A friend of Midtown recently shared an interesting experience.

Our friend— “John”—had just discovered “Words With Friends,” the Scrabble-like game that lets people use smart phones to play against “friends” who may be in the next room or on the other side of the world.

Through Facebook, John started a game with someone he had met nearly 30 years ago, but had not seen in about 20 years. Though the friend faithfully sent John a Christmas card and emailed when she needed sponsors for her annual bike-a-thon, the two never visited, never talked on the phone, and never exchanged a letter.

Mid-way through the game, the friend sent John a message that stopped him cold: “I’m so glad we have reconnected this way!” the friend wrote.

“Reconnected?” John thought. “Really? Is this what we have come to, allowing an electronic game application to be the stitching in the social fabric of our lives?”

Unfortunately, as John had discovered, the line between electronic interaction and social interaction blurs with each email sent, each website visited, and, yes, each game of “Words With Friends” played.

It is tempting to think that because we’ve spent hours developing “content,” tested it with focus groups, and posted it prominently on a website or on a social network, we have reached the customer—but it doesn’t replace direct personal contact.

In reality, all the technology we have literally at our fingertips is no substitute for real interaction—a cup of coffee, a phone call just to check in, a brochure or flyer placed directly into the customer’s hand with a smile and a look in the eye.

These are the interactions that have impact and lasting value in our business relationships. A great website or clever “Tweet” might get the customer to open the door, but the personal attention a customer receives when finding a solution makes a lasting impression.

1. Scoring is a must when folding to ensure there is no cracking of the paper.

2. Digital Printing requires its own special folding to ensure no cracking of the fibers within that paper that may have been dried out during the printing process.

3. For roll folds —  make sure your inside panels are at least an 1/8 of an inch smaller then the previous panel. This ensures you inside pages will fit within when folded closed.

See our folding guide for ideas on various fold methods available when printing your next print project with Midtown.

• Use a gradient that changes at least 50% between two or more process components. Longer gradient require a greater tone range for best quality reproduction on paper. So if you have the same color , start with a 20% and go to 80% of the color. This will turn out better than 40% to 60% of the color.
• Increase the percentage of change in the gradient or have a gradient go from one color to another if one is light and one is dark.
• Add a Gaussian Blur or Noise filter in Photoshop.
• Avoid creating gradients that blend from a dark color to white. White is not always your friend.
• Use a shorter area in which you would use the gradient. Generally gradients in digital printing should not exceed 7.5 inches in length.

A friend of mind just did an audit of the marketing materials of his company. He set aside time to make sure that the website and the materials were accurate and telling the story correctly. Sometimes we are so busy in “the work” that we do not see what is outdated. Here are some helpful tips to do an image audit.

1. Be A Visitor – Start at the very beginning of a website or a brochure and READ it page by page like a new visitor would. Pretend you are having guests over and you need to clean your house to make it presentable. This is what you need to do with your business.
2. Review all Visuals – A picture is worth a thousand words. Make sure your images reflect what you do and are of high quality.
3. Tighten Text – Sometimes we tend to be wordy. Simple is better. See what can be succinctly communicated.
4. Be Up-To-Date – Are you giving the latest information to your customers or prospect. Make sure they know you are a leader and are knowledgeable in your field. You may be but your business materials may not say so.

As writer Alan Cohen says, “Every encounter, event, and relationship offers you a chance to shine.” Make sure you do.