Going through a rebranding is a time-consuming process. So is compiling all of last year’s accomplishments and data for an annual report. Now imagine going through both at once. That’s what the Hillsborough Education Foundation (HEF) encountered this fall. Two Herculean tasks needed to come together in time for the year-end Board meeting. While the rebranding was complete and the annual report was in its final proofing, there was not enough time for the offset printing and intricate spot varnishing of the finished piece in time for the full Board to get a preview of new logo, new colors and last year’s achievements at the final meeting of 2013.
Instead of creating a special PowerPoint or handing out expensive four-color copies of each page, HEF’s Senior Director of Marketing, Virginia McGrath, turned to ThinkShapes Mail to digitally print and assemble 60 of the 20-page annual reports to share with the Board. The pieces were printed in a day and delivered well in advance of the important meeting.
“It was imperative that the Board saw the annual report at that meeting,” said McGrath. “By printing a few dozen copies, we were able to give each member one of their own so they could experience the piece the way the public and our supporters soon would. The pieces were very high quality. We even had a few of our staff who were surprised these weren’t the actual finished pieces.”
Jennifer Frazier, owner of The Creative Stable and creative director/copywriter on the project, said she often turns to ThinkShapes for limited booklet runs with great results.
“HEF’s situation is a perfect example of how important it is to have a good digital booklet printer like ThinkShapes available,” said Frazier. “We have one client that is currently fundraising for a new Boys & Girls Club. To keep their outreach spend low, they print 100 copies of the sponsor brochure at a time. This also allows us to update photography to represent progress on site as well as add new donors to their donor pages. It’s a win-win for all.”
ThinkShapes Mail can print short digital runs from 10 to 250 cost-effectively and fast. Pocket folders are printed on high gloss or other specified stocks. Booklets can be printed from eight to 60 pages, and have heavy cover stock for the covers as well as gloss text weight pages for the interior of the saddle-stitched booklet. ThinkShapes can even merge graphic files with a spreadsheet to personalize each piece for everyone receiving the booklets, making them perfect for presentations, meetings and sales calls.
