Friday, November 28, 2014

Vistaprint

If you are the type who sends out Christmas cards, holiday greetings, note cards and the like, or if you fancy personalized coffee mugs, t-shirs, return labels, business cards, envelopes and and the like, then I recommend Vistaprint. And not just regular recommend either. I strongly recommend Vistaprint. They do an excellent job of it. Their prices are quite low. I cannot imagine them lower. I could not do better myself.  Their packaging and mailing rates are kept low. I am impressed.

But, Man, do they ever market. They just flat do not let up. Once they have your attention they resist letting go. And not just regular resist... At each step you are enticed to look at their other offers. It can be a bit overwhelming. Checkout is multistep process that allows them to keep urging you to add on. At payment they automatically calculate mid speed delivery at mid-cost, to have the lowest shipping rate you must choose a slower option. Then the final "continue to pay" button is not on the bottom as usual, they automatically add on labels down there at the page bottom unless you scroll back up mid page to continue without the the return labels. And it makes you think, "Hey, I could use those." Finally when done the page presented appears as if you are not really done and you must read the whole page to confirm, yes, I am done, but they succeed in having you read it and look again at their wonderful things all over again. Proper bastards with pushy marketing, but I must admit it all really does look very good, and you wonder, "What's wrong with me that I don't take them up on business cards or a few mugs?" Surely Nana would like a few photos of her grandkids or possibly a few of my dog."

I showed already the Photoshop I made when the super moon was in the news.


Simple. Egyptian without being overt. No hieroglyphics. The poster came out very nice. Nicer than most posters you see out there, larger than expected even though it was all measured beforehand, and the cool thing is I did it myself. 

A whole world of possibilities opens. 

I ordered another. Edge of the woods by French artist Paul-Elie Ranson, seen on Ace. Ranson's painting is displayed in a wide range of values. I chose the brightest and clearest, the happiest among them then adjusted in Photoshop for this: 


I rotated the photo for printing so that its dimensions fit what Vistaprint offers. 

This is a middle size poster 18" X 22". The cost for the printing is astonishingly low $6.00 with their special offer. (They always have special offers). With shipping $5.00. The poster comes rolled inside a sturdy triangular cardboard tube. Total cost $11.00, and you simply cannot do better than that. 

This will be mounted on mat board and framed. They also offer canvas versions for $24.00, much lower at least by half, than Flickr and Photobucket, and other photo hosting sites that make their real money from the same and similar things. 

For Christmas cards, this is the way to go. If you like, I can help you put something together with your own photos. Something that exceeds anything you can buy and for much less.

10 comments:

Synova said...

This is really great stuff. I don't know that I need any posters, but do they have puzzles? I've seen places that offer puzzles. You provide the artwork and they print and cut the puzzle. My kids do lots of art and while we've made greeting cards at home with the printer and photopaper and glue on blank note cards, I've never actually ordered any puzzles even though I've been tempted to.

Chip Ahoy said...

Wow. What a great idea.

I do not see any puzzles. Nothing comes up on search.

That would require special cutting equipment. I wonder if they even considered it.

ricpic said...

Never heard of Ranson before. There must have been something in the air at the time, the end of the nineteenth century, because his line, that sinuous doubling back on itself movement, is identical to Aubrey Beardsley's line, at least in Ranson's more florid paintings.

Chip Ahoy said...

Game cards would be another idea.

Synova said...

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/

I've never had any dealings with these guys, just book marked the page. Cards and board games.

I know I've seen puzzles offered...

http://www.cafepress.com/make/custom-puzzles

Titus said...

A Boston company, natch

Michael Haz said...

Vistaprint looks like a pretty deal.

I wouldn't use them for Christmas cards, though. I'm weird about this, but I think if a Christmas card has a photo on it, it should be a photo of Christ. Those are hard to get.

What I'd like, assuming they had a Christmas card I like, is a service that takes my spreadsheet of names and addresses and addresses all the envelopes, signs the cards in nice cursive style, puts them in the envelopes, adds a stamp, and sends them off.

All I'd have to do is update the mailing list, choose the card, provide a signature to copy, and pay for the service.

Or I could use my current technique of not sending anyone Christmas cards. It's simple, inexpensive, and like, totally green.

Michael Haz said...

Or maybe I would use a Christmas card service, but mess with people by using a different return address and names.

I'd use the Trump Tower in Chicago's return address. And I'd have the robot sign the card

Merry Christmas!
Raoul and Hermoine

And I'd have the robot add a note like

Loves! So terribly sorry we missed seeing you at Palm Beach, but the helo was grounded for repairs! See you at the club New Year's Eve!

I could see doing this.

Chip Ahoy said...

should be a photo of Christ. Those are hard to get.

That is the sort of thing we could make. Find the images you like and change them to suit yourself.

Michael Haz said...

And risk beheading?

No. Wait.....