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Thursday, December 30, 2010

Holiday Fun (A/K/A Vortex) Survey Results

Thanks for joining in the Holiday Survey fun! 
We had 62 responses and the lucky winners are listed below. Congratulations to our winners!

The results of the survey are as follows with the correct answer given.

Question 1:  What did Frosty the Snowman have for a nose?
We managed to fool quite a few of you, who were obviously thinking about the last snowman you created.  The correct answer:  A button.  Here's the video: Frosty the Snowman


Question #2: What is the Chinese New Year Zodiac Symbol?
Sorry, Tiger was last year and Dragon is next year. The correct answer:  Rabbit. 
For your information, people born in the Year of the Rabbit are articulate, talented, and ambitious. They are virtuous, reserved, and have excellent taste, which is why they use Young's Printing.
Here's are all of the zodiac animals for your files: Chinese Zodiacs




Question #3:  The Grinch is a cuddly as a ______________.
Porcupine?  Close.  But, the correct answer:  A cactus.  Here's the song if you don't believe us: The Grinch







Question #4:  What does Alvin want for Christmas in the Chipmunk Song?
We didn't fool many of you with this one.  The correct answer:  A hula hoop.  Again, here's that hot video: Chipmunk Song



Question #5:  Kawanzaa comes from a phrase that means:
Pretty lame, folks. Only 61.3% got this right.  The correct answer:  First-Fruits.  Want more info use this link: Kawanzaa


Question #6:  How many candles are on a Hanukkah menorah?

Well, we thought we'd nail more people on this one, but you outsmarted us.  The correct answer: 9 candles, eight of which represent the eight day holiday, and the one in the middle, the shamash ("helper" or "servant"), is for a candle used to light all other candles.




As a reminder, we chose respondents #20 and #11 for the semi-random reason that 2011 is almost up on us.  The caveat was that a valid response had at least four correct answers.  And here are the lucky GRAND PRIZE winners of one pound of top quality oolong tea from Taiwan . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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are:

#20 (actually #21 because #20 only got two right and was disqualified): Marlene Kurban, Vice President of Business Development at Advanced Behavioral Health; and


#11 Alan Hagyard, Executive Director of Libraries Online.  Mr. Hagyard, with the resources of Connecticut's libraries behind him, answered all of the questions correctly.

Thanks for participating and Have a Happy New Year!


Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Holiday Fun!

Stuck in the office this week?  Test your holiday trivia knowledge and win a prize!

Test your knowledge by answering a few holiday trivia questions. Our survey consists of just 6 trivia questions with 2 chances to win.  (You may need help on a few!)

Since the year 2011 is approaching, responders #20 and #11 to our survey will be the big, grand-prize winners.  The grand prize: a 1lb bag of high-quality Taiwan Oolong tea, direct from Flushing, Queens. (You need at least four correct answers to qualify.)

Results will be posted here on Thursday, December 30, 2010.  Good Luck!

Happy Holidays from Young's Printing

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

New Branding Look for the YMCA

New YMCA logo introduced July 12, 2010
After many years of service the black, red and white YMCA logo that was introduced back in 1967 is being phased out.  According to the YMCA of the USA, the new colorful logo is intended to reflect the vibrancy and diversity of the organization.  Lines are fonts are now curved and images silhouetted to demonstrate a more contemporary feel. 

The YMCA has been around since 1844, when it was established by a department store worker to provide a refuge for young men from the bleak streets of London.  There are now 2,687 YMCA locations across the United States.  Young's Printing is proud to count over a dozen of them among its clients and is excited to show off their new look!

Photo : Lance Shearer/Naples Daily News  http://ymca.net/news-releases/20100917-southwest-florida.html

News link to full story regarding YMCA Branding Strategy

Thursday, December 16, 2010

December Printing Showcase

Today's blog features work produced in December for our clients at MiddleOak, Pratt & Whitney, and Dauntless Specialty Brokerage.


Christmas With Class!
We just finished printing and mailing MiddleOak's Holiday Cards for 2010.

This folded holiday card was printed on Kromekote Canvas12 pt. C1S stock.  This is a premium paper, chosen to have the feel of an actual present.

The gift image and the red embossed ribbon on the card gives it a 3-dimensional look.  MiddleOak's logo is foil stamped and creatively incorporated to represent snowflake-like gift wrap.

Each card is individualized with the recipient's name imprinted in red on the gift tag.

Gorgeous!!!





Branding Extraordinaire

Pratt & Whitney uses their signature eagle logo decals as a branding element in trade shows and on aircraft and rocket engines.  These seven-color, free-form die-cut decals, that is printing in four different sizes, each with eagle feathers extending beyond the circular perimeter to give it a 3-dimensional look.  Young's Printing is proud to have developed this design together with Pratt & Whitney several years ago, and to have printed over a million decals for engine maker so far!



Multi-Channel Marketing That Works!

Dauntless Specialty Brokerage has been using innovative direct mail as a part of a multi-channel marketing strategy that really works.  We just completed a flight of direct mail campaign for Dauntless across several product categories in targeted states around the country.  The campaign begins with printed postcards, which include a free offer for a pocket calculator to increase response rates.  Respondents go directly to a webpage customized for this campaign and the product targeted to them.  Once registered on this page, respondent confirmations and notifications to our fulfillment center are handled through a marketing automation system.

The output of this process, of course, is a highly-qualified list of leads which can then be marketed by the brokerage's sales team, using marketing collateral, phone, and, of course, face-to-face contacts to close the deal.

So, Dauntless has been able to utilize quite a number of marketing channels, all highly integrated, and all driven by direct mail.  Further, the company uses only what works for them, not necessarily the latest & greatest marketing technologies.  For example, they found static web landing pages to
 work just as well as dynamic (P.U.R.L.) ones, at a fraction of the cost. 

Well done, Dauntless!!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Spotlight on Clients making an eco-conscious paper choice

Young's Printing salutes our clients who have made an environmentally conscious choice in paper.  Spotlighted in this blog are Liberty Bank, The Rockfall Foundation, and The Rye County Day School.


 Liberty Bank is the oldest mutual bank in the State of Connecticut and has 38 branches located throughout central, eastern, and shoreline Connecticut.

Liberty Bank's deposit and acknowledgment slips, as well as several forms are now printed on a Rolland Opaque50 paper that is 50% post-consumer recycled and 50% FSC certified fiber, meaning that it is sourced from well-managed forests.  Opaque50 is also process elemental chlorine free.  This paper is FSC certified t.

Liberty's previous paper choice did not contain any post-consumer recycled materials.  The brightness quality with their new paper choice has even improved despite the recycled content!


The Rockfall Foundation is one of Connecticut's oldest environmental organizations and supports environmental education, conservation and planning initiatives in Middlesex County. Their mission is to be a catalyst--bringing people together and supporting organizations to conserve and enhance the county's natural environment.

The Rockfall Foundation's generates its Chronicle newsletter, letterhead, envelopes, and invitations on Neenah PC100 natural paper.  This paper is a sustainable choice that is made from 100% post consumer fiber and is process chlorine free. This paper is FSC certified, 100% Green-e certified, Green Seal certified, and Carbon Neutral Plus.  

Rockfall's previous paper choice was a mix of virgin and recycled fiber, but their new paper choice has improved to 100% recycled materials and the quality of the paper's brightness and opacity remain high.


Rye Country Day School located in Rye, NY is a co-educational, college preparatory school dedicated to providing students from pre-Kindergarten through grade 12 with an excellent education using both traditional and innovative approaches. 

The Rye Country Day School has just recently begun printing it's capital campaign newsletter on Primavera Silk paper produced by New Leaf, that is made from 80% recycled content, three-quarters of which is post-consumer waste. The remaining 20% is FSC certified.  It is also elemental chlorine free. This paper like the other post consumer material papers listed in this blog has a high brightness quality of 93. 

We applaud these and all Young's Printing clients who have made the choice to switch to sustainable paper sources.  They have found that being environmentally friendly does not require sacrificing paper quality.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

QR and Bar Code Scaning Growing Significantly

"The potential of personalized mobile barcode scanning is virtually endless for consumers, marketers, retailers, and mobile operators. The physical world becomes completely interactive and trackable in one click - whether it is from a magazine ad or a bottle of soda. That ease of navigation, along with the explosive growth of SmartPhones is currently driving exponential adoption." (ScanLife, Sept 2010)

According to ScanLife's September, 2010 Mobile Barcode Trend Report bar code scanning growth in up over 700%.  The United States comes in as the top country using personal barcode scanning and California is the leading State in the nation.

The products being scanned are:
  • Health and Beauty
  • Grocery
  • Books
  • Kitchen
  • DVD
  • Electronics
  • Toys
  • Music
  • Home Improvements
  • Video Games
  • Office Products
  • Sports
  • Other
Of these categories the top three which have resulted in the most scans and purchases are Health & Beauty, Books, and Electronics.

To view ScanLife's full report, which includes trends and demographic information, click on the following link:
ScanLife Mobile-Barcode-Trend-Report Sept 2010

Oops! Printing of new $100 Bill turns costly

Not all printing jobs go well.  Here is one for the "Wall of Shame." 

In April of 2010 the U. S. Treasury was excited to announce the redesign of the $100 bill that would incorporate sophisticated high-tech security features.  Today more than 1 billion of these new bills have been quarantined due to printing problems.  The problem occurred when paper folded over during the production process causing a blank spot on the face of the bill.  Oops!

Follow link for video coverage and full story:  $100 Bill's New Facelift goes awry - CNBC