We live in a print-happy world these days. We’ve taken the long-ago, mysterious sort of world in which print items happened—behind closed doors with big clunky and massive machines—and brought that same world, somehow, into our own offices and, thus, into our own personal lives. Some ventures were technical, some were artistic. Rarely did the two have to meet for any reason, since we had different sorts to take care of both sides.
Not the case anymore. Do you want your own stationery? Heck, no trouble. Do you want business cards? That’s not a big deal. What about company brochures? Yep, that can be done, too. And custom envelopes? Oh, they are no problem at all.
Absolutely no problem. In fact, you personally can be a part of the design and creation process, if you’d like. All you need is a computer with a good screen, a heavy dose of creativity, and a bit of time. Oh yeah, a credit card usually helps a bit, too. You will have to pay for the stuff. That part hasn’t much changed.
If you want your own custom envelopes, you can be an integral piece the process puzzle from beginning to end. Your best bet is to sit down ahead of time and sketch it all out—either literally or in your head. Exactly how do you envision your custom envelopes will look? What do you see as the end product? Where will you have the return address information placed—upper left corner, or on the back flap? What sort of font will look best? Do you want to use black ink or something in color? Any sort of graphic or logo?
What will be the most common uses for your custom envelopes? Customer notifications, brochure send-outs, letters to suppliers or associates and others? Or will you use your custom envelopes predominantly for billing? If you have multiple purposes in mind for your custom envelopes, you may want to consider multiple orders. For example, you will likely want a custom envelope with a window for your billing needs, but that window will not be necessary for letter-type mailings.
What sort of company do you run? What is the day-to-day environment? Everything that gets circulated anywhere with your corporate name and identification will represent you outside the walls of your offices. Keep this in mind when creating any sort of print items. This, of course, includes your custom envelopes. Maybe yours is a fun-loving, quirky technical computer company. You may want to consider showing that side of you, even on your custom envelopes. Use a bit of color. Try a stand-out font to display your contact information. If you have a business that is known for unique attributes, you don’t want to send anything out that sits there in a white envelope, seemingly bored, waiting patiently to be opened. No, you want your mail to stand out, just as you, and your company, stand out—in a positive, attractive fashion.
And custom envelopes are, in a way, fashion for the message inside. Custom envelopes are the window dressing for what they carry. Fashion accessories for your communications. Treat your custom envelopes that way and you will never have to be concerned about your company’s image. It will be engrained into the psyche of the buying public who gravitate toward your specific product or service.
These are all questions which will require your answers, and points to consider before you start, so have all the information and details for your custom envelopes at the ready. You’ve decided to handle this one so this is your job, and really, yours alone. Your selected online print company will help you, and guide you through all that you will need to do to have your concept become reality. However, it is you and only you who are held responsible for the original vision. For this reason, you must be certain that you can well translate that vision onto the page screen in front of you because whatever you see on your computer screen when all is said and done . . . that is how your custom envelopes will turn out. Keep this in mind as you go through the design process.
Make sure you select a print company that offers you a variety of template options for you to use to design your custom envelopes. With these templates, you can add, remove, rearrange, and tweak your custom envelopes design to your heart’s content, until you are 100% satisfied with your final decision. You can do this work sitting at your desk in your office during the middle of the work day. Or, if you’d rather, you can save the job of putting together your custom envelopes for after the work day is over and you are home. The kiddies are all snug in their beds, your wife is downstairs watching her favorite movie, and you are in your den, enjoying the peace and quiet. You’re in your nightclothes, slippers, and robe, with a cup of black coffee at the ready. With your selection of instrumental guitar playing on CD in the background, you are ready to create the best custom envelopes for your business needs.
From this point on, it’s only a matter of your creative genius. You’re in the right mood, the proper setting surrounds you—it’s very conducive to an inspired flow of artistic and inventive capacity. You are ready. You have the evening ahead of you, and you take your time. This font may look just right; this one will not. This color—bright, eye-catching yellow for the custom envelope paper?—works with the ink being something darker and bolder, something that catches the attention. Your logo placed just to the right of the text, adding a bit of whimsy somehow, and that design, everything all together, looks to you to be just right. You are certain you have just devised the perfect custom envelopes for your company. You will transfer this design to three different types of envelopes—regular, billing, and brochure-size. All will carry your newly-done corporate logo design, and each time you send something out, you will have to smile knowing you were the one who made that design a reality.
And to think . . . your father told you that you’d never be a creative sort! That’s why he steered you toward the more analytic professions, and you became a computer whiz. Dad never considered the addition of your mother’s genes to the mix. With the design of your custom envelopes, you have clearly shown that you are as much your mother’s son . . . as a sketch artist, she is the creative side of your parents.
So now that the mystery no longer surrounds the big, bad world of printing—you think you just might start dabbling in more creative ventures. Maybe next it’ll be . . . business cards? Dad may be horrified, but Mom will be proud!