Have you been lucky enough to go on a vacation recently? Not just a weekend trip to the beach, but a real vacation. A journey to a distant, unknown and beautiful place where you escaped your daily routine and felt like a new person.

You know those hundreds of digital images you took while you were away? I bet you’ve already showed them to friends and co-workers, who feigned enthusiasm in response. Now how about turning those pictures into souvenirs that you can post in your home or office to remind you of the wonderful memories and feelings you had while away?

Here are three ways to repurpose vacation photos as printed memorabilia:

1. Print black-and-white postcards
This format works just as well for panoramic shots of vistas and monuments, as it does for more simple street scenes or focused pictures of objects. Choose a few standout images from your trip and center the image on the front of the postcard. Use black-and-white printing on matte paper and add a small white border around the edges to make the postcard look like a vintage print. Include a description of the photo on the back of the card, along with an address and stamp area, if you’d like to mail these to family and friends. Or leave the back blank, and frame a few of the postcards to hang as a set in your home.

2. Design an inspiring poster
There’s nothing more rewarding than wanting to visit a famous place and then planning and saving up money until you can finally travel there. Savor that moment when you stood at last on top of the Eiffel tower or in front of the Taj Mahal with an inspirational poster. The poster doesn’t have to focus on the most stupendous part of the vacation, there are a lot of other little snapshots that might stand out to you as poster-worthy, such as a beautiful nature shot, a candid photograph of a local person or a lesser known building. You can create a full-bleed poster with just the image itself, or add a border and some inspirational text or a quote particular to the photograph, region or memory.

3. Thank-you or greeting cards
Design a set of greeting cards or thank-you cards around images from your recent trip. For newlyweds returning from a honeymoon, using a photograph from your trip as the center-piece for your thank-you notes is a nice touch. If you want to create a more subtle greeting card, use Photoshop to isolate one element of an photograph, such as a palm tree against a coastline or a skyline and create an outline or illustration from that initial image. This outline or illustration would serve well centered and foil stamped on the front of the card.

©2010 PsPrint Blog. All Rights Reserved.

The Oscars are a great opportunity to shine the spotlight on your business or just gather friends together. If you have access to a projector, you can hang a sheet on a wall in your shop or home or even set up a viewing party outside. Invite friends, family and clients, and then encourage networking during the red carpet interviews leading up to the show.

Don’t forget: The Academy Awards are on Sunday, March 7. Here are four printing ideas to do in advance that will make your Oscar party memorable.

Invitations. A printed invitation is memorable – the recipient can hold onto it and remember your event, whether he or she actually attends. You can easily whip out a customized invitation, or you can play up the movie theme by printing tickets. PsPrint has a free event ticket template to get you started.

Advertising. Invitations aren’t the only way to call attention to your Oscar party. Print up posters with all the details and mount them at your store as well as bulletin boards of your friendly neighbors.

Ballot. Even if you don’t host a party, you can still organize a fun competition among co-workers, customers and friends. Print out ballots with the nominees listed on the official Oscar site (.pdf). For a personal touch and to add some marketing flair, design and print your own ballot form. Include your company’s information and consider adding some sort of coupon. (Hint: Choose a recycled matte paper stock, which is easier to write on.) Encourage participants to fill out the ballots early so they can turn them in to you prior to March 7 or at the start of your party. Then award a prize to whoever gets the most categories correct. Prizes could include a miniature trophy, a product or service from your company, or movie passes.

Consolation prizes. Make everyone a winner by awarding all participants and party attendants a take-home gift. One idea is to make a CD of the Oscar-nominated songs. You can usually legally purchase them quite cheaply through iTunes. Then burn a bunch of discs and package them in a customized CD sleeve that includes a playlist, some sort of Academy Award-inspired design and your company information.

©2010 PsPrint Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Yet, why send a postcard when you could send an entire poster to advertise your business? A poster-mailer format is the same general idea as a postcard; the fun eye-catching stuff is on the front side and the information is on the back. But, unlike a postcard, a poster-mailer folds out into a HUGE format and when designed well, a poster can be impressive and irresistible to potential customers and help you to posterize* other competing local businesses.

*To Posterize (verb): A basketball term meaning to embarrass someone, usually while slamming the ball over them. It refers to the guy who’s being dunked on in basketball posters. Example of use in a sentence: “Wow, that guy just got posterized!”
- definition via urbandictionary.com

To print a poster-mailer it’s best to use matte paper, because it will be easier to fold than glossy or coated stock. Contact your printing vendor to discuss scoring each poster, so it can be easily folded down from poster-size to a more mailable shape.

Matte paper stock is also beneficial, because it’s sourced from recycled paper. (Be sure to put a recycled paper emblem on the mailing to let customers know you’ve made an environmentally friendly paper choice).

Design-wise you will need to come up with an engaging concept for the poster side of the mailing. If you are having a sale, perhaps it’s a sleek, table top photograph of an object in the store, seen from a unique angle or perspective. This will make recipients think, and they’ll value a poster that’s artful and speaks to them as more than just an advertisement. If you are having trouble coming up with a design concept, try searching on stock websites for a photograph or illustration that relates to your promotion or event.

You can use the reverse side of the poster to accomplish many goals. Depending on the size of the poster, and the size you want to fold it down to for mailing, you will have a number of panels on the reverse side to fill with content. Two panels on the reverse side should be dedicated as the front and backside of the folded and sealed mailing. One for addressing the mailing and one for design and teaser copy that will get recipients interested in opening the poster up.

The remaining panels can be used to include a sales letter, or as a kind of a brochure, to highlight product information. The back of the poster is also a great place to include a customer survey, or for conveying applications or order forms. Simply use perforated lines to show where folks can cut and mail back a response. They will have to cut into the beautiful poster design on the reverse-side, but it will be worth all the new incoming business!

©2010 PsPrint Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Poster idea No. 1: Go straight to your audience. All great marketers know that in order to successfully sell, they have to be able to reach niche market segments. For this poster, POM is targeting college marketing majors – and speaking to them in terms they can understand. The visual pie chart is what they’re used to seeing every day, but this one denotes the “creative composition” of POM Tea. It’s 13 percent “WOW”!

Poster idea No. 2: Get immediate attention with shock value. Snuff Clothing caters to snow skiers, hence the phrase “Going down?” But that’s not what gets customers to log on to the website – that, my friend, would be the two bloody cleavers slamming together as the elevator doors close on these wickedly fun, creepy and decidedly impossible-to-ignore posters.

Poster idea No. 3: Make a point, creatively. Land Rover wants its customers to know that: a) it’s a rugged machine with; b) a certain attitude that; c) can go anywhere. This poster achieves those message goals.

©2010 PsPrint Blog. All Rights Reserved.

The Chinese calendar is based on the cycles of the sun and the moon and differs from the purely solar-oriented Western or common calendar. That’s why the Chinese New Year falls at a different time each year, and not at the start of January as it does with the common calendar.

In Chinese culture, common calendars are used to conduct business and daily events in sync with the global standards. But the traditional Chinese calendar remains significant in households and businesses because it helps determine auspicious dates to hold important events such as weddings or meetings and tracks Chinese holidays.

To print a Chinese New Year inspired calendar, check out the two tips below:

Choose from a variety of formats
When printing a Chinese New Year Calendar you may want to print a 12-month calendar, beginning with February of 2010, when the New Year begins. For a 12-month calendar, try using a traditional calendar format with one image on top of each spread and a monthly planner below. For a more celebratory format, you could also design a poster calendar, with an image of the tiger set in the center of the poster and a smaller 12-month calendar grid shown at the bottom of the poster. Finally, you could print a smaller brochure format of just the 15-day Chinese New Year calendar, tracking all of the daily events and celebrations of the New Year.

Get the design and details right
There is a ton of history and nuance behind the Chinese calendar, too much to possibly include here. But to learn more about all of the wonderful legends and beliefs associated with the calendar, Wikipedia’s page on Chinese calendars is a good place to start. There are flowers, animals and zodiac signs associated with each month, all of which can be incorporated into the design of the calendar. Some other standard design elements that you’ll want to include are the colors red and gold, auspicious phrases promoting longevity and success, red lanterns, dragons, fireworks and fish. To create a Western-style calendar that syncs up with all of the relevant Chinese holidays, visit this helpful site, which overlays the Chinese calendar onto each Western calendar month. It shows where the Chinese months begin and end and highlights significant Chinese dates or festivities.

©2010 PsPrint Blog. All Rights Reserved.

If you are hosting or attending a Super Bowl get-together, check out these five printed pieces that can make the party a hit. Share the ideas below with your Super Bowl host or bring over a cool custom banner or poster as a gift for the host.

1. Invitations
You still have time to print invitations if you bypass the mail and hand invites out directly to friends at work, or place them in neighbors’ mailboxes. A simple postcard with the time, location and date of the event will suffice. Postcards save you a bit on the cost of envelopes and act as great souvenirs, which folks might want to hang on to. You can also include suggestions of food items or party supplies that guests can bring with them on the postcard.

2. Event tickets
Event tickets can be printed and distributed ahead of the party to serve as invitations. Perforated tickets can also be used during the Super Bowl party if the host is planning any prize giveaways or raffles during the broadcast. Just collect everyone’s numbered stubs and have guests hold onto the original – then use the stubs to draw winning numbers. Event tickets also make a fun souvenir, as if you and your friends had front row seats at the game.

3. Posters
Available in small quantities of 25 or 50, custom printed posters are a great souvenir to hang during the party and also give away to your guests. You’ll want to go for a glossy paper to give it that exciting sheen. Poster sizes range from 11-inch by 17-inch to 24-inch by 36-inch, just be careful about the images and text used in the design. Stay away from any trademarked NFL material, instead come up with your own clever slogans to support your favorite team or player.

4. Menus
For many football fans, the Super Bowl is more about eating than it is about watching, especially if your team was knocked out of the running during the playoffs. If there’s an ample amount of work being put into the Super Bowl party food, why not feature all of that cooking on a menu. Menus are available on glossy paper, or with lamination, and in a variety of shapes and sizes, even custom die-cut shapes (I’m thinking football shaped!). They are a great souvenir for guests, and let folks know how much time and thought you put into your cooking and hosting duties.

5. Vinyl banners
Hand-drawn posters are cute, but nothing beats custom-made vinyl banners. If you want to show your support for either team, then consider ordering a vinyl banner to hang during the Super Bowl. A 10-foot banner will really get guests charged up about the game. Your best bet is to print a banner with raw edges, to tack to the wall, or if you have pole supports, you can print a banner with pole pockets in it.

©2010 PsPrint Blog. All Rights Reserved.