At New York Marketing we strive to provide the very best in color copy reproduction. Color copies are a cost-effective marketing tool that allows you to put your business name, products, services, and contact details directly into consumer’s hands. Whether you plan to pass them out at your next event, display them on community boards around town, or include them in info packets, follow these design tips to create high-quality color copies each and every time.
Know Your Target Audience
You may think knowing your audience is irrelevant but when designing copies, it’s important to include text and imagery that will not only capture consumer attention but resonate with your target audience. Buyers are more likely to choose a company they feel a connection to and that they feel understands their particular needs. You wouldn’t want to use language like “Bring your bae” or “Slay your next presentation” to an older audience because those words mean different things than they do to young adults. Knowing your audience helps you to market straight to them for the best chance at nailing the sale.
Pick Your Focus
The same way your brochures need a focus, so do your copies. Whether you’re advertising a new service, a new product, or a new location, make your message easily identifiable and use complimentary text and imagery to reinforce that message.
Select Your Fonts
There are approximately 8 billions fonts to pick from. (Mild exaggeration but you get the idea.) Finding the perfect font can seem like an uphill climb and after finding five or six you maybe, sort of, kind of like, narrowing it down to one or two feels impossible. Stick to the Rule of Three. One sans-serif font for the body. One serif font for the headlines. And one fun cursive or decorated font for callouts. Any more and you run the risk of making your design too busy, which in turn muddies your message and detracts from the overall look and feel of your copies.
Choose Your Colors
Typically, what you see on the screen is lighter than what you will see when your copies are printed. If you overlap similar colors that you struggle to read on the screen, your audience won’t be able to read it either. Create contrast and use light colors on dark backgrounds or dark colors on light backgrounds. And try to keep the number of colors down. In general, try one for headlines, one for body text, and one or two for accents. (Of course, this all depends on your audience. Marketing toys to young children would benefit from a rainbow of colors or marketing colorful food pictures help to make your copies pop.)
Never Copy A Copy
It’s easy to find yourself on your last copy and just scan it into your computer to send to print. Pro tip: don’t do this unless you absolutely have to. You want your artwork to look as crisp on paper as it does on the screen. Copying copies causes text to become fuzzy, and eventually illegible. Always use high-resolution digital artwork!
Mind Your Bleed
Have you ever noticed that white border around your documents when you print on a home printer, even when your artwork has color along all four edges? This is called bleed and many home printers are not equipped to make the adjustment. In some cases, you have to print on a larger paper size and then cut it down to your true artwork. If you plan to forego the bleed, leave 1/4″ white border on all sides. If you want bleed, extend your artwork 1/4″ on all sides. And be careful not to put your text or images too close to the edge or you run the risk of getting it cut off during the print process.
Professional Printing
When it comes time to print your perfected color copies, choose New York Marketing. We offer high-quality color copying for any business, big or small, at an affordable price. With a variety of size options, stocks, and finishes, you’re guaranteed a product you’ll love!
