Westamerica

 

It was standing-room-only for our latest WAG U seminar, held on Wednesday November 9.  Our topic was "The Art and Science of Dimensional Graphics".  Dimensional, or structural graphics, helps marketers capture attention, engage audiences, and achieve dramatic results on marketing campaigns.  Westamerica has become Orange County's leader in producing creative dimensional graphics - and this seminar offered a peak behind the scenes of the process.

Seminar presenters included Neenah Paper (text and cover papers), Mead Westvaco (coated covers), and Westamerica Graphics (our very own Rad Scientist Mark Hanson aka Dr. Foldenglue).  Attendees learned about trends and new ideas in paper and packaging, cool new paper swatches and tools, sustainable/recyclable options, and helpful case studies and success stories in dimensional graphics design and production.

Attendee feedback was positive:
"Thanks for inviting me... You made a subject like paper fun and interesting."
"I liked getting an update on the latest and greatest in the paper industry, and what my printing options are."
"Great samples, awesome insightful inspiration regarding structural printing."
"I find these presentations very valuable."
"Helpful to see the (structural design) process in total.  Keep up the great work!"

 

Westamerica has presented their popular WAG U client education seminars for eighteen years.  These workshops demonstrate Westamerica's commitment to helping their clients succeed, offering new ideas and solutions to help clients grow their business and strengthen their bottom line.

CLICK HERE to download the Powerpoint slide show "5 Steps to Dimensional Success".

 

WAG's CEO Doug Grant will appear on a panel of print industry sales professionals at an upcoming PIASC Sales Club meeting.  The meeting topic is "Who Moved Their Cheese - Surviving and Thriving in the Changing Marketplace", and will be held in Seal Beach on Tuesday evening October 4, 2011.

The PIASC Sales Club is being revitalized, after "taking a break" for the past few years.  The Sales Club's goal is to host vital, vibrant programs where industry sales and marketing professionals can gather together in a fun and educational environment.  According to this event's invitation "our first meeting will feature a panel of local print sales professionals who have not only paid their dues over the course of their careers but who have also successfully dealt with the obstacles, changes and pressure that all sales people have experienced over the last couple of years".

Both new and seasoned sales professionals are encouraged to attend, as well as CSRs, Sales Managers, Owners and Presidents.  More information can be found at PIASC Sales Club .

PRINTEGR8, the West Coast premier Integrated Marketing event hosted by Westamerica on Wed May 11, was a resounding success.  Over 140 attendees enjoyed four fast-paced, information-packed sessions.  Valuable case studies and marketing success strategies were shared by our presenters, including the USPS, Xerox, International Paper, Xpedx, and Grow Socially.  The Long Beach Hyatt Resort provided a beautiful and comfortable setting, and the creme brulee desert was to die for.

Congratulations to Marc Posch, the lucky winner of our iPad2 door prize drawing.  According to Marc  "(winning the iPad2) was really the icing on the cake. Wow. Thanks again. It will come to good use. What I really liked about the presentation was, I learned a lot about the flexible and customized usage of print within a mostly online dominated marketing mix. We lean very much towards recommending everything online as the way to go these days.. so this was good news to me (as someone with a substantial print background). What's interesting though is, that only a few years ago, online marketing was used to navigate consumers to either a brick&mortar store or to order a brochure/catalog.. now it's completely the other way around. We print brochures to lure customers to our clients' websites/e-shops."

The presentation slides are available for download at PRINTEGR8.

On behalf of Westamerica Graphics and the Print Council, we hope you'll continue to include print media in your marketing mix - for YOUR sake (improved results!) not just ours.

More than twice as many online donors say they were prompted to give an online gift in response to a direct mail appeal compared to when they received an e-mail appeal, according to a national study. Read More...


Learn more facts at PRINTEGR8. 

Westamerica Graphics is proud to host PRINTEGR8.  This premier event, to be held on Wednesday May 11, is presented exclusively for Southern California marketers and media specifiers.

PRINTEGR8 will offer fresh ideas, case studies, and cross-media marketing success stories - in a fast-paced "lunch and learn" mini-conference format.  No hype.  No wild promises.  Just practical, real-world examples of how YOU can generate new business through integrated, multi-channel marketing.

Top industry leaders from Xerox, USPS, Grow Socially, and International Paper will deliver powerful information and tools that you can use to energize your next marketing campaign.  Network with your peers and enjoy lunch together at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Long Beach.

Here's 8 GR8 reasons to attend:

• Social Skills – Learn how to integrate social media into your marketing mix and actually generate measurable results.
• Going Mobile – See examples of how print is re-energizing marketing campaigns through QR codes and SMS messaging.
• Getting Personal – You’ve heard how personalization can drive up response rates, but there are important keys to success you need to learn.
• Cross-Media Conquests – Email, internet, print, pURLs, social – no single media alone will generate consistent results.  Learn how to integrate your marketing campaigns to achieve the business growth you seek.
• Be Sustainable - Learn the truth about the environmental impact of print and electronic communications.
• Meet New Friends – Join an exclusive gathering of marketing and media peers and industry leaders.
• Take It Home – You’ll walk away with TONS of valuable resources, handouts, and tools you can use on your next marketing campaign.
• Healthy Appetite – Bring one, because you’re going to get fed in style at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Long Beach.

Find out more, and register today at PRINTEGR8.com

About the hosts:  Westamerica Graphics provides integrated marketing solutions that drive business growth. With over 30 years of success as a premier commercial printer, Westamerica is now helping their clients integrate print into coordinated, multi-channel campaigns that generate improved response rates and greater returns on their marketing investments.

Much like showing off pictures of a brand new baby, we’re pleased to show off our new G7 Master Certification Seal.  Impressive, right?  So just what is “G7” and why should you care?

One of my favorite sayings is “don’t tell me about the labor pains, just show me the baby”.  (Of course, I’m a guy so there’s no way I can truly relate to labor pains.)  So this post will focus mostly on the “baby” – the benefits of G7 to YOU as a marketer/designer – rather than on the technical hoops we jump through to make it all happen.

Media specifiers, agencies and marketers want to be able to make things “look the same,” regardless of where or how they’re printed.  G7 is an improved method for matching color across multiple devices.  It’s all about calibrating printing presses and proofing systems with the goal of repeatable, consistent color from proof to press, press to press – even across multiple facilities.

Developed by the IDEAlliance and the GRACoL Committee, G7’s biggest breakthrough is its emphasis on gray balance “target values” to monitor and control color.  The "G" refers to calibrating Gray values, while the "7" refers to the seven primary color values: Cyan (C), Magenta (M), Yellow (Y), Black (K), Red (M&Y), Green (C&Y) and Blue (C&M).

What does G7 mean for you?

• The assurance that your final printed materials will match your proofs.

• Quicker press checks, faster make ready times and less paper waste.  Helping us to retain our title as “Home of the Friendly Press Check”.

• Color consistency that’s maintained throughout the press run and across multiple press platforms (even digital devices can be G7 certified).

Westamerica is proud to have achieved the prestigious “G7 Master” designation, the seal of approval granted by IDEAlliance to companies who’ve successfully gone through training, testing, and press form auditing to meet their stringent requirements.  This certification requires renewing and retesting annually to maintain our G7 Master status – your assurance that what you print today can be matched next year as well.

For more information about G7, please visit IDEAlliance.

Clients constantly tell me how welcomed they feel when they visit WAG, and what a positive "vibe" they get when they meet our terrific team members.  I really am proud of our team - and especially so when I see how generous they are.  For the past 20 years we've gathered up tons (maybe literally?) of toys to donate to the annual Toys for Tots program.  Dawn Adair, one of our long-time employees, spearheads this effort every year.  The generosity of our WAG employees is helping to make Christmas morning a little brighter for some deserving kids here in OC.

From our team to you and yours - we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

Doug

Congratulations to our client Felt Design Group, winners of a coveted Gold Award in the 2010 International Davey Awards.  Felt took home the gold for their 2011 Ganahl Lumber Moulding Catalog.  Westamerica is proud to collaborate with Allison DeFord and her talented design team in their quest to produce award-winning work that delivers award-winning results for their clients.

The Davey is the largest and most prestigious awards competition exclusively for the "Davids" of creativity.  David defeated the giant Goliath with a big idea and a little rock - the sort of thing small firms do each year. The annual International Davey Awards honors the achievements of the "Creative Davids" who derive their strength from big ideas, rather than stratospheric budgets.

Learn more about Felt's achievement HERE

We know.  Postage ain’t cheap.

Want to get the biggest bang and the most return for your mailing budget?  Then check out these resources.  We’ve scoured the internet in search of the most helpful resources on direct mail and the use of print in an integrated marketing campaign.  CLICK HERE to open our Creative Mail Resources PDF.

The word is out.  Our WAG U workshop on “CS5: Secrets Revealed” was a big success.

Close to 100 attendees joined our “top secret briefing” on Adobe’s latest and greatest release of Creative Suite 5, presented on October 26.  There was so much to cover that we literally ran out of time (in fact, several attendees hung around for another hour to continue learning about InDesign features).  We appreciated the flexibility and generosity of our presenter, Andrew Strauss – who stuck around until every question in the universe was answered.

We had some fun too.  Tons of silly “spy” door prizes were awarded (check out the International Spy Museum if you’re ever in Washington DC).  Congratulations to our top spy, Frank Chlarson, who solved the “Spy Game” puzzle and was drawn as our Grand Prize winner.  Frank is now the proud owner of a Spy Gear Ultimate Mission Spy Case.  Way to go Frank!

To learn more about the new features in CS5 Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, please CLICK HERE to access Adobe's release notes.