In the entire print industry, and in the retail industry specifically, there is perhaps no type of signs as important as those found in the storefront. The look of a business’s storefront signage is the look they are giving themselves, the way they are visually representing their company. A business’s storefront signage is how its existing customers locate a store, and how its first-time viewers develop their impressions of that entire business.

This is inherently obvious, but I think it’s worth re-emphasizing. Storefront signage can be taken for granted at times, possibly because it’s out of sight and out of mind. Any business owner (and not just in retail) has a million other things to worry about before they address the condition of their storefront signage or think about the shape it’s in or what message it is sending. It is important to remember that storefront signage is the impression a business is sending both to existing customers and first-time viewers.

This blog post serves only as a fresh and friendly reminder – a reminder to try thinking in a new way about the condition and message your storefront signage is sending. Ask someone objective to take a look and tell you what impression they get. Remember, you’ve seen it a thousand times, so you are utterly used to it. Try to see your storefront signage in a new, fresh way, and you might discover something worth acting upon!
Just in case you notice something that needs changing, or you’d like to send a slightly different message with your storefront signage, our partner site Print Ship Now offers a bunch of really cool storefront signage items, from banners, blockout banners, mesh banners, to high-quality backlit signage, business sticker and decals, and more! It’s a great source for high-quality storefront materials.
Either way, remember to always be thinking about the message your storefront signage is sending, and to look at things like that in a completely fresh way from time to time. It might just end up making all the difference!
To leave on a lighthearted note, (as we will often do) here are some pics of a few businesses who definitely did NOT look objectively at their storefront signage. No matter what your storefront signage situation is, it’s still fun to ask yourself, “What were they thinking?” Till next time!

Every community from a rural and thinly-populated town to a booming, restless metropolis, has its own set of distinct cultural characteristics. Whether proudly proclaimed or subtle, there are cultural elements that communities hold dear. The importance of this fact to the printing industry is this: the cultural “style” that a community develops holds bountiful opportunities for printing and promotion.

Lubbock, Texas, for example (where this particular post is being composed) has a rich and detailed set of cultural features that make for a distinct heritage. Lubbock is perhaps best known for being the birthplace of legendary rock star Buddy Holly. As such, there is an entire facility called the Buddy Holly Center that honors the musician by telling the story of his rise to fame and by displaying a variety of Buddy Holly memorabilia. Showcases and special concerts are held readily at the Buddy Holly Center.

Outside Lubbock's Buddy Holly Center

Lubbock boasts Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University as well, each with their own plethora of traditions and events. Texas Tech’s Ranching Heritage Center pays homage to traditional West Texas life and to the ranching industry specifically.

Lubbock also is home to the Lubbock Community Theatre Group, Lubbock Moonlight Musicals, Ballet Lubbock and the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, along with a variety of museums, art galleries and live music venues. What is my point in describing all of Lubbock’s unique cultural facets to you, the commercial printer?

The point is that in any city, regardless of size (with Lubbock serving as an example), there are a wealth of concerts, parades, festivals, and cultural centers that provide ample opportunities for both commercial printing and event sponsorship. These places and events all need advertising, displays, signs, banners, decals, billboards and more. The opportunities for printing are everywhere, it just takes a discerning eye and some good communication (and foresight) to tap into these resources. Keep your eyes open, and try to think ahead as much as possible. A good idea might be to plan a year ahead, knowing what events are coming down the pipe and acting accordingly to secure printing rights. At Print-FX and Print Ship Now, we have done a lot of printing for the Lubbock community (as well as others), and we feel it’s important to get involved. Look into your community when you get the chance. The printing opportunities are likely more ample than you might have thought.

Lubbock Marine Parents at Lubbock's 4th on Broadway Parade

(Buddy Holly Center Photo courtesy of www.outdoordestinationguide.com)

(4th on Broadway Photo courtesy of www.lubbockmarineparents.blogspot.com)

We spend a lot of time here at Print Ship Now and PrintFX telling you why you should buy a corporate-level PressShop; to enhance your abilities as an online designer, keep corporate compliance, save time, etcetera etcetera. What we have not spent a lot of time telling you is why you shouldn’t own a corporate PressShop™, but in this age of fairness and mediation it is only fitting that we try it out.

First of all, so you know we are being completely honest, here is a picture that will, without a doubt, convince you:

This thing is baby, seal, and twinky all rolled into one. How could we be lying if we show you this?

Now, would we show you a picture of an adorable, upside-down baby seal if we were in any way deviating from the truth? I think not. With that honesty-proving technique out of the way, we can present the top 5 reasons to NOT own a corporate PressShop:

1. Using a Corporate PressShop, gives you a sizeable chance of being rewarded at work with a raise or promotion (these are often the results of smart business decisions. These might seem great at first, but remember promotions lead to more important decision-making, which can lead to extreme pressure. It may be best to avoid the whole “reward” process by steering clear of a Corporate level PressShop entirely.
2. A sunburn from too much time on the golf course is no joke. It really hurts and can make the pats on the back you might receive from using a Corporate PressShop quite painful. No PressShop = no time saved in the design process = no time for getting sunburned playing golf on a dangerously sunny, cloud-free day.
3. Not using a Corporate level PressShop keeps you from saving money avoiding many of the hassles and extra steps involved in the corporate design process. What would you do with that extra budget money anyway? More research? Better marketing? Wider reach? Please.
4. Using a Corporate PressShop is simple and effective…perhaps too simple. Everyone needs a little trial and tribulation, am I right? After all, as successful businessman Bo Bennet once said, “Frustration, although quite painful at times, is a very positive and essential part of success.” Get the frustration you deserve by avoiding our PressShop system.
5. A huge part of the “benefit” of using our Corporate PressShops is corporate compliance, or the ability to keep a corporate logo the same in every way that it is used and across all franchises. In other words, it makes it simple to keep corporate colors, logos and brands uniform, no matter what. Why should that be allowed, when every franchise and user could alter the corporate logo just a little bit? Thank about it. Don’t you want your brand identity changing depending on who is using it (in the name of rampant individuality?) If you do, don’t go the route of a Corporate PressShop. No way.

With these five reasons, we have struck a balance. Sure, there are lots of reasons why one might want to use a Corporate-level PressShop, but now we’ve given you some reasons why one might NOT want to use it! Your best move now is to carefully weigh your options and decide to either go for it or avoid it. If you choose to ignore the well-reasoned information contained in this blog, you can  start your own PressShop at www.printshipnow.com. Choose wisely!

A company’s logo is, in a lot of ways, its essence. Your logo is like a quick summary of how your business looks, a sort of mental shortcut for people when it comes to recognizing and identifying your company. Your logo is obviously very important, and decidedly worth your time and money to perfect. With that said, however, sometimes a logo’s “perfectness” changes with the onslaught of time. What looks modern and sleek in one decade may very well not the next. Logos change over time, and even the largest companies in the world, with all their manpower and budgets, adapt their logos. In retrospect, it can be amusing and interesting to see how some large and familiar company logos have changed with time.

Mastercard Logo Change

Obviously, the first change is a dramatic one. This is often the case with the first logo change, as the company usually does not have the perspective it really takes to create a solid identity. The name also changes several times, which is not unusual as the company grows and truly finds its footing. The Mastercard Logo moves from red and gold to red and yellow, which I find to be a much more appealing color combination.

Volkswagen Logo Change

The change that occurs in the Volkswagen logo is very interesting, because while there is obvious change occurring in the 2-D logo, the newest design is actually made to look 3-D. This is the influence of the rise of the computer. Many logos change to reflect the use of computers in their design.

Shell Logo Change

This one is almost comical at first, with the 1900 Shell logo looking simplistic and understandably old-fashioned. If anything, this proves how far a logo can come in a century. Shell experimented over the years with having its name in and around the logo. This is good to study and to ponder in terms of your own business. Do you want your company name inside your actual logo, below it, or not with it at all?

Nike Logo Change

More experimentation with company name placement. This is a great example of a company’s logo becoming so well recognized that it is able to function on its own to represent that company. Today, anybody that sees Nike’s “Swoosh” knows exactly what it stands for, and that sort of immediate connotation is what any and every company tries to accomplish with their logo. Take a fresh look at your own company’s logo and try to think about how it would look on its own. Would it make a good stand-alone symbol? It’s something worth thinking about.

The driving theme behind this blog post is that logos change – sometimes often and sometimes dramatically. This is a chance to gain a little perspective when it comes to logos – and to think about your own. What could be changed to improve it? What could be added or subtracted? Our partner site, www.printshipnow.com, has an entire online community built around online custom design – of logos and more. It’s really worth checking out if you are interested in reinvigorating your logo.

Two recent Princeton studies on fonts and learning have generated some striking (and counter-intuitive) results: reading information in difficult-to-read fonts may actually increase learning and memory.

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This video of a building wrap being deployed on the Mutual of Omaha Building in Omaha, Nebraska, is one of the best examples of large-scale displays I have seen. Check it out below:

The video of the wrapping is shot in a time-lapse manner, which is really cool as it quickly shows the result of the hours of hard work it takes to wrap a building. Here are the videos, one of the installation during the day, and another showing how striking the wrap is at night.

The 285-foot building (the headquarters of insurance company Mutual of Omaha) is apparently no stranger to building wraps, and has been wrapped again since (see that wrap here): http://www.flickr.com/photos/8113820@N05/3598824354/

Building wraps are, admittedly, a pricey method for most advertising budgets. Under the right circumstances they can, however, deliver an advertising bang like no other medium. These building wraps alone were cool enough to blog about! Our partner site www.printshipnow.com, has some pretty exciting grand-format printing capabilities under its hood. If you’re not yet involved, it might be worth checking out to see what some large-format printing options are. If you already do business with the site or are involved with PrintFX, ask about grand-format printing. With new locations, opportunities, and events opening every day, anything is possible!

I am a huge fan of creative advertising, and I have always found that bus advertisements are a great medium for creativity and eye-catching messages. On one of my recent internet escapades (in which I relentlessly hunt for useful and novel print and design info for you, o reader), I came across a list of 15 really cool bus ads. They are definitely worth your time. You can check out the bus ads here. My definite favorite is the backwards looking bus with the bus driver not paying attention – genius.

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