Little League Baseball Banners | Sports Banners | PrintFirm.com

Our vinyl banner giveaway ends tomorrow (click here to enter!), so we thought we’d wrap things up with a post about our national pastime. Little league baseball season usually ends in May or early June, which means your junior players are gearing up for awards ceremonies as well as a team parties. Even though the spring games are coming to a close, there are plenty of summer leagues and sports camps to get hyped up for. Vinyl banners are perfect for these occasions because they’re built tough enough for outdoor display. Any team would love to have its name featured on a big banner beside the dugout, but there are plenty of other creative banner designs online for your inspiration. I picked a nice mix of concepts to show you how to get the most out of this product.

Youth Baseball Team Banners Ideas

All Star Player Award

Many little league teams and school sponsored athletics programs give awards to the most value players. The criteria is usually based on performance stats and winners take home trophies as well as certificates or pins to treasure. Change up the prizes this year by including a vinyl banner along with the other offerings. Nothing boosts a kid’s self-esteem more than this kind of recognition and the proud parents will have plenty of awesome photo ops with the banner in the background.

Most Spirited Player Award

Not every kid can be a star athlete— that’s no reason to make anyone feel left out. There’s probably a kid or two on your team who isn’t very coordinated, but whose enthusiasm makes up for his or her shortcomings on the field. Express your support for the less talented team members with a special vinyl banner recognizing their positive attitude. This way you’re leading by example and teaching the kids that sportsmanship matters as much as abilities.

Thank You Banners for Team Sponsors

Did your team purchase much needed equipment because of a donation from a local business? Did your neighborhood pizza place let you host a fundraiser in their dining room? Show your appreciation for the folks who helped make your season happen with a thank you banner. They’ll be more inclined to pitch in next year, you can bet on that!

Best Coach Banners

Don’t forget to thank the coach and any parents or volunteers, too!

Christian Church Softball Banners

Christian churches and faith communities participate in league sports, so they can use any of the ideas above. Church groups will want to focus their designs on promoting the team along with spreading the good Word. Since church teams consist of adults, the graphics don’t have to be child-oriented. Instead, churches should emphasize the fun of attending a family-friendly event with like-minded people. Here’s a nice example that delivers a strong Christian message with a patriotic theme ideal for a 4th of July game:

Church Softball Team Banner
Source

Community Insights

Are you printing a banner for a youth or church sports team? Designers: have you worked on a similar graphic project? Share your experience in the comments below!

Trade Show Banners and Marketing Psychology | PrintFirm.com

Vinyl banners are trade show staples for obvious reasons. There’s no better way to decorate your booth at a professional conference or networking event. But knowing what you need and actually creating effective presentations are two different things. It’s important to remember that trade shows attract a wide range of people, so your display must appeal to a large, diverse group. To help you get a better understanding of your audience, we found this awesome infographic that delves into a bit of marketing psychology:

The infographic above is made from a personal point of view, but you as a marketer need to concentrate on pleasing all the types of trade show attendees. Of course, you will want to zero in on your target market to pull in the most leads; the problem is that people in your target market don’t have a uniform mindset. Instead of developing multiple campaigns to suit each type of individual, focus on designing the biggest possible net to capture everyone at once. Your booth display should have a distinct feel to it and present a singular message. Here’s what you will need to consider in order to turn each kind of passerby into a hot lead.

Client Focused Banner Design Ideas

  • The Scholar– This person wants to learn more about your business, but will dismiss you immediately if you commit a single grammatical or spelling error. Proofread everything yourself, and then get other people (friends, colleagues, or employees) to do the same. Get as many eyes as possible to review your marketing materials before they go to print. Scholars also appreciate clever copy, so don’t be afraid to get creative with your calls to action.
  • The Explorer– Adventurous by nature, these people are in search of the new and unusual. Draw them in by positioning your booth as a hub of exciting, fresh information. When you’re working on your banners, choose bold colors that they will notice from the other end of the arena. These people are after innovation, so you will have to try harder if you’re not releasing a new product or performing live demonstrations.
  • The Detective-Luckily these folks are very receptive to marketers. In fact, they will likely gobble up anything you offer from brochures to business cards. Before you get too stoked on their response, remind yourself that they’re collecting info to influence future purchasing decisions. That means they will wait until the event is over to really digest what you’re offering. They will be comparing you to your competitors, but they’ll delve a lot deeper than graphics. Detectives generally care more about content than visuals, and they appreciate straight forward data. Crunch the numbers, wow them with fancy charts, and show them how you will improve their ROI. They’ll be hooked, guaranteed.
  • The Shopper-Unlike detectives, shoppers are ready to bite on the trade show floor. You can usually spot them touting an iPhone or tablet along with bags of products they’ve already purchased. They’re after STUFF that will help their business or enrich their working life. Give them a big sexy banner advertising a new product or service, and you’ll have to beat them off with a stick. If you don’t have any newfangled gadgets, offer solid incentives i.e. discounts, free trials, etc. to get them to crack their wallets open.
  • The Fashionista-These are members of the uber trendy crowd, and they will make you feel as though you’re back in the world of high school cliques. Much like teenagers, they’ll ignore you if you’re not on the cutting edge of your industry. They’re after what’s hot, which means your graphics must be nothing short of eye-popping. They’re more about appearance than substance, so use this tendency to your advantage. For example, if they notice a crowd gathering around your booth, they will get involved just to be seen as in the know. One last note: make sure you’re impeccably dressed for the occasion. You don’t have to be covered in designer clothing, but your wardrobe should be up to date with the latest styles for the season.
  • The Pillager-This may be the only trade show attendee you want to avoid. Pillagars go to trade shows for one reason: to collect free stuff. Don’t let their greed stop you from creating promotional items, but be weary of folks walking around decked out in typical branded freebies, such as lanyard key chains and notepads. Keep in mind that these people search for giveaways; think twice about advertising freebies on a giant banner unless you want to deal with moochers all day.
  • The Social Butterfly-The key with these people is personalization. This rule of thumb goes for your marketing materials and you as a business owner or booth operator. You obviously can’t personalize flyers the way you do an email blast, but there are other ways to give your booth a human touch. For starters, use the word “you” on your banners, and add a headshot to your business card. Since these folks are very personable, they will probably be in a group with other people. Approach the pack, introduce yourself, and strike up a conversation. Find out which events or after parties they’ll be attending, and do your best to follow up later. If you’re able to remember their names at the end of the night, chances are you’ve made a lasting impression that will bring in paying customers.
  • The Judge-You’ll probably see a few folks standing on the sidelines taking in the whole scene from a distance. If that standoffish stance doesn’t give you any clues, I’ll spell it out for you—never pitch these people with the hard sell. They appreciate candor, but they will only approach you after they’ve already decided you’re worth meeting. Entice them with banners that demonstrate something unique about your business. Stability is another aspect you want to emphasize by stating how long you’ve been in business. If you’re a startup, then you’re facing an uphill battle with judges. You may find that your audience fits into the social, explorer, and shopper categories.

Don’t Get Caught Without Your Social Business Card | PrintFirm.com

Guest Post by

Social Business Card
Do you have a “social”business card? This happened to me…once. It was a lesson learned and an opportunity to leverage networking.

Picture it—-you’re at a networking event. So many great people, potential partners, clients, and mentors are in your presence. What a tremendous opportunity to connect with people who can help your business grow and expand.

At the end of an enlightening conversation, a potential partnership connection asks, “What’s your Twitter handle?” You have a business card with the pertinent information: name, credentials, your title, address, phone number, email address maybe. But, your Twitter handle is not included—just never thought it was important. So, you proceed to write it on the back of your business card. How professional! (Not!)

If this hasn’t happened to you yet, it will. This (because you’re reading right now) is an opportunity to be proactive, before the situation arises (in my case–lesson learned.). Have your Twitter handle printed directly onto the front or back of your business card. Turn opportunities and connections made offline, into the building of ongoing relationships online.

In this blog post, I’m focusing on Twitter as the first choice, only because the amount of text space needed is far less than other network vanity links. For example, a Twitter icon with with your Twitter handle is much easier to fit on a card than a very long Facebook vanity URL. Plus, many don’t even understand how to key in your vanity name, or search for you on Facebook. I’ve become frustrated before with trying to ‘find” a business within Facebook search. Some people may not put as much effort into connecting with you as do my fellow social media fanatics. You’re safer expecting the person receiving your card to know how to locate a Twitter account. However, If you have enough space on your business card, include more than one social media profile; but don’t overdo it.

Not sure how to design a “social” business card? Start by perusing the Internet for examples of how other businesses have applied their social media presence on business cards. The options for how to layout a social business card are only limited by your imagination. Consider your brand image, company mission, and vision when coming up with a draft. Then, review designs others have created like those presented by Mashable.com. Then, tweak your draft to come up with a final design.

Additionally, keep these tips in mind when creating your “social” business card:
• Don’t use too many icons or social media links. You don’t want the card to look “busy” and overwhelm the person reading it. Stick with 3 or less.
• Make sure to include prominent social icons on your website. This way people who visit the site will know how to find you on social media outlets.
• You can minimize business card content by making your web address prominent. People will know to go to you website for more information. This allows for more room to make the business card “social” with several icons.

Your printing company probably even offers templates that already include designs for a”social” business card, to help you get started. If not, use a general template and Simply add your icons or social media urls to the design you choose. However you get it done, one thing is for sure; the next time you are asked, “What’s your Twitter handle?”—don’t get caught without it.


About the Author

Elana Winfrey SilverBridge Social MediaElana Winfrey is the Creator & Results Strategist at SilverBridge Social Media. SilverBridge Social Media provides social media marketing education and consultation to soloprenuers, small, and and mid-sized businesses.

Remember Recognize and Reconcile | PrintFirm.com

Dear PrintFirm Customers and Blog Readers: There will be no blog posts today. Those of you who follow us on social media may have noticed that our profile photos are currently black. Please read the press release below originally published on PR Web to learn why we put our logo aside for the day. We ask everyone in the community to join us in asking for recognition; there can be no reconciliation without recognition. We will go black every year on the 24th of April until we accomplish our goal.

Armenian Genocide Recognize

Local Business Goes Black to Commemorate Armenian Genocide: PrintFirm Seeks Recognition for 1915

PrintFirm remembers the Armenian Genocide of 1915 by staging a silent social media protest. Canoga Park company vows to raise awareness until all world governments acknowledge the WWI era tragedy.

1915 changed my family forever. Because of what happened, Armenians are scattered instead of being together in our home country.- Nick Artounian

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) April 24, 2013

Genocide awareness month calls attention to the unspeakable chapters in human history, but one tragic tale remains a victim of widespread denial. Many highly publicized events honor those who perished in Nazi Germany, yet few have the courage to speak out against the 1915 massacre of 1.5 million innocents at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. Armenian activists admit that the recognition movement is gaining momentum; a Kurdish leader in the Turkish Parliament recently made a public apology to the Armenian people on behalf of his ancestors. Still, survivors will not rest until every nation accepts responsibility for the past to demonstrate a commitment to a peaceful future. In the US, thousands of human rights advocates pay homage to the deceased in the hopes of finally gaining official recognition from the Federal Government. Even some businesses are participating in local protests despite political pressure to ignore this controversial issue. PrintFirm in Canoga Park is expressing solidarity with Los Angeles area activists by “going black” for a day on social media sites. The commercial printing company will replace its profile picture with a black icon to promote grass roots support for this worthy cause.

PrintFirm manager Alex Vartanian reflects on how this decision may impact the business: “It’s a risk I’m willing to take. I don’t care if we offend anyone. I don’t want to do business with people who can’t face the facts. What’s more offensive to me is sitting by and acting like nothing happened. The denial is beyond offensive, it’s immoral.” An overwhelming body of evidence points to a systematic extermination of Armenians that began in present day Istanbul on April 24th, 1915. The men were slaughtered while women, children, and the elderly perished during forced deportation to the Syrian Desert. Ottoman troops purportedly raped and tortured the marchers at will. Armenians weren’t the only targets as Assyrian Christians and Greeks also died at the hands at the Ottomans (armenian-genocide.org).

To date, 20 countries and numerous municipalities recognize these events as genocide with a few notable exceptions. The Turkish government insists that no genocide occurred and attributes the casualties to surrounding civil and interstate conflicts at that time. The Turkish regime argues that violence occurred on both sides, and claims Armenians committed similar acts against Muslims during revolts. Meanwhile, the US as well as the United Nations maintain a neutral position that many interpret as a form of passive denial. Scholarly opinions generally substantiate the Armenian version of the massacre. Historians identify the Armenian atrocity as the first genocide of the 20th century, a distinction that provides little comfort to the handful of refugees alive today. Survivors fear that without openly confronting the legacy of violence, others will be inspired to engage in ethnic cleansing. These concerns are not without merit. Hitler reportedly used the Armenian genocide to justify the invasion of Poland (dailymail.co.uk).

PrintFirm CEO Nick Artounian echoes Vartanian’s sentiment: “1915 changed my family forever. Because of what happened, Armenians are scattered instead of being together in our home country. I am doing this for all the Armenian people. I am not afraid to stand up for them. If I have to use my business to spread the word, so be it.” Artounian is prepared for a potential backlash, but the company anticipates a positive response from its online communities. Los Angeles is home to 2nd largest immigrant population in the Armenian diaspora. The Glendale area in particular holds a large concentration of Armenian residents as does the Hollywood enclave known as “Little Armenia”. Several memorial events are happening throughout the city, so PrintFirm’s gesture will not fall on deaf ears. The company plans to repeat the blackout every year until the issue is finally laid to rest.

About PrintFirm.com

Printfirm, Inc. has been a trusted leader in online printing since 1996. We specialize in full color, high quality, fast turnaround offset printing. We proudly offer the lowest possible prices for our printing solutions while maintaining our commitment to excellent customer care and professional results.

Church Banner Ideas | Church Banners Designs | PrintFirm.com

Vinyl banners aren’t just for businesses. While most of our customers order banners to promote brick and mortar businesses, we don’t want to limit this product’s potential. There are plenty of other ways to use vinyl banners. For instance, many faith based organizations print banners as a way of attracting new members in the local community. We know that people of all religious beliefs hold events, services, and celebrations, but Christian churches usually end up reaching out to us for whatever reason. The problem is that churches typically can’t afford professional design services, unless there’s a graphic artist involved in the parish. For this reason, I decided to find some unique examples of church banners for your heavenly design inspiration!


5 Creative Church Banners

Creative Church Roll Up Banners

EnRoute Church Branding

A church is a brand, although not in the traditional sense. Churches are brands in the sense that every religious group has its own identity, mission, and goals. The roll-up banners above are not focused on delivering a specific message. Instead, they concentrate on showing the church’s broad values i.e. love, service, and positive change. The artwork reminds me of PacMan, which gives the banners a cool, retro style.


 

Life Church Creative Easter Banner
Life Church Easter Service Campaign

This banner comes from an agency who helped build a multi-channel print campaign to promote Life Church’s annual 3 day Easter festival. The striking visuals illustrate the Christian themes of redemption and new life without relying on any of the familiar church staples, such as crosses, doves, and Easter eggs. The campaign obviously targeted adults as the dark undertones would not resonate with children.


 

Gilroy Church Creative Roll Up Banners

Gilroy Presbyterian Church Easter Invitation

The above images actually appeared on postcards, but they would make compelling banners, too. These have a very modern feel akin to a typical print ad you would see inside a magazine. These come from another agency, which is no surprise considering the artistic direction. The agency website mentions the fact that they were permitted to step outside of the spiritual box. Religious leaders may not feel comfortable giving designers free reign, but I think these results should instill confidence in creatives. By contrasting superficial pop culture items with a serious tagline, the images really pack a strong punch.


 

Epikos Church Worship Services Banner

Epikos Church Worship Sundays

The original graphics appeared on a poster, not a vinyl banner. Nevertheless, the two items are fairly similar in terms of their marketing purposes. The concept here is to reach new members on a personal level with an inviting quote from the Pastor. The model should speak to a younger crowd with the clearly visible tattoos. The way he’s holding the Bible appears a bit awkward, as though he may be unsure about attending church services. This piece would go a long way in attracting people from a faster crowd in an urban environment.


 

Youth Ministries Banner Designs

Youth Ministry Roll Up Banners

Churches always face challenges with trying to connect with teens. It’s hard to give religious artwork a fresh feel without coming off as cheesy. These banners feature bold colors with street inspired stencils. The large white text includes copy that would be right at home on a trendy t-shirt. These are probably the best banners for a youth group I’ve come across.


Faith Community Soundoff

Are you a member of a faith community in search of awesome graphic art? Are you a designer working on a project for a religious client? Share your design tips or questions in the comments below!

Green Printing for Earth Day 2013 | PrintFirm.com

Biodegradable Vinyl banner for Earth Day marketing.

It’s no secret that the printing industry gets a lot of flak from environmentalists. We know these folks have the best of intentions, and raise valid concerns about print marketing campaigns. Here at PrintFirm, we do our best to offer green printing solutions, such as recycled paper, eco-friendly inks, and biodegradable vinyl banners. Our new Xerox iGen4 Digital Press happens to be one of the most environmentally conscious commercial printing machines ever made.

Print Marketing and Sustainability

We’re not the only big players in the printing world to embrace green technology. In fact, the print sector collectively made huge leaps towards reducing negative environmental impacts in the last couple of years. HP and Xerox in particular really lead by example as both manufacturing companies demonstrate a strong commitment to decreasing their carbon footprints. If you’re a business owner or freelance designer, we suggest you check out HP’s online carbon footprint calculator to gauge your non-commercial conservation efforts. Adobe is doing their part on the design end; adopt the Adobe PDF Workflow to cut down on waste in your office!

How to Run A Green Print Advertising Campaign

You don’t have to be a heavy hitting print marketer to get involved. First off, you should not feel bad about buying inked advertising. Your priority is ROI, and print media delivers in that department. If anyone gives you a hard time about your materials, remind them that computers also produce carbon dioxide, so going completely digital isn’t exactly a greener alternative. According to the UK Government Economic Service, print pieces actually have lower carbon footprints than their online counterparts. Since print media lasts for a long time, the associated emissions occur during production. Online ads eat up a lot more energy over time due to powering up electronic devices.

The best thing you can do for the earth would be to invest in professional design and only send highly targeted ads. Be sure to personalize the address labels instead of using a generic term, i.e. “resident.” This way your flyers, brochures, and coupons will be sent to interested customers who won’t mistake them for junk mail. You might want to add a bit of artwork reminding recipients to recycle your ads instead of throwing them away if they’re not interested.

Take the Green Printing Pledge

Are you ready to step up your green initiatives? Tell us how your business is setting green goals and sticking to them in the comments below!

How to Design Small Business Banners | PrintFirm.com

Trust Us We're Designers Vinyl Banner

We get a lot of questions about banner design from the small biz community. Most of the time, we hear from business owners who get the concept, but aren’t sure what to put on these mini-billboards. This is one of the reasons why we recommend working with a professional designer on these types of projects. An experienced graphic artist will be able to create exactly what you need in a timely manner. Still, you should have ideas in mind before you commission your designer of choice. Creatives can’t read your mind, so you need to be able to articulate your campaign goals.

5 Vinyl Banner Design Tips

The list below contains 5 key components to effective banners in order of importance.

  • Layout– Layout is the kind of word you may expect to hear from a web designer, but composition also plays a big role in print media. Your banner needs to be arranged in way that attracts attention and gets your point across. If you’re planning to use your banner outside to bring in foot traffic from the street, then you only have a few split seconds to impress. We recommend placing the strongest images towards the center of the piece to avoid distraction. When it comes to banners, clutter is your worst enemy. In fact, consider spitting your banner into two pieces to be displayed side by side as this gives you more space to work with.
  • Banner Text– You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Keep it simple, stupid!” more times than you care to remember. At the risk of sounding repetitive, well, trim the fat till you’re down to nothing but bare bones copy. What does that mean in plain English? First off, don’t try to promote more than 1 thing in a single banner. The golden rule of banner advertising is 1 banner, 1 message. The message could be that you’re having a grand opening event, announcing a sale, or introducing a new product. It doesn’t really matter as long as you define a singular campaign objective. Ask yourself what you want people to do when they see your banner. Make this into a newspaper type headline, and then reduce the text into an ultra-compact, action oriented package. Don’t be afraid to spell things out for your audience. A banner that says, “Grand Opening, Say Hello!” will get more traction than a mere “Grand Opening!” announcement with no call to action.
  • Typography– If this word conjures up visions of pretentious art students sipping expensive lattes, resist the urge to tune me out. Reason being, typography will deliver the ROI you’re after. Choose your fonts wisely, and pay attention to the finer textual details. Earlier we mentioned composition, which applies to text spacing, size, and punctuation (or lack thereof). Recommended banner fonts include Helvetica, Veranda, Lead Gothic, Old Sans Black, and Trebuchet MS. We don’t want to stifle your creativity, but script fonts rarely translate well on vinyl banners.
  • Identifies– This is a fancy way of referring to the stuff that pertains to your brand, such as the company name, logo, website, etc. It’s up to you how much contact information you put on a banner, but don’t try to cram everything in (see banner text section). A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself whether or not the identifier relates to your call to action. Are you trying to get people into your store? Your logo will serve this purpose more than your web address. Save your URL, phone number, and other contact info for a networking convention banner.
  • Color Choice and Contrast– This might sound odd because color is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about design. It’s last on our list because color often gets in the way of other considerations in the design process. Colors are very easy to change in any graphics program, so don’t spend too much time stressing over shades until everything else is in place. Color selection should be your final turn on the road to the printing press. When you’re picking banner colors, go for bold contrast between the text, images, and background. Since we’re discussing small biz marketing, it may be best to stick to a 2 color banner. Red on white, black on white, or blue and white will make your message stronger and won’t cause eye strain.

Vinyl Banner Giveaway | Free Contest | PrintFirm.com

Vinyl Banner Giveaway PrintFirm

Free Vinyl Banner Contest from PrintFirm.com

 

*Business Owners*Local Merchants*Salespeople*Real Estate Agents*Trade Show Marketers*

Increase your exposure with a FREE BUSINESS BANNER from the best online printing company. Here’s your chance to print your own reusable banner for indoor or outdoor display. Custom banners are ideal marketing tools for conferences, trade show booths, summer events, and small business street signage. Our fade resistant vinyl banners feature photo quality images that stand up to minor surface scratches. Frayed edges won’t be an issue either because we hem the perimeter for enhanced support. We pride ourselves on green printing solutions, which is why our vinyl banners use eco-friendly inks. Remember, banners aren’t just for commercial purposes. You can create beautiful banners for weddings, Mother’s or Father’s Day, graduation parties, kids’ sporting events, or a company picnic on the 4th of July!


How to Enter the PrintFirm Vinyl Banner Giveaway

Prep your graphics for print and enter today! Here are the official contest details:

PrintFirm Vinyl Banner Giveaway

Giveaway Starts on Wednesday, April 18th, 2013 and Ends on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2013!

1 Lucky WINNER Will be Randomly Chosen by Random.org at 12pm on 5/02/2013

Prize Details

One Free Medium Sized Vinyl Banner

Size: 3 ft. x 6 ft. (36 in x 72 in)

Paper Type: Glossy, Matte, or Biodegradable

Includes Hem and Grommets for Easy Setup

Printing On Front Side Only

4 to 6 Business Days Turnaround

Complementary Shipping

Up to $100 Value

Limit 1 Per Entry Per Person

Winner Must Provide Print Ready Artwork! For more information on printing specs, please see our helpful printing graphics guide. If Artwork is not Available, PrintFirm Will Create a Custom Design for Only $37.50 (50% Regular Custom Design Price).

Please note: Winner Must Respond to Notification Email Within 48 Hours Or Another Winner Will Be Selected!

Best of Luck and May the Best Banner Design Win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway Featured on Blog Giveaway Directory.
Also featured on Hypersweep.

This giveaway is listed at All Things Bloggy.

As seen on ContestHeat.com!

Print vs. Web Design Infographic and Discussion | PrintFirm.com

Since we are a commercial printing company, we run into plenty of design problems on a regular basis. For whatever reason, there seems to be an epidemic of designers completely unfamiliar with the print process from a technical as well as artistic standpoint. Perhaps their college courses never mentioned print media or maybe they were too afraid to admit their lack of experience to the client. Either way, we think it’s time for a refresher course on the difference between print and web design. Instead of sending us artwork you’re not sure about, take a minute to review the print design cheat sheet below:

Print Tech Specs Infographic

Print vs Web Infographic
Source

Print vs. Web Graphics

Good design transcends the medium, but there are some elements to keep in mind when you’re creating graphics for an inked environment. The infographic above includes common print dimensions; web design is far more flexible in terms of layout. Our eyes are accustomed to seeing a sidebar with a lot of flashing banners on the web. Print is static, so your layout should be free of clutter that will detract from the message. Digital graphics send messages, too, just not in the same way. There is a lot less competition for the audience’s attention on a printed page, which means you don’t have to go for a loud look. The flat design trend feels very print-inspired as the artwork avoids common web effects, such as blinding gloss and dramatic gradients.

Typography is always important, yet web designers tend to underestimate its impact on a printed page. Basically, typography is to print what CSS is to HTML. Can you build a website without CSS? Sure, there are a couple of outdated websites floating around with pure HTML. They’re not very aesthetically pleasing because there’s no real style in play. With print marketing, you don’t have to find the perfect font to drive your point across. And you can ignore the way text size, strokes, word placement, and italics interact to communicate emphasis. But this bare bones approach isn’t going to win you any awards for innovation. At the very least, you need to concentrate on readability.

Design Community Insight

Graphic designers, we know you have strong opinions on this subject. Let’s get some input from the professional artists in our community. How do you approach print projects vs. web work? What advice do you have for design graduates without a lot of print experience?

Smoke Shop Business Cards Designs | PrintFirm.com

A little birdie told us that the end of April is the busiest time of the year for businesses who sell tobacco products as well as smoking accessories. These types of companies are usually small independent retailers with a fairly dedicated fan base similar to that of a favorite local bar or restaurant. We realize that smoke shops are a pretty big category that encompasses lots of storefronts who cater to specific niches. For this reason, I took the liberty of dividing these design concepts into 3 groups of the most common kinds of smoke shops. Enjoy!

Tobacco Themed Business Card Templates

We’ve got plenty of free smoke shop business card designs on our website, but we’ll show you some outside samples just in case you don’t find any of our artwork appealing.

Cigarette Pack Business Card PSD
Cigarette Pack Business Card PSD

This card design would suit the needs of anyone who primarily sells cigarettes. Please note that the above template is NOT free, but it’s very affordable as well as print ready.


 

Flames PSD
Hi Resolution Flames Pack

While this package isn’t made solely for business cards, the flame imagery can easily be incorporated into a smoke shop’s brand identity.


 

Vintage cigarette smoker card design
Vintage Smoker Retro Card

The above image doesn’t really qualify as a customizable template as it’s a product for sale on another site. Still, you don’t have to actually use the graphics to get the picture. An early 20th century inspired design could go a long way in attracting tobacco connoisseurs. This card also belongs under the cigar and Hookah heading.

Cigar and Hookah Lounge Design Inspiration

 

professsional cigar store business card design
Sleek Professional Business Card

This design contains no references to smoking, cigars, etc. so you may be wondering why it’s on the list. Cigar smokers tend to be white collar types who appreciate the finer things in life; I this card appeals to their sense of taste and class.


 

Modern Smoke Shop Business Card Template
Modern Social Hookah Lounge Card

If the previous card feels a bit too stuffy for your image, try this crisp card on for size. The design appeals to a younger crowd without sacrificing tasteful elements. Since the file is a PSD, you can easily beautify the card with details that relate to your products directly.

Head Shop Business Card Design

Head shop business card with sunburst design
Sunburst with Seal PSD

Smoke shops who focus on alternative smoking accessories will want to give off a friendly, relaxed vibe. A subtle sunburst business card makes your brand feel inviting instead of stale.


 

Head Shop Business Card with Crown
Colorful Crowns

This Free PSD template clearly works in nearly any color. The crown icon reminds me of hip hop roots while the elegant font choice ensures that your brand will be taken seriously.