It’s officially Spring, the season of new beginnings and for many, the time of new budgets. Hurray!
We thought now would be a good time to have a look at the emerging printing and direct mail trends for 2019 as a little bit of inspiration for the shiny new budget year.
We don’t have a crystal ball but have spotted a few things we think will become more popular this year.
Textured printing
We have long been able to mix a textured coating into inks to create a raised, 3D look to print, but it now feels like the price has reduced sufficiently to make this a more mainstream option.
The tactility of print is one of its stand-out features, so enhancing your products with more texture could be the thing that keeps it in their hands for longer. Combine this technique with metallic or neon inks (see below) and your print will really make an impact.
Metallic inks
Foil has been the traditional way to achieve a metallic effect, but now metallic inks can be mixed with colour to achieve a shimmering look in a far wider range of colours.
Don’t confine this look to the festive season, why shouldn’t summer shimmer?
Neon colours
The high street is full of neon colour pops as Spring ushers in a fresher, brighter feel. Mixing neon colours with traditional printing methods will lift colour off the paper, getting rid of the criticism about print not looking as bright as it does on screen.
Print and digital – a perfect pairing
With ever-more sophisticated ways to integrate traditional and digital campaigns, smart marketers are looking for a new edge. Augmented reality print is the perfect combination of something physical which sends customers directly into your digital world.
Personalisation
We highlighted the massive potential of programmatic mailing last year and its potential remains relatively untapped. The hyper-targeted nature of the technique, which gives the ability to send individually-tailored print to customers – a postcard with that hotel you were looking at, a quick reminder that you left a t-shirt in your basket but featuring the actual item – will reap far better results than a spray-and-pray approach.
It relies on sophisticated data management, but once you have that cracked the potential is enormous.
As always, our Clever Design Studio Team are on hand to discuss your next campaign idea, just give us a call on 01924 284330.
