New Postal Rates Announced

USPS ADJUSTS MAILING SERVICES PRICES FOR 2012

PENNY INCREASE IN PRICE OF FOREVER STAMPS

Beginning early next year, customers will spend a penny more to mail letters to any location in the United States, the first price change for First-Class Mail stamps (Forever stamps) since May 2009. The new 45-cent price for Forever stamps is among price changes filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) yesterday.

Highlights of the new single-piece First-Class Mail pricing, effective Jan. 22, 2012, include:

• Letters (1 oz.) – 1-cent increase to 45 cents
• Letters additional ounces – unchanged at 20 cents
• Postcards – 3-cent increase to 32 cents
• Letters to Canada or Mexico (1 oz.) – 5-cent increase to 85 cents.
• Letters to other international destinations – 7-cent increase to $1.05

Learn More.

Solar Paper?

Imagine the possibilities of solar paper!

One more acronym to learn: NFC

I thought it stood for National Football Conference, but you can tell where my mind is these days! NFC can also stand for Near Field Communication, which is a way to smart phones to interact with a variety of things, people and information. One of the most interesting is instant payments. Learn More.

Of football and LEGOs...two of my favorite things

It started innocently with a conversation with a friend about football. We were talking about the virtual line on the field that shows where the first down is. Was there some sort of machine on the sideline that shot a laser beam (unseen by the human eye) across the field? No, it's something much more fun than that: Augmented Reality (AR). AR is adding (or augmenting) what the human eye sees with computer-generated inputs. Not to be confused with virtual reality, AR takes an everyday view and adds something to it. In football, you see the play just as someone in the stadium would, but with the addition of the yellow line. It's uses are becoming more common. In the print world, you can "hide" a code in an image and with an AR reader, generate something new. Think about it as a QR code of the next level. Check out what LEGO does in it's stores. An AR code is hidden in the box and when you take it to a kiosk, you get to see the finished product.

The 2012 stamps are coming!

The post office has announced it's 2012 stamps at this link. Keep checking back as they will periodically release designs. I really like the Cherry Blossom one, what's your favorite?

Ikea Uses Every Inch of Space

Ikea "gets it" when it comes to printing. There is just something special about a catalog that you can touch, feel, steal (from a co-worker) and...measure. Check out the spine of this book, it incorporates a handy ruler. You can use it at home to do a quick measurement of a space and then head to the store to find something to fit it. Handy, indeed!

3D Printing. Yes, 3D!

Here's a fascinating article on 3-D "printing". It is a rare thing for me to be speechless, but this is something just mind-blowing!

A Program to Remember

Here's a copy of the Royal Wedding Program that will be used on the 29th for the marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. It is a gorgeous piece of print work. We wish the young couple a very happy life together!

QR Codes Gone Wild

No, this isn't a post about Spring Break, but rather on the changing face of QR (Quick Response) codes. I love to see them evolve and grow in usage. The ever "with-it man" Trevor Eade at matcor added a Microsoft tag to his business card that leads to not just a website but a video! I recently saw an ad for the Houston Symphony that featured a MS tag in color. Both are great examples of using QR codes to draw in your readers in new ways.

Touchdown in 3...2...1!

I received an email the other day from Bed, Bath and Beyond. While I've subscribed to them for awhile, I admit that I subscribe to lots of emails (and delete a good portion without ever reading them). What caught my eye on this one is it told me to watch my mailbox for their next mailer -- and a special offer.

That very evening when I went home, the flyer (with a $5 coupon) was in my mailbox. And the next day, I made the 5-mile trip to the store to use it. These days it often takes a multi-pronged approach to reach consumers. And it works.

Yes You Still Need Business Cards

Here's a great article on Yahoo! Finance on the importance of traditional business cards. What's been the most memorable card you've ever seen? Some of the best we've done have been on the Indigo 7000. For one customer (an architect) , our designer made a "marbled" card, incorporating a logo and a clean, traditional font. Simple, yet elegant.

Quick, Quick, Where Am I Going?

Quick Response (QR) codes are a growing trend. I was talking with a friend yesterday who said, "I just don't get it." A client of ours had recently designed an printed invitation to a golf tournament. On my iPhone, I used QRReader app (free one!) to take a picture of the code. Granted, I had to try twice (as my camera lens was filthy), but when it did work, it pulled up a map to the golf tournament. He was still skeptical, saying "why don't you just put a drawing of a map on the dang invite?" I then used my phone to route me there from my current location...and another QR fan was born!

QR codes - with a twist

Check out these intersting QR (Quick Response) codes used as Valentine's Day stamps in the Republic of China (Taiwan).

Branding is nothing new

Local Houston author and brand-specialist, David Falloure, takes a unique look at historical branding in his new blog, Brands in History. Drawing from ancient sources, he "translates" these military campaigns and looks at them through the lens of modern branding principles. Truly a good read!