Today direct mailers are welcoming a historic event. For the first time in 97 years, postage rates are going down! The last time postage dropped was in July 1919 when Congress dropped first-class prices from 3 cents to 2 cents after the end of World War I.
Of course, direct marketers are thrilled about the extra money in their budgets. For a one million piece standard class mailing, the reduction results in approximately $10,000 in savings!
2016 is getting off to a great start here at J&Q. We are working with a lot of great companies and people to communicate their messages using direct mail, and many new opportunities are in progress. We also have a new addition to our sales staff. Bob Pullman has joined us as National Sales Director, Key Accounts. Bob has extensive experience in business development with many leading global direct marketing and database marketing corporations.
By Kay Wilt
We are exhibiting at the &Then DMA Conference this weekend in Boston. And Hurricane Joaquin is moving up the East Coast. As I write this on Friday morning the Boston forecast is showing rain for Saturday and Sunday morning, with only a 10% chance of rain on Monday and Tuesday. We may not have to deal with a major storm, thank goodness. J&Q is located in the Chicagoland area. We get tornadoes here, but no hurricanes, so we really don’t want to experience one this weekend. We would love to walk the Freedom Trail and see some of historic Boston, so let’s see if the weather cooperates.
By Kay Wilt
In the past, variable color printing for direct mail and other print was only available on slower, more expensive sheetfed digital presses which were impractical for high volume production. Today the latest generation of high-speed roll-to-roll inkjet presses produce incredible quality, reduce time into the mail, and production costs are comparable to traditional methods. This technology is changing the entire print and direct mail industry.
Take a look at our video on Color Inkjet Frequently Asked Questions for answers and information on why direct marketers should look more closely at this production method for their direct mail programs.
By Kay Wilt
Bob Arkema, J&Q’s Executive Vice President and I provided content for an article on Personalization and Color Inkjet Printing that appeared in a recent issue of Epicomm’s Bottom Line. Epicomm is an association for the print, mail, fulfillment, and marketing services industry focused on business management. The article updated association members on the ever-growing use of high-speed color inkjet presses to create personalized direct mail. The information was targeted at printers and mailing service providers, but it does provide a good overview for marketers as well. Read the complete article here.
By Kay Wilt
The good news – for consumers the 49 cent Forever Stamp remains at 49 cents. However, for direct marketers presorted First-Class and Standard postage rates increase today.
For a chart of the new postage rates, along with other useful mailing information, download Johnson & Quin’s Direct Mailer’s Deskside Companion.
By Kay Wilt
The photo above shows Dave Henkel, J&Q’s President, reviewing a press sheet off our color inkjet press, a Screen Truepress Jet520ZZ. Many of our clients’ direct mail programs have been converted to color inkjet printing – for the many benefits it provides. Today we will delve into the benefits provided by color inkjet presses, and the reasons direct marketers should look into color inkjet for their direct mail campaigns. After reading an overview of the benefits here, download J&Q’s Color Inkjet Printing FAQ document for more details.
By Kay Wilt
Today is May 1st or May Day. I remember May Day as a child with school celebrations that included May Pole dancing on the playground which could result in a pretty amazing ribbon wrapped pole, or a colorful mess. And making May Baskets of construction paper filled with spring flowers for your mom and grandmother. In researching the history of May Day, I found that English villages in the Middle Ages all had Maypoles, which were actual trees brought in from the woods in the midst of rejoicing and raucous merrymaking. Maypoles came in many sizes, and villages were said to compete with each other to show whose Maypole was tallest.
Which led me to thinking about trees . . .
By Kay Wilt
For the third time this year, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has asked the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) to approve increasing postage prices by as much as 2%, effective May 31, 2015. The standard 49 cent letter rate will remain the same, but most other classes of mail will increase.
Originally postage rates were to increase April 26, 2015, until the PRC rejected some of the rate increases twice. The PRC has already approved price increases for First Class letters, postcards and flats, as well as Special Services. The request just filed includes Standard Mail, Periodicals and Package Services.
By Kay Wilt
Is your company a mailing service provider who produces direct mail, or a direct marketer who is using color inkjet to produce your direct mail? If you answered “yes” to either of these options, you know about the rapid rise of color inkjet technology for direct mail production. If you answered “no” you may or may not have heard much about color inkjet . . . yet.
By 2018 U.S. production color inkjet page volume will exceed that of digital color toner according to InfoTrends’ 2013-2018 Global Production Printing & Copying Market Forecast. InfoTrends Group predicts that high-speed color inkjet is closing the gap between both offset and digital print. That growth includes direct mail, as well as other promotional printing, transactional documents and publishing.
Kay Wilt