The Great Lakes Graphics Association (GLGA)  has once again selected H&H Graphics for numerous Graphics Excellence Awards (GEA)

Each year, the GLGA recognizes a select number of projects that demonstrate outstanding achievements in printing with a Graphics Excellence Award. As a result, the GEA is one of the largest printing competitions in the nation.

H&H Graphics, one of the nation's leading providers of special effects screen printing using UV coatings and other specialty inks, was recently recognized by the GLGA with 17 Graphics Excellence Awards for 2018, including the following "Best Of" awards:

In the challenging competition for consumer attention, adding touchable embellishments to packaging is becoming a go-to strategy among brand managers and packaging experts.

A recent article in Package Printing describes the trend as being driven in part by the need to compete with online sales. Special effects printing techniques that make consumers want to reach out and touch is a proven method of increasing sales.

Anyone familiar with H&H Graphics will know that we've touted the value-add of special effects screen printing for the past 40 years as a way to create fun and unique engagement with consumers for retail packaging, POP displays, gift cards, book covers, direct mail, business cards, and just about anything else that can be printed.

Sometimes it can be challenging to explain why what we do is so powerful, so we thought we'd step aside and let you hear directly from the experts: researchers from all over the world that have studied why appealing to specific or multiple senses, beyond vision, creates such an emotional connection in people – especially touch and smell. Here are their findings.

Think business cards are passé? You haven't seen what special effects printing techniques can do for business cards.

A recent Wall Street Journal column makes the case: a growing number of the ambitious set are turning to business cards that express more than just the usual name, rank and telephone number on a standard 3.5" x 2" piece of card stock.

The good news for you: no one has more experience at printing with thermochromic ink and other special effects, on business cards as well as for a wide variety of other printed materials, than H&H Graphics.

Adding a little something extra to a print project is a worthy investment.

That's the opinion of print buyers surveyed by market research firm InfoTrends about using special effects printing techniques for their projects.

The research showed buyers were willing to pay premiums ranging from 24% to 89% to give their projects a little extra pop.

Among the special effects identified in the survey were specialty inks like metallics, foils and fluorescents, spot coating finishes, textured effects, custom colors, and light-sensitive infrared and ultraviolet inks.

The effects were seen as most useful in projects like brochures, business cards, direct mail pieces, greeting cards, and invitations.