It’s hard to believe but the first of August is just 4 days away and before we know it moms and dads will be dropping their kids off at college. Anyone who has ever gone to college knows you never let your parents leave without a visit to the bookstore! Gotta load up on university t-shirts, sweatpants, hoodies, hats for the semester.

What’s hot for the 2010 school year? UGG-style boots featuring EVA soles and cozy faux fur lining. The outside is constructed from 4oz. 100% cotton flannel. These boots are available in plaid prints: black/fuchsia, royal/silver, red/black, bubblegum, electric blue/black, navy/silver, and white/black zebra. Flannel pants. But these aren’t your grandfather’s flannel pjs. There are over 60 different color combinations and 8 different patterns. Female flannel pants are also available in dots, zebra, giraffe, leopard, and peace prints. Burn-out tees. Classic burn out and animal-print burn out (zebra or paw) shirts are constructed from 3.3 oz. 55/45 cotton/poly with a partially see-through material that captures a true vintage feeling.

All of the above mentioned items are from Boxercraft and can be decorated with custom embroidery, rhinestones, or screen printing.

By Jessica Matase

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A few days ago we received the Ego Id catalog and a variety of samples. They make id tags or what are more popularly known as “dog tags.” Ego Id have a variety of types to choose from: Full color tags made from durable stainless steel and printed with full color custom graphics; swag tags™ a low cost but quality alternative designed for 1-3 color logos. You choose the attachment, pick from chains, split rings, backpack clips, or zipper pulls.

There are tons of vendors who make dog tags but what sets Ego Id apart is their ability to give you the power to make your promotions interactive with add-on decoration options. They can laser etch a bar code or serial number on the back of the tags providing you with the ability to track quantifiable results for your promotion. These bar codes can be used to drive traffic to web sites, collect consumer data, track attendance, start a membership program, create a sweepstakes or provide secure, online digital content.

Not only does Ego Id have great interactive options but their tags are durable, high-quality, and exclusively made in the USA by Ego Id, Inc..

By Jessica Matase

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Every time I see a Coleman cooler I’m reminded of my dad, who has owned a construction company for longer than I have been alive. Some people equate coolers to picnics and beaches but I always think of construction. Pass any job site or road crew during lunch time and you’ll practically see a live advertisement for Coleman coolers.

A Coleman cooler promotion would be great for any construction company, plant, or any job where employees are packing their lunches in something other than a brown paper bag. Coleman coolers are made from high density polyethylene (HDPE) for maximum cold retention and are extremely durable, they last for years! Considering giving Coleman coolers as a holiday gift this year or improve employee morale among those who have been working in this summer’s record-breaking heat. Plus, not only will your employees be walking promotions for Coleman, but your company as well. We can have your logo printed on each cooler.

You can choose from any Coleman cooler or jug. Some of the most popular styles are: the FlipLid Personal Cooler, the FlipLid stays attached and doubles as a tray, most ideal for lunches or a picnic, 6-can capacity or the 9-Quart Cooler, with a hinged lid and 9-can capacity.

By Jessica Matase

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I’ve got to hand it to the team over at The Express Line because their total branding tools are awesome! I first noticed their total branding by design option late last year. They had a variety of really cool designs when other suppliers were offering 3 or 4 less than desirable options. Skip to July 2010, and Express Line has well over 80 different designs in 12 different categories while the other supplier still have those 3 lame options.

The total branding design option is great to show clients who don’t have a lot of money to spend on graphic design. All they need is their original logo then we can help them choose from the total branding design stock options. The total branding designs take a good promotional product idea to a great one with more visual interest.

After meeting with a sales rep a few months ago it was brought to my attention that The Express Line also will print custom inserts and boxes. Most of their products already include a stock care sheet. With the total branding print option, you can create a 4-color custom care sheet and/or add information about your brand or tell a story. Recently, one of our clients purchased Terra tumblers for a tradeshow and we had a total branding card printed with booth and company information as well as the number for a text marketing campaign.

For maximum brand exposure, The Express Line offers total branding by box which includes branding the product you choose, a custom printed care sheet, and 4-color process custom printed gift box. The minimum order is 1,000 pieces which is a little on the high side but the pricing is very fair (starting at $7.99 including product).

Ordering products with total branding from The Express Line is a great way to take your average drinkware promotion to the next level!

By Jessica Matase

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Annapolis, MD July 15, 2010 –

The Advertising Specialty Institute, the largest media and marketing organization serving the $19.8 billion advertising specialty industry, announced today that John Booth, President of Annapolis, MD-based Quintain Marketing, has been named to the 2010 Counselor magazine HOT List. Honorees on the 2010 HOT List were revealed at an exclusive event held July 14 at the ASI Show in Chicago.

The Hot List is published annually and recognizes the promotional marketing industry’s hottest people – those who are shaking up the marketplace with new and innovative approaches. John is one of 40 promotional marketing professionals from throughout the United States to be honored by the Magazine in its August, 2010 issue.

According to Timothy M. Andrews, President and Chief Executive Officer for ASI, “the advertising specialty industry is always changing and providing creative, innovative and exciting products and services. These individuals are the industry’s trend-setters and they are being recognized for their ability to be successful by introducing new, fun and innovative things in the marketplace.”

John’s success in building a thriving social marketing practice at Quintain Marketing played a key role in landing him a spot on the list. Kathleen Booth, Quintain Marketing’s Owner and CEO (and John’s wife) believes John’s recognition is well deserved. “Last year, as our customers’ spending plummeted with the economy, John began an aggressive new social marketing campaign for Quintain Marketing, including a blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Yelp. He was so successful at building our own social marketing presence that our firm now has a practice area dedicated solely to advising clients on their social media optimization strategies. John is redefining what ‘promotional marketing’ means to include not just products, but social media channels as well.”

Quintain Marketing is a full service promotional marketing consultancy that helps organizations increase sales and raise brand awareness through the execution of integrated promotional campaigns encompassing social marketing, direct marketing (direct mail and dimensional mailing), branded products, company webstores, and employee or customer loyalty and incentive programs. For more information, see www.quintainmarketing.com.

Advertising Specialty Institute – or ASI – is the largest media and marketing organization serving the advertising specialty industry. ASI membership includes 22,000 distributor firms and 3,500 supplier firms of advertising specialties. For more information, see www.asicentral.com.

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By Kathleen Booth

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Here at Quintain Marketing, we’re big fans of UPS. About 90% of the products we sell are delivered to our customers by a shipper and UPS has been our shipper of choice since we started the company in 2006. Why do we love UPS so much? They’re reliable, courteous, consistent, and great at communicating with their customers.

After 4 years of stellar service from UPS, you can imagine our suprise when one of our suppliers called us to say that they were having trouble shipping an order out because our UPS account was listed as “inactive.” The call came on July 5 and we quickly discovered that our customer service representative (who has always been great at working out problems) was on vacation for the week and not reachable. When several phone calls to various UPS customer service lines did not resolve the issue, we were left feeling like our 4 year relationship was quickly going down the tubes and Fedex might be our future shipper of choice.

That was the case until we took our complaint to Twitter, where we sent a short (140 characters or less, of course!) shout out to Evan (@evanatups), a member of the UPS corporate Customer Relations team. Within 4 minutes of our tweet, Evan responded with a direct message asking for more information, and within one hour, we got a call from Evan AND a call from UPS corporate letting us know that the problem had been resolved.

The real secret to stellar customer service isn’t avoiding mistakes or problems altogether – that would be impossible – but in making sure that any problems that DO arise are handled quickly and efficiently with minimal impact on your customers. Our interaction with UPS is the perfect example. Evan’s use of Twitter to quickly resolve our problem made a lasting impression and convinced us that UPS truly is the most customer-friendly shipper around! Way to go UPS!

By Kathleen Booth

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Inc. Magazine’s 10 Great Seasonal Summer Businesses inspired me to think about promotional products for some of those small seasonal summer businesses.

Mini-Golf Courses
I was recently in Ocean City, Maryland where I overheard so many kids ask their parents about going to play ‘putt-putt.’ A good game of mini golf in the summer-time can get pretty intense in the hot, humid weather; help keep the players cool with mini-fans. Step it up a notch and buy mini-fans that display the name of your mini-golf course on the fan blades via LED lights.

Seafood Restaurants
Lobster shaped bottle openers, complimentary custom printed crab mallets (hey if you are giving something away it might as well have your logo on it!), compressed t-shirt in shape of a fish, crab, shrimp, or lobster.

BBQ Restaurants
Can koozies, mini lanterns, aprons (diners can wear it while they eat then take it home and wear it while they cook!), and environmentally-friendly stadium cups. Why does it seem like a lot of BBQ joints serve their drinks in styrofoam cups? Come on guys- go green with biodegradable stadium cups; your diner can take them or leave them! Bets on that they take the cup. Change the cup every year and you’ll give diners 2 reasons to return.

Ice Cream Parlors
Ice cream scoop (buy 2 gallons, get an ice cream scooper free), motorized ice cream cone (more licking, less dripping).

If you’re a seasonal business owner, give us a call, we’ve got ideas for all seasons!

By Jessica Matase

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Check out two of the coolest new travel mice on the market. (Am I the only person who thinks referring to a computer mouse in the plural (computer) mice sounds strange?!)

Die Cut Illuminated Logo, Retractable Cable Mini Size Optical Mouse
Light up your brand in a variety of colors including orange, red and blue. Compact shape makes this great for laptops and traveling. The sides and scroll wheel also illuminate when the mouse is in use. Right now, the minimum order requirement is only 100 pieces (that’s a great quantity for a die cut product!) If you order 1000 or more, we can choose the color of the mouse; otherwise the mouse is black and you choose the light-up color.

Ultra Thin Folding Mouse
This durable mouse is ultra thin and is about the size of a business card size. It is perfect for travel and laptop computers. 2 buttons plus touch scroll wheel for easy navigation. The touch wheel is super sensitive for accurate response and precise control and this hinged mouse folds out to an ergonomic shape for use then folds flat for easy storage. There is a retractable cable hidden in the bottom. Stock color options- silver and black. Order 1000 more for a custom color.

By Jessica Matase

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You never know what you’re missing until you stop and look around; well, in this case- until you stop and look down. There was probably a lot more thought put into the mat you step on to walk into your company, car dealer, or store than you may think!

A logo mat or carpet can be as simple or as grand as you want it to be. There are indoor/outdoor mats and mats that last for years and some that will last for decades. Check out our helpful guide for buying logo mats.

ClassicCreations™
Our top supplier for logo mats uses their exclusive computerized MasterWeave™ process, so can create your own custom design with from our custom palette of 24 brilliant colors. MasterWeave™ designs are sewn directly into the carpet, insuring quality and durability. Because all are made of Static Dissipative nylon yarn and dyed using Perma-Dye™ plus StainStopper™ dyeing technology, years of trouble free performance are guaranteed.

ColorStar™ Computuft
These anti-Static mats are guaranteed against color loss for 10 years and contain 20% recycled content. State-of-the-art computerized tufting and 26 oz square yard UV-stable nylon produces long-lasting, beautiful graphic logos. The design for you mat can have up to 6 colors. All ColorStar™ Computuft mats are certified slip resistant by the National Floor Safety Institute. These mats are great for restaurants or gas stations.

DigiPrint™
This style mat is great for logos with fine details, shading, or 3-D images. They have 100% premium recycled content rubber backing with long-wearing, static-dissipative nylon carpet for years of trouble-free performance and resistance from curling and cracking. The mats can be ordered with an oil/grease resistant 100% Nitrile Rubber backing when applications call for additional protection. All DigiPrint™ mats are certified slip resistant by the National Floor Safety Institute. DigiPrint™ mats are ideal for car dealerships or garages.

By Jessica Matase

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If you have ever given your printer, graphic designer, or project manager a difficult time over image quality, this blog post is for you! Digital printing uses digital techniques developed for computer printers such as inkjet or laser printers. The ink or toner does not permeate the substrate, but forms a thin layer on the printing surface and may, in some systems, be additionally adhered to the substrate by using a fuser fluid with heat process (toner) or UV curing process (ink).
Business cards, posters, invitations, banners, letterheads, pamphlets, and postcards are some items that are commonly digitally printed. When developing designs that will be digitally printed, the graphics files should be created in a vector (outlines) or raster (bitmap) based program such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, or Adobe InDesign.

Not sure about the difference between vector and raster files? 

• Vector files contain images created with outlines or line segments and curves. The most common formats for vector files are EPS (Encapsulated Postscript), AI (Adobe Illustrator), or PDF (Acrobat). A good example of something that would be saved as a vector file is a font.
• A raster image (bitmap) is made up of tiny dots, and each dot can be one of many thousands, if not millions of colors. There are also two color modes or pallets – CYMK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black) and RGB (Red, Green, Blue). Generally, the RGB color space is larger and produces the most vibrant colors. Common raster file formats include TIF (or TIFF – Tagged Image File Format), JPG (or JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts Group), and GIF (Graphics Interchange Format). A good example of something that would use a raster format is a photograph.

The biggest difference between Raster and Vector file formats is that a vector image can be infinitely enlarged without distortion, whereas the amount a Raster (bitmap) image can be increased depends upon the original resolution, and accepted loss of clarity versus the accepted viewing distance. It is usually recommended that you keep the final output resolution between 100 and 200 DPI (dots per inch) at FULL SIZE. Go below 100 DPI and you will start to sacrifice quality - go over 200 DPI, you will greatly increase processing time. Although input files are usually 100-200 DPI, many printers typically print at between 360 and 720 DPI. This ensures the smallest droplet and lack of graininess.

In general, when dealing with digital image files, there are a couple of things you should keep in mind: 

• Be careful of GIF files, as these are most commonly used for websites and are often not of a high enough resolution to be significantly enlarged. 
• While EPS, PS, and AI files commonly contain vector data, they can also include bitmap data as well.
• TIF’s, JPG’s and GIF’s only carry raster data and do not carry any vector data.
• JPG files use a compression scheme to reduce file size (TIF’s may or may not use an optional file compression) – if you continually re-save a JPG file, it is continually compressing it. This can also lead to reduced quality.

Don’t worry! This post doesn’t end with a quiz, but I hope you take away a general understanding of why we can’t print the image or logo you copied and pasted from a website!

By Jessica Matase

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