What is ClingZ? It sounds like a new rock band or dance club, when in actuality; it is a type of substrate/material that is gaining popularity to be printed on. The difference between ClingZ and any other type of substrate is that it is a charged film that can adhere to almost any surface. Amazingly, it uses no glue or adhesives.

“ClingZ can be used to hang on drywall, glass, wood and even brick,” according to ClingZ’s website. When it comes to using this material, advertising ventures are easy. Once printed, it is a cinch to hang because it is charged with a polypropylene film as opposed to other types of substrates that have glue or adhesive on them. This can help with large advertisements because the chances of bubbles or wrinkles are greatly reduced.

Recently, ClingZ was printed on for a mural for a college art show.  It was printed in strips and then attached to the wall easily. Another cool way ClingZ was used was for an interactive makeup tutorial that allowed you to remove the directions from the makeup book to attach it to the mirror for ease of use when it came to applying the makeup and looking at the directions. The possibilities are endless. Miles is a certified ClingZ printer and we would be happy to answer any questions or take on your next project!

It’s pretty obvious that when advertisers want to get consumers attention they look to billboards, magazine ads, and commercials to sell their products. Sometimes, they hit the right buttons with buyers and other times they go overboard and the point gets lost in translation. If you want to try a new direction, our suggestion is to look into shelf talkers.

Often called Shelf Screamers or Shelf Barkers this type of advertising is definitely gaining momentum. Shelf talkers are small signs attached to the edge of shelves at stores that advertise a product, a sale, or whatever else worth accenting. They are even a good idea to help advertise something eco-friendly or healthy. In the grand scheme of advertising, they are very small in looks but they definitely pack a punch when you would like to note something of importance.

They can be printed on many different types of substrates and Miles Printing is more than happy to meet your Shelf Talker needs! Let us know, we would be happy to help!

**For larger image click on photos**

With all of the fun things getting ready to happen in downtown Indianapolis for the Super Bowl, getting lost shouldn’t be your worry. Good thing Miles has printed a map full of fun things and schedules of the happenings of downtown Indianapolis from Friday January 27^th to Sunday February 5th.

The map features all of Super Bowl Village with detailed directions of where to go, park, and where all of the events are placed. There is also a concert schedule outlined with performers, times, and stages! Along with the concerts are the details for events such as the Taste of the NFL, Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam, Super Bowl Stadium tours and much more. 

Know where to go for this once in a lifetime chance to see all of the Super Bowl action thanks to the Super Bowl Host Committee.

Have a super fun and safe experience!

Here at Miles Printing we are loving the Soft Touch Aqueous Coating. It seems to be really hot for designers right now!

In case you have not heard of “Soft Touch” coating, it is an aqueous coating that when applied to a printed sheet, it gives the feel of velvet. We have had several clients use this coating on their print projects recently!

The Soft Touch can be applied over the entire sheet (flood coat) or it can be applied to specific graphics on the press sheet (spot coating).  An example of spot coating is a book cover that features a large flower with a grassy background….we can apply the soft touch to the flower so the petals feel velvety to the touch!

It also seems to be popular to mix the Soft Touch coating with other coatings such as the High Gloss UV to give a contrast effect!

If you are planning on using Soft Touch or any other special coating on your next project, please make sure you choose a printer who is experienced with coatings……as they can be tricky, especially when appling multiple coatings to the same project!

It should be noted that “Soft Touch™” is a registered trademark of one of the many manufacturers of this product. Other manufacturers are now adopting their own terms for this coating – such as “Soft Feel” or “Liquid Velvet.”

When it comes to binding options, Miles Printing understands that it can be pretty confusing to know which technique is right for your next printing project. We offer lots of choices, but which one will work perfectly with your printed piece, underscoring its purpose and design qualities?

Ask a Miles Printing rep to see a sample next time you are ready to finish a binding project.

You may want to consider Saddle Stitching — stapling through the centerfold of a piece. It is called saddle stitching because folded booklets or brochures (called signatures) are placed over a “saddle” and then stapled along the spine. Saddle stitching is one of the most economic options available for binding multiple pages.

Saddle stitching is one of the easiest and most common ways to bind a booklet.

It is an excellent binding choice for booklets, brochures, newsletters, pamphlets, direct mailers and catalogs. Typically, saddle stitching works best for booklets that don’t have a lot of pages, from 8 pages to as many as 64. The key is that page quantities have to be in multiples of 4.

Because Miles Printing does a great volume of saddle stitch binding, we have invested in a Stitcher that not only automatically feeds the product signatures and 3 knife trims to the final piece size, but also has a camera detection system that recognizes feeding error and draws attention if bad pieces occur – saving time, money, and providing a perfect end-result.

Miles Printing can do all kinds of binding. Take your pick or choose a combination of bindings.

Although Miles Printing is known for printing on plastic — and we do a lot of that, it is certainly not all we do. Did you know that Miles has a full service bindery in house?

Next time you are looking for interesting ways to bind your printed piece together, consider ALL the binding choices – find the perfect option to give your finished piece impact and staying power.

The term “binding” includes all the ways to attach pages together, whether it is a manual, catalog, annual report, calendar, book, magazine, or even a flip chart. Because there are so many types of materials / substrates you can choose from, there are also many different ways to bind them together.

Miles Printing offers a full array of binding choices: depending on the look, feel, budget, quantity, weight, number of pages, stock, and longevity of your printing project. Some types of binding are classy such as saddle stitch; others such as wire-o binding have an edgier appeal. Your budget, design and stability of the piece all work together with the binding, so it’s a good place to do some planning and research.

Consider binding with:

• staple bound
• saddle stitch
• wire-o binding
• perfect binding
• plastic coil binding
• screw and post
• even rubber band binding

Your Miles Printing rep is a good source for ideas and recommendations and has dozens of samples. Let us help you get into a “good” bind!

The Hoosier Lottery has a lot at stake. It changes game formats frequently to attract business and must creatively market each new lottery game to make it memorable.

Miles Printing provides The Hoosier Lottery with "change mats" that hold up to heavy use AND get the message to potential customers -- right at the point of sale.

Miles Printing is doing its part to help keep new Hoosier Lottery products in plain sight. We help the Hoosier Lottery by frequently producing “change mats” found in grocery and drug stores as well as gas stations. The mat adheres to retail counters with the help of a low tack adhesive. The top side of the mat features a rough-textured scratch resistant vinyl, which ensures that the product holds up in these high demanding environments!

The production process on these counter mats is somewhat of a unique one:

Step 1:  Miles prints “wrong reading” or a reverse print on the backside of clear scratch resistant vinyl.

Step 2:  We then apply a low tack film over the printing.  This process ensures that the ink will not get scratched or rubbed off – since it is between the top layer of vinyl and the bottom layer of adhesive!

Step 3:  The sheets then get die-cut into various shapes and sizes.

Now the mat can handle all the wear and tear it comes in contact with – and draw just the type of attention it was created for.

Miles Printing has lots of ideas for bringing attention to your products in high traffic areas. Ask to see some examples and help your brand “hit the jackpot!”

You may have seen some of these decals produced by Miles Printing.

Stickers and decals are an amazing way to get noticed – especially at the point of sale. That’s why Miles prints a full array of permanent and removable decals and clings on both paper and plastic. We print decals as large as 25” x 38”, and also provide custom die cuts.

Since printing decals is a highly specific type of printing, let Miles Printing know what type of decal you have in mind and the end use, and we can help you figure out the proper substrate to print it on.

Here’s a partial list of the many ways you can use a decal:

• Store signage
• Window clings
• POP displays
• Bumper stickers
• Vehicle graphics
• Promo pieces
• Product lables
• Parking/Membership Passes
• Mailers

Need a way to make your message stick? Let’s talk decals!

Let’s talk a little about “variable data printing” or VDP (a.k.a. variable information printing).  Miles is doing great things for our customers using variable data such as: helping to enhance direct marketing and customer relationship management, incorporation PURLs, and adding unique eye catching QR technology.

Variable data is a form of on-demand printing that is gaining popularity.  Text, graphics and images can be changed from one printed piece to the next, without slowing down the printing process. Another reason it’s so popular? The returns for variable printing vary from double the return to 10-15 times the return for fully variable jobs, depending on content and the relevancy. Which means variable data is a highly effective tool for increasing ROI on marketing campaigns.

Why change these elements? Adding personalization is a great way to get the attention of your audience and it’s a simple process.  We use information from a database to personalize each printed piece, using a different name and address, inserting a PURL (personalized URL) or QR Code(quick response barcode) or any other field, for that matter. Variable data printing enables 1:1 marketing campaigns – instead of producing 10,000 copies of a single document, delivering a single message to 10,000 customers, variable data printing could print 10,000 unique documents with personalized messages for each customer.

Let Miles Printing show you how you can use variable data in your next printing project to dramatically increase your return.

Like you, we love it when we get something just right. Recently, a client called us and explained that they have sample vitamin drops they would like to give away at doctor’s offices. They needed a display unit to house the samples and had a simple drawing of what they envisioned for the display.

Miles POP took their concept and ran with it, presenting two ways we could accommodate the client’s wishes. Liking where we were headed, our client chose their favorite and Miles POP created a custom die mock up to provide a visual of the end product.

Our client was pleased, but realized belatedly they would also need a coupon book and business card to be affixed to the display carton for re-orders. The Miles team easily solved both of these issues with no problem. The final display features a UV printed carton that was printed, die cut and assembled by Miles.  It also features a printed coupon note pad and a clear plastic business card holder affixed to the inside of the display unit for re-orders.

Because Miles offers so many resources under one roof (printing, die cutting, fulfillment & assembly), after printing and assembling the display, we also inserted the customer-supplied vitamin drops into the display units. The fully assembled piece was ready to ship directly to doctors’ offices from our facility, saving our client several steps.

How can we solve your multi-stage printing dilemma?