As the conference season starts in Cannes on the French Riviera, many companies are preparing their pitch to the millions of visitors to the Palais.

The stand designs should have been organised and booked in advance, the client list invitations should have been sent, the flights should have been reserved and paid for….. everything should be ready in place.

But year after year, companies turn up in France without marketing material  having left their presentation folders back in the office, having lost their business cards during the flight, having been let down by delivery companies and couriers.

Pure Design International are working with some of the leading printers on the French Riviera and can provide a hassle free solution to all your print requirements.  We provide posters, stand backdrops, banners, signs and vehicle wrapping from our selected large format print partners.  We provide brochures, presentation packs and marketing materials from our preferred full colour print partners.  We can even offer last minute business cards, stationery, flyers and brochures from our digital print partners.

The result in an all in one complete service… in english and hassle free!  Delivery to Cannes, the Palais or your residence can be organised without you having to mess around with taxis, delivery drivers or security issues….

We are proud to be partners with some of the world’s largest design agencies when it comes to printing on the French Riviera. Here are a few comments from some of the companies visiting the salons in Cannes:

It was an absolute pleasure working with Pure Design International. We had a very tough request with very short time frame and Pure Design met our challenge with outstanding service and delivery. Pure Design International is a trusted name at our studio that we highly recommend to our clients.
Whitney Geller . Project Manager
BRUCE MAU DESIGN

On behalf of the entire Tap It team I wanted to thank you again for all the effort you put into making sure we got our marketing materials on time as well as facilitating the storage of the brochures for us. Everyone was impressed with the brochures! Thanks again.
Deborah Smith . Sales Manager
TAP IT FAME

We will definitely keep you in mind for any future work we have – You have provided excellent and prompt service and have been extremely helpful.
Sam Stewart . Assistant to the Direction
AMAZE TV

Well as we pack our final box of cables and mouse mats I thought I’d leave you with a couple of brilliant business card designs.  I’d love to say they were designed by our creative department, but they were sent to me by a partner agency, and I thought I’d share them with you.

Pure Design visited Nicky Hooper (managing director of The Cutting Shop in Antibes) this afternoon to draw the winner of the September FREE Business Card competition.

This month we decided to draw 2 winners, and the lucky names were:

Victoria Tristram from VCT Design

Kerry Bracken from Katapult

Thanks to Nicky and her team for taking the time out to help with our latest competition.  The Cutting Shop is located at 7 rue Thuret – 06600 Vieil Antibes and has been open for over 15 years.  With almost 20 staff in the Salon, The Cutting Shop provides a boutique service from hair and beauty to nails and online shopping.

We are also offering a special offer to all our competition entries – 50% off their next business card print order (offer ends 1 Jan 2010).

Its that time again and Pure Design International are offering another chance to win 500 Full Colour Business Cards.

The cards will be professionally designed by one of our team (or we can use your standing artwork if necessary) and then printed free of charge – we even throw free delivery in too.

The Full Colour Business cards will be 2 sided, Matt Laminated and printed on a weighty 350g board.

There is no catch, no hidden costs, just the guys at Pure Design feeling like being kind…. With our latest campaign ‘Grow your Own Business’, feel free to get your fingers green and request ‘Green Friendly’ printed business cards – printed on recycled paper – and save a few trees!

Just enter your name and brief message below – maybe even throw in a ‘joke of the day’ to brighten everyone’s day up – rude jokes will be deleted as we are a family friendly agency : )

The winner will be draw out of a hat by last times winner – the Cutting Shop – on the 9th October.

Each year 14 million hectares of forest disappear from the surface of the planet. Illegal exploitation and businesses linked to it do nothing but destroy the fauna and flora. They also deprive many human beings of their means of subsistance.

In less than 40 years the ecological footprint of people in France has increased by 48% whilst in the same time period the population of the country has only increased by 27%.

That in itself, the energy footprint, calculated on the basis of the surface necessary for a country to absorb its CO2 emmissions, more than doubled (+134%) since 1961.  These figures make you think…they reveal a reality: our lifestyles and our behaviors influence directly and lastingly on the environment. It is therefore urgent to act now!

Pure Design International have resolutely chosen to commit themselves to helping the environment, by working with French certified ‘green’ printers, by ensuring paper stocks follow the FSC Certificate and that they follow the Standards ISO 14001 and EMAS. 

We are therefore giving away 1000 FREE Full Colour Business Cards, printed on 350g Recycled Cyclus paper to one lucky winner.  

Just fill in your details in the ‘Leave a Comment’ form below. Remember to enter your name, email address and comment. If you like, you can also profit from a bit of self promotion by entering your website address.

The prize involves a professionally designed business card, printing and delivery to an address of your choice. The Winner will be announced on Wednesday 18th March.  

With 12.000 programs of conservation, the WWF is one of the foremost worldwide organizations for the protection of nature and defense of the environment. The WWF has the role of stopping the process of degradation of the planet and of building a future where human beings will live in harmony with Nature. With this objective, the organization works to preserve the worlds biological diversity, to guarantee a durable use of natural resources and to encourage measures intended to reduce pollution and overconsumption.

In this way, the WWF recommends the use of post-consumption recycled paper and supports the step of environmental performance.

In a few years, companies have become fully aware of the impact of their industrial activities on the environment. The sector of design and print does not make exception to the rule in this respect. Indeed the production of printed paper requires the use of hazardous substances that can then affect the ground, water and air. Because the sources of pollution are now clearly identified, it is now possible to bring specific answers throughout the printing chain.

FSC Certificate (Forest Stewardship Council) 

Of international origin, set up in 1993 on the initiative of ONG, companies and local government agencies. This standard is a forestry certification which guarantees a better management of the forests by taking into account the economic aspects as well as the safeguarding of the environment.
 

Standards ISO 14001 and EMAS 

These two international and European standards certify the systems of environmental management. They ask of companies the implication and the respect of a process of continuous improvement and impose also requirements in term of communication with the recipients. The EMAS remains the most demanding in terms of the obligation of results.

The label Imprim’Vert

A brand created in 1998, it now replaces the label reflexnature. Imprim’ Vert certifies actions which are respectful of the environment. All labellized printers are committed to respecting 3 criteria: good management of dangerous waste, security of the storage of dangerous liquids to avoid accidents and risks of pollution, non usage of toxic products. The carbon assessment makes it possible for a company to evaluate the greenhouse gas emissions generated by its activity. The objective is then to set up a short and medium term action plan to reduce these emissions.

At Pure Design International, we are putting everything in place to reduce our ecological impact and ensuring we only work with printers who also follow these strict guidelines. 

• Reduction of wastage at source 
• Barrels of 200 litres for ink (reduction of packaging waste, less wasting of the product) 
• Automatic distribution of ink in the machine 
• Use of hired washable rags for cleaning the machines 
• Use of the process CTP without chemicals 
• Objective of “paper free zone” in house 

Developed waste with 99%

• Tank doubles hull for liquid waste (solutions of rinsing of the machines, of the developer, water of washing of the machines) 
• Special skip for the collection of the DIB (cardboard, plastic, metal and wood) 
• Containers for aerosols (anti-static sprays), for oil filters and batteries, waterproof containers for specific waste (soiled rags, plastics and cans…) 
• Compactors for paper and trimmings (more than 2000 tons recycled each year) 
• Recycled computer materials

Choice of consumables on the basis of their environmental impact

• Use of vegetable based inks 
• Progressive abolition of isopropanol (certain workshops function with 0% alcohol) 
• Absence of chlorinated products 
• Referencing of eco responsable suppliers 
• Use of recyclable toners

Rigorous management of energy

• Recovery of the calories generated by certain technical equipment to heat the workshops 
• Heating and air-conditioning of the buildings ensured by heat pumps 
• Taking into account the energy performances of machines at the time of investment decisions
• Installation of schedules to facilitate the setting up of a car sharing scheme 
• Sensitizing of the personnel to energy saving

Pure Design are proud to announce the release of the French Buying Process. Designed and printed for Home-Hunts – the luxury search specialists – the guide explains some of the pitfalls to avoid when purchasing a property in France and gives advice on finding your idea property and other related issues.

Contents:

- The professionals involved – Who are they?
- Working out your price range
- Finding your ideal property
- Purchasing your property
- Property taxes and related issues
- Life Assurance 

The French Buying Process:

  

Get your own – Open publication

When was the last time someone gave you a business card?  I am sat here trying to think when ‘my last time’ was, and I realise it was Tuesday night – a friend of mine (who funnily enough has just started up his own design company) gave me his new card and explained that I shouldn’t use the phone number stated as he had put a 3 and not an 8.  Thats another topic for a blog….

The time before that I think was ‘a vistaprint special’.  Now I know I might get knocked for saying this, but WHO in their right mind would want to promote their business using one of these cards?  I appreciate they ARE free and the print quality isn’t THAT bad, but it really is a cheap man’s option, a lazy way out and sad to say ‘tacky’.  You get to choose a design from a range of templates and drop your name and details in  - all cleverly automated online – no effort needed.

But this is your business we are talking about!  Your business card is probably the only thing you will leave with a potential client or customer.  Do you really want to leave them with a lightweight, single-sided, flimsy business card with Vistaprints details on the back?  Do you think it will leave a lasting impression. Do you think it will leave a good impression?

Business cards are the least expensive and most cost-effective way to build a business, so put some thought into it.  One client, a private chef, includes recipes on the back of his card. Another client with a public relations company, highlights on the back of his cards nine words one should avoid when writing a press release.  Some companies also try a proactive approach with their business cards by including discount codes, or by converting them into coupons. You can track how well cards are used and get a result, instead of handing it out and not knowing if business did come from your business card or not.

If you are looking to have some business cards designed and printed here on the French Riviera around the Cannes, Nice, Monaco, Grasse, St. Tropez area, call Pure Design International on 04 93 60 05 28.

We can design business cards and print business cards within a day (depending on specification) and can offer a range of finishes: Spot UV Varnish, Matt/Gloss Lamination, Block Foiling, Embossing, Die-Cutting, Raised Inks and can also offer a range of substrates: Plastic PVC Business Cards, textured boards (wove, laids, metallic, opaque, mirrored), heavy weight boards up to 800gsm.

To give you a guide, here are a few price options for business cards:

• Express Card: 100 Cards, Full Colour – 1 Sided, 350g Matt Board  = 39 euros ht
• Luxury Card: 1000 Cards, Full Colour – 2 Sided, 350g Matt Board, Matt Laminated Both Sides = 109 euros ht
• Prestige Card: 1000 Cards, Full Colour – 2 Sided, 350g Matt Board, Matt Laminated Both Sides, Spot UV Both Sides = 139 euros ht
• Textured Card: 250 Cards, Full Colour – 1 Sided, 350g Board = 109 euros ht (choice of translucent, textured x 3, recycled, chrome x 3)
• PVC Card: 1000 Cards, Full Colour – 2 Sided, 500 microns PVC, Rounded Corners = 349 euros ht
• Adhesive Cards: 1000 Cards, Full Colour – 1 Sided, 80g Matt Adhesive Board  = 129 euros ht

“I need 1000 business cards, full colour both sides, printing for this afternoon”….10 years ago you would have been laughed at and told to wait the usual 2 weeks like everyone else.  But nowadays with changing technology, the impossible is becoming possible, and the print industry is reacting to print on demand.

In years gone by, when setting up a new business people would order their stationery sets in the thousands. 5000 business cards, 5000 compliment slips, 10,000 letterheads, as the setup costs of lithographic print were so high, you may as well ‘print-for-life’.  So company stationery cupboards would be full of creased and squashed boxes of stationery, their company office shelves would be crammed full of dusty boxes of stationery, and their company garages stacked high with damp un-useable boxes of stationery.

In 2005, digital printing accounted for approximately 9% of the 45 trillion pages printed around the world. The first digital print press was seen as a print press that didn’t require film, plates or a large print house to be kept……..and the quality was very, very good.  Since then the Xerox iGen3, Kodak Nexpress and the HP Indigo Digital Press series are the industry leaders in digital printing, and offering a print on demand service that could spell the end to traditional lithographic printing.  No longer did you have to order 5000 business cards, but you could have 5, 50 or 500 business cards, all with a different logo or name on.  

Digital printing was seen as the ideal marketing tool – mailshots, direct marketing, newsletters and company letters were running the digital presses day and night, each sheet with a generic message for its end user.

So, will digital print mean the end to lithographic print presses?  It depends who you ask.  It starts a similar argument to the “should I buy a PC or a Mac”….both have their place in life but work equally well alongside each other.

Pure Design International work with some of the industry’s leading digital printers in France and the UK, and can offer any print solution you require, from a personalised mailshot to a direct marketing campaign.  We also have close relationships with some of the most respected lithographic printers in the UK, France and Europe. 

Editor’s Note: (but yes, buy a Mac).