Issue 9

Q2 2014

H&H Graphics, Inc.

QUICK READ

The average American

attention span is a mere 8 seconds.

Here's the kicker, the average attention span of a GOLDFISH is 9 seconds!

So how are you going to grab your share of your customers' limited attention span?

In today's competitive market it is essential to STAND OUT.

There's no question that H&H can help you do just that!

H&H INNOVATES

H&H Graphics is committed to innovation with it's own dedicated R&D team creating and testing new custom inks and coatings for our clients.

This month we are highlighting a new coating:

PRISM!

Prism is a one-pass coating that is light-refracting. The prism effect can be used overall or in spot applications on a variety of substrates to produce the desired reflective, dimensional effect.

There are more than 2,000 prism patterns to choose from that will bring your design to life.

AWWW SHUCKS...

At H&H we pride ourselves on our relationships with our clients (many of whom are more like family these days!) It's comments, like the one below, that remind us why we do what we do and motivates us to keep it up.

"As a 1st time customer of H&H, we were new to silkscreen printing. H&H kindly held our hand through out the whole process, helping us achieve what our customer was looking for in a timely manner."

- April Kemnitz,Worzalla

Idea Center

Here are just a few ideas that we have brought to life recently:

Lavender & vanilla scented paper for a candle company's brochure.

Raised texture simulating the feel of leather on a major shoe retailer's gift card.

Thermochromic ink that reveals with human touch for a television network advertisement.

It Makes $cents

Mmmmm...I 'llbet you can almost smell these chocolates...

now, imagine if you could...

wouldn't it make the chocolate even more irresistible?

Turns out YES! In fact, our sense of smell makes things 35% more irresistible!

Our powerful sense of smell triggers our emotions and memory, and as a result defines our behavior.

Greetings!

With first quarter coming to a close and the cold weather (hopefully!) behind us, we are moving full speed ahead into Spring and the 2nd quarter of 2014.

We are busy printing projects in support of the upcoming SPRING holidays -- from Easter & Mother's Day to Father's Day & Graduation...more PROOF that the weather will turn as the calendar months roll on by.

In this issue we launch a new segment entitled "Even Better If..." which is our best attempt to showcase work we admire...but that would be "EVEN BETTER IF" H&H had been lucky enough to be involved in the project. It is sure to ruffle some feathers, raise some eyebrows and most importantly, get your creative juices flowing!

Don't miss the spotlight below on the thriving Greeting Card industry and take a peak at a new coating that is grabbing a lot of attention from plastic card manufacturers and packaging companies.

Enjoy this issue and, as always, please let us know how we can best serve you!

Best wishes,

Michelle Leissner & the H&H Graphics Team

"EVEN BETTER IF..."

Like you, we thumb through the mail and are INUNDATED

daily with piece after piece of direct mail, countless magazines and stacks of catalogs, with messages from a multitude of companies seeking our (limited) attention, vying for our time, begging us to do... or better yet, BUY something.

At H&H, we constantly find ourselves thinking...

what a clever ad; what a beautiful design; what witty copy... but it would be EVEN BETTER IF...

Perhaps it's the "creative" in us, but we just can't shake the desire to take something great and make it better... more valuable, more persuasive!

That's where H&H comes in...we take your beautiful design, your clever ad, your witty phrase and enhance it with special effects that make it POP! - whether it is a plastic card, stationery, packaging, a poster, a book cover or brochure - we can guarantee to make it STAND OUT from the clutter.

Welcome to our 1st in a series of what we are calling "Even Better If..."

Below is an ad that appealed to us but we think it would be EVEN BETTER IF... this boot actually FELT like suede!

Imagine a soft touch coating over the suede so that it simulated the feel of suede, some texture on the fringe and a leather scent - how's THAT for cutting through the clutter!

Appealing to more than one of our senses influences our emotions and drives behavior...which is surely the sender's intent. For a few extra pennies investment in the piece, the difference in audience interest and engagement would pay for itself many times over.

We would love the opportunity to share ideas with you for your next project.

If you would like to send us a photo of something that you think would be ideal for us to include in our "Even Better If" segment, please do so at information@hhgrfx.com.

Market Spotlight:

GREETING CARDS

The Greeting Card Association (GCA), the U.S. trade association representing publishers and suppliers to the greeting card and social expression industry, reports that the industry continues to generate healthy annual revenues of $7 to $8 billion.

Prior to the healthy annual revenue report, there was some concern within the industry that social media may have replaced greeting cards. Quite the contrary, according to Patti Stracher, EVP of the GCA, who recently said "The widespread use of social media has increased the value of connection, adding a new dimension to how people communicate, but greeting cards continue to play an invaluable role in our social culture." Adding, "human beings crave personal communication in an increasingly impersonal world, and greeting cards are one of the tools to satisfy that craving."

The industry is highly saturated and is full of innovation -- from sound, to light, to motion, making it increasingly difficult for cards to STAND OUT on crowded store shelves.

It is clear that cards sell based upon both design and sentiment, therefore, enhancing existing designs by adding special effects that will make a card stand out on a store shelf and in a customer's hands is CRITICAL! Consider the possibilities of adding scent, texture, glitter or gloss to a design to add just the right PUNCH!

We partner with the largest greeting card retailers in the United States, and also work closely with individual card and stationery designers who want their products to have a special look.

Greeting cards & stationery make up a significant percentage of H&H's existing business. In fact, we have enhanced more than 16 million greeting cards in 2013 alone!

Pitching A New Customer?

Heading to a customer or prospect and need some ideas to pitch? Please give us a call. You will be glad you did! There are always great ideas coming through our doors, since everything we touch has a special effect.

We are available to help you design a piece, brainstorm or learn more about the screen printing process.

Call us at (847) 383-6285 or email us at information@hhgrfx.com

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