Dark Stock or Light Stock Christmas Cards?

Finally making a choice between going with a dark or light stock Christmas cards this year can depend on many factors. What look are you going for and who are the recipients? Depending on the card and printing color, could you be sacrificing readability?

The Gallery Collection carries both types of card stocks in a wide array of styles. Light Christmas cards could be white or buff while dark stock cards can be black, dark brown, dark green, navy blue or a deep red. Additionally, many designs are offered in both light and dark stock options. So, how do you choose?

Think ahead—if you opt for a dark stock card know that your color printing options become limited to select foils only. If you plan to sign or write anything on the Holiday Cards you will need to purchase gel pens, which The Gallery Collection offers in gold and silver.

If you choose a light stock card, be wary of color conflicts there as well. Some might find silver on white card stock or the gold on buff card stock slightly harder to read. Ask for a complimentary sample of your printing color on your card stock choice to see if you like the way it looks together.

Save on Holiday Cards by Ordering Online This Season

For the last few years, I’ve been in charge of purchasing our holiday cards.  Because of budget, I had to shop around for the best pricing. This meant that I would have to call several companies to get quotes. Once presented to my superiors, they would usually go with the lowest price. Unfortunately, the best pricing doesn’t always mean the best quality. We have been burnt more than once. Cheap looking cards do not represent our company the way we want to be seen.

I convinced my bosses that I could save on holiday cards this season by ordering online! However, not before I did some research. As I sat at my computer and typed in Holiday Cards, one of the first companies to come up is The Gallery Collection. As I was clicking through the site, I saw a vast array of beautiful business holiday cards. There were so many to choose from. Wow! The prices were very good, and they even had Christmas Cards on sale at half and even 55% off. However, I was still hesitant. As I said before, we have been burnt in the past. As I was looking through the site, I noticed that I could order samples. So after checking on the pricing, I did just that.

I received the requested samples in no time. I wasn’t disappointed. The cards were beautiful. With pricing and samples in hand, I presented the information to the powers that be. They were quite impressed and gave me the OK to purchase. That was easy. What wasn’t so easy was choosing the final design choice. Once that decision was made, I went back online and placed the order. The process couldn’t have been easier. The cards arrived in less than two weeks and the finished product was impressive.

For the future, I will not be calling several places for quotes. I already know I can save money and time by going straight to The Gallery Collection!

How Should I Mail My Christmas Cards

So here I am in November, preparing to order my Christmas Cards to send to our clients. I’ve chosen the beautiful Glowing Holiday Forest Card (shown above) with customizations to include our logo in a luxurious Gold Foil.

While very satisfied with the choice of card and personalization, the final challenge I face is how to manage a timely, cost effective approach to mailing my Christmas cards! I just don’t have the spare time nor do I have staff with spare time to address, stuff, seal and apply postage to 1,550 greeting cards. What other alternatives are available to mail my Christmas cards?

My first thought is that I could perhaps hire a temporary from an agency to handle this but that’s costly and seems a bit ludicrous for what should be a one, max two day project! I then notice that the company I’m purchasing the greeting cards from gallerycollection.com offers a full mailing service to their customers at a very reasonable rate. They will address, fold, stuff, seal and mail all of my cards. I simply need to submit my list of client addresses. Well this certainly seems something worth considering.

Instructions were easy to follow, ordering has always been easy with Gallery Collection (have ordered from them before) and Voila! My Christmas cards were personalized, in envelopes, sealed and mailed in a timely fashion for all of our clients to have for the holidays. At one point, I did call customer service with a question and was assisted by one of the most courteous and helpful representatives I have ever dealt with.

How should I (or anyone!) mail their Christmas cards? Without a doubt, take advantage of ordering with a company that has beautiful greeting cards, great service and will manage “the whole package” for you!

Using Photo Christmas Cards to Show off Your Business

Sending Christmas cards is not just a great way to remind your clients that you are thinking of them, but if done right, it is a great opportunity to do some advertising.  With such an awesome selection of photo Christmas cards on the market today, you can definitely use this time as a marketing strategy.

There are Christmas cards where you can upload your own photo.  I am sure you have all received family photo cards from relatives and friends so why not use this for your business?  Take a picture of the inside of your shop displaying key items.  Add some employees in there dressed in the either the products (depending on the type of business) or in company colors. 

Another great idea to show off your business with a photo Christmas card is to use a Christmas custom photo mount card.  Feel free to take a picture of the outside of your building and have it printed on the front of the card.  One client sent me their Christmas photo card with a picture of their storefront at twilight as the snow was falling.  This is a great way to make a last impression.

Using photo Christmas cards to show off your business is a great way to spread Christmas joy and to also keep your business front and center you’re clients’ minds.

Holiday Cards: A Sound Marketing Strategy for all Businesses

Mid to Late October is time to seriously think about sending Holiday cards to your clients to let them know how much you appreciate them for their loyalty. There is no question that sending greeting cards is a must, Holiday cards let your clients know that they are important to you and is the most cost effective way to thank them for their patronage.

Holiday cards for business are everywhere; some nicer and more appropriate than others, so research is a crucial. Keep in mind that we live in a melting pot in which people have different religious beliefs. Choose a non-denominational design with “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings” on the front of the greeting card.   The things you are looking for are of course fine quality paper, classic design and a touch of foil makes a greeting card come to life.  The envelope should also be of the finest quality paper and preferably be foil lined; this way you can start impressing as soon as the envelope flap is opened!

Once you have your selection you should have them personalized with your company name, after all it is a corporate holiday card; you can and should also hand sign. When sending personalized Holiday cards it is incredibly important to send the highest quality cards your budget will allow. The quality of your Holiday cards reflects your business so only choose the best. You promote your business by getting the word out so know that cards can be printed with your company name and your logo making a great impression with your clients you can even include a business card. Imagine your card being displayed in an office that has many visitors; you never know who will see your greeting card and make a decision about your company without meeting you.

How to Pick This Year’s Company Holiday Card

You want to impress your boss, but boy is it a lot of pressure to make a decision for the whole company. Sure, it’s only a card. A card that will be given to every client, personal contact of your boss, as well as the whole company’s staff!

When you are faced with a decision that involves so many people, it can be daunting to try and figure out what single thing is going to please everyone. First thing’s first: Keep your priorities in check. Make sure you are solid on your budget (and make sure you are positive on the quantity!), time frame to get and deliver the cards, and always keep in mind the audience. While your boss’ opinion might take precedence over your own here, do not overlook the recipients. Who is the card addressing and therefore what should the right message be? Do they all celebrate the same holiday? Be considerate of these sensitivities but realize that ultimately if you know your boss wants a Christmas card sent out—despite any conflicts that could arise—the card you order better be Holly Jolly.

If you’re really not sure what your boss will like—ask! Come with specific questions that are not extremely limiting so you’re not screwed into trying to find a unicorn card. The idea is to get your boss’ input without annoying them or allowing them to form an ideal card (therefore bolstering their expectations). Ask things like if they wanted a certain theme or color scheme. This could be heavily revealing to the type of card they expect. Or ask whoever chose the company holiday card last year to gain some insight.

Once you have your criteria in mind, actually choosing a card should be much easier. You’ve already narrowed it down substantially from answering those few questions. So stay focused. It can be easy to be wowed by all the cards available to you. Keep checking in with what you know you need to buy and make the best decision you can. Don’t search with fear that you’ll get the wrong one. Search with the intention of finding the best Christmas card you can.

What Should I Write On My Christmas Cards?

If you are overwhelmed by the idea of picking your Christmas cards, let alone what to say in them, you’ve come to the right place. Here are tips to help get you Ho-Ho-Holiday ready in no time.

You want to send out a card that is appropriate for your intended audience but that also matches your personality. The best place to find a huge range of high-quality Christmas cards is at The Gallery Collection. There hundreds of designs to choose from, so you are bound to find one – or a couple dozen – cards you really love. A helpful hint is that you can use the heart icon to save any designs you’re interested in. This way you can revisit the site days later and have them all saved in one place, making it easy to compare.

Now that you have your card’s cover figured out, you can select one of the dozens of greetings featured on The Gallery Collection. All of them are included and some even have snowflakes or a snowman! This makes figuring out what to say easy but still genuine and tailored to your tastes. If none of the many varying fonts and sentiments catch your eye – but all that browsing has you thinking up your own greeting – you always have the option of crafting your own words and choosing your own font (for an additional charge). You also must decide if you’d like ink (included) or foil (extra).

One to two lines of text come included under the greeting as well, making it easy to personalize your card and impress your recipients, without a hefty price-tag. If you’d rather use signatures instead of hand-signing your cards, you may also add this personal touch with ease (and a nominal fee).

There are so many ways to customize your Christmas cards on The Gallery Collection – you could even add text to the front of many cards or incorporate personal photos! So get looking and surprise yourself with how hassle-free and heartfelt your Christmas cards can be.

Snapping the Perfect Picture for Your Christmas Cards

It can be a lot of pressure to create the perfect Christmas card each year—especially when your family decides to try a Christmas Photo card! Here are some helpful tips to capture the perfect image for the perfect cards!

-Pay attention to the size of the photo, as many Christmas Photo card creators require a minimum/maximum for you image specs.

-Be aware of your background. Give thought to where you want to take your photo. Don’t overlook a mess or a clashing color in the background.

-Take multiple shots! This way you have a few options to choose from, or you can even Photoshop everyone’s best picture together to create a masterpiece!

-Think of a unifying theme for your picture.  Whether it’s clothing, colors, or a vibe, consider adhering to a specific theme as a group. Committing to a group theme might look more put-together or polished than if the photo is haphazard. You can control the direction of your Christmas Photo card with just a little forethought.

-Put it all together with the same attention to detail that you took the photo with. Make selections like the card stock, border of photo, and message inside. . .with the outside in mind. This will make the Christmas Card feel complete.

Card Imprinting on Business Holiday Cards

Personalizing or card imprinting on Business Holiday Cards is key in getting your company name out there to all of your customers, clients and vendors. But equally important is how its looks. Whether a company decides to add their logo or go with standard typesetting, it needs to look “nice.” It should be appropriately sized for the card, and color selection should complement the front of the card. For more conservative companies, black might be a better or safer choice. One-color printing looks more cohesive inside the card, the greeting should be the same color as the card personalization. A red foil greeting with the company name typeset in green foil does look “Christmas-y” but it also looks like the company name was thrown on the card as afterthought. If the front of the card is mostly red or green, choose either color for inside the cards; printing in blue ink for whatever reason creates a card that does not look professional or well designed.

When a logo is used for the card imprint, there may be corporate “Identity” standards that require that certain colors must be used when printing a logo. If these PMS or “branded” colors cannot be followed, a typical workaround involves printing the logo in black and occasionally in gold or silver foil. If a company logo appears on a holiday card in black, it probably does not mean they lack holiday spirit. They are probably following set guidelines as required by corporate mandate.

Whatever colors appear when you open your next holiday card, be thankful you received it; it indicates your business is much appreciated by the sender!

Ring in The New Year With Greeting Cards!

What better way to celebrate another year with friends, family, coworkers, and clients than with a New Year’s card! No matter the distance, this new tradition could be a way to keep close to the ones you care about most. The Gallery Collection offers a multitude of New Year’s themed cards — some even combining the Holidays with the coming New Year. Also, keep in mind that you could opt to send one of our Calendar Cards instead for a similar effect.

New Year’s cards are a fabulous way to keep in touch, guaranteed to make the people you care about most smile. This time of year people are often resolving to try something new. Who knows, one of their resolutions could be to better keep in contact with family and friends! Sending a card shows you genuinely care, even after the Holiday-Hubbub.

The following are a couple of customer favorites:

Peace and Prosperity Holiday Card (Design# 1023742): This card is bright, colorful, and has an editable cover! This card is all about the new year ahead with words wishing recipients the very best.

Prism New Year Card (Design# 302485). This card is a timeless New Year’s card. It’s bright, reminiscent of fireworks, and has foil accents!