Creative

Ensure Color Quality in Your Catalogs
July 1, 2002

Ensuring quality color reproduction in your catalog is not a black-and-white issue. To get the accurate, rich color you desire, procure the right combination of technology, equipment and skilled human labor. And not just on press: The color process starts the minute your photographer sets up and lights the shot. “Color is a dynamic issue. Every device from electronic to ink on paper, has a full range of color possibilities it can produce,” says digital photographer Glenn Martin, of Digital Outback in Reno, NV. Today, digital technology has added a new set of challenges and opportunities to the color-quality issue. When it comes

Close More Online Sales
June 1, 2002

Catalogers know the Web can be a valuable place to sell product. However, it’s likely that many are missing the chance to generate even more sales via the Web. To boost your chance at success, pay as much attention to closing the sale online as you would in your print catalogs—perhaps even more so due to the nature of the Web. Therefore, to convert more of your Web shoppers into buyers, consider three key points in your Web-shopping process: online customer service; shipping and handling; and order-taking and processing. Online Customer Service Here are two commonly held misconceptions about online customer service:

Photography Basics
June 1, 2002

Photography is one of a catalog’s largest expenses, particularly for smaller startups that are still developing their product lines. While you want to save as much as you can on your shoot, the photography essentially is your store window. If it looks appealing, with beautiful detail and clarity, your product is more likely to sell for a fair price. When selecting photography services, it’s often difficult to know what you’re buying unless you’ve worked with a specific photographer before. Of course, a referral may be able to give you more information, but it takes a high level of communication and detail to truly understand

Stupid Catalog Tricks
June 1, 2002

“I’m embarrassed to be seen with my products.” The catalog was filled with attractive young models playing in the snow. It looked very nice, except ... “You sell camping gear, right?” I asked. “Absolutely,” said the catalog manager. “Which none of these models is using?” The manager smiled. “Our products are so ugly and boring, we realized the only way to sell them was to show something else.” “So how are sales?” “Not great.” I’m amazed by how many catalogers are embarrassed by the products they sell, and I see it in all product categories. It doesn’t correlate with the products themselves, either. They’re

The Page Layout Turf Wars
May 1, 2002

Catalogers looking to improve their workflow and productivity have much to celebrate these days. With the introduction of Adobe® InDesign® 2.0 and the much-awaited upgrade from Quark—QuarkXpress® 5.0—you now have significant improvements in page layout production applications. Both InDesign 2.0 and QuarkXpress 5.0 added upgrades that will save catalogers time and money. Both programs support tables, export to PDF, offer image and content libraries, produce pages for the Web, and support XML. Your design staffers will love the layers for versioning and the automatic table of contents creation and indexing. But after those similarities, it’s evident that Adobe’s InDesign, with its

Stock Tips
March 1, 2002

It turns out you can judge a book by its cover—if it’s a catalog. Even small books must make big first impressions. “You need to get [customers] to open your book, and you’ve got about three seconds to do it,” says John Rossiter, a senior sales representative from printing company R.R. Donnelley and Sons. And while design and copy undoubtedly play larger roles in grabbing customers’ and prospects’ attention, without the right paper stock a catalog cover may go unnoticed or misrepresent your brand. Following is a rundown of what to examine when selecting a cover stock. Brand and Basis Weight Many consultants and

Europe Bound: Expand Prospecting in the EU
February 1, 2002

The nations of the European Union enjoy well-developed mail-order markets; much of the continent now shares a common currency; and the Internet’s rise has dismantled many of the perceived barriers to international trade. U.S. catalogers have much to offer Europeans, too. American catalog executives well understand the power of branding and have developed niche offerings that are only now beginning to be exploited across the Atlantic. That said, however, there are differences between the two regions that can make your navigational efforts difficult. Below, we’ll identify those challenges and explore ways around them. Creative Challenges While language differences are more apparent when

Gifts from the Florida Sunshine
November 1, 2001

One night in 1950, a truckload of grapefruit was late in arriving at Ed Cushman’s tiny fruit packing business in West Palm Beach, FL. Cushman was there supervising as the grower’s truck was being unloaded. As the last 20 bushels came off the truck, Cushman asked the workers, “What the devil is this? These aren’t grapefruit!” Said the driver, “I don’t know. I just deliver what they give me.” Turns out this particular grower had a few trees of Mineola tangelos, and they almost looked like orange bells. “My dad came up with the name ‘HoneyBell’,” says Allen Cushman, now president of

Selecting a Print Location for Your Catalog Version
November 1, 2001

Choosing a print location for your international catalog requires more than throwing a dart at a world map while blindfolded. When marketing overseas, should you print and mail your catalog in the United States or in your target country? An economical solution is based on production, distribution and your marketing strategy, according to Tim Ohnmacht, manager of international business development for printing company Quad/Graphics. Your marketing strategy and mail volume largely dictate your printing and mailing location. For example, if you’re banking on the cache of being an American company, consider printing your catalog in the States and mailing your piece using the

Down-home Digital
October 1, 2001

Country Store catalog is a home-improvement success story with a high-tech twist. The catalog is produced by Reiman Publications, Greendale, WI, which was founded by Roy Reiman in 1964 as a magazine publishing company. In the early 1970s, Reiman launched Farm Wife News magazine and began offering “I’m Proud to be a Farm Wife” T-shirts at cost to promote the publication. The shirts were so popular that Reiman executives realized the company could sell the garments for a profit. Reiman expanded the brand, adding “I’m Proud to be a Farmer’s Daughter” and “I’m Proud to be a Country Boy” versions, among others.