Refreshed Seasonal Pubs Create Revenue and Readership

Turn The Page Toward Revenue and Readership with Refreshed Seasonal Publications

Consumers love to look first and buy later. But websites are still challenging to browse. On the other hand, they are perfect for e-commerce and up-to-the-minute announcements.

That’s why printed catalogs, magazines, guides, and lookbooks continue to drive awareness and sales when seamlessly integrated with a digital publication and friction-free e-commerce site.

In fact, 122 new magazines launched in 2021, more than double the number of new launches in 2020. 

The data is tracked by retired professor Samir Husni, founder of the University of Mississippi’s Magazine Innovation Center at the School of Journalism and New Media.

New launches are overwhelmingly niche-oriented and published quarterly or bimonthly. “There’s no more room for general interest magazines. Magazine editors now have to be more curators than creators. I tell them, if I can find the answer on Google, it doesn’t need to be in a magazine,” Husni told the New York Post in January.

Drive e-commerce with regional niche publications and catalogs

Gardening is an excellent example of a specific niche with a wide audience of direct buyers located in specific regions. Gardeners jump for joy when their regional seed catalogs start coming in the mail in January. When coupled with magazine format content and professional photography, catalogs become designated keepers in a household.

The first step is sitting in front of the fireplace next to a stack of seed catalogs, Sharpie in hand, paging through those luscious photographs and endless varietals, circling and jotting with glee. 

The next step is pulling up the website for a secure purchasing experience, order confirmation, and attentive customer service.

The same goes for nurseries that ship live plants and starts. In addition, confectioners, gift basket curators, specialty food and beverage distributors, and many more visually enticing e-commerce industries all stand to benefit from a similar approach.

Catch readers who’ve caught the travel bug

Now is also an excellent time to invest in a refresh of your visitors' guide or regional travel magazine. The World Travel and Tourism Council expects the global sector to grow to $8.6 trillion—a huge bounce back from the last two pandemic years and nearly as high as 2019. What’s more, U.S. domestic tourism and travel has significantly outpaced international travel and is expected to climb another 28.4% this year after a 35.6% bump in 2021 over 2020.

Consumers readily pick up a refreshed and strategically located travel guide to their region from the grocery store, coffee shop, or visitors center. People love to learn about new staycation destinations, shops, and local eateries, especially when entertained with gorgeous photos, enticing storytelling, and unique content. 

A prominent QR code to the publication’s digital version can lead people to tools that are better suited to the web, such as maps and directions, current open hours, announcements, and COVID policies.

Smart partnerships with local restaurants, shopping hubs, and business associations can help offset printing costs. Crowd Riff recently analyzed 50 destination visitors’ guides to discover what makes the excellent ones stand out: They determined that clear focus and stunning visuals, coupled with clean design (think CondeNast) are key. In addition, engaging content to help consumers make informed choices creates interest and influences where consumers spend their vacation dollars.

Investing in a seasonal publication update to catch consumers who love to browse then buy is a smart wintertime move. And it’s worth a quarterly inventory of your publications to decide which has the most potential to recoup a refresh.

Contact Journal Graphics today to take advantage of our deep expertise in print and digital publications. We can help you turn the page on revenue and readership.

Printing and the Supply Chain

Where’s my Stuff?

Try these 6 tricks to navigate supply chain and current employee shortages.

In the United States, 4.1 million people quit their jobs in October 2021. In the private sector, fewer people left their jobs in October than in August and September, which could mean good news for worldwide supply chain slowdowns. However, in the public sector, quit rates continue their five-month upward trend, indicating continued instability. 

More than 21% of these workers—nearly a million—hail from the trade, transportation, and utility industries. Over 900,000 people in industries like trucking, rail cargo, air travel, retail, agriculture, mining, power, gas, water, manufacturing, and publishing left their jobs last month.

Our industry—print, and publishing—is getting hit hard. There are lumber shortages, increased cost of pulp, insufficiency in the labor force, and impaired logistics that are keeping even basic supplies on backorder. All commercial printers are hiring. 

These problems are unlikely to be resolved until well into 2022.

Yet, we know how crucial your collateral is. From scheduled publications to sales tools, from catalogs to direct mail, every piece you invest in is designed to create revenue.

Revenue is lost if the piece or campaign doesn’t come out on time.

Here’s how Journal Graphics can help you navigate delays and keep the momentum in your marketing.

It starts as an inside job.

We are recruiting the most experienced and competent professionals available to keep our presses running 24 hours a day. We offer a competitive salary and benefits well beyond standard medical and dental.

Why does this matter to you, our customer?

When we hire the best, train them to our standards and retain them over the long haul, we provide you with a consistent, high-quality, error-free product. This enables Journal Graphics to stay on schedule and within budget.

We put you at the front of the pack.

If we are experiencing hiring and supply chain challenges, we assume you are too. 2022 is here. We will work as consultants to help you plan your year. Let’s sit down and prioritize your publications and focus on your goals in the months ahead. We are happy to commit future resources to loyal customers. Planning in advance (at least 12 weeks), allows Journal Graphics to secure the paper, inks, and finishes you want when you need them. A great relationship is the tide that floats all boats.

We have friends up the chain.

For more than 80 years, we have been a premier commercial printer in the Pacific Northwest. That means we have cultivated strong relationships at all points in the supply chain. As we work with you to get your priorities on the calendar, we stay in front of our suppliers and vendors to ensure prompt delivery when supplies come in. We can also special-order quality substitutions and create workarounds to ensure the quality you expect from Journal Graphics is achieved.

Here’s what you can do to mitigate supply and employee shortages.

Get ahead of deadlines. 

Make this year all about the calendar. If you send out fall catalogs in June, have them ready to go on the press in March. Decide in August if you’ll be sending out season’s greetings and gifts. Check with us - we can give you the skinny on lead time and supply availability. Plan to have your scheduled publications done weeks ahead of time. Create evergreen content and talk to sponsors early. Give them the same advice we’re giving you.

If your company holds regular fall galas, end-of-year fundraisers, or spring auctions—or any annual/seasonal promotion—plan ahead and get that collateral ordered.

Go local.

Use vendors and suppliers with local delivery services. If your project or product only travels a few miles, it will get there a lot faster if it’s not being manufactured or printed hundreds of miles away. If you are shipping products and have outsourced delivery in the past, try building a supply chain department, however small, in-house. Short-distance deliveries can add days of needed cushion to a project.

Know—and keep—your customers. 

Loyal, long-term clients make all the difference during a challenging period in business. Small businesses routinely get stuck in the I’ll-pay-when-I-get-paid loop. If your clients and customers prioritize your relationship, count your lucky stars. Return the favor by keeping up communication in good times so that when challenges arise, you have a connection to fall back on. No client wants to pick up a cold call out of the blue delivering bad news. 

The bottom line, it will level out. We just don’t know when. Until then, we work together to create impressive projects that increase your revenue and visibility. Just like we always have.

Journal Graphics creates high-quality print products to ensure your creative messaging and overall strategy are collectively focused to help you grow your business in target markets. We can design and execute a mailing campaign that complements and capitalizes on your brand’s e-commerce efforts.
Call or click today to tap into the most effective marketing tools for your brand.

Walking Maps Bring People to Your Door!

A WALKING MAP IS THE PERFECT FIRST STEP TO GET PEOPLE TO FIND YOUR BUSINESS.

Urban areas are brimming with vibrant, walkable neighborhoods. The synergy of those spaces makes them irresistible to zoomers starting out, career-focused millennials, and cultured retirees. 

Portland neighborhoods are densely populated with homes, apartments, and condos, and—of course—shops, restaurants and grocery stores. Some of those retailers are on the arterial, easy to find and visible from multiple vantage points. But the real gems—exclusive boutiques, fresh eateries, innovative service providers—are often tucked into small spaces off the beaten path. 

But the strategic wonder of walkable commercial hubs is this: if you bring a browser to one store, you’ll bring a buyer to many. 

Enter the humble yet powerful walking map. 

As the pandemic recedes and tourism spikes, consider printing a well-designed walking map that showcases your business and your brand, while encouraging consumers to visit your neighbors. 

A charming yet functional walking map highlights the features of your neighborhood and the businesses that serve it. Here are some guidelines to follow: 

❌ Don’t miss those businesses that are off the beaten path. Shoppers love to discover and frequent hidden treasures. 

❌ Don’t charge businesses to participate. An incomplete walking map is confusing at best, frustrating at worst. 

❌ Don’t charge shoppers for it. People love to pick up cool, useful brochures and maps. What’s more, they’re an incredibly powerful influence on consumer behavior. 

79% percent of people will pick up a brochure from a lobby or visitors center. Check out these other shocking stats about the power of brochures. 

✔️Do develop a brand for your map. If you’re going it alone, showcase your own brand on the map. If you are partnering, create a new brand or leverage the neighborhood’s brand. 

✔️ Do commit to an annual or biannual reprint. Businesses open and close all the time. Keep your map current, and date it prominently, so consumers know what to expect. 

✔️Display the maps in an intentional and consistent manner. You could invest in a specific display or simply reserve a space at point-of-sale. Keep it organized, or the maps lose their perceived value. 

✔️Do sell advertising space to offset costs and create visual interest. 

✔️Do create a corresponding website or interactive map. Drive traffic between them with powerful messaging and special offers. 

Did you know? Journal Graphics can create an interactive digital edition of any printed piece! 

Get ready to help drive traffic! A walking map is the perfect first step. Contact us today to get on the road to success in 2022. 

Print: The Definition of Sustainable Media

Print is the definition of sustainable media. Recycling, replenishing forest land, and renewing local resources are just some ways paper imprints lightly on the planet.

Sustainability is a strong value in the Pacific Northwest, and Journal Graphics is committed to being part of the community in this way. Of course, sustainable practices extend far beyond just recycling. We continually evaluate our facility and equipment to minimize emissions and waste, striving to exceed state and federal guidelines. 

We are an FSC Chain-of-Custody Certified PrinteR

Journal Graphics is committed to management best practices required to maintain environmentally superior and responsibly sourced certified papers. 

In its mission, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) promotes environmentally sound, socially beneficial, and economically prosperous management of the world's forests. The organization expands water quality protection, prohibits harvest of rare old-growth forest, prevents loss of natural forest cover, and prohibits highly hazardous chemicals.  

In addition, FSC requires forest managers—on both public and private lands—to engage local community members and protect customary rights of indigenous people, ensuring their voices are part of the certification process and impacts of forest operations are addressed. 

The FSC standards are high, and we are happy to use paper suppliers that meet or exceed them. 

We use locally sourced paper

Excessive and long-distance transportation adds to greenhouse gas emissions, increases customer costs, and lengthens deliverable times. Journal Graphics purchases most of our substrates from an Oregon-based paper mill located just 24 miles from our plant. Committing to mostly local sourcing is a commitment to a smaller ecological footprint. 

We contract with a reputable paper recycling program 

Our paper waste is 100% recycled through International Paper. International Paper collects, consumes, and markets more than 7 million tons of all paper recovered annually in the United States. 

 Paper is recycled more than any other commodity in the solid waste stream and is often the dominant raw material used in paper production. In fact, paper is the most recycled material in the world today, with recovery rates ranging from 65% to almost 80% in North America, Western Europe and Japan. A combination of fresh wood supply and recycled paper allows printing and writing paper to be down-cycled to other products like corrugated boxes, tissue, and other packaging. 

We use Waterless Platemaking

Water is a necessary tool in the creation of paper and print. To keep things clean, cool, and running well, water can be a necessity. This year, we installed a new printing plate that does not require water for processing, saving gallons of this natural resource each day. 

Paper is one of the few truly sustainable products

Each year, forests in North America grow significantly more wood than is harvested.  North American woodlands are a renewable resource, continuously replenished using sustainable forest management. Over the last 60 years, the net total U.S. forest area has increased by over 3%, and the net volume of trees on forestland has increased by 58%. 

In addition to all the environmental reasons to use paper, it's simply a crucial part of any marketing mix. 

As the pandemic continues to drive consumers online for shopping, learning and communicating, digital fatigue is setting in. People are ready to engage with materials again, hold books in their hands, and flip through a catalog before purchasing. And businesses and publishers continue to use print because it works, and people simply enjoy it. In fact: 

• According to the United States Postal Service, direct mail recipients purchased 28% more items and spent 28% more money than those who didn't receive the same direct mail. Again and again, a print catalog or directory increases the odds consumers will buy.  

• 73% of U.S. consumers said they prefer direct mail for brand communications because they can read the information at their convenience.  

• In publishing and academia, studies show that paper books are better for reading comprehension.  

• Even millennials prefer paper-based reading.  

 
Supporting print is supporting the environment. Engage with Journal Graphics today to get started on your next Earth-friendly project. 

Welcome to the New Voice of Journal Graphics

As a privately held commercial printer in Portland, Oregon, since 1937, we consider our customers, vendors and suppliers, community members and industry colleagues in everything we do. As we build our brand to demonstrate excellence in powerful, high-capacity web printing, we’ll take deep dives into new techniques, technologies and approaches that are crucial to the work we do for you.

We launched this platform to share the resources we discover, the inspiration we find, and our expertise along the journey.

For over 80 years, Journal Graphics has been pushing the edge of innovation to print superior publications on deadline and within budget.  Our state-of-the-art web presses and bindery ensure a professional product that stands the test of time, while our expert mailing and fulfillment teams deliver to destinations with speed and accuracy. Seamless integration of web editions create value-added content, brand awareness, and critical analytics. 

We will also use this space to explore issues critical to our industry and region. At Journal Graphics, we recognize that the way we do business impacts everything around us, including the natural world and the people in it. We aim to lessen our carbon footprint in every way we can while finding ways to make life better for those who live, work and play in our community. We recently invested in new technologies to develop the most efficient production methods, and all employees are encouraged to continuously innovate. 

We’re invested in the future of the industry and our lasting place within it. We want you right there with us as we learn and grow, so watch this space for the latest in printing innovations, technological advances and people-first practices. While other printers may be holding back, we will continue to press forward.