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Today's direct mail needs more than just printing, trimming, and folding in half. It has two seconds, maybe less, to do its thing. If your customer's piece of direct mail hasn't drawn the attention of their target audience during that brief interval of time, the piece will simply be ripped into tiny pieces and throw in the nearest trash can. Such is the harsh reality of the direct mail (DM) world.
There was a time when most people would at least open and peruse every piece of mail they received—giving the marketer a fighting chance to attract their interest with an attractive graphic design or a clever turn of phrase.
Now, consumers have shorter and shorter attention spans, are under increasing pressure to consider the environment, and are constantly bombarded with online and e-mail marketing. A direct mail piece has to stand out if it is going to have any chance of meeting the sender's objectives in creating it.
On top of this, mail advertisers are looking for ways to cope with United States Postal Service (USPS) price increases, as well as the threat from several states to pass 'Do Not Mail' legislation.
None the less, with the consumer response to direct mail estimated to be worth over $224 billion annually, there is still plenty of life in this old dog yet.
An increasingly employed approach—where words and images are no longer doing the trick—is to use structural design and enhancements to intrigue and attract the ultimate recipient.
Shapes, windows, foil effects, holograms, and 'tip-ons' are all designed to get the desired consumer attention. However, this means using more sophisticated finishing techniques than just basic trimming and folding.
Marginal Issues
Traditionally, most printers have outsourced these processes to the many expert finishing houses specializing in die cutting, foiling, or folding and gluing. An increasing number, however, are now bringing them in-house, keeping the margin made from these added-value processes for themselves.
This also allows printers to reduce their lead times—happy customer—and cut transportation costs—happy chief financial officer. On top of this, they also endear themselves to environmentally savvy customers who are concerned about the carbon footprint of their product.
Drawn to Curves
When it comes to interesting structures, the die cutter is probably the designer's best friend. Its ability to quickly—and accurately—produce shapes makes the die cutter the most common of the non-traditional finishing processes to make it into the direct mail arena.
The choice of machine here is critical if you are going to get the results your customers want. An old, converted cylinder press is not going to deliver the lightness of touch, or speed of production you need to economically make direct mail that stands out. Ideally, you should use an automatic flatbed die cutter.
The key is to find one that will handle light materials—such as paper and thin card—well. This relies on having a number of features, not the least of which is a well-designed and adaptable feeder. Machines with multiple, perhaps automatic, adjustment of the pile and feeder equipment with features such as sheet delivery synchronization and double sheet detection will ensure that the sheet gets a good start in the die-cutting process.
Once the sheet is inside the die cutter, features such as Bernoulli braking systems, and anti-static devices, ensure light materials behave themselves, and that you get the best possible results. Alongside this, the rigidity of the platen section will determine how much, or how little, "patch up"—shimming the die for cut perfection—will be involved in achieving those results. More patch up means longer changeovers, and lower profits.
One Machine—Two Processes
Foil effects and holograms are another weapon in the designer's armory, as they fight to get the attention of jaded consumers. For good reason, printers worry about wasted foil, and in particular the associated cost. So it's important to look for a foiling press that has intelligent systems for minimizing waste.
These normally use sophisticated algorithms for calculating the optimum foil advance, based on the job layout, and can save huge amounts of foil when used in conjunction with a flatbed foiling press.
For printers without the critical mass of die-cut or foiled work to warrant a machine for either, there are now multifunction machines on the market that can quickly and easily swap between the two modes. This means that the direct mail printer can build up their market for foiled work on the back of the more common die cutting.
A Little Tip
Long used on magazine covers and the like, 'tip-ons,' where notes or other messages are stuck onto a piece of promotional material rather like Post-It notes, are another clever way of drawing the attention of the target consumer. In the past, these were applied by hand, but clearly this is hugely labor intensive.
Using a folder-gluer means faster application, and the machine can also be used for direct mail items that need more complex folding, or for promotional inclusions such as CD sleeves etc.—things that a buckle folder cannot deliver.
Whatever the product, the key feature of your gluer should be accuracy, and this derives from accurate feeding and blank aligning. If your product enters the folder-gluer accurately, it should deliver the quality of product you need.
As markets get tighter, direct mail that draws the consumer in is likely to be one of the areas the print industry will draw some comfort from. However, it's likely going to take more than a simple cut and a fold to set you, and your customers, apart from the competition.
Chris Raney is vice president, Folding Carton products for Bobst Group North America, Roseland, N.J. He is responsible for the Folding Carton Business Area for the North American market. He can be reached at christopher.raney@bobstgroup.com.
author: By Chris Raney