Types of Printing

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What Are The Different Types Of Printing And How To Effectively Use Them?

Printing is an integral part of business operations whether you like it or not. Even completely digital companies will occasionally need to print out materials. For instance, an online company setting up a counter at an expo or event still needs to print materials like flexes, brochures, Etc. Therefore, it is in your best interest to know more about the types of printing you can use for your business.

The types of printing methods you use for your business organisation can change depending on its specific goals. Although there are numerous printing methods, you only need a few in practical use. 

But, what are the different types of printing methods you can use for your business, and how can you use them? Below we discuss the primary printing methods you need to know to meet the printing needs of your business and how you can optimise them.

5 Types Of Printing Methods

Printing has evolved so much over the years that it is practically impossible to try and name all of them. Several printing methods did not survive the test of time and evolved according to the changing times. Now, we primarily use 5 types of printing methods for making everything from books to marketing materials, which are as follows.

• Offset Lithography
• Flexography
• Digital Printing
• Screen Printing
• Embossing

Offset Lithography

It is one of the most common types of printing methods that we use today. Generally speaking, most business organisations (and others) use offset printing for rough-surfaced items. For instance, you can use offset printing on wood surfaces, which is rare for the other types of printing methods listed above. 

You can also use offset printing on cloth and canvas. Despite having such versatility, offset printing is still standard for all regular print jobs, such as the mass production of paper products, including books. Even though other types of printing can accomplish the same thing, they can not replace offset printing.

The printing process involved in all 5 methods of printing is unique in its way. In offset printing, the image is placed on a metal plate and then transferred to rollers or rubber blankets. The paper passes through or between these blankets for printing the image.

Despite its long history and using the same old method for printing, offset lithography ensures a high-quality print. Even among the other 5 types of printing, offset lithography can ensure consistent colours and maintain clarity.

Flexography

It is one of the 5 methods of printing often used by business organisations. Flexography is specifically helpful in printing continuous or flowing patterns. Flexography and offset printing are similar because both are well-suited for printing on rough surfaces. 

If that is the case, what is the difference between the two? You may wonder. For starters, flexography is typically useful when the printing involves large areas using solid colours. It is the specific part that flexography maintains alone and sets it apart from the other types of printing methods.

Among all the5 methods of printing, flexography is the perfect choice for creating large-format materials, including 

• Wallpapers
• Giftwraps 
• Food packages 
• And more.

Some might even say that flexography is the modern-day letterpress printing operation. The modernisation part involves the use of wrapped cylinders that can rotate. It is also worth knowing that the wrapping used here is a photopolymer. After wrapping, the unit itself becomes the printing plate. It is also the aspect that makes flexography stand out from the other 5 types of printing methods.

Digital Printing

We are positive everyone reading this article has used or, at least, known about digital printing. For many business organisations, digital printing is their go-to method out of the 5 types of printing listed above. 

You can use digital printing for pretty much every standard printing material you can think of, including

• Postcards
• Newsletters
• Brochures
• Menu 
• And other print materials.

Digital printing itself has different types of printing methods in it. Two of the most popular digital printing processes are laser and inkjet printing. The printing process itself is simple and convenient. You open the digital image you want to print and transfer it directly to the printer, which automatically prints the same. 

Chances are that you are already using one of the types of printing in your home or office. Digital printing does not require a printing plate, and the printing costs are relatively lower. This type of printing is ideal for printing customised materials and on-demand requirements. 

Screen Printing

Screen printing is one of the 5 types of printing methods that are common today. There are two ways you can accomplish screen printing, which involve using stretched-out screens. You can either use a flat or a rotary screen for screen printing.

Typically, screen printing is the best choice among the 5 methods of printing to produce printed materials made of clothes. You can use it to print fabric banners or add your branding to promotional materials like T-shirts. 

The most significant downside of screen printing is that it requires much preparation time. Due to the complexity of the process and the preparation time, it is best to use such types of printing methods for bulk or repeat printing items.

Screen printing is unique from the other types of printing because it uses a mesh screen. The screen printing process involves covering the mesh area with a resistant, such as wax. You can block all the screen openings using the resistance, excluding the design image. 

After that, the ink is pushed along the screen’s surface and forced through the design area’s openings. It is worth noting that you can not apply ink on previously blocked portions by the resist. As you can see, these types of printing take more time to set up. Hence, it is best to leave such printing jobs to professionals.

Embossing

Embossing is one of the most popular types of printing methods in use today. As the same suggests, embossing type printing involves creating print designs featuring sunk or raised prints creating an embossing effect. One of the attractive aspects of embossed printing is the versatility of materials you can use. 

Embossed printing is possible on varials materials, including paper and metal. It is particularly desirable on printed materials like postcards, making them significantly more attractive and loved by people. Business organisations use such types of printing because of their popularity among the masses or their ability to attract attention.

Embossing does not have different a wide range of sub-pockets. As you can see, these types of printing take settings up and need a professional touch.

• Engraving.
• 3D printing.
• Transfer printing. 
• Large-format printing. 
• Embroider printing.

Using any of the 5 types of printing you see above instead of embossing depends entirely on your goals. We could go on and on about the various other printing options for your business. But generally, you would only need any printing methods discussed above for your business organisation. 

How Does Automation Help The Different Types Of Printing Methods?

Learning about the different types of printing is all good for a business organisation, but it is not always practical. Suppose your business does not already have a print and mail setup. In that case, it is best not to take this additional responsibility for your business. 

The print and mail operation requires much investment, and we are not just talking about monetary investment. You would have to invest your time and effort into incorporating an additional process like printing. It only becomes more challenging if you have bulk mailing requirements, regardless of the types of printing methods you use. 

The best way out of this is to employ an automated print and mail system like PostGrid. An advanced solution like PostGrid streamlines every aspect of your printing process without you having to lift a finger. It produces top-quality marketing materials for your business. The solution saves you the trouble of picking from the 5 types of printing methods.

Below are some ways PostGrid’s print and mail API can help your business organisation.

Minimise Operational Cost

One of the best advantages of using PostGrid’s direct mail automation software is that it can reduce operational costs. Automation can reduce the cost of operation for printing your marketing materials regardless of the types of printing method you want.

Reduce Clerical Overhead

No matter which of the 5 methods of printing you use, you will still need dedicated staff if you choose an in-house process. With PostGrid’s fully automated solution, you no longer need to worry about clerical overhead because you don’t need them. The whole process is automatic, and you don’t need human involvement in your printing process. 

Adapt Advanced Technologies

Automating your print and mail operations enable you to adapt more advanced technologies that smoothen out your business operations. The types of printing methods you choose can also benefit from this and enhance their operational capabilities. For instance, PostGrid’s API can connect directly with your CRM solution to quickly personalise your marketing and communication materials.

Minimise Direct Mail Cost

PostGrid’s print and mail solution optimise your direct mail campaigns to a level you never thought possible. It means that things like figuring out what types of printing methods to use or finding the necessary postage are no longer a concern. PostGrid minimises the cost of printing and mailing marketing materials. The solution even allows you to access special discounts for bulk mailing.

Advantage Over Competition

Advanced tools like PostGrid for your different types of printing needs enable you to get the upper hand over your competitors. PostGrid allows your marketing materials to reach the target audience faster and more efficiently. Additionally, it provides you with advanced tracking and analytic features to optimise your marketing and communication efforts.

Get Automated Workflows

Automating the types of printing processes for your marketing and communication efforts can effectively automate your workflows. For instance, consider a billing process in a healthcare organisation. 

You can use PostGrid’s HIPAA-compliant system to accurately and punctually send patient statements or bills to patients. You can then PostGrid to send payment reminders and medical collection letters to the patients. Similarly, you can use PostGrid for other types of printing needs, such as marketing.

PostGrid even offers scheduled and triggered mail capabilities, perfect for automating your workflows. Regardless of the types of printing requirements you have, automation can help you out.

Conclusion

There are different types of printing methods that a business organisation can use for its marketing and communication efforts. Understanding what goes behind the curtains is essential to optimise your various business operations.

However, when it comes to the 5 methods of printing, it is best not to involve yourself directly in the process. The ideal approach is to use automation for your printing needs. It allows you to optimise your printing and mailing operations. 

You can use a solution like PostGrid to enhance the quality of your business’s marketing and communication efforts. It helps businesses reduce their print and mailing costs regardless of what types of printing methods it uses. 

Hence, it is always best to use an automated solution like PostGrid to optimise your printing needs and ensure streamlined workflows.

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Royal Mail Redirection

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What Is Royal Mail Redirection, And Why Does Your Business Need It?

Missing important business mail is the equivalent of missing an important lecture in class. It tends to have a domino effect, potentially leading to consequences you didn’t even know existed. We are not saying that missing critical business mail is the world’s end. 

But missing a vital mail and not knowing it could be critical for your business organisation. Fortunately, the Royal Mail redirection service can help businesses shift to a new address to ensure they don’t miss any crucial mail.

Moving a business organisation from one location to another is hard enough. The last thing you want is to go around solving problems caused by the wrong delivery of your business mail. It is also why business organisations could benefit significantly from redirecting mail to their new address. 

This article discusses the role of Royal Mail redirection in business communication and how businesses can use it to their advantage. Below, you can find every detail you need to know about redirecting your business mail and how you can streamline your business mail communication.

What Is Royal Mail Redirection?

The Royal Mail Redirection service is a postal mail service from Royal Mail. It helps individuals and business organisations receive their mail without interruption when they move to a new address. You could shift your business address to the other side of the globe, and Royal Mail will still deliver your mail.

Your business gets several benefits when you opt for a Royal Mail redirection service. It is likely that you already have an idea of what these benefits are and how the redirection service can help your business. But here is a quick look at what the redirection service can do for your business organisation.

Never Miss Your Important Documents

The most apparent advantage of the redirect mail service is that it ensures that your business organisation does not miss important mail. You can imagine the consequences of missing critical mailers from your partnering or governmental organisations.

Missing important documents like mortgage statements, tax bills, business invoices, and similar documents could take you down a rabbit hole. Once you go down that way, there is no telling where it can take you.  

Sometimes it could be nothing, and sometimes it may take you days, weeks, or months to repair the damage caused by a missed mail. It is always better to be safe than sorry. Hence, mail redirection UK is crucial for ensuring a restriction-free workflow for your business organisation.

Prevent Fraud And Protect Your Sensitive Information

Another reason to redirect mail for your business organisations is to prevent fraud and protect your business’s sensitive information. Companies receive all kinds of sensitive information via mail. Some could reveal your organisation’s financial information, sensitive customer information, or similar data.

Suppose you move your business organisation to another address without purchasing Royal Mail redirection service. In that case, there is a good chance that your sensitive mail reaches the wrong hands. It could lead to several problems, and you may even become a fraud victim. You can avoid all such issues by simply redirecting your business mailers.

Receive Home Mover Offers

Although this does not apply to business organisations, it is worth noting that Royal Mail provides special offers to home movers. It is relatively easy to redirect mail to individuals or personal addresses. Individuals can choose the duration for which they want to forward their mail.

Typically the duration for post office mail redirection is three or six months and can extend up to a year. After one year, Royal Mail assumes its customers to take the necessary steps to receive their mail at their new address. The customer can still choose to redirect their mail after this period to avoid any fraudulent activity. 

How To Get Started On Royal Mail Redirection?

Getting started on your Royal Mail redirection service for your business is relatively simple. You shouldn’t place any complex problems while setting it up for your business or personal address. But knowing what you need to redirect your mail and how to apply for it can make things easier for you. 

What Are The Things You Need For Royal Mail Redirection?

The Royal Mail redirection service is the same as any other unique postal service. You must specifically apply for the service. As your mail service, Royal Mail is only responsible for delivering to and from your business organisation. 

You are responsible for updating the mail service provider in the case of an address change. Below are the details you need to submit to the Royal Mail for redirecting mail to your new address.

• Names and birthdays of everyone who requires mail redirection.
• The full address, including the postcode of the current and new addresses.

Additionally, you need a valid or active credit/debit card to access the redirection service. It is also crucial to note that you need to apply for the Royal Mail redirection service at least five working days before you want to activate it. 

Royal Mail requires you to go to the post office to apply for a redirection service if the move involves more than eight people. You can apply to your nearest post office for the Royal Mail redirection service.

Royal Mail Redirection For Businesses

The way Royal Mail redirection works for businesses and individuals is slightly different. Companies must redirect their mail if they are shifting to a new premise or temporarily moving for a renovation. The need for securing business mail is more prudent than securing personal postal mail.

With personal mail, you are only responsible for your personal information. With business mail, you could be jeopardising the sensitive information of your company, its customers, and its employees. It means applying Royal Mail redirection for businesses is even more crucial than personal mail.

The Royal Mail redirection service for business organisations comes in two types, and they are:

• Business Mail Redirection
• Business Diversion

Business Mail Redirection

Suppose your business organisation is moving and is not inside a building that houses several businesses. In that case, you can use Business Mail Redirection. Your business should not share a single delivery point with other companies. You can use the business mail redirection UK service.

Business Mail Redirection ensures your customers and suppliers can effectively reach out to your business when you change addresses. By redirecting mail efficiently, Royal Mail ensures your business does not miss important business mail, including 

• New orders.
• Invoices. 
• Customer correspondences.
• Employee documents
• Governmental or legal documents/notices.
• And other essential business communications.

The Business Redirection service is best suited in cases where the entire company moves to a new address. Royal Mail is quick to set up the redirecting mail service, but it may sometimes take up to five days. 

You also need to ensure that you provide your different organisation names to Royal Mail that you want to cover via redirecting mail service. Companies can apply online for business mail redirection or contact your Royal Mail Account Manager.

Business Mail Diversion

Business Mail Diversion offers the same service as Business Mail Redirection, except its premises are different. You can use this redirecting mail service if a part of your business organisation is moving to a different location. 

The Royal Mail redirection service applies if a business organisation works out of a multi-occupancy building. Unlike Business Mail Redirection, more than one business uses a single delivery point. 

Using the Business Mail Diversion service, you can divert your crucial business mail to any address in the UK. For instance, you divert all your business mail to a branch or premise that remains functional by redirecting mail.  

The advantages of using Business Mail Diversion are similar to the standard post office mail redirection service. It lets you avoid the risk of compromising your business data, theft, and fraud. Royal Mail uses First Class Mail service for redirecting your business mail without a significant delay.

You can access the Business Mail Diversion service for three, six, and twelve months. An advantage of the Business Mail Diversion service is that smaller organisations with lesser than fifty employees can access Small Business Diversion service.

What Is The Cost Of Royal Mail Redirection Services?

The cost of Royal Mail redirection service can vary depending on different factors. Individuals and business organisations have different pricing for redirection services. Similarly, the price for Business Redirection and Business Diversion services can also differ. 

It is essential to understand that the pricing for the different types of redirecting services is also different, and plan your business expenses accordingly. Below, we discuss the Royal Mail redirection service cost in different cases or scenarios.

Business Redirection Cost

As discussed above, the Business Redirection service applies when a company moves entirely to a new address. It is relatively easy for Royal Mail to redirect mail when a business does not share its delivery point with other organisations. 

You can redirect mail to addresses within or outside the UK without a wild difference in pricing. In Business Redirection, the cost of mail redirection depends on the number of trading names. If you want to add more trading names to the list, you must pay the same fee repeatedly.

The table below shows the price for redirecting mail using the Business Redirection service for addresses inside and outside the UK.

Redirection Destination	Duration	Pricing
Addresses Inside The UK	Maximum of 3 Months	£‎216
	Maximum of 6 Months	£‎321
	Maximum of 1 year	£‎519
Addresses Outside The UK	Maximum of 3 Months	£‎252
	Maximum of 6 Months	£‎391
	Maximum of 1 year	£‎666

It is worth noting that the price per trading name table above does not include abbreviations. You can use abbreviations of your company’s trading names without additional redirecting mail costs because they are free. For example, if your company name is John John, you can redirect mailers using JJ in the address for free.

Business Diversion Cost

Business Diversion costs come in two tiers. One rate is for standard-sized business organisations and another for small businesses with less than 50 employees. This type of redirecting mail cost is applicable for businesses if they want to divert mail to a small branch or pocket of the organisation.

The pricing for Business Diversion is significantly higher than that of Business Redirection. In the latter, the whole business shifts to a new address and pricing are per trading name. The price of redirecting mail in Business Diversion is per department/business name or response license number.

Business Diversion redirection is specifically for business organisations working within the UK. The redirecting mail cost, in this case, depends primarily on the duration of the service. Check out the following table to understand the pricing of Business Diversion for standard and small business organisations.

Standard-Sized Business Organisations
Duration	Pricing
Maximum of 3 Months	£‎3,660
Maximum of 6 Months	£‎2,196
Maximum of 1 year	£‎1,266

 

Small-Sized Business Organisations
Duration	Pricing
Maximum of 3 Months	£622.80
Maximum of 6 Months	£385.20
Maximum of 1 year	£259.20

Tips For Applying For Royal Mail Redirection Service

You must consider a few things before applying for the Royal Mail redirection service to ensure its smooth implementation. Keep these tips in mind before you apply for your business mail redirection from Royal Mail.

Tip 1: Apply Early

One of the common mistakes companies make when applying for the Royal Mail redirection service is waiting till the last minute. Royal Mail requires five working days to process and set up your redirection request. So, when the time comes, don’t wait till the last minute to apply for the redirection service.

Tip 2: Double-Check The Accuracy Of The Details You Submit

Before submitting your Royal Mail redirection request, double-check all the details you provide. For instance, individuals must provide the last names of the people living at the same address. Not doing so could result in the Royal Mail not redirecting the mail addressed to them. 

Tip 3: Note The Timings

Regardless of whether you applied for redirection of post-Royal Mail, your incoming mailers will still have the old address on them. In other words, your mail reaches the postal delivery office corresponding to your old address first.

Royal Mail will redirect your mail to your new address via their First Class Mail service. It redirects the mail using International Standard mail if your new address is outside the UK. The Royal Mail redirection service takes at least one extra day to reach your new address.

Tip 4: Renew Your Royal Mail Redirection If Necessary

If the move was temporary and you end up staying in the new address longer than your initial plan, you must renew your redirection. The good news is that Royal Mail attempts to get in touch with you before your post office mail redirection service expires. 

You can renew the Royal Mail redirection service for three, six, or twelve months for a standard address. If you use a PO Box address, the maximum period is limited to just six months. It is worth keeping this in mind whenever you need a redirection service.

Tip 5: Be Mindful Of The Exceptions

There are always exceptions to the services and their rules – the Royal Mail redirection service is no different in this aspect. Royal Mail may be unable to redirect your business mail if laws and restrictions prevent them from sending certain items. It applies to addresses inside and outside the UK. You can find more information about items restricted from redirection on the Australia Post website.

How To Streamline Your Business's Mail Communication With PostGrid?

Implementing Royal Mail redirection for your business organisation is crucial, and there is no question about it. However, it is relatively easy compared to sending postal mail for your business organisation. Besieged the additional expenses, nothing makes the redirection of mail too complex.

Streamlining your business mail communication requires Royal Mail redirection only if you move your business. But sending direct mail is an integral part of your business organisation regardless of your business shifting locations.

In short, streamlining your postal mail communication is significantly more challenging than redirecting mail. Fortunately, you can use PostGrid’s direct mail automation software to overcome this challenge. It allows you to automate your direct mail services fully and even lets you automate its personalisation.

PostGrid’s automation solution simplifies the mailing process for your business. You can connect PostGrid’s direct mail API to your website, including your CRM solution. It allows you to personalise your business/ marketing letters and automate complex tasks like bulk mailing.

PostGrid plays a more vital part in optimising your business mail practice than redirecting mail via Royal Mail. But it would be best to consider both incoming and outgoing mail for holistically optimising your business mailing process. Therefore, mail redirection and direct mail automation are vital in optimising your business mailing process. 

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