Publicity derived by utilising the BOF Print portal

[Clive Coles]

I came across leaflets that had been created by using this BOF leaflet design service for the first time at the recent Suffolk County Show. Wow ~ they were great. A step up from the traditional event flyer.

http://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/index.php?pg=71#Information


Our club had been offered a pitch in the sports village to give us a platform to promote orienteering at the Show. We set up an "O" maze using the layout and courses which first made an appearance at the Outoor Show in London last year.

The club decided to produce some quality leaflets to promote our next two events, both of which happened to be scheduled to take place in June. Early days yet to see if those who went round the maze or newcomers who attended these subsequent events convert to become regular orienteers.

With the publicity leaflets to hand. I strode over to the Radio Suffolk stand ~ they were transmitting live from the Show ground. The programme producer came out of the studio caravan at just the right time ~ I knew she scheduled the airtime slots for the roving journalist with the mike. The leaflets were thrust in her hand with a cheery smile and greeting ~ within an hour we had the broadcaster Luke running round the O maze "on air" as he attempted to master the maze and put in a fast time.

Opportunistic publicity I know but facilitated by some leaflets that were "eye catching".

I realise quality comes at a cost ~ I believe the leaflets are professionally printed and delivered to the clubs by post or courier. I don't think the portal allows the artwork to be generated as a PDF so that it can be printed locally or stored as a flyer on a web site. A nice, and a cheaper option, if it could. But if clubs are planning a special promotion I believe the costs could be justified.

Any other folk any experiences of the Print Portal to share ?

[oo_wrong_way]

We have just started using the designs for SOC events, series and POCs. It is a great facility - a bit pricey and you can quickly get to the point where you want a bit more flexibility over the design than the portal allows.

[andypat]

I've had a look at it a couple of times but the cost has always been a bit of a barrier, esp if the relevant event is in fact a non-profit making activity...

[MikeShires]

The cost of getting things printed via the Print Portal is often a lot more than designing a flyer yourself and having it printed yourself, as you're paying for the convenience.

For example, 1000 double sided A6 flyers on the Print Portal costs £154.68 including VAT (which shouldn't really be payable on flyers under 350gsm thickness, unless they are designed to be kept - with offers, discounts, bits to fill in and tear off etc). That's about 15p per flyer.

I have recently had 2,500 double sided full colour A6 flyers printed, on really nice glossy thick 350gsm card for £68.00. That's about 3p per flyer!

Ok, I did used to work in marketing and have decent graphic design skills, so I am able to design our flyers and publicity material, but most printing companies offer an artwork service for around £35, so even then it still works out cheaper. The Print Portal is a great service for clubs who are after a decent and convenient option, but you do end up paying a lot more for it!

Mike Shires
Publicity Officer - TVOC

[lindseyk]

We (Roxburgh Reivers) used the Print Portal once and agree that it was simple to use and the result was great. Cost at that time was about £50 for 100 postcards. Using a programme called Serif Page Plus I now do our own design and get them printed locally at a cost of £34 for 250 (no postage costs). The card is slightly thinner but, hey, we’re giving them away so they just need to be eyecatching and sturdy enough to be pinned to a notice board. A starter version of Page Plus can be obtained from the Serif website or free in magazines, but 2 tips for you.

1. Use CMYK colours, not RGB.
2. Save the file as PDF/X-1a which has all the settings needed for professional printing.

[Angry Haggis]

I do like the design of the flyers on the portal and agree that it, although expensive, is very useful - and part of that cost is paying for the initial design work, technology setup, and the convenience.

By comparison I got 5000 A6 double-sided glossy card (250gsm) colour flyers printed by FlyerAlarm for £45 (including P&P) and delivered in a week. But then I had to do my own design, upload a PDF and self-check it before printing. The economics of flyers is odd - I would have only saved £2 by getting 2500 done instead...

[andypat]

I know! I got 1000 postcards for SOA marketing for pretty much the same price as it would have been for 100. Then they printed the reverse upside down by mistake and without asking produced 1000 more and gave me the 1000 rejects too.