Pre-show mailers can be a good way to draw attention to your exhibit. But they can also be a budget buster to produce. Here are seven ways to keep mailer production costs down.

1. Mind the size limits. Keep the entire, unfolded mailer within an 11-by-17-inch format. That’s the largest of the standard film sizes that can be processed by most film houses. It is also the largest size of film that can be printed on a small press. If you go larger, you will pay more for both creating the film and printing the mailer.
2. Go two-color. Two-color mailers usually feature one color, such as red, along with black for the text. It’s 25 percent cheaper than four-color because it uses two pieces of film (instead of four) and requires only a two-color press. Of course, you’ll probably lose some impact by going two-color instead of four-color. But you can jazz things up a bit by shading the colors and using duotones. Ask your graphic designer for ideas.
3. Go four-color on the cheap. Some people try to save money by using two-color printing on the mailer’s interior and four-color printing on the exterior. But if you’re going to use any four-color graphics, you might be able to make the entire piece four-color without blowing the budget. Here’s how. When you have the film made, place both the front and back pieces on the same piece of film. Then place marks where the printer can cut the mailer. You save money by using one piece of film and one printing press. (If you had both two-color and four-color graphics on your mailer, you would need to use two different presses to print the piece.
4. Use existing artwork. When an outside graphic designer creates a new image for you, it may cost around $50 an hour and take 10 hours or more to create. If you provide the designer with existing artwork of, say, the company logo, it can be scanned in. Better yet, give them a digitized file with the artwork. It will save both time and money.
5. Purchase “photo disks.” Photo disks contain about 400 “stock” images that can be used for your mailers. You purchase all usage rights for the images; the cost runs about $250 for each disk. An alternative is to go to a stock photo house and purchase a picture – but that will run you about $500 for one image.
6. Create one mailer for multiple shows. One company created a run of about 50,000 mailers for use at several upcoming shows. During the initial printing, a space was left open on the mailer where specific show information (show name/dates, booth number, booth map, etc.) could later be added for each event. The show information was printed in separate, one-color printing runs where only black was used for the text, making it a less-expensive venture.
7. Choose only one paper stock. If you’re creating a multipage mailer or brochure, use the same paper stock for both the cover and interior pages. In most cases, using even one heavy paper stock will be cheaper than a combination of light and heavy stocks.

Promotions That Drive Better Trade Show Booth Staffing

Perhaps you have been justifying your trade show pre-show promotions because they help bring in more people to your booth. They do that, and more. A good pre-show promotion, when tied to an in-booth giveaway, can also improve the performance of your booth staffers. Here’s how:

And perhaps most of all, your staffers don’t have to go outside their comfort zone as much in pulling in people out of the aisle. They will have a portion of the audience come in on their own, asking for the at-show giveaway. That relieves them of some of the stress of talking to strangers all day, and can add some fun, too. And, they’ll be more likely to volunteer for trade show booth duty next time!

Articles include cost savings tips that will help you stretch your exhibiting budget dollars. By following the fine print on the show service forms from show decorators such as Freeman, Champion and GES you can save up to 30% on your show services costs.

You may learn a few new words you may not have heard of before that are described in detail on the trade show tip blog such as “drayage” also known as material handling, I&D also known as install and dismantle of your trade show exhibits and displays. trade show ROI – return on investment and booth staffing. Crucial exhibiting Information such as booth staffing and body language are also covered.

Although Tradetec Skyline is based close to Chicago Illinois, exhibitors from all over the world should be able to benefit from the wealth of knowledge on their trade show tip blog.

Casey Fitzner, Venue-marketing specialist and one of the authors of Tradetec’s trade show tip blog says she likes to write about the challenges new marketing managers have when exhibiting at trade shows. The WordPress blog format allows us to share our expertise in a quick and easy format and can easily link back to our main site at www.ttskyline.com.

Since it’s founding in 1999, Tradetec Skyline Chicago has become the third largest Skyline Displays Distributor and Designer company in the world, they providing a full range of trade show services from award winning exhibit and graphic design to trade show program management featuring ExhibitForce event management software. Tradetec Skyline provides global turn-key trade show solutions through their alliance with the network of 144 Skyline offices around the world.