Archive about June, 2011

Update on cleaning cloths

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

I posted an article on 14 March all about some non-chemical cleaning cloths I had purchased. As I have been using the cloths for three months now I thought I would give you some feedback.

In short – brilliant!

The cloths work really well, everywhere is clean, but not only that I find it easier. No having to carry different cleaning products for different jobs, just put the relevant cloth under the tap and off you go.

cleaning cloth in bath

Mind you do need a bit of elbow grease to get the bath nice and clean — but I look it as a “good workout”!

The cloths do get very mucky, so you can see the dirt you are removing but simply pop them in the washing machine, along with your towels, and they are clean again and ready for use.

However I am still looking for a good solution of getting the black marks off the tile grouting, without using bleach. Any ideas?

Posted in The Green Foundation | Comments Off

Direct mail can work

Monday, June 20th, 2011

During recent years there has been various debates about whether or not direct mail works. Some say not at all, some say yes, some say if your market is targeted correctly.

Here is proof that it can work – because I had a requirement that needed fulfilling.

I had a letter from Orange with regard to a phone for business, now I don’t currently have a contract with them but have been thinking about getting an iPhone 4, possibly from O2, so it arrived at just the right time.

I phoned them up, discussed various options, all of which are very good. I then started thinking about whether to have an iPad2 as well.

All because of a direct mail letter.

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Good to listen

Wednesday, June 15th, 2011

A well known advert says “It is good to talk”, well I say it is also “Good to listen”.

If you have visited my website before just have a quick browse around (after reading this blog of course), you may notice some small changes after getting some very important feedback.

Page from Hooper Graphics website

Basically it seems I was getting a little Green/Purple obsessed and the purple mono-tones were not the right sort of imagery for all of the pages. So we have more colour on the pages!

Hooper Graphics web page

Also on the photography and watercolour painting pages there is a small amount of text explaining why they have been included, hopefully it all makes sense.

It has been good to listen, and I am still open to more feedback, so please either drop me an email or leave a comment below.

Posted in Graphic Design, Marketing | Comments Off

Heritage noticeboard unveiled

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

The last part of the Condurro Heritage Project has come to a conclusion with the unveiling of the Heritage Board at the campsite.

The noticeboard is intended to accompany the booklet that was produced earlier this year but this time designed to appeal to the Guides that now visit the campsite to give them a sense of the history.

Girls holding copies of the Condurro book alongside the new noticeboard

It was also the first time that I had visited the campsite and a BBQ was held to celebrate the end of the project. It is a lovely campsite and I can see why it holds a special place to all those who have been lucky enough to camp there.

The book has been well received, which I think is because of those fond, happy memories along with the camaraderie that is Guiding — and all that love is held within the pages of the book.

Posted in Print Design, Recent work | Comments Off

Carbon balanced paper

Friday, June 3rd, 2011

I had a visit from Gill Thomas of Howard Smith paper who explained their carbon balanced paper range so I thought it only fair to share with you.

Why Carbon Balanced?

Howard Smith have partnered with the World Land Trust, an international conservation charity, to offset the carbon used in the production of the paper range detailed below, a logo can be included.

The Paper Range

  • Regency
  • Greencoat
  • think4

A good paper range that will suit your requirements, your pocket and meet environmental specs. Get in contact if you want to know more or see some samples.

Regency

If you need a silk/gloss paper is called the “printer’s choice”, as it has good environmental credentials being Forestry Stewardship Council or FSC accredited; 10% recycled; Carbon Balanced; manufactured to ISO 14001 standards.

This paper can be used for both litho and digital print runs, it is smooth, white, clean and is an excellent paper to choose for your print run, with photographs having that extra definition.

Greencoat

A wide selection of paper, which are all FSC certified, carbon balanced; manufactured to ISO 14001 standard. It can be supplied at specific sizes to save on paper wastage. Then best of all the print quality is superb, even on the offset paper.

Greencoat 80

This uses 80% recycled content (from recovered fibre), elemental chlorine free (ECF) and is available in Gloss and Silk.

Greencoat 55

This uses 55% recycled content, ECF and is also in Silk and Gloss for good quality image reproduction.

Greencoat 100 Offset

This is a 100% recycled offset paper with ISO 9706 approval for permanence. An excellent paper stock for stationery but photographs also look impressive for an offset paper.

think4

A range of uncoated paper that is carbon balanced, ISO 9706 approval for permanence, ECF and FSC certified with the philosophy to have maximum visual impact with minimal environmental impact. Print quality is fantastic and it feels good as well.

think4 sharp

Fantastic print quality with ; manufactured to ISO 14001 and guaranteed for laser printing.

think4 bright

This has 50% recycled content that has a good white quality, also manufactured to ISO 14001.

think4 white

This is also made from 50% recycled fibre, certified to ISO 12647-2 for colour management and is described as a natural shade of white.

Carbon Calculator

Want to know how much carbon you can save? Howard Smith have put together this fantastic carbon calculator to help you.

FSC accreditation

Means it is uses material sourced from responsibly managed forests. Paper printed on FSC certified stock can display a logo that is specific to that paper, providing you use an FSC accredited printer.

Posted in Print Design, The Green Foundation | Comments Off