Downtown Digital USA

Thank you to everyone who attended our 15th Anniversary Open House last week! We will be sending out our year-long coupons/deals soon, but I thought I would ask: What kind of deal would you use? Discounts? Free extras? Let me know in the comments.

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PSA: If you are going to mail magnets (Save-The-Date, Calendar, Advertising, Note Pad, etc.) there are special requirements (and additional postage) that you need to be aware of.

If possible, the magnet should NOT be facing the outside of the envelope; you should either include a chipboard "sleeve", or put the magnet inside of a card.

Even with the above-precaution, you should hand-carry the piece(s) into the post office and tell them they need to be hand-canceled. (If you drop them in a blue box there is every expectation that some... most... of your mailout will stay affixed to the inside of the blue box.)

You also have to pay the "hand-cancel" postage (which is more than first-class/forever postage). Plus, your magnet may increase the weight of the piece to over an ounce, so that would require an "additional ounce" stamp.

We print a lot (...A LOT...) of magnets, and will always ask how the magnets are going to be used so that these "little surprises" don't blind-side you. (For instance, we carry 3 different thicknesses/weights of magnetic material, and also a double-sided material, and may recommend a different product if you intend to mail them.)

PSA: If you don't understand the terms "Bleed" and "Crop Marks" you should ~not~ consider yourself a graphic designer (nor should you be charging for your services).

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PSA (and "learn something new every day"):

Many legacy software packages, apps, and websites are only programmed to recognize TLD (top level domains) up to 4 characters. (The TLD is the right-most "dot" on your website/email, such as .com, .edu, .org, etc.)

New domain assignment rules allow for anything up to 63 characters, and people are starting to take advantage of that (i.e., .youtube, .amazon, .weatherchannel).

This will create issues for email validation, especially on those packages where the code is not editable, has been lost, etc. Things that have "worked" for a decade or more will break, but only when someone has a long TLD (while working the rest of the time).

Most of these validations are behind-the-scenes, and may not resort in an error; but this may mean the user won't receive order confirmations, shipping updates, and/or other server-generated traffic.

(On a side-note this also affects QR codes which have a maximum "safe" limit of 26 characters, including the "https://".)

We discovered this foible when a customer with a .mortgage email did not receive an invoice; we have since corrected our software to recognize the maximum TLD length (one advantage to writing our own IJWP). But I'm sure there are many others out there who have no idea this is (or is not) happening.

If you have a TLD longer than 4 characters, be diligent; follow up when you expect to see responses, stay on top of order progress, and don't be hesitant to suggest your email address may require additional attention.

Kudos to my team (Greg, Mike, and Elysia) who braved the snow to come to work Thursday and pump out an entire week's worth of orders in one day! (And Mike learned how it feels to shovel Tennessee "snice"... not the same as that Chicago stuff, eh, Mike?)

This team is phenomenal, and bodes well for our success in 2024!

Ever wondered what 200,000 business cards looks like? (This is half of the total order of 400,000.)

Hello, Valued Customer,

As we enter the last month of 2023 we wanted to touch base with you to make sure we can help keep your end-of-year activities running as planned.

Our industry is still suffering from supply chain woes, including envelopes and some printable substrates; we are doing everything in our power to forecast appropriate stock levels, and we hope this will prevent any delays for your end-of-year and first quarter needs.

If you are wanting holiday CARDS (a single piece that is printed front/back) or FOLDERS (a piece that folds such that it has a front, back, and 2 inside panels) we have thousands of artwork options; it is often easier to send us a short note as to what themes you like (i.e., wreath, holly, snowman, ornaments, etc.) and let us send you a small selection to pick from. (Yes, 37 years in the business and we've never been able to appropriately collect everything into a catalog.) Everything is made custom, so we can change colors, superimpose items, and add your company's information easily and quickly.

To make sure everyone's holiday orders are completed on time, we plan on following this schedule:

• Week of Dec 4-8: Holiday Cards/Folders WITH special inks (Metallic Gold, Metallic Silver, Spot UV)

• Week of Dec 11-15: Holiday Cards/Folders with UV or no coating

• Week of Dec 18-22: All Calendar Types (Shingle, Wall, Pocket, etc.)

If we are doing mail fulfillment for your order, your cards will mail by the Tuesday the week following your order type. This means cards/folders printed by the 8th will be in the mail by the 12th; cards/folders printed by the 15th will be in the mail by the 19th.

If you are including a magnet with your cards we need your order by December 1st; all cards including magnets will be in the mail by the 19th.

If you are wanting to distribute holiday gifts, please note that blank goods are still extremely difficult to keep in stock. Delays at the Panama Canal have dry goods arriving as much as 10 weeks late. We will do our best to accommodate your needs, but your cooperation as to deadlines and alternates is greatly appreciated.

Also, we would recommend getting your first quarter plans in order NOW; January is going to be here before we know it, and many options will be depleted by the holiday rush. (We should always have Post-it Notes, Magnets, Padlets ~ Cardlets ~ Journlets, and Temporary Tattoos, because we keep a substantial amount of the raw materials needed for these items.)

Finally, we will be closed for order processing and production Dec 25th thru Jan 5th; we will have limited production during this time period, but will not receive any additional stock until January 9th. (Please plan accordingly; if you have needs for this time period please turn your orders in early!)

Thank you for a wonderful year.

We have completed our refit, and have some extraneous equipment for sale. Local pickup only. Vacuum Frame 30" x 40" with pump and homemade stand $1,000; electric friction-fed folder (up to 11x17) with drop tray $500; electric friction-fed folder with conveyor exit (up to 11x17) for $1,000. Local pickup only.

PLEASE NOTE: Downtown Digital USA will no longer be accepting artwork created in the following programs:

Anything Microsoft. (This is for security reasons.) Here are the work-arounds.
• Microsoft Word. (Solution: Save as a high-resolution PDF)
• Microsoft Excel. (Solution: Save as a CSV file.)
• Microsoft PowerPoint. (Sorry... this NEVER outputs a print-ready file.)
• Microsoft Publisher. (Save as high-res PDF with proper margins, crop marks and bleeds.)

Canva. (There is no version of canva that outputs a high-res print-ready file; Canva, even the Pro version, saves everything as a picture frozen at 300dpi, so fonts look muddy/fuzzy, no color correction can be applied, branding requirements are compromised, etc.)

Proper Margins (i.e., the artwork background leaves a white area on all sides of the product): 1/4"; the bare minimum is 1/6" (1 pica).

Proper Resolution: All embedded pictures/graphics, if not available in vector, should be 400dpi at 100% and not stretched in either direction. Do not send files with links; this just delays things. All images should be CMYK to prevent colors from slipping when converted. If you have used overlaid transparencies you need to flatten your artwork before submitting. If you are embedding gradients or transparencies, make sure your Raster settings are set to 400dpi or higher.

(HINT: If the original picture is smaller than 400dpi at the size you want it to be then it cannot be made larger to work; all you are doing is enlarging the distance between the existing pixels and filling them in with imaginary pixels.)

Will 300dpi work? Yes, but your printing will look like it was run on a copier; if that is good enough for you then we'll run it. (But nothing less than 300dpi is acceptable.)

All logo files should be vector. All artwork intended for promotional items should be vector. ("Vector" is the opposite of "Raster"; vector means the file is created using instructions for drawing the logo/graphic at any size without pixilating, wherease raster is saved as pixels with a color palette at a certaion size and cannot be scaled.)

Proper Crop Marks/Bleeds: Crop Marks should be offset 1/8". Bleeds on flat sheet converted items (say, up to 13" x 19") should extend 1/8" on all 4 sides, even if the bleed is only on one or two sides. Bleeds on wide format items (banners, signage, etc.) should extend 1/4".

Proper file output/pagination: Your PDF should be 1 PDF page for every 1 counted/numbered page in your project, with proper bleeds. Please DO NOT try to guess which page needs to run opposite of another page; it is MUCH EASIER for us to let our software line everything up. Make sure bleeds are turned on, Trim Marks are the ONLY mark turned on, and all compression is turned OFF. Make sure Color Conversion is set to None.

IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THESE INSTRUCTIONS THEN YOU YOU SHOULD NOT BE MAKING YOUR OWN GRAPHICS FILES. Please contact us and we will refer you to a graphic designer in your area.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: PAPER BOX CLEARANCE SALE!!

Boxes are NOW AVAILABLE 24/7!!

FREE paper boxes available at 1759 Amherst Rd in Knoxville. They are kept in the storage shed in the top parking lot. No need to knock, ring, buzz, bang, or otherwise try to get our attention!

(Shed holds 500 empty boxes; if getting near empty we will refill the shed.)

Boxes all have lids and measure roughly 19.5" x 11.5" x 9". Great for moving or storage.

Stop by and pick up as many or as few as you want. First come, first served until we run out; we cannot hold boxes for anybody. If post is still up, we still have boxes. If you miss out this time, don't worry, we will have more again later.

As your premier printing and promotional products source, we are here to offer our over 50 years' combined experience in the industry to help you build and maintain your business. Our monthly specials are designed to help keep you on top of your marketing game, brainstorm future promotional needs, and avoid that last-minute scramble for next weekend's big event 🙈

February is well under way, which means April is up next! Depending on who you ask, April is also known as
Stress Awareness Month💆‍♂️,
Autism Acceptance Month♾️,
and Earth Month🌎 (with Earth Day on Saturday, April 22 this year).

Place your orders in March to ensure you have your products in-hand in time for April.

😫Stress Relievers😫
Stress relievers are great to have on-hand for some cathartic squishing or coworker pelting (jk jk). We offer stress relievers in hundreds of shapes, sizes, and styles - from your basic foam or gel ball (or globe!), to hippos and unicorns, to tractors, and almost any shape in between. Stress relievers are as low as $1.50 each; for 100-150 pieces, you can expect to spend around $2.40-$5.15 per piece with 1-color imprint.

🪇Fidgets🪇
Fidget toys are continuing to gain in popularity not only with children and the neurodivergent community but amongst neurotypical adults as well. They come in tons of different styles, and we can print on most of them! Our most popular styles are spinners and cubes, but don't be afraid to ask about other types. Fidgets come as low as $1.70 each; you can expect to spend around $2.75-7.00 each for 100 pieces with a 4-color imprint.

🥤Reusable Bottles🥤
Reusable water bottles, travel mugs, and cups help support the environment and keep you and your clients hydrated, which is a big player in supporting the body and reducing the effects of stress. Our most popular style is the 22oz sports bottle, which comes with either a push/pull sip lid or a flip top. For these bottles, you can expect to spend around $3.00 each for 300 with a 1-color imprint on both sides of the bottle AND the collar. If reusable plastic bottles don't sound like your thing, be sure to ask about our options for glass bottles and stainless steel vacuum tumblers.

🧸Stuffed Animals🧸
Sometimes you just need a good cuddle, and our adorable plush stuffed animals are ready to offer one. Our stuffies can cost as little as $7 each, and arrive all dressed up and ready to go in t-shirts branded with a 1-color imprint. Our minimum is just 24 friends, which will cost around $11-14 per piece.

*Specials prices listed are not a quote and should not be treated as such. Actual pricing will vary depending on quantity, style, and imprint for each item. If you like these ideas, or have one of your own, get in touch today at [email protected] for your custom quote.
Our Up Next: April specials are valid 2/15-3/15/23.