Thank you for visiting Signature Promotions on the World Wide Web! My name is Vince, and I've been selling promotional products (some people say "advertising specialties" or just "giveaways") to businesses, teams, schools and families in our area since 1994. I work from my home office, which keeps my prices down, and I handle every order personally from your first call to the day the boxes arrive.

What's a promotional product? It's anything with your name on it that people keep and use: the pen from the bank, the mug from the insurance agent, the calendar from the hardware store hanging in your kitchen right now. Every time somebody picks it up they see your name. It's the cheapest advertising there is, and unlike a newspaper ad, nobody throws a good pen away.

I've done pens for dentists, mugs for a credit union, calendars for a funeral home (they go every year, no joke), T-shirts for a dozen Little League teams, the Miller family reunion and a church softball league, magnets for three pizza places, and caps for the volunteer fire department. Small orders are welcome. If you need 100 pens, I want your business just as much as the fellow who needs 5,000.

Calendars are the one item with a real deadline, because everybody wants them in customers' hands before the New Year, and the printers get swamped every fall. This year it's worse than usual; it seems like everyone wants a calendar that says "2000" on it. To be sure of delivery before Thanksgiving, I need your order and artwork by Friday, October 15, 1999. Orders after that go on a first-come basis and I can't promise them before Christmas.

The 12-sheet wall calendar is the standard: 11" x 17" open, stapled at the top, a nice picture on each month and your imprint (name, address, phone, a line of copy) on every page. Choose from scenic America, wildlife, antique autos, lighthouses, country churches, or a recipe-of-the-month. I can also do pocket planners and desk pad calendars; ask for prices.

A wall calendar is seen every day for a year. That works out to less than a penny a day per customer. I don't know of a better deal in advertising.

Good artwork in, good imprint out. Here's what works best:

• Camera-ready art: a clean black-and-white printout of your logo on white paper, at least 2 inches wide, with sharp edges and no gray tones. This is what the factories want. A business card or letterhead with your logo is usually fine for pens and magnets.
• Computer files: I can take your logo on a 3.5" floppy or a Zip disk, or as an e-mail attachment. The best format is an .EPS file from a drawing program (CorelDRAW or Illustrator). A .TIF at 300 dpi or better is next best. Please don't send a tiny .GIF or .JPG off your web page; it'll come out jagged when it's enlarged, and I'll have to redraw it (see below).
• Faxed logos come out fuzzy and I don't recommend them, but in a pinch I'll clean one up.
• No logo yet? Just tell me the wording and pick a typeface. Type-only imprints are free to set up. If you need a simple logo drawn or an old one redrawn, I'll do it for a flat $25 and you keep the art for next time.
• Colors: One imprint color is included. Tell me "dark blue" or "forest green" or give me a PMS number if you have one and I'll match it as closely as the factory can.

Before anything gets printed, you'll get a proof to approve: either a fax or a paper proof in the mail showing exactly how your imprint will look. Nothing runs until you say okay. Please check the spelling on the proof carefully; once 1,000 pens are printed, they're printed.

1. Call or e-mail me with what you want, how many, and your imprint. I'll give you a firm quote, including shipping, usually the same day.
2. Send your artwork (or wording) and a 50% deposit. Check or money order; I'm not set up for credit cards yet.
3. I send you a proof within 3 or 4 business days. You approve it or mark changes.
4. The factory does its thing. Normal turnaround is 2 to 3 weeks from proof approval for pens, mugs, magnets and key tags; T-shirts and caps run 2 weeks; calendars 3 to 4 weeks (longer in the fall rush, see above). If you're in a hurry, tell me; rush service is often available for a fee.
5. Your order ships direct to your door. Balance due on delivery.

I stand behind every order. If the factory gets it wrong, I make it right at no charge to you. In five years I've had to do that four times, and I did.

I'm in the home office Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Saturday mornings from 9 to noon during the fall calendar season. If you get the answering machine I'm on the other line or out showing samples; leave a message and I'll call you back the same day. Evening appointments to look at samples are no problem, just ask.

Phone: (555) 555-0162
E-mail: [email protected]

I carry a full sample case, so if you'd rather see and feel the merchandise before you decide, I'll bring it to your office. There's no charge and no obligation, and you get to keep a pen.