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While stationery and printed materials have declined, print is still very much alive.  Shouldn’t your remaining printed materials differentiate and leave a strong impression? Below are some of the trends in the industry that are making a big impact.

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Trend 1 – Bright White Paper

Your paper literally delivers your brand directly into the hands of your clients and potential clients. While seemingly insignificant, it is a major part of your brand.

There is a major shift from ivory and off-white papers to whiter sheets.  Law firm brands have transitioned from black to multi-color.  Color pops better on whiter sheets, hence the shift.  In fact, 95% of large law use white paper for their letterhead and 94% for their business cards.

Trend 2 – Private Watermarked Stationery

Most people don’t know the security benefits of watermarked paper, but they do understand the branding benefits and appreciate the attention to the smallest of details.  This translates into a more positive view of your firm.

Watermarks do not reproduce on a photocopier. Having this security feature in a physical document remains very relevant.

Typically a brand is only on page one of a document. But with private watermarking, it appears throughout the entire document.  Years after the authoring, the firm can be credited just by the watermark.

38% of the largest law firms have their own private watermark.

Trend 3 – Masthead Stationery

Professionally produced masthead is a slimmed down version of letterhead which includes only a firm logo, firm name and firm tagline if one exists.  This allows for much more flexibility.  Via electronic templates, each office can add location and contact information when printing.  Personalized stationery for each attorney is as easy as adding names to templates. Plus, marketing can use the masthead for bio sheets, proposals and more.  Most importantly, professionally produced masthead maintains brand and color consistency that cannot be achieved with office printers.

Trend 4 – Multi-Process Stationery

A review of hundreds of law firm materials shows 70% of letterheads include a printed element, 57% contain an engraved element and 3% have embossed or bumped elements. Overall 28% are multi-process. For business cards – 87% include a printed element, 37% contain an engraved element and 9% have foil-stamped, embossed or bumped elements.  Overall 38% are multi-process.

Reasons for the trend toward multi-process:

1. Maintain high-end impact pieces at lower costs. Engraving is the highest quality, most secure and most environmentally friendly print process. Various studies have shown that adding the tactile dimension of engraving engages several senses which increases recall of the brand. Plus, engraving produces the finest reproduction of text and graphics making it ideal for logos and firm names.
2. Increase in engraved letterhead mastheads. To maintain branding and color consistency, office information is professionally printed on the engraved masthead upon order.
3. Increase in engraved business card “masterstock.” As with mastheads, the firm logo/name and all non-variable information is engraved.  Then the variable information is printed upon order to cut down turnaround time and cost.
4. Two-sided business cards. 65% of firms have two-sided business cards which allow for a cleaner, more modern feel with more color.  Often the back is flood printed and the front is engraved.

Trend 5 – Stand Out Business Cards

Business cards are one of the top 5 most used business development tools.  Law firms have begun to invest in more sophisticated business cards with the biggest trends being:

• Double thick stocks
• Duplex stock
• Unique finishes and textures
• Clipped or rounded corners

The Time is Now

Auditing your branded materials can help you maximize the impact of all your printed materials. It also allows you to incorporate the above trends, streamline procedures, increase efficiency and reduce costs.

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Article provided by:

Don Goodman
Senior Sales Representative
All-State Legal
dgoodman@aslegal.com
216.496.0182

Founded in 1946, ALL-STATE LEGAL is the legal industry’s most trusted rebranding specialty printer with over 20 major rebrands over the past year, a national footprint, a best-in-class online ordering platform, and an experienced client service team.  Over 94% of clients surveyed say they would recommend us to a colleague or friend.

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