This week’s fold is another amazing high-speed inline automated direct mail piece from Specialty Print Communications in Niles, Illinois. The client is AT&T, and the did 556,000 of them on 7pt Somerset Reply Matte, 4 color process plus variable printing. There’s a carrier piece with a die cut window, and a pull-out insert. When you pull it out, the contents of the window change. When pulled all the way out, the insert reveals the offer. There’s a large smartphone graphic and a cool visual trick when you pull it out. The production info is fascinating, but you’ll have to watch the video to find out!
FOLD of the WEEK: Sliding Smartphone Self-mailer
May 9th, 2012FOLD of the WEEK: Bidirectional Accordion with Glueless Pocket
May 1st, 2012This week’s fold is a great digital piece for direct mail. Produced by Rider Dickerson in Chicago and designed by CharisseM Design, this piece is a promotion for Rider Dickerson’s printForum 2012 Conference. I’m actually going to be speaking at the event on May 16th, but they surprised me with this cool DM promo. It’s a Bidirectional Accordion with a great modification—they adjusted the accordion on the horizontal to pocket depth to form a glueless pocket that holds a 3-panel accordion insert. Printed on an HP Indigo, machine folded and customized for 2,400 people, it’s a great example of creativity with digital. Enjoy!
FOLD of the WEEK: Asymmetrical Broadside Booklet Fold
April 25th, 2012I was thrilled to find out that RR Donnelly’s annual report utilizes a really cool folding style called an Asymmetrical Broadside Booklet Fold. Printed/machine-folded at a high-tech RRD facility, it’s a fabulous example of form and function. Folded down, the format paginates as if it was bound (but it’s not). A simple die releases the center panels and allows it to pull open into a dynamic poster format. You must see this masterpiece!
FOLD of the WEEK: Double Open Gate with Quadruple Clock Die Cut
April 18th, 2012Last week I was in Minnesota at GLS Companies for a presentation and while I was there, they let me loose in their sample department. I almost didn’t leave. I was sent home with some fabulous things for my collection, but my absolute favorite was the piece I’m showing this week. It’s a double open gate folded format - very rare - with four clocks die-cut in swinger fold format. Cool time zone concept - very visual and dimensional, too. It was one of three unique pieces sent on a three-part mailing campaign for Kodak. You must find the time to watch this!
FOLD of the WEEK: Fab Iron Cross Invite with Open Gate Locked Cover Combo
April 10th, 2012Spring is here and wedding season is picking up again, as well as lots of spring events and celebrations. This beautiful special event invite was sent to us by St. Bernadine Mission Communications in Vancouver, BC Canada was printed by my friends at Blanchette Press. It’s a modified iron cross fold where the cover uses a specially placed die cut to lock the cover and create a dimensional presentation. Open it up and the piece open gate folds out for a lovely reveal. Gorgeous, well-designed and you’ll find that it’s even practical. I love it - you will, too!
FOLD of the WEEK: Super-smart Booklet Mailer with Tucked Cover and Pocket
April 4th, 2012This week’s sample is another smart solution from my friends at Lawton Printers in Casselberry, Florida. It’s an 8-page self-mailing booklet with a 6-page cover – but it doesn’t stop there. The cover trims short and has a tab that tucks, and the 8th page of the interior signature folds and glues into a pocket. Lots of real estate for content and graphics, plus the practicality of the interior and the cover stays nice and neat. Great stuff!
FOLD of the WEEK: Lady Liberty Self-envelope Mailpiece
March 28th, 2012My friends at Structural Graphics never disappoint. On my last visit to their Essex, CT headquarters, they let me loose in their huge sample room with a shopping cart. This week’s selection is vintage 1997 - but the solution is timeless and fabulous for direct mail. It’s a piece for Lerner New York and it looks just like an envelope when folded, but when you open it, it’s an 8-page broadside fold with an L-format pop-up inside. Lots of nice little details add to the sophistication of the piece. Great stuff - I guess it’s true that age is just a number!
FOLD of the WEEK: Snazzy Car-shaped Direct Mailer
March 21st, 2012A special shape sent in a mylar envelope is an eye-catcher! This week’s solution is from Picky Print Production in West Hollywood, CA. It’s a direct mailpiece for Suzuki that features the shape of the car and a unique vertical pull-down accordion format with a tear-off panel. The purpose of the piece is to focus on the car’s strengths and awards, and to get people to come in for a test drive and claim a free gift card to one of three stores. The car is read and flashy, the format is great, and the mylar envelope really makes the piece stand out. Very cool.
FOLD of the WEEK: Compact and Eco-conscious Media Kit
March 14th, 2012This week’s fold is from KAKEE in Montreal Quebec Canada. KAKEE was tasked with putting together a multi-piece media kit for vestechpro Apparel Research and Innovation Center. The determined that they could create a glueless solution that holds a lot of information with fewer pieces and a very attractive design. The compact 5 x 9 folded format is outstanding and can be handed out or mailed efficiently. They added a chic curved die cut on opposing corners to give it polish. I love a great “form and function” design - I hope you like it, too!
FOLD of the WEEK: “Infiniti Loop” Continuous Wrapped Accordion
March 7th, 2012This week’s fold is a fun little piece I’ve had in my collection for years. It’s a piece from Neenah Paper, and it was nested into a larger marketing piece. I snagged it because the format was so cool. It’s a wrapped accordion format, but instead of keeping the trailing panel open, they put a half-inch tab on it and glued it to the next panel, which creates a booklet feel when folded, and an infiniti loop when it’s completely opened up. They did some great things with the graphics, too. Very fun. This technique could be applied to other folds as well, so lots of possibilities to consider!
