Responsive web design

Is your website responsively designed?

Of course you’ve got a great website, and when users view it on their desktop PC or Mac they love it! But how does it work on other, smaller devices: tablets, notebooks, smartphones ...?

The number of people using iPads and iPhones to browse the internet grows daily. And while mobile web browsing is nothing new, many businesses have yet to make the move from the desktop to ensure their websites are easy to view across the spectrum of devices.

The word on the web-design community is that designing for smaller, handheld computers is a bit of a puzzle, falling between the feast of opportunities presented by designing for a desktop PC and the challenge of shrinking to fit when aiming for the mobile market. But it doesn’t have to be that difficult if your design team is up to speed, meaning that:

• a brand new website is successful across the whole spectrum of devices and browsers
• an existing, traditional desktop-designed website can quickly become mobile- or tablet-friendly.

As with most things, there are always other options. For example:

• you might decide to deliver different pages of your websites on mobile phones, so will need to consider whether tablets should get the desktop version or the phone version. 

Decisions, decisions …

The first option – a brand new website – is pretty much a no-brainer: these days, when designing from scratch, the web designer will know the markets the end product has to reach and can go ahead in full knowledge of the customer’s expectations.

The complexity of the second option – revising what you’ve already got – will depend on how your existing website was designed, but in most instances implementation involves relatively simple tweaks.

The third option – well, that’s your prerogative, and certainly achievable whichever way you jump, though there are specific, and perhaps less obvious, considerations for this type of application.  

In all instances, careful development and testing will ensure your website works successfully across the range of browsers, from Internet Explorer and Chrome, through Firefox and Safari to Opera … and any others you care to mention.

As a basic start point, there are a few simple tricks to consider, such as:

Clickable to touchable: what you click on a desktop PC or Mac needs to be big enough to be a touch target on a tablet or smartphone.

Font sizes: as tablets have smaller screens than typical desktop and notebook computers, if a website is designed to a fixed width, it will be shrunk down on a smaller device; it is essential that the text is not too small to read, and that the touch targets are big enough on such gadgets as the iPad mini.

There are lots more, of course. And that is where Apple Print and Creative comes in. Our web design team and web builders have the latest technological advances well under control; their combined experience means they know just about every trick in the book and are magic at designing new websites and tweaking existing ones. They work hand-in-hand with clients to ensure they fully understand the image a company wishes to portray. Any proposal for the design and development of a website – whether adding to or updating an existing site or building one from scratch – will ensure that the end result meets the needs of a client and, in turn, their customers. And our ‘webbers’ won’t be absent friends: they involve the client throughout the process of design and development, giving the opportunity to fine-tune along the way to be certain that the end product fits the bill exactly.

Why not have a chat with us about how you could be presenting your media face to the world? 

Planning your next exhibition?

Perhaps you are having a stand at the Royal County of Berkshire Show this September? Or have you hired a venue to promote a new product? Perhaps you are travelling abroad to win new business? Or maybe you are having an in-store promotion?

If you are planning to hold or attend an exhibition to promote your business, you may already have a vision of what your stand will look like.

Big and bold is bound to get you noticed – and if you are investing time, money and energy being there, why not make your company really stand out from the crowd? With careful planning, design and printing, what your company displays can knock spots off your competitors.

Grabbing people’s attention is key. Remember the three-second rule: in the three-seconds it will take a potential customer to pass by your stand, they need to:

•  Notice your stand
•  Clock who you are and what you do
•  Be given a reason to stop

And this is where Apple Print & Creative comes in.

Banners and banner stands

Our banners and banner stands are a cost-effective and portable way to advertise what you are offering – before, during and even after the event.  Banners can be designed to your specification by our team of innovative designers, or you can provide your own press-ready artwork if you prefer. 

Freestanding banner stands are available in a range of sizes and come complete with their own carry case for ease of transportation. Whether you are going to use the banner indoors or outside, we have the right solution for you. 

Posters

There’s nothing much simpler or more cost-effective than a poster for grabbing attention. Just like banners, our team is on hand to discuss your requirements with you and offer advice. But of course you may have your own team of designers, so you provide the press-ready artwork and we will get your posters printed for you in just a few days.

Other printed materials

Banners and posters will get you noticed. But what about when someone has stopped at your stand? How will you engage with them?

Obviously your stand will be manned and your staff will be conversing with potential clients, but point-of-sale displays of brochures, flyers and leaflets to hand out or for people to pick up and take away with them are  important additions. You may already have a stock of stationery for just this purpose – but better to check now that you are going to have enough and get more ordered if necessary.

And if you are ordering new supplies, remember how much quality counts: the impression you give by way of your printed material may be the one thing a potential client judges you on, so make that impression a good one.

Was it a bird? Was it a plane?

No, it was a potential customer. One of the perhaps less obvious pre-printed items to have readily to hand at an exhibition is a simple form to capture the contact details of visitors to your stand. There is little point having people come and enjoy your all-singing, all-dancing display if you just let them disappear back into the crowd without you ever knowing who they were or what you might have done for them ….  

A properly designed and printed form will make you appear confident and professional.  Again, it’s all about creating the right impression.

Time is of the essence

At Apple Print & Creative, we love to help. And the longer the lead-in time to your exhibition, the more helpful we can be. Let us know when your next exhibition is, and let’s get discussing your requirements. And if that happens to be the Royal County of Berkshire Show this autumn, June is not too soon. 

Marketing through print

The Royal County of Berkshire Show is looming on the horizon. Now is a good time to think about your point-of-sale requirements: flyers, leaflets, posters, banners … 

But hang on a minute. Why would you need printed material? Isn’t that yesterday’s news? Not at all. 

The best marketing campaigns use a multi-media approach, and everyone recognizes the benefits of going on-line with social networking and websites. But it cannot stop there. The printed word is still – and always will be – a formidable tool when it comes to advertising. After all, where would we be without leaflets, flyers, brochures, catalogues, stationery, posters, banners …? 

Print is inherently visual, and combining text with punchy graphics can be extremely powerful. A strong company logo, for example, is essential in creating an instantly recognizable brand. Whatever your feelings about McDonalds, you have to admit that golden arch has served them well; seeing it on a flyer with nothing else would bring their name to mind. That is branding at its finest. 

Printed material is highly effective when promoting a company profile. How you present your image will determine how the public perceives you, and is the first thing a potential customer will connect with. So good quality printing is a must. Get your competitors worried by doing it better. 

And there is a permanency about print that you don’t get from flicking through a screen. Big bold posters and banners have a long life span. Stationery is as much your ‘shop window’ as, well, your shop window! Letterhead, compliment slips, order forms – they all have a long shelf life and reach a lot of people. 

We have to accept that a certain percentage of printed material ultimately ends up in the bin, but before that happens there is an opportunity to capture your audience and encourage them to retain that flyer, that leaflet. And of course, much printed material is kept for a long time: a catalogue; an annual report; a calendar. And when that item is referred to, you want the emotive response it creates to be a good one. The design, the quality, the words, the images used all go towards generating the right response. 

Another benefit of print is the high volume opportunity. It is often important that whatever you are advertising reaches a large number of people, and print is unbeatable when it comes to targeting a specific audience of any size. Think mail shots for example. After all, there is still a relatively high proportion of the nation who choose not to have a computer. 

Print is paramount in reaching these people – and everyone else at the same time. High volume printing can also be cost effective: the more you print, the cheaper it becomes. However, that does not suit everyone – for example, you might not have storage space for loads of stationery. Not a problem. Print on demand is quick and easy, and delivers what you want, when you want. 

So, back to the Royal County of Berkshire Show. As we said, it’s looming on the horizon and now is a good time to think about your point-of-sale requirements: flyers, leaflets, posters, banners and so on. You know you’re going to need them, and the sooner you get them ordered the less worry they will give you with all the other 101 things you need to do between now and September. 

Let Apple Print & Creative take that worry from you – give us a call to discuss your requirements or pop the details into our enquiry form for an instant quote. After all, print is what we know.

So much printing!

Our print room is jam packed this week with leaflets, posters and brochures. The stalwart team of Printers and Finishers have over 500000 pieces of print to get out over the next five days and they will have to work like demons to get it all finished. 

The Litho department is busy running leaflets for “The Horse of the Year Show” and as you can imagine there are quite a few required, the Press is running at a steady 11000 sheets an hour and will soon eat up all that paper, and when it does we have to start on the new Newbury Bid printing for the Newbury Fest events. 

Our Large format team is also full on this week, posters, banners and Sign Boards, this process is probably the most hands on of all our departments with all the cutting, hemming and laminating that is usually required….still big is better right? Well that’s what we hope here anyway. 

The Digital printing department is never quiet and our Canon VP Image press hardly ever sleeps – this printing press can cope with one million prints per month and covers all the same materials as our litho press – it covers the shorter run lengths, lots of training manuals, business cards and leaflets when less than a few thousand are needed – I may even need to get on there running some jobs myself to help out (yes, it’s helping out before you say anything). 

Finally when it’s all printed and dry (if it’s a litho job) the finishing team has to step in and do it’s part. Be that cutting, creasing, scoring and folding, they do the lot – they are always on the lookout for any quality issues that may have been spotted and we believe that last minute check is essential – let’s hope this keeps up….they are only happy when busy so if you need anything printed please don’t hesitate to call us or click here for our online form.