At Circle Services, we offer Eco Printing on many of our products, but what does that actually mean? Here is a brief overview of our Eco Print process...
Step 1 – Processless Plates
We use a chemical free thermal CtP plate, a breakthrough in the print industry which uses ‘ThermoFuse’ technology to physically bond images to the plate without any chemical processing.
The result is highly stable and predictable thermal imaging, with no compromise on the finished print quality. And, because no chemical processing is required, it reduces waste and eliminates prepress steps, helping to create a more streamlined workflow.
Step 2 – Vegetable-based Inks
Vegetable-based inks are made with vegetable oil rather than petroleum oil. Using more renewable resources – such as soy, linseed and corn – and less non-renewable resources means the printing process is much less harmful to the environment.
It is believed that vegetable-based inks may also reduce the levels of VOCs – or volatile organic compounds – produced as part of the printing process.
Step 3 – Greencoat Paper
We use GREENCOAT PAPER, a range of environmentally-conscious coated paper and board that provides a smooth, even surface and a consistently high quality shade of white.
These products contain 80% recycled fibre, whilst the remaining 20% virgin pulp is TCF (Totally Chlorine Free).
The GREENCOAT range has been awarded both the NAPM and Eugropa marks, two of the most prestigious and recognisable recycled product certificates available.
Step 4 – Recycled Packaging
Our green attitude doesn’t end with the print job itself. All of the packaging we use to send our completed Eco Print jobs contains recycled material and are themselves fully recyclable.
Ecards were designed to remove the need for sending Birthday and Christmas cards via Royal Mail; instead, people still like to mail and receive real cards but can also be amused by an animated ecard. Email and other forms of online marketing were considered to be replacements for letters, brochures and leaflets and yet it is proven time and time again that people like to have marketing messages delivered in their hands as well as via their iPhone or PC. It should go without saying that email and other forms of online marketing should be an intrinsic part of every organisation’s sales strategy, but online marketing can never take the place entirely of the direct impact a leaflet has when placed in a recipient’s hand or through a letter box. In other words, if you are selling services that can only be utilised in a local area, it is more effective to target market through leaflet drops than relying on Google to localise your online sales messages.
Printing, in all its forms, will have its place when it comes to sales for the foreseeable future, but it can only be part of an online marketing campaign. Nowadays, people expect every business to have an online presence, whether it is via a well-worded website or on a Facebook page. However, online marketing is a tough, complicated process for companies and individuals to undertake alone, but supported by the expertise of a good digital marketing agency and complemented by traditional marketing avenues such as leaflet printing, and magazine, newspaper and local radio Ads, there is a good chance that you will get your message across to your target audience.
Cheap, eco, leaflet printing can be turned around in a couple of days and so it is possible to take advantage of prevailing market circumstances when it arises. Online newsletters, email campaigns, Pay Per Click, Search Engine Optimisation and affiliate marketing are all useful online marketing tools for driving traffic to your website and converting visitors into customers, but for hard to reach audiences in specific geographical areas, nothing beats a comprehensive leaflet drop. It is hard to sell the services of a chiropodist online but a few leaflets left in a local shoe shop or pharmacy could be very useful for increasing footfall!
Leaflets that are designed well create an immediate, tangible impact and are not so easily disregarded as emails. In truth, your digital marketing agency will no doubt recommend that your leaflets are simply one aspect of a comprehensive direct marketing and indirect marketing campaign that encompasses all the online techniques for attracting customers to your website or Facebook page, complemented by a narrowly targeted mailing of leaflets.