service for local customers.

   What can we print?

   We can print pretty much anything you can think of! For example, brochures, catalogues, letterheads, business cards, compliments slips, NCR (multi-part) order pads, menus, posters, display graphics, exhibition panels, signs, newsletters, annual reports, leaflets, flyers, booklets, brochures, labels, stickers, wedding invites, postcards and a whole host of other printed items. In fact, if it’s produced by printing ink on paper, chances are we can supply it.

   The Borough

   

   The Borough is an extremely cosmopolitan community, with a really good buzz about it. You have Borough Market right at its heart and there you can pick up anything from gifts to fruit, vegetables, street food from around the world, the finest delicacies and much more. Pubs, restaurants, cafes and other eateries abound and throughout the Borough you have a huge abundance of shops including independent traders and high street brands all competing for the attention of shoppers. All these businesses and traders need to be at the top of their game to attract passers by so it’s important that they get their message across in window displays, inside and on their printed promotional literature. Many of them also hand out flyers in the SE1 streets. We can help with all of that not only by producing the finest print, but also by making it look a million dollars in the first place, courtesy of our in-house graphic designers. That’s where we can make a real difference in your ROI (return on investment) to ensure that you communicate your service or product USPs (unique selling propositions) and key messages clearly to your prospects. That’s how you are most likely to turn them into paying customers. Supplying your own artwork? That’s OK too – we’ll simply check your artwork files and let you know if we spot any issues. We can also supply printed proofs, of course, so you can check how things look before committing to the full print run.

   Are you a business owner in the Borough who needs the best local printer?

   Well, you have just found the best printer in the region, in our opinion and our great Google reviews seem to agree. Call us on 020 7378 6754 or send us a message here and we’ll be delighted to discuss your printing and/or design requirements, without obligation. You can request a print quotation online here or, if you’re ready to proceed, upload your artwork here and let us take care of the rest. We’re 2 minutes from Borough Tube and just a ten minute walk from London Bridge station. Find our location here if you would like to visit for a one-to-one chat – it would be great to meet you.

   ========

   Image credits: All images are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
   Main image: Borough High Street by IIya Kuzhekin.
   Blue plaque by Spudgun67.
   Grand entrance to Borough Market by Garry Knight.
   Shops in The Borough by Øyvind Holmstad.

8. The Benefits of Printed Newsletters

   16 October 2018 10:29 Leave a Comment

   Newsletters are simple and inexpensive to print yet can convey an enormous amount of important information to recipients. This makes them ideal for both ‘internal’ marketing (to keep staff and stakeholders up to date) and external marketing of your products or services to clients and prospects. As such, they constitute a very useful and versatile component of any sales and marketing strategy.

   Benefits of Physical Newsletters vs. Electronic

   Another key benefit of physical, printed newsletters is that they are easy to pick up and put down at any time. This allows readers to dip in and dip out of articles whenever they like. Compare that to e-newsletters, which tend to be forgotten the moment they’ve been buried in your in box by more recent emails. The traditional newsletter beats electronic versions hands down in this respect.

   Printed newsletters are also far more versatile from the distribution perspective. While e-newsletters arrive only at your handheld device or desktop computer, physical newsletters can find themselves in front of their target audience in a much wider variety of ways. They can be handed out, mailed through the post, left on coffee tables, offered to visitors via company foyers, reception desks and waiting rooms, handed out with other sales and marketing literature like brochures and price lists, used as inserts in other publications and distributions — and so on. Physical newsletters also require no Wi-Fi or data signal to work, so can be perused pretty much anywhere, any time. Try doing all that with an electronic e-newsletter — it’s simply not possible!

   Add-ons

   Physical, printed newsletters also lend themselves to additional add-ons. These include things like tear-off order forms that people might find useful if they want to order your products or services and those can even come with pressure-sensitive glue and postage pre-applied. All that needs to be done after filling in the form is for the page to be folded so it sticks together in a kind of pre-built envelope, ready to post. Other add-ons include coupons for special offers or voucher codes that the customer can use in-store or via a website. Another great thing to build into a printed newsletter is an element that the recipient might find useful to keep, for example an integral poster, calendar of events or table of key dates for the year ahead. That’ll be a useful reminder of your brand, product or service, all year round.

   Newsletter Sizes & Formats

   The most cost-effective sizing recommended for newsletter printing is to use one of the ‘A’ sizes. For example, A4 is the most common one used in the UK commercial world. However, A5 and A3 are also feasible while still making the very most out of standard sheet sizes available to printers like us. It goes without saying, though, that there are many other options including square newsletters, triple-page ‘roll fold’ newsletters and so on.

   We can, of course, also fold newsletters in half so they’re easier and cheaper to post out, particularly if they don’t contain too many pages and are on paper that’s thin enough to fold when there are multiple pages. It’s a fine balance, though; as one wouldn’t want to make the pages too thin, otherwise you’d start to see what we call ‘show through’ i.e. the ghost of the reverse side of the printed page slightly showing through to the front face that’s being read. There are a great variety of paper thicknesses, weights and finishes to choose from, though, so just ask us about the options.

   Paper Finish

   At Southside Print we offer a very wide range of different paper stocks for your printed newsletters. We have traditional ‘coated’ papers, which allow graphics and photos to be detailed and punchy. Coated stocks come in finishes like gloss, satin and matt and can be white or tinted in colour. We also have uncoated papers that look perhaps more contemporary and natural, with a lighter look because ink contrast is lower on uncoated paper due to the way the paper absorbs the ink. We also have a huge variety of textured papers and recycled stocks too. What you choose will all depend upon the look and feel you’re going for and the budget you have in mind for production.

   Contact Your Newsletter Printer in SE1

   We are always more than happy to give you professional guidance, pricing options and any samples. Simply call us on 020 7378 6754 or send us an emailed message here. We also have an online form that you can fill in if you’d like a printing and/or design quote, and an artwork upload form here if you have large artwork files that you’d like to send us electronically.

   Southside Print is a commercial printer based in Tabard Street in London SE1, close to Borough and London Bridge stations. We offer a huge range of digital printing for sales and marketing purposes, large format printing for posters, displays and exhibition graphics, a full print management service, a direct mail service, a graphic design service and an online print shop where you can order and pay for printing online. The online print shop currently accepts orders for business cards, leaflets, letterheads, compliments slips, stationery, brochures and posters but we will be adding more and more products all the time.

9. Direct Mail – The Golden Opportunity is NOW

   21 June 2018 13:03 Leave a Comment

   One of the biggest ramifications of the new GDPR legislation is that marketing departments are going to need to re-think the ways in which they contact prospects and customers. In view of this, we believe that there will be a significant increase in the use of direct mail in the coming months and years. In fact, an incredible marketing opportunity exists right now for those who act fast, ahead of the competition.

   Direct Mail

   In complete contrast to digital and online marketing, Direct Mail is a marketing approach that uses physical, printed promotional materials, which are posted to clients and prospects through the mail. Such marketing pieces can include anything from leaflets, postcards and newsletters to brochures, catalogues and even boxed samples. They can also include personalisation, for example showing the recipient’s name within the actual printed content, creating added impact.

   The key steps needed for a typical direct mail campaign include:

   • Developing a customer database and/or purchasing a mailing list of prospects;
   • Copywriting, designing and artworking the mailing piece itself;
   • Printing the mailing piece;
   • Stuffing envelopes, addressing or labelling and/or otherwise assembling the finished components of the mailer, as applicable;
   • Dispatching the direct mailer to the customers and prospects. This can be door-to-door or posted to individual addressees …

   Then crucially, of course, you need to be ready to handle any responses when they come in. Analysing the results is also extremely worthwhile so that you can learn from the data and improve things in your next direct mail campaign.

   Professional Help

   Southside Print can help with many of the steps above. Once you’ve supplied us with your mailing list or database, we can turn that into printed labels or, indeed, use a kind of ‘mail merge’ process to personalise envelopes or the direct mail pieces themselves, so that they’re ready to pop straight into the postal system.

   With our own in-house graphic designers, we can also make sure that the design and artwork of your marketing piece really looks the business and conveys your promotional message in the best possible way. Clearly and speedily communicating the right message is, after all, just as important as snazzy graphics.

   Southside Print are primarily commercial printers, so we can ensure that your printing looks attractive and professional and uses the most appropriate materials, finishes and weights. The weight of your direct marketing piece is crucially important, in fact. Should too heavy a paper or card weight be used, then you might find that your postage costs suddenly escalate. This factor requires careful consideration in terms of not only the thickness and weight of the paper, but also the size. Being a millimetre or gram over a certain threshold can add extra postage costs. When you are sending thousands of direct mail pieces, even just a few extra pence of postage on each item can cost you a small fortune in extra charges, particularly if your recipient database is significantly large. Care needs to be taken and this is one of our great fortes at Southside Print.

   Response Rates

   So, what kind of response rate can you expect from a direct mail campaign? Well, it all depends upon factors like how closely suited your mailing list is to your product or service and how good your marketing ‘offer’ is in the first place. Also, of course, it depends upon whether you are mailing a ‘house’ list of existing customers (who will be more likely to respond) or an entirely new prospect mailing list, for example one supplied by a professional list provider.

   All in all, though, the traditional wisdom is that the average response rate from a direct mail campaign falls typically into the 1% to 5% range, with “an attractive cost per acquisition” according to the Direct Marketing Association (‘DMA’). According to a recent report by the DMA, direct mail significantly outperforms all digital channels, by a long shot. This may, indeed, become even more true now that the GDPR data rules have come into full play. ‘House’ lists usually glean a 5.3% response rate while ‘prospect’ lists typically result in a 2.9% response rate. In contrast to this, digital response rates are significantly lower in comparison (online display advertising 0.9%; email 0.3% [prospect list] to 0.6% [house list]; social media 0.6% and paid search 0.5%). Quite a difference! Cost per acquisition with Direct Mail was shown to be favourable too. However, direct mail was not an outright winner in this respect, being outperformed for that metric by email and social media marketing campaigns, which makes sense given the economy of using those platforms, at least until now — the fortunes of email marketing in particular may soon change now that the new GDPR legislation is in force. Indeed, recent reports from the Royal Mail and other direct marketing associations show that a combination of direct mail and email usually results in the very best results for sales and marketing promotions. So, it makes more sense than ever to integrate both into your marketing strategy.

   Direct Mail Formats

   Another DMA report showed some very interesting and useful data in respect of formats, with oversize envelopes coming in top position with a 5% response rate. Postcards came in second place with a response rate of 4.25%, ‘dimensional’ (non-flat) pieces achieved 4%, catalogues came in with a 3.9% response rate and standard sized (e.g. C4) envelopes achieved a 3.5% response rate.

   Overall, the report showed a 15-17% ROI which, in terms of marketing channels, is a strong return on investment for a standalone campaign.

   Your Biggest Direct Mail Opportunity is NOW

   The really good news is that your competitors are likely to have neglected direct mail in recent years, in favour of digital marketing. So, if you act before your competitors, break the trend and capitalise on the gap left by the recent GDPR legislation changes before your competitors do, you could see an ROI significantly higher than the report’s stated 15-17% range. It will be extremely interesting to see the results for Direct Mail in a year’s time, in fact.

   The re-birth of direct mail is, in effect, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that marketing departments should embrace before everyone climbs back on board! With direct mail having already increased in the last two or three years, even before the GDPR legislation came into force, the opportunity for really significant success is right now.

   Contact Southside Print

   Contact Southside Print in London Bridge for more information on how we can help you with design, printing and dispatch of your direct mail pieces. Call 020 7378 6754, request a quotation here or simply send us a message here and we’ll be happy to help you to make the most of this unique opportunity. Learn more about our direct mail services here.