Recycled
It takes less energy to make new paper from recycled paper and it also keeps more of our trees from being cut down. Recycled paper fiber can be sourced from two types of waste. Pre-consumer waste fiber is recovered from the manufacturing process and includes paper mill scraps, offcuts, trimmings, unsold magazines, etc. Post-consumer waste (PCW) comes from paper that has been used by consumers and was recycled instead of being sent to a landfill.

Tree-Free
Tree-Free paper is another way to produce paper with minimal environmental impact. There are many speciality papers made from agricultural residues (husk and straws left in the fields after harvesting of the main crop) and textile waste such as cotton, linen and rope. Fiber crops (hemp, jute, kenaf and flax) and wild plants (wild grasses, sisal and bamboo) can also be used. Plant-fiber papers tend to be more durable than wood fiber papers. Kenaf in particular contains less lignin than trees, requires fewer chemicals, and is naturally acid-free.

Chlorine Free
Chlorine is used to to remove lignin which causes yellowing and gives paper its white appearance. Totally Chlorine-free (TCF) paper is unbleached or has been processed without the use of chlorine. The use of any type chlorine produces extremely toxic compounds that cause environmental damage when released into waterways. Oxygen, ozone, and hydrogen peroxide are bleaching alternatives to chlorine and chlorine derivatives.

Uncoated
The clay that gives coated paper its smooth, shiny surface also makes it harder to recycle. During the recycling process, up to 40% less fiber can be extracted from coated paper. So choose the natural feel of uncoated paper or select a supercalendered paper, which has been pressed to create a smoother surface.

To ensure you are making an earth-friendly choice, look for papers certified by Rainforest Alliance, Green-e, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Green Seal or Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).

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Soy ink (made from soybean oil) requires less energy to produce than traditional petroleum-based ink. Soybeans require no irrigation and leave fewer agricultural residues than other crops. Development of soy ink began in the late 1970s by the Newspaper Association of America, who sought a different way to make ink because of rising oil prices. Now over 95% of America’s daily newspapers use soy ink. While soy ink is not edible or 100% biodegradable (because of the pigments and other additives mixed with the oil) it is overwhelmingly more environmentally friendly than petroleum-based ink.

Cleaner Air
As soybeans are growing they temporarily remove damaging carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere. During printing soy inks significantly reduce the amount of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) released into the air.

Brighter Colors
Soybean oil is clearer which makes for bright colors so less color pigment is needed.

Cost Effective
Because soy ink provides more intense color, less ink is used.

Stability
Soy ink maintains its lithographic stability throughout the entire print job, so the press operator makes fewer adjustments during production and rejects fewer copies because of inferior quality.

Recycling
Soy ink can be removed more easily from paper during the de-inking process. This allows the recycled paper to have less damage to its paper fibers and have a brighter appearance. Also, the waste from the ink is not hazardous.

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Email is an effective marketing tool with high ROI when done properly. Make sure you are doing it right with these tips:

1. Include Email as Part of a Broader Integrated Marketing Strategy. Email marketing is far more effective when you couple it with other online and offline promotional efforts.

2. Make your Campaign Interactive. Linking your email to an interactive tool that allows recipients to customize your offer has proven to be successful in test studies.

3. Provide a Clear Call to Action. Better yet, make your action item a graphic link. Graphic links (buttons) are more likely to receive a click through than a text link.

4. Don’t overdo it! No matter how great you think your offer is, your email list does not want to receive notice about it every day (or even every week). Work with your marketing consultant to develop an appropriate schedule as part of your overall marketing strategy.

5. Utilize Mobile Technology. Many users receive their email via mobile device. If they can’t easily read yours, they will skip it and it’s not likely they’ll return to it later.

6. Test Your campaign. Develop a few different creative approaches using different subject lines, calls to action, and graphics. Test these on a small focus group.

7. Follow Up! No advertising campaign will work if you aren’t continuing dialogue. Communicate with your customers consistently through multiple channels.

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When choosing photography for your project, there are dozens of reliable online stock photography resources to help you. While we are happy to do the search for you (and charge you a reasonable fee for it), if you want to save a few pennies, you can do it yourself at the sites listed below. Some are cheaper than others, but they all offer great keyword search functionality.

comstockcomplete.com – This is comstock’s more affordable subscription service. For as little as $299 for a one month subscription, you can download all of the royalty-free images you need.

istockphoto.com – Istockphoto is a super cheap resource for quality royalty-free images with prices ranging from as little as $1 to around $20 per image. You prepay for credits. The cost per credit depends on how many you buy. The more you buy, the cheaper the credits. Be wary of super hot images (ones with a blue flame), you might see those in one of your competitor’s ads!

veer.com – Veer offers first quality, rights-managed and royalty-free images. Your best value is to find a disc of images that you like. It’s significantly cheaper than paying per image.

photoshelter.com – This newcomer to my favorites offers affordable rights-managed images. They offer alot of fresh work from up and coming photographers.

gettyimages.com – Getty offers a huge assortment of high quality images with web resolution images starting at only $49.

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Knowing what type of paper you need for your project can help you save time and money. You can give your creative partner better direction and you can compare apples to apples with printing quotes. These are the basics:

1. Paper Type While paper comes in many types, commonly used in marketing are bond/writing, text, catalog, and cover/bristol. Bond/writing paper is a lightweight paper used for stationery. Text is more opaque than bond and is used for advertising, books, and other two sided projects. Catalog paper is also used for two sided projects. It is strong, but very lightweight making it perfect for mail order catalogs and directories. Cover/Bristol paper, sometimes referred to as card stock, is a heavy, stiff paper used for business cards, paperback book covers and brochures.

2. Paper Weight You might have heard your designer mention that a project will be printed on 100lb cover or 60lb text. They are referring to the weight of the paper. This weight is called the basis weight. 100lb cover means that 500 sheets of a specific size weigh 100lbs. Each type of paper (text, cover, card, etc.) uses their own size of sheet to measure this weight. The size of the sheet is called the basic size. This is why you will see the same weight for several types of paper. For example, 80lb cover and 80lb text. Cover is a thicker, heavier stock than text, but text is weighed using a larger sheet.

3. Paper Thickness The thickness or caliper of the paper is measured in points rather than pounds. It is literally the height of one sheet of paper laid on a flat surface. You can imagine, this number is very small! A very thick card stock might be 14pts. Paper measured in points is usually of a lesser quality than paper measured in pounds and two different brands of 12pt cover paper might not be of equal quality. This is because measuring paper in points does not take into consideration the density of the paper. A more dense paper is of higher quality than a less dense paper of the same thickness. That being said, these papers are typically a good choice for packaging or point of purchase displays, but not for marketing collaterals or stationery. You will usually see papers measured this way as 12pt C2S. This means the paper is 12 points thick and coated on 2 sides.

4. Paper Coating Paper typically comes in one of three coating varieties. Uncoated, Glossy and Matte. Coated papers are manufactured with a thin layer of clay coating on both sides. The coating determines whether the paper is shiny or dull and how well the ink is absorbed by the paper. Uncoated paper will absorb alot of ink causing them to appear muted. Glossy coating allows the ink to sit on the surface where the colors will appear more vibrant. Matte is a compromise. You get a dull surface finish without losing your color’s vibrancy. This is a popular choice for many projects. To avoid confusion, keep in mind that paper coating is not the same as a varnish or aqueous coating that is applied during the printing process.

5. Specialty Papers Aside from your standard white glossy or matte paper, paper is available in thousands of other varieties. Bright hues, metallics, synthetics and luxurious textures that feel like suede or velvet can really add impact to your marketing materials

Other terms you might come across:
FSC Certified - FSC certification insures sustainable practices in the manufacturing, delivery, and printing of paper. To learn more, go to www.fscus.org
Laid - This paper features prominent pattern of ribbed lines in a grid across the finished sheet. Commonly used for business cards and folders.
Vellum – Vellum is a good quality paper designed to imitate calfskin parchment. It has a toothy, uncoated finish that is available in opaque and translucent varieties. Vellum is available in many weights and can be used for stationery, annual reports, and many other projects.
Translucent – A translucent paper has a low opacity and can come in many colors.
Transparent - Completely clear, a transparent paper is like glass. A popular brand is Glassine.
Newsprint – Newsprint is an inexpensive paper made of wood pulp. It has a short lifespan and is used for newspapers, comics, and some trade publications.

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Rearview is located at 4358B Southside Drive in historic downtown Acworth, Georgia. From Atlanta, take I-75 North to exit 278. Turn left off the exit onto Glade Rd/Cherokee St. Follow until you run into a railroad track. The road in front of you is Southside Drive. You can’t miss us! Our building is on your left with a huge painted advertisement for Mother’s Self Rising Flour and Coca-Cola on the side.

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Website Questions: Jennifer Papadatos 678.564.7261 ext 2501
Billing Questions: Alex Danaila 678.574.7261 ext 2101
IT Questions: Darrell Hollis 678.574.7261 ext 2601
New Business: Tiffani Hollis 678.574.7261 ext 2201
Client Services: Alex Danaila 678.574.7261 ext 2101

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With hosting, as with most things, you get what you pay for. If you pay $7 per month, you are going to get $7 worth of service. That being said, if you only need $7 worth of service, this is a good buy. The key here is knowing what you need.

Shared Hosting:
Shared hosting is just what it sounds like. Your website shares a hosting server with many other websites. This option is extremely affordable and there are hundreds of competitors vying for your $15 (or so) a month. Is it right for you? If you are hosting your family’s photos or blog, yes. If you have a very small company or start-up that needs a simple web presence without advanced functionality, yes. Otherwise, the answer is almost always no. Shared hosting is not a good option if security, reliability, and advanced functionality are important to you. The major disadvantage of shared hosting is that there are multiple users who all have various levels of access making it highly susceptible to breaches in security and crashing.

Dedicated Hosting:
Dedicated hosting is having a hosting server dedicated to only your website. This option is more expensive. However, it is far more reliable, offers greater security, and allows for advanced functionality like database driven queries.

Co-Located Hosting:
Co-Located Hosting is what we offer here at Rearview. This option provides you with the security of dedicated hosting with even greater security and more control over your server. This is often used as a means of “backing up” on-site hosting. It works like this: you purchase a server at cost (or you bring us one you already have), we set it up with your website, ftp, email, PBX phone service (or whatever you want on it), then we put it on our fiber optic connection. Our IT staff will provide fee based support as needed. If you decide to take your hosting in-house (or decide you don’t like us for whatever reason) we’ll be sad, but there is no contract to break. You just stop by our office and pick up your box. Easy, just like we like it.

If you want to know more about Rearview’s hosting package and IT support, please contact Alex Danaila at 678.574.7261 ext. 2101.

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If you haven’t already recieved a login and password from Alex, give him a call. 678.574.7261 ext 2101. If you have, go to Rearview’s homepage and look for Client Portal Login at the bottom left.

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People have often made the mistake of choosing the cheapest printer blindly without considering how they can get the best quality for the least money. These tips can help save you from the same mistake and the disastrous results which, in then end, cost more.

1. Communicate clearly with your graphic designer about your budget. Your graphic designer has probably designed everything from $20 per piece (high-end brochures) to 50 cent flyers, and they have years of experience working with printers. They will know how to cut cost without cutting quality. You don’t have to settle for a template look because you think that is all you can afford. Get a unique, impacting design that will wow your customers and stay within budget.
2. Use Stock Dies. One of the easiest tricks your graphic designer can share with you is using stock dies. A custom die-cut can dramatically improve the look of your piece, but they can cost you several hundred dollars. Most printers have hundreds of dies that they have used for other clients in stock and are willing to help you find one to suit your needs.
3. Compare apples to apples. Not all printing quotes are equal. Ask questions! Write an RFP (request for proposal) that includes specifics. What is the finished size of the piece? Should they use digital or offset printing? If it’s offset, how many colors? Which colors (some are cheaper than others)? Do you need specific Pantone colors? What type of paper? Is there a bleed? Do you need anything special like a die cut or binding? In short – know what you are asking for. If you don’t know, ask your graphic designer. They can give you specifics to provide to your printer.
4. Consider Digital. Digital printing has come a long way! The quality of digital printing is great and almost indistinguishable from offset in most cases. However, digital is not right for every project. Ask your graphic designer or printer for help deciding if it is right for your project.
5. Don’t forget to ask your printer! If you are ordering a small run, ask if they have leftover paper from a larger run that they can offer at discount. You might also ask if their in-stock house paper is right for your project. They buy this paper in large quantities and it is generally less expensive. If you are ordering a large run, ask them to talk to their distributor to see if they are offering any discounts. Swapping presses or adding your project onto a gang run with other projects using the same inks and paper can be another way to save money! Printers are a great resource! Ask for their ideas on saving money. They are usually more than willing to help.

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