This is Charlie!

Here are some things from 1985:

• 1. Careless Whisper - Wham!
• 2. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go - Wham!
• 3. I Want To Know What Love Is - Foreigner
• 4. I Feel For You - Chaka Khan
• 5. Out Of Touch - Daryl Hall & John Oates
• 6. Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Tears For Fears
• 7. Money For Nothing - Dire Straits
• 8. Crazy For You - Madonna
• 9. Take On Me - A-Ha
• 10. Charlie Reese starts his commercial printing career at Payne Printery.

If you would have only worn your Chaka Khan shirt to work on picture day!

Taking care of my Nittany Lions

We've been working with Penn State for almost 10 years now. In fact, it was one of the first sales calls that I made when I started here at Payne.

They have a great team of designers and production managers who truly understand the value of relationships in the production of great materials.

Here's a note from PSU on project we delivered last week!

"The IST brochure looked great. The bindery work was stellar. And it looked so good that our client in IST, ran with it and made no complaints. Sometimes that is the best compliment that we can get.

No glitches is a very good thing.

Thank your crew for another job well done; it is much appreciated on my part, and Penn State Publications hold Payne in high esteem."

/ ANN

Thank you Ann! We appreciated the opportunity to produce it for you!

New Address Standards for Commercial Flat-Size Mail

The Postal Service has adopted new address placement and formatting requirements!

Effective Date: March 29, 2009

How will this affect you?

Address Placement:
* The new placement standards apply to all Periodicals, Standard Mail and Package Services flats mailed at presort, carrier route, and automation prices. (they DO NOT APPLY to First-Class Mail)

* The delivery address must be entirely within the top half of the mailpiece -
The "Top" is:
A) the shorter edges on enveloped or polywrapped pieces, and on the Carrier Route (or ECR) saturation pieces.
B) The upper edge when the spine is placed on the right-hand side of an unenclosed piece.

For further examples please visit:
http://pe.usps.com/Flats_Addressing_Requirements.pdf

Address Placement - Step-by-Step:
Identify the "top" of the mailpiece...
* Front or back of the mailpiece
* Either of the shorter edges, or the upper edge with the spine on the right
* The "top" has nothing to do with the printing on the piece or how it is constructed. Pretend the mailpiece is a blank object
* Define the "top half." Fold and crease the piece, or measure with a ruler
*Place the delivery address entirely in the top half. It can be parallel or perpendicular to the top edge, but not upside-down
* Now place the postage and return address in relation to delivery address as it is read (postage to the right or upper right, return address to the upper left)

Implementation materials:
1. MailPro Articles
2. New Quick Service Guide
3. New fact sheets and posters

In less than two weeks this new standard will be implemented...Effective March 29,2009!

Here are a few other useful resources for your review...
http://www.pe.usps.com/
www.usps.com/mail

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Information

I thought that this was pretty informative:

"Corporate social responsibility issues are becoming a core component of corporate brands. Dealing responsibly with your company’s footprint cannot only reduce risk, but can enhance your brand if you walk the walk and know how to talk about it. Carrying the FSC-certification logo on your print products tells the world that you support the highest social and environmental standards in the market where you use paper. Your purchase of FSC-certified paper and print products contribute to conservation, responsible management, and community level benefits for people near the forests that provide your paper."

"While recycled fiber is a key element of the traditional model for responsible consumption, it is becoming increasingly clear that forest management in the production of the wood used in paper manufacturing, has more fundamental importance than even recycled fiber."

If you visit www.fscus.org/paper, you can download a PDF of all paper mills, brands, grades, etc. that are currently FSC Certified. It'll come in handy when your trying to select the stock for your next project.

Direct Mail Still Delivers

Now more than ever, you need serious smarts and meticulous planning to develop a successful direct-mail campaign.

There are compelling reasons to rely on direct mail. To name a few reasons for using direct mail, you might want to:

Drive foot traffic into a retail shop

Generate traffic for a Web site

Target customers who distrust the Web or aren't online

Showcase products and services in ways e-mail cannot, such as via a catalog

Improve customer service

Send content or news, such as an informational brochure

Shift consumer perception of your brand

And that's just a start.

Payne has a full service in house mail facility capable of insertion, list management, and addressing to ensure seamless project delivery to target markets on time and within budget. To learn more, contact us today.

Payne: A Passionate Printer

"A Passionate Printer"! These three little words says it all about Payne! I've worked for Payne for the past five years! It's an experience that I would never give up. Payne is a great company that will always be there for you. We continue to move forward and provide our clients with the highest quality possible.

With that said, times are currently tough for everyone. I believe if you give Payne a chance you will see the "Passion" that keeps us moving forward.

I took a chance five years ago and I'm asking you to take a chance and consider Payne today.

I would love to hear back from you.

Jeremy Fleeger
Payne Prinery, Inc.
www.payneinc.net/jeremy

A Little Humor to Start off the Day

I found this on YouTube last night and thought it was hysterical.

If you're a graphic designer or involved in the design / production process in any way, you're bound to find this entertaining.

If it makes you laugh, please post a comment. I was a bit unsure about this one.

Enjoy.

What's up with MetalFX?

There are a few important notables pertaining to Metal FX that I thought I should share.

First things first... If you're not familiar with Metal FX, it is a new technology that allows designers and print providers to produce a virtually unlimited number of metallic colors and effects by utilizing one additional press ink and plate and applied in a single press pass.

That is, Metal FX produces gold and silver "base" metallic inks that react with any process screen or photo that is printed over the top of it. Now, it's obviously not that simple. There is, of course, a certification process involved to assure that suppliers are capable of utilizing MFX technology.

Some of you may have heard that Ciba Coating Effects, the company that produces Metal FX, is closing down the MFX division. That is true. Jim Walker, Business Manager at MFX, states the main reason for this decision was that MFX simply didn't fit into their core business.

What does that mean to you? Not that much really. Companies such as ours that have already been certified are still able to offer the product. Though, the software and applicable training is no longer being offered, Metal FX base inks are still available.

Please feel free to give us a call if you have any questions pertaining to Metal FX or anything else for that matter. We'd love to hear from you.

Soft-Touch Aqueous Coating is, well... Pretty Cool

So, we're all familiar with satin, matte, gloss, uncoated, and non-curl aqueous coatings right?

What you may or may not be familiar with is soft-touch aqueous coating. As far as its application is concerned, it's exactly the same as the others. But, it feels completely different to the touch.

The truth is, I don't really know how to describe it. It almost has a rubbery feel to it... if that makes any sense.

The PROS to this coating is that is seals and protects press sheets as the other coatings do, it is completely ink-jet addressable so it's ideal for direct mail, and it looks awesome when you combine it with a dry-trap spot gloss varnish.

Actually, the dry-trap varnish effect works best on darker backgrounds; black for example. You'll get excellent contrast between the soft-touch, muted area and the gloss varnished sections.

We obviously have samples we can send to you if you'd like to see them. Or you can jump right in the pool and give it a try. Either way, you won't be disappointed.

Union Printing Gaining More Support

It seems that now more than ever, customers and prospects are showing support for union suppliers by adding union bugs to their projects.

Everyday I hear someone refer to printing as a commodity, but that's just not the case. Our pressmen are true craftsmen and they approach each and every project with the same level of care and attention to detail. That's something that I think we can all agree, makes a difference.

As you may or may not know, a printer's union bug is a unique identifier that can be traced right back to the company who printed a particular piece.

That being said, you won't often find poor quality printing associated with a union supplier.

Oh yeah, did I mention that we're union?

Postal Flat Change

Here's something that you might find interesting. New postal regulations pertaining to flats will take place on March 29th of this year. You may already know this, but here's something that I hadn't thought about.

As it pertains to "flats" (items greater than or equal to 6.125 x 11.5), the address area must be located on the top half of the mailer. The definition of the "top half" is essentially the short side.

If you are creating a self-mailer or envelope, please note that the address area will no longer be in the center of the piece. The envelope above would no longer be acceptable under these new regulations. The address area would have to be located to the left or the right of the dotted line.

If you have any inventoried items that were designed within the old regulations, you might want to check in with your USPS Entry Point Facility (bulk mail) to see if any exceptions will be made.

Deliver Your Message with ClingZ

As stated at www.clingz.com:

"Versatile, moveable advertising media - put anywhere!

ClingZ is a patented, electrically charged, printable polypropylene film. The benefit of ClingZ is its ability to cling to virtually any clean, dry indoor surface without leaving a residue.

This unique ability creates many different applications including point of purchase advertising, pharmaceutical or educational signage, banners, direct mail promotions, temporary wall decor and more.

ClingZ offers an effective alternative to static cling vinyl, pressure sensitive media and other self adhesive products."

For more information, contact a Payne sales associate today.

Eco Audits Becoming More Popular

With initiatives like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), environmentally friendly printing has become a large part of our business.

More and more of our customers are showing their support for the environment by utilizing "GREEN" print logos such as that of the FSC or parallel schemes such as Rainforest Alliance and SFI.

These certifications all essentially say the same thing. That is, that certified suppliers or those who utilize certified suppliers support sustainability.

Organizations such as the Environmental Defense Fund have taken it a step further by allowing users to quantify their impact or lack thereof for that matter.

By comparing your recycled sheet against a non-recycled sheet of the same quality and weight, you can illustrate exactly how your decision to print "GREEN" has helped the environment.

Eco Audits are fast, easy to calculate, and compliment other eco-friendly logos very well.