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The Columbia University Libraries reserve the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the copyright law. Author: MacFarlane, Charles Alexander Title: Principles and practice of direct advertising Place: Hamilton. O. Date [19161 •- •»-|MMkuOa »*' m t mmmmmmmpmm MASTER NEGATIVE # COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DIVISION BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET ORIGINAL MATERIAL AS FILMED - EXISTING BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD Buitlni ness 263 Ml 6 MacFarlane, Charles Alexander, 1878- Principles and practice! of direct advertising, by Charlos A. MacFarlane ... f2d ed.] Hamilton, O., The Beckett paper company [''lOlGj 2 p. 1., i3]-190 p. illus. 20"'". $1.00 r. Advertising. i. Title : Direct advertising. Library of Congress Copyright A 431258 O HF5861.M2S 1916 [s21el] 16-13371 RESTRICTIONS ON USE: TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA FILM SIZE: 35 NjfkA DATE FILMED: REDUCTION RATIO: ax IMAGE PLACEMENT: I A ® IB IIB i\m^ INITIALS: W-W TRACKING # : >15A/ ^/'?39 FILMED BY PRESERVATION RESOURCES, BETHLEHEM. PA. 00 3 3 cr o > lOQ Q o o I ID C/) Ni CO CJl cr>x OOM O CJl 3 3 > DO o m "^ o O CO N o --V^' A^' A/ a^ '<»^* ^J c3 -n^a *v ''^ >^ > in O 3 3 .^J > .<^/ ^, 'V? **;5^ o o 3 3 O1 O pi^i^i^pi^i^isi? 1. 1 1^ i!^ ico to bo Os 00 10 b NO K3 In 1.0 mm 1.5 mm 2.0 mm ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghiit^lmnopqrstuvwxyz 1 234567890 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzl234567890 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 2.5 mm ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 tS \&> t ^^-"* Ms? V -^o 'f* ^fp ^^ L% rV :<- V & ^c? ?cP ^f^ fcT m O o ■o m -o > C CO I TJ ^ 0(/) 5 m 3D O m Wo •— » hj CJl i 3 3 fl* CT ABCDE cdefghi $0 FGH jkIm 3 I 0^ IJKLMN nopqrst OPQR uvwxy J^c M (/) *•< S^ o»x ^-< 00 IM 8 o!^ a>x >sj-< ocrsi VD ^«^. i rrrg LIBRARY School of Business •''"^^^'^'t* r A liB. '*'*■ l^' f mMti tfii SECOND EDITION "X i 4 »* PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE t ^9 \ I }. OF DIRECT ADVERTISING BY CHARLES A. MAC FARLANE ^mmmm PRICE ONE DOLLAR PUBLISHED BY THE BECKETT PAPER COMPANY MAKERS OF GOOD PAPER IN HAMILTON, OHIO, SINCE 1848 ■■^^5S.. ,,„ mm?^ISS»'^ wmmmmmm^.- ( i COPYRIGHT NOTICE THIS book is published in the hope that it will further the movement for more and better Direct Advertising, and in the belief that it will incidentally increase the sale of our BUCKEYE COVERS, which are used extensively for this class of publicity. Our interest in these papers, however, has not been allowed to limit either the make-up of the book or its potential usefulness to the adver- tiser. Any and all of the suggestions that are set forth on the following pages may be utilized freely, regardless of whether such utilization involves the use of BUCKEYE COVER or not. Only the actual text and illustrations are reserved. These are pro- tected by copyright, and may not be reproduced, either wholly or in part, without our express permission. Das 5 \v\iG Copyright, 1915, 1916 By The Beckett Paper Company Designed and arranged for The Beckett Paper Company by Charles A. MacFarlane Advertising Service, Lytton Building, Chicago i .(^ ^ >" -J -* i > PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT ADVERTISING ¥ ^ f '.KIT'. fWWtUfSl^HOSoi.' Mmitiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiinniiimw PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE ^1 t The paper on which this book is printed is BUCKEYE COVER Text pages, White; Plate Finish . . 20 x 25—50 and 22 x 283^—60 Cover, Brown; Antique Finish . . . 20 x 25—65 and 22 x 28>^ — 80 End Sheets, Brown; Antique Finish . 20 x 25—50 and 22 x 28>^ — 60 The envelope is a BUCKEYE COVER ENVELOPE Brown, Ripple Finish 20 x 25—80 and 22 x 28>^— 100 m t ' f I O F DIRECT ADVERTISING PREFACE This book is the result of an attempt to assemble, and to present in handy form for ready reference, a few of the elementary facts and principles that the average busy man having to do with the preparation of advertising will find it helpful to know, about the several forms of "printed matter" that come under the general head of "Direct Advertising." The subject being extensive and the book brief, the treatment of each subject is necessarily suggestive rather than exhaustive. Topics that elsewhere are discussed through entire volumes, even libraries, are here considered in short chapters. There has been no opportunity for the detailed descriptions and illustrations that are to be found, by those who know where to look, in other and more thor- ough advertising text-books. This limitation, however, is also an advantage, on the principle that a dictionary often meets the requirements of an investigator better than an encyclopedia: the one tells you the elementary fact in a paragraph; the other either takes the elementary fact for granted altogether, or buries it in a mass of detail whence it is only to be extracted by the expenditure of more time and patience than the result may warrant. "A DICTIONARY OF DIRECT ADVERTISING" The present volume is a Dictionary of Direct Advertis- ing rather than an encyclopedia. It is not a course in Advertising. It will not make you an expert overnight; and still less, if you are already an expert, is it likely that "».oaBBi^w(rt*«(>irt«l^»'>w» Ih* ab u 'ii ioab ar« wiMwn, but iIm Imm* way to ImI Ridc*l> QHaltiy U t» in«kt ■! >■< ■ ^npaU «« rtcaifl af pr*w ^«MtMl: t 'mT c The Ridgely Trimmer Ox, Sprin«fieid, Ohio, u. s. A. A direct advertisement that brought back many times its cost in cash orders. Each circular was a sheet of 20 by 25 Plate-finish BUCKEYE COVER, with order blank, coin-card and post-card " request for cata- logue '* enclosed. Postage on complete piece, i cent '. 10 I OF DIRECT ADVERTISING LOCATING THE STOVE MARKET The stove manufacturer, to take an instance at random, can not sell his stoves to people who live in steam-heated apartments, and this means that it will do him no good to advertise in publications that are largely read by such people. Whatever method of advertising he adopts, he must place his announcements where the majority of them will be seen, or where they will at least have a chance of being seen, by people who use stoves. Rural newspapers and farm papers are largely used by such advertisers. SELLING ELECTRIC FLATIRONS A manufacturer of electric flatirons, on the other hand, would soon go out of business if he were to confine his advertising to farm papers, or even spend any considerable portion of his appropriation in such publications. He must look for his customers in the cities and towns where there are electric-service stations. PROBLEM OF THE LOCAL DRUGGIST The neighborhood druggist, under ordinary circum- stances, can not expect to attract patrons to his store from remote parts of the city. He must sell to the people in his immediate neighborhood, or at least in his section of the city. He therefore can not advertise profitably in the local daily newspaper, for only a small percentage of the readers of the paper would be people to whom he could expect to sell. While he could reach his possible customers through newspaper advertising, therefore, the cost would be so high (on account of the " waste circulation ") that it could not possibly pay him. Each advertiser, to sell profitably, must reach effec- tively the people who are in a position to buy or use or recommend whatever he may have to offer for sale ; and for II MXHMMIIiaMMItK*- ' MhaiKv-' -^v*'*'-. r I PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE a multitude of articles of more or less restricted sale and use, general announcements to the public no longer suffice. Technical and class publications meet the needs of some advertisers, so far as those needs can be met by periodical advertising. But such publications represent only a few of the classifications into which buyers can be divided. In the majority of cases, Direct Advertising is the only econom- ical method. SELLING THE GOODS BEFORE SHOWING THEM Again, it is to be remembered that while practically all articles of merchandise were formerly sold over the counter, this is not so commonly the case to-day. All articles that are sent to the consumer by express or freight or parcel post, and many articles that are PASSED OUT over the counter, are SOLD before the customer sees them, usually through advertising. This means, of course, that advertising is required to do a great deal more now than formerly, and in many cases a great deal more than could be accomplished through Gen- eral Advertising alone. If an article of general consumption is low in price, and requires no extended arguments or description to induce people to use it, it can be, and usually is, sold by General Advertising alone. If the article is complicated, however, or is expensive, or requires extended demonstration or selling effort, often it can not be sold profitably through advertising in general mediums alone, even if every reader is a possible purchaser. This is because of the physical limitations of General Adver- tising. Under such circumstances the usual procedure is to stimulate interest or curiosity through the medium of gen- eral advertising, using Direct Advertising, supplemented in some cases by personal salesmanship, to complete the sale. hi ) "^^^ \ 4 ' i OF DIRECT ADVERTISING DIRECT ADVERTISING AND GENERAL ADVERTISING COMPARED One of the comparisons frequently met with in discus- sions of the merits of General as against Direct Advertising, is concerned with the cost of " reaching " a given number of people. To " reach " a thousand persons by Direct Advertising, it is pointed out, costs ten dollars for postage alone; whereas a page of space in a magazine of general circula- tion costs, in round figures, one dollar per thousand of circulation — a difference of ten to one in favor of General Advertising. When this comparison is examined closely, however, it is seen to be misleading, for the reason that it is based on two arbitrary quantities — the cost of postage in one case and of space in the other — which have no real relation to each other. The comparison becomes illuminating only when all of the essential factors are taken into consideration — the character, manufacturing cost and selling price of the article to be advertised, the kind and number and geographical distribution of the people to whom it is to be advertised, the amount of space necessary to tell the selling story ade- quately, and the results that can be produced or reasonably expected by each method. it REACHING " THE BUSINESS MAN Suppose, for example, that the article is one that appeals especially to business men, and a choice is to be made between a circular and a page in a business man's magazine. Here the comparison is not quite the same as before; for while the postage alone on the circular is still ten dol- lars, the cost of the space in the business man's magazine is 13 mmmmmm>mn0mmmmi»m MMMKx.. i MHI rr PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE just double the cost of the same space in a magazine of general circulation. The business magazine charges two dollars per page per thousand, instead of one, because it is read by a special class of people, and is therefore a more valuable medium for advertisers who wish to appeal to that class. *t This, however, is a very moderate rate for a " class publication. The more restricted the classification, the higher the rate that must be paid. THE AD. MAN COSTS MORE If we wish to reach advertising men exclusively, the rate per page in the leading advertising journal will be in the neighborhood of five dollars per thousand. If we wish to appeal exclusively to printers and those interested in printing, the rate per page per thousand in the leading printing trade publications will run as high as ten dollars. Suppose then that we have an article to sell to printers that can not be adequately described in one or two or three pages. If four pages are used, the cost of the one adver- tisement will be $40 per thousand of circulation. All this while, however, the cost of mailing our circular has remained stationary at ten dollars per thousand, leaving a margin of $30 per thousand for paper and printing.* Four-page and even eight- and ten-page advertisements are not uncommon in class publications; and since the equivalent of any of these advertisements, bulk alone con- sidered, can be sent through the mails under one-cent post- age, it will readily be seen that the mere cost of " reaching " a given number of prospects by one method or the other is of no significance. *'A very elaborate circular, mailable forone cent, can be manufactured in quantities for considerably less than $30 per thousand. * L ¥ )< tJ OF DIRECT ADVERTISING WHY PUBLISHERS USE DIRECT ADVERTISING A conclusive exposition of the fallacy of the "cost of reaching the consumer" comparison, and a striking testi- monial to the efficacy of Direct Advertising, is found in the fact that it is used extensively by publishers of magazines and newspapers, as a means of selling, or helping to sell, their space to advertisers. Publishers mail Booklets, Circulars, Letters, Cards, etc., to advertisers and advertising agencies because these me- diums offer them the best opportunity to place their selling arguments before the right people, in the most effective form, and at minimum cost. This does not mean that Direct Advertising as a form of publicity is superior to newspaper advertising, any more than it means it is superior to Magazine Advertising, or Street Car Advertising, or Electric Signs, or Billboards. What it does mean, and what it proves, is that Direct Advertising, like each of the forms of General Advertising, is better for some purposes than any other form of pub- licity, and that this fact is both fully recognized and con- stantly utilized by those people of all others who are most interested in the sale and use of General Advertising. HOW PUBLISHERS SELL THEIR SPACE I have before me as I write, an extensive assortment of Direct Advertisements bearing the imprints of prominent publishers in all parts of the country. Even a casual inspection of these pieces shows that in each instance Direct Advertising was resorted to, not only as a means of reaching a small list of people economically, but also as a means of reaching them MORE EFFEC- TIVELY than would have been possible through the use IS mrnmrn w\ ^4 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE of any reasonable amount of space in a magazine or news- paper. One large 48-page booklet is made up of arguments and illustrations designed to impress advertisers and their repre- sentatives with the value of page advertisements in a great Chicago newspaper. A page advertisement in this paper, under proper condi- tions, is an excellent investment. But the 48-page booklet, as a means of selling space for such page advertisements, was unquestionably a better investment. Another and still larger book consists of 64 pages, and is bound substantially in boards, besides being beautifully printed on a fine grade of paper. It was mailed to a limited number of advertisers and advertising agencies, and its sole purpose is to sell space, or to promote the more effective use of space, which comes to the same thing, in a well- known business man's magazine. WHY DIRECT ADVERTISING IS MORE ECONOMICAL The cost of these two books, per thousand, was a great deal more than it would have cost to print the same text and illustrations in a thousand copies of each of the publica- tions represented. But the cost of reaching each " pros- pect " was infinitely less, because all waste circulation was eliminated, every copy going direct to an actual or potential advertiser, or to some one known to be professionally inter- ested in the designing, writing and placing of advertise- ments. These two examples, selected at random from a multi- tude of similar ones, are introduced here, not to belittle General Advertising as compared with Direct Advertising, but simply to emphasize the interdependence of the two forms of publicity. The producers of Direct Advertising use General Adver- tsing in promoting their businesses, just as the producers D- ^ ^ \ { ♦ OF DIRECT ADVERTISING 1 A few Direct Advertisements sent out by representative publishers of general advertising mediums. Many of these were printed on BUCKEYE COVER. PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE of General Advertising use Direct Advertising in promoting theirs. The publishers of this book, whose product is used mainly in the production of Direct Advertising, are staunch believers in General Advertising. They think highly of it, and they use it constantly and profitably. General Advertising, however, is the older, the more highly organized industry. It is more spectacular; has greater prestige. It has therefore not seemed to the writer beside the point, in a book devoted to Direct Advertising, to call attention to the esteem in which it is held and the frequency with which it is used by those whose interest is primarily in the other, and occasionally competitive form of publicity. MECHANICAL ADVANTAGES OF DIRECT ADVERTISING In addition to its directness and its economy, Direct Advertising, by reason of its almost unlimited flexibility, offers many advantages which are not available to those advertisers who use General Advertising exclusively. The Direct Advertiser is hampered by no restrictions. He can make his advertisement as large as can be con- veniently handled and read. He can print it in any and as many colors as he likes, and on any paper he likes. The size of the space, the kind of illustrations, the char- acter and color of the printing, are determined, not by pub- lishing conditions, but by the advertiser's individual require- ments. If the article has a great deal of detail, making it desir- able to use, say, a 200-line half tone screen, that screen can be used, just as readily as the 133 to 150 required by the magazines : it is necessary only to use the proper paper and printing. If extra colors are necessary, they can be added, without adding materially to the cost of the advertisement. ¥ t OF DIRECT ADVERTISING CLINCHING THE SALE Most important of all, the Direct Advertisement can be made a far more complete selling effort than is ever possible in General Advertising. The Direct Advertisement " carries on " from the point where General Advertising leaves off. It can do a great deal more than merely excite interest and turn the interest into a resolve to purchase. It can clinch the sale. It can, and does, " bring home the bacon.' it This is because the Direct Advertisement, unlike the General Advertisement, is not confined to pictures and descriptions and arguments relating to the article or service advertised — it can include also the facilities for ordering, as well as a great variety of separate advertisements, remind- ers, etc., that are entirely out of the question when other forms of publicity are used. MAKING IT EASY TO ORDER Order blanks, postal cards, coin cards, samples of mer- chandise, price lists, discount sheets, lists of dealers, testi- monial booklets, blotters, novelties — any and all of these can be made a part of, or can be mailed with, any Direct Advertisement, and without affecting the rate of postage, except in the case of samples or other enclosures classed by the postofifice department as " merchandise." SECRECY OF DIRECT ADVERTISING A feature of Direct Advertising that is often of great advantage to the advertiser is its comparative secrecy. Announcements in Newspapers and Magazines, in Street Cars and on Billboards, are read by your competitors, both actual and potential, as well as by the people whose patron- age you are seeking. Direct Advertisements, on the other hand, are much less likely to come to the attention of others than those to whom 19 ^■S; r P n life! w PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE they are specifically addressed ; and even if individual mail- ing pieces do come to the attention of a competitor, they teU him little or nothing concerning the plan and scope of the campaign. It is impossible to tell, by looking at a copy of a Cata- logue, Booklet, Circular or Letter how many copies were distributed, or where and when and to whom they were distributed; nor is it possible to tell by what other pieces they were preceded and followed, whereas the extent and character of any " General " campaign may be readily ascer- tained by any one who is sufficiently interested to take the trouble. This difference between secrecy and publicity is very often the difference between success and failure, or between a great and a limited success. Direct Advertising giving the advertiser an opportunity to enjoy a monopoly in his field, where General Advertising would be reasonably certain to attract destructive competition. -♦>" ^i 1 .i A t OF DIRECT ADVERTISING PLANNING THE CAMPAIGN Before an advertising campaign or even a single adver- tisement can be planned intelligently, it is necessary that the problem be analyzed. Every line of business, every individual selling venture, has its peculiarities, and it is only by carefully ascertaining these and being guided by them that the advertising can be made to yield adequate returns. It is, of course, possible to write advertisements about a watch, or a piano, or a food product by merely seeing and appraising the article itself; it may even be done from a picture or description. Advertising based on such meagre data, however, can be successful only by accident. To advertise successfully, you must know WHOM you are selling as well as WHAT you are selling. The adver- tising must fit the market as well as the product. Articles are not bought because of their intrinsic worth and attractiveness alone. The characters and habits of the pur- chasers have a great deal to do with it, and these in turn may be affected by geographical location, occupation, age, sex, buying capacity, social standing, religious and fraternal affiliations, business rating and reputation, and many other factors. It is also important to know the particulars concerning the competition, if any, that the advertised article or service must meet, since this usually has an important bearing on the character of the advertising. These things are true of all methods of advertising, but they are more applicable to Direct Advertising than to any other kind, for the reason that the Direct Advertiser has a greater opportunity, and by the same token has a greater need, to make his advertising fit his selling problem. When you advertise in a publication, your advertisement goes to the readers of that publication, whoever and where- ever they may happen to be. When you send out Direct Advertisements, they go to THE PEOPLE YOU SELECT, 21 f i J, ) w I PRIN C IPLES AND PRACTICE and to those people only. It is therefore of the utmost importance that you select the right people, as well as the right method of appealing to them. SELECTING YOUR "PROSPECTS ?> The word " prospect " as applied to advertising is prob- ably a contraction of the phrase "prospective customer," but by common usage it has come to have a considerably broader significance. It does not mean prospective cus- tomers alone. It means anyone to whom an advertising appeal can be made profitably, and this may include several classes of people besides prospective customers. Wholesalers and retailers and their salespeople, agents and canvassers, employees of prospective customers, your own salesmen — any or all of these may be "prospects" worthy of your advertising efforts, depending, of course, upon the nature of the product and the method of its dis- tribution. DIRECT ADVERTISING AND INDIRECT SELLING Many products are advertised successfully to people who do not commonly buy them, except as incidental parts of other products. Automobile parts and equipment, such as axles, bearings, springs, batteries, ignition systems, etc., are examples. All of these are advertised to automobile buyers, notwithstanding most of them are SOLD only to automobile manufacturers. Other products are advertised to people who neither buy nor use them, but who, in their professional capacities, may influence the sale of the articles. Building materials and equipment are advertised, not only to contractors and ovimers, but to architects and engineers as well. Occasionally, too, a manufacturer finds it profitable to advertise something that he does not sell, or something that 22 Nr^ i . J ri i i OF DIRECT ADVERTISIN G he handles only as a side line, in order to stimulate the sale of his product. The advantages of concrete construction are advertised as a means of stimulating the sale and use of cement. The Standard Oil Company sells lamps and oil stoves in order to enlarge the market for kerosene. Central stations often sell electrical devices at or near cost, depending for their profit on the increased " off-peak " load, and so on. Obvious as these advertising " indirections " may seem to be, it is only recently that the Fleischmann Yeast Com- pany undertook, and with very satisfactory results so far as has been reported, to increase the sale of its product by distributing BREAD RECIPE BOOKS to housewives. No housewife can be induced to use two cakes of yeast in a batch of bread that requires only one; but if she can be induced to use MORE BREAD, the result is the same. From even a casual consideration of these examples, it is easy to see the advantage of using the imagination when planning an advertising campaign — the advantage of inquiring whether the greatest opportunities for profitable business promotion may not lay outside, rather than inside, the regular channels of trade. It goes without saying, of course, that not every manu- facturer can get profitable results by advertising a machine part to the people who buy the completed machine, or by advertising a complete product in order to sell a raw mate- rial, but the possibility of doing one or the other of these things should at least have due consideration. If you refrain from " indirect " Direct Advertising, in other words, let it be for a good reason. Being satisfied that it would not pay is a good reason. Overlooking the opportunity is a poor one. PREPARING THE MAILING LIST The basis of every Direct Advertising campaign is the Mailing List, containing the names and addresses of the firms and individuals to whom the advertisements are to be 23 1 ',3 i ■J PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE sent. (They are not always mailed, hence the term " mail- ing list " is to be regarded as one of convenience rather than of literal accuracy.) If the Direct Advertising campaign is supplemental to a General campaign, the source of the names is usually the advertisements printed in periodicals, these advertisements producing responses in the form of orders, requests for samples, literature, etc. Sometimes the list is made up partly, or even entirely, of names of customers furnished by dealers who distribute the commodity advertised. Cus- tomers already on the books of the advertiser may also be included. Where Direct Advertising alone is depended upon to carry the printed selling appeal, or where it is used in con- nection with General Advertising but the General Adver- itising is not depended upon to develop the mailing list, the names must be secured from other sources. The principal sources of names, other than those already mentioned, are the following: City Directories. Telephone Directories. Trade and Professional Directories. Commercial Agency Reference Books. Special Lists, compiled by concerns who make a business of selling them to advertisers. DETERMINING THE CHARACTER OF THE APPEAL The most successful advertisements are not those that are most cleverly worded and attractively displayed, but those that come nearest to making THE RIGHT APPEAL to the people who read them. Your customers do not buy your merchandise because it is intrinsically meritorious, or because it is good value for the money. They buy it because they think it to their 24 ^> . ./ -^ i OF DIRECT ADVERTISING own advantage to do so, and in arriving at this opinion they are moved by a great many considerations other than the quality and price of the article itself. Pride, Prejudice, Vanity, Acquisitiveness, Indolence, Love of Luxury, and many other human qualities are impor- tant factors in making sales, and the line of least resistance for the advertiser often lies through an appeal to one of these qualities, rather than through a descriptive exposition of the merits of the article advertised. In selling Life Insurance, for example, it is the Life Insurance IDEA that has to be sold. The prospect needs to be convinced that he needs Life Insurance, and the appeal here is usually made to hinge upon the desire that all normal men have to provide for those dependent upon them, or for their own old age. It is also essential to first have clear in your own mind, and then make clear to the reader of your advertising, ex- actly what you expect the advertising to accomplish ; or, to put it another way, exactly what you expect the reader of the advertising to DO. Obvious and elementary as this seems, it is a require- ment that is more honored in the breach than in the obser- vance by a great many advertisers. Anyone who receives much Direct Advertising can hardly have failed to notice the frequent failure of adver- tisers to make their appeals specific — their failure to so construct them that a clear and definite impression will be made upon the mind of the reader. The " prospect " very often is left in doubt as to whether his " next move " is to send money by mail for the article advertised, ask a dealer for it, write the advertiser for fur- ther information, or what not. One of the largest corpora- tions in America recently sent out a Direct Advertisement which was glaringly defective in this respect. A description of a product, as has already been stated, is not necessarily an advertisement in the modem sense of the term. When you have constructed what you think is an 25 X IF m i i . ! I PRINCIPLES AND PRACT ICE effective one, it is a good plan to show it to outsiders who might qualify as possible customers, or who will at least have an outside point of view. Find out what impression the advertisement makes on them. Find out particularly what questions they are disposed to ask when they have read the advertisement — then reconstruct it so that these questions are anticipated. WHAT KIND OF PIECES? The most important forms of Direct Advertisements are Catalogues and Booklets, Letters, Circulars or Folders and Mailing Cards. Incidental forms are Envelope Stuffers. Blotters, etc. Detailed suggestions as to the adaptability of each of these forms to various requirements will be found under the proper headings in other portions of the book. (See Index.) HOW MANY PIECES? The number of pieces of advertising matter that can be mailed profitably to any one person or firm, advertising the same article or proposition — the number of pieces that will yield the greatest return on the advertising investment, in other words -— depends upon a variety of circumstances, such as the nature of the article, its cost and margin of profit, the kind of people to whom it is to be sold, the com- petition of other articles, etc. In selling low-priced articles direct by mail, a single piece of advertising matter is usually all that is necessary, and all that will be profitable. If people do not buy such articles readily the first time they are offered, it rarely pays to make a second appeal. Two letters or circulars mailed to the same list of names will bring more orders than one, but one letter or circular mailed to double the number of names will usually pay better. 26 - -' i OF DIRECT ADVERTISING The same principle holds true, to a very great extent, where the article offered or the proposal set forth in the advertisement is so attractive that it can be depended upon to commend itself instantly to almost anyone who is in a position to purchase. If a merchant were to offer at half price an article the known and established price of which was $5, such an offer would require no follow-up. The advertiser would be rea- sonably safe in assuming that a single announcement would bring about as many orders as were to be had. It would be quite otherwise, however, if the same mer- chant were only seeking to induce prospective purchasers of the $5 article to buy it at full price from him, instead of from some other merchant. Here there would be no obvi- ous advantage to the purchaser, and a single advertisement containing such a proposal could hardly be profitable. WHAT SHOULD THE PIECES COST? A comparison of the cost of Direct Advertising with the cost of General Advertising will be found in a previous section of this book. In this section more detailed sugges- tions will be given as to the actual, rather than the relative, cost of the more commonly used forms of Direct Advertis- ing. The preponderant item of cost, so far as the cheaper forms are concerned, is the postage. To give a general idea of the total cost of these cheaper forms, therefore, it is necessary to take the postage as a basis. Uncle Sam's minimum charge for carrying a piece of advertising matter is 1 cent ; and as it is a " flat " rate, no discounts on quantity orders, this gives us $10 per thou- sand as the basic cost of any ordinary advertising letter, circular, folder, broadside or booklet. Figuring on a moderate-sized list of names, say five thousand, so that the fixed costs such as typesetting, press make-ready, etc., will not be disproportionate, we find that 27 ■!■ BS BWTirtTww HPlia mmmUHmm ' « * » « l l l» WllH »»pi< '- | |. i ' lll W,W P R I N C I P LES AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT ADVERTISING % a cheap circular or mailing card can be printed, addressed and mailed for $3 to $3.50 per thousand. These figures are, of course, approximate, but, when added to the postage they give what may be considered about the lowest prac- ticable cost of circularizing a list of names — $13 to $13.50 per thousand. From this it is a long way to the dollar or more per copy that is frequently paid for a fine catalogue ; but if we exclude propositions requiring elaborate catalogues or booklets, the cost difference between the very cheap and the very good — the cheapest Direct Advertising that CAN be got- ten out and the best that NEED be — is not nearly so great as IS generally supposed. You can not get out much of a circular for $13.50 per thousand ; but for double this amount, representing an additional investment of only a little over 1 cent per name you can choose among a wide variety of attractive and effective forms. For $35 you can send out a thousand imitation type- written letters, with filled-in typewritten salutations and printed signatures, under FIRST-CLASS postage. One and one-half cents per letter, or $15 per thousand, will be tound a fair average allowance for letter-heads and envel- opes, printing, filling-in, folding, inserting and mailing. Given the same amount per thousand to spend on a cir- cular which can be mailed under l-cent postage up to a weight limit of two ounces, the portion available for print- ing and mailing will be 2i^ cents per piece, or $25 per thousand, and if you are getting out as many as five thou- sand at once, this will buy a fairly sizable and elaborate two-color circular or folder, in which the usual run of propositions could be set forth attractively and effectively iixpensive designs or illustrations will increase this per- thousand cost; increasing the edition will bring the per- thousand cost down again, since it is obvious that the more pieces you get out the lower will be the cost PER PIECE for art work, plates, typesetting, press make-ready, etc. a8 ^N. J i The difference in cost between a very cheap mailing piece and a very good one — or, to be more exact, between a piece that is inadequate and another one that is entirely adequate for a particular purpose — is seldom enough, in itself, to determine the issue of a campaign. But IN ITS EFFECT on the character of the advertising, the differ- ence is often more than enough to change failure to success, or vice versa. To put it another way: If a proposed circular costs $20 per thousand to print and mail, and it is assumed that it will yield profitable returns, it is unlikely that increasing the cost to $25 per thousand will make the returns unprofitable, even if they are no greater than before. The greater probability is that if the increased cost will make the circular more effective, if it makes possible a more attractive display and a stronger presentation of the article advertised, the increased returns will be more than propor- tionate. More money is thrown away on cheap advertising than on the expensive kind. Be sure yours is good enough. 29 i PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE DRAWINGS— ENGRAVINGS Where illustrations or designs are used in Direct Adver- tisements, they are commonly the principal determining factors in the selection of the paper and printing process; hence a knowledge of the possibilities and limitations of the various kinds of engraving is invaluable to the advertiser who wishes to give intelligent supervision to the prepara- tion of his Business Literature. Engravings, moreover, are the least understood and the most frequently troublesome to the layman of any adver- tising material with which he has occasion to concern him- self. In making up this book, therefore, the subject of Drawings and Engravings has been allowed to take prece- dence over the sections devoted to the preparation and arrangement of the Catalogues, Booklets, Folders, etc., in which the engravings are to be used. THE HALF-TONE PROCESS The half-tone is the most frequently used of all engrav- ings, in Direct as well as in General Advertising, for the simple reason that as a rule it is the cheapest and most satisfactory means of accomplishing the multiple repre- sentation, on paper, of any objects, pictures or designs that contain gradations of color between black and white. A finished half-tone plate is not essentially different from a line engraving or a wood cut. It is a relief plate, the printing surface of which is made up of a pattern of lines and dots. The difference is in the process whereby the pat- tern of lines and dots, instead of being tediously and expen- sively produced by hand, is produced quickly and cheaply, by mechanical means. This is accomplished by photographing the picture or object through a " screen " which breaks up the flat colors of the copy so that white, for instance, is represented in the 30 ./ *•¥ 4- i OF DIRECT ADVERTISING plate by a pattern of dots so small that the printed impres- sion of them is barely perceptible, while black is repre- sented by heavy cross lines, so close together that in the printed impression it has the appearance of solid color. Every gradation of color between these extremes is faith- fully rendered — light gray by small dots, v^ridely spaced; darker gray by larger dots, closer together ; still darker gray by cross lines, widely spaced; very dark gray by heavier lines, closer together, etc. Circular illustrations stand out much more strongly than rectangular ones of the same size. i 31 I i PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE ft MAKING "FINE" AND "COARSE HALF-TONES By using " screens " having a greater or lesser number of lines to the inch, fine or coarse half-tones are produced, according to the requirements of the work for which they are intended. If the half-tone is to be carefully printed, on good paper (which in this case means paper with the smoothest pos- sible surface), a very fine screen can be used, so that the lines and dots in the printed impression are hardly apparent to the eye, and the smallest details in the copy are faithfully reproduced. Half-tones having two hundred lines to the inch are sometimes used in high-grade work, and even 400-line half- tones have been made and printed successfully. It is not advisable, however, to order half-tones having more than 150 lines to the inch, unless upon the specific recommendation of the printer who is to be entrusted with the presswork. One hundred and fifty-line half-tones are the kind most frequently used in fine Catalogue and Booklet printing. They are fine enough to show all of the detail that is ordi- narily necessary, and at the same time are coarse enough not to involve undue difficulty in printing. Half-tones having finer screens must be printed more slowly and carefully, and their use in commercial literature seldom justifies the added cost, except in the case of objects having fine detail that could not otherwise be shown accu- rately. One hundred and thirty-three-line half-tones are com- monly used for Catalogues and Booklets which are printed on medium grades of coated papers, and on which the best presswork is not required. S9 J OF DIRECT ADVERTISING 133-line screen. 100-line screen. -.1.. 8s-Iine screen. SO-line screea The above half-tones were all made from the same photograph, the only difference being in the " screens " used. The 150-line screen is the one^ most frequently used for fine catalogue and booklet work. The 50-Iine half-tone, used for newspaper work, shows plainly the character of the printing surface of the plate. f' ' \i i i PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE THE BEST " SCREEN " FOR MISCEL- LANEOUS USES One hundred and thirty-three-line half-tones will work well on any coated stock ; also, if carefully printed, on many grades of machine-finished papers. The 133-line screen is usually best for cuts intended for miscellaneous uses. For use on uncoated papers, particularly those not highly finished, the half-tone screen will vary from 120 lines to the inch, as used in this book, down to 50 or 60 lines to the inch, as seen in newspapers. Outlined half-tone from retouched photograph. Compare with half- tone from unretouched photo of the same subject Square-finished half-tone from un- retouched photograph. Compare with half-tone from retouched photo of the same subject. An exception to this is the use of finer screen half-tones in catalogues, such as mail-order catalogues, where because of the cheap paper used they do not print well, but where appearance is of secondary importance to the preservation of the details in small articles that would be lost if coarser screens were used. Half-tones may be made from any of the following copies ^ •/ I OF DIRECT ADVERTISING 34 HALF-TONES DIRECT FROM OBJECTS.— -A half- tone can be made direct from any object which is suffi- ciently flat — such as a folded handkerchief — to be focused sharply by the camera. This should not be attempted, how- ever, except on the advice of the engraver or other authority, as the objects that can be reproduced satisfactorily in this way are comparatively few. HALF-TONES FROM UNRETOUCHED PHOTO- GRAPHS.— If the object to be reproduced can be photo- graphed so that there is sufficient detail and proper color values in the photographic print, which should be a glossy print, it will serve adequately as copy for the engraver. The half-tone process, however, can not get more out of a photograph than there is in it. Usually it gets somewhat less, by softening the contrasts and losing the smaller details, and in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the best results will not be obtained unless the photograph is retouched. HALF-TONES FROM RETOUCHED PHOTO- GRAPHS.— The modern camera is a wonderful and invalu- able aid to the modern advertising man, but it has its limita- tions. It doesn't see colors as Uie human eye sees them. It doesn't see well in a dim light. It can not look at a rough surface and tell how it will appear when polished. It can not sec things which are not directly in its line of vision. It can not make allowances for unequal lighting on the objects at which it is pointed. For one or another of these reasons, sometimes for all of them together, most commer- cial photographs require to be retouched before they are ready for the engraver. The retoucher, by painting portions of the photograph with opaque colors, corrects the faulty color values and faulty lighting, brings out the details that did not show clearly, and in general endeavors to furnish the engraver with a copy from which he can make an engraving that will print an accurate and veracious repre- sentation of the article. Sometimes he removes undesirable portions of the photograph — as the background in a picture of a piece of 3S :\^)' PRINCIPLES AND P R A C T I C E machinery. Again he may add parts not shown in the photograph; or he may paint in imaginary features to embellish the picture, such as trees and shrubbery in the photograph of a house or factory. " High-light " half-tone from pencil drawing. Half-tone from wash drawing. HALF-TONES FROM WASH-DRAWINGS.— Many objects that are to be shown in advertisements can not be photographed satisfactorily, and where this is the case, if a photographic effect is wanted, it is achieved through the medium of a wash-drawing, which is a drawing made with diluted india ink or water color, so that it contains half- tones as well as blacks and whites. Even where objects can be photographed with fairly good results, it is sometimes cheaper to make wash- drawings. Pianos are a case in point. Because of the com- paratively small amount of detail on them, less work may be involved in making a wash-drawing than in retouching a photograph, although a piano is not a particularly difficult subject to photograph. Wash-drawings can be made from sketches or blue- prints, as in the case of a building to be illustrated before its erection; or from groups of photographs, as in the case of 36 s ./ ^ ' X 4 OF DIRE CT ADVERTISING buildings that can not be photographed in their entirety from any one position. Bird's-eye views of factories are nearly always, of neces- sity wash-drawings, since few commercial photographers are equipped to make balloon ascensions. The necessary photographs are made from various points on the ground, or from near-by buildings, and the " bird's-eye view " is constructed from these by means of mathematics, mixed with a little imagination. Half-tones can be made from any kind of drawing or painting, including water-colors and oils, except that satis- factory one-color half-tones can not be made from colored drawings or paintings, as a rule, unless the coloring has been done with one-color reproduction in view. Both half-tones and line engravings can be made from pen, pencil, crayon or charcoal drawings. ■"''''^«nv4^ Outlined half-tones from photograph of colored cover-designs. 37 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE it SPECIAL WORK ON HALF-TONES The most serious limitation of the half-tone process is that it can not reproduce either white or black. It renders white as very light gray, and black as a very dark gray, thus reducing the contrast and making the reproduction " flat " as compared with the original drawing or photo- graph. This defect is seldom serious, and ordinarily it is ignored. Where it is necessary or desirable to regain the lost contrast, it is done by " tool- ing" the plate after the process work has been completed. The illustrations on opposite page show this feature of the proc- ess. Both were made from the same copy — a wash-drawing in which the high lights were pure white and the deepest shadows were solid black. In the illustration on the right, the high lights are light gray, while the shadows are dark gray, neither being the same as the copy. The other illustration is a dupli- cate plate in which the light gray portions have been cut out of the plate, leaving the high lights white; and the dark gray portions have been burnished so they print solid black. The Half-tone Process. — The portion inside the cross lines shows the nearest approach to white at one end and to black at the other that is possible without tooling or burnishing. The ends of the plate have htta tooled and burnished to produce clear white and solid black. 38 ^ . ^~ g. N \ O F DIRECT ADVERTISING This "tooled" plate has far more contrast than the other, and has a brighter, snappier look. Many plates can be improved as much or more by judicious tooling, and it is well to know its possibilities. Two half-tones from flie same wash-drawing, showing the effects of "tooling," "burnishing" and "reversing." The cut on the left is an exact reproduction of the drawing, but to produce the clear whites in the figure it was necessary to tool out these portions of the plate by hand. The solid blacks were obtained by burnishing. The cut on the right, in reverse position, is an ordinary half-tone and lacks the brilliant contrasts of the other. A C*-' I irt^MfllHAMaMitarfB PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE This work is always charged for by the engraver, in addition to the cost of the plate. Ordinarily it is not done without specific instructions from the advertiser. Where you have reason to think a plate would be im- proved by tooling, but are not sure, you are usually safe in leaving it to the judgment of the engraver. It is not neces- sary that the tooling be done before delivery of the plate — it can be returned to the engraver for tooling afterward if desired. TVV^O, THREE AND FOUR COLOR HALF-TONE PROCESS- PLATES For best results color copy should be used. The two- color half-tone plates are usually employed for the repro- duction of illustrations or designs which contain two con- trasting colors. The three and four color process will reproduce faithfully almost any number of colors or shades of colors. With two-color process color-plates any two contrasting colors may be used in printing. Those most commonly employed are black and orange, red and green, blue and red. In three-color process-printing the three so-called pri- mary colors are employed — red, yellow and blue. The four-color process consists of the addition of a black plate to the three primary colors. The use of four-color process-plates is confined principally to the reproduction of subjects requiring accurate rendition of color. While very faithful reproductions of most subjects are possible with three colors there are some requiring greater color accuracy and a wider range of color. On a " color card " sent out by a paint manufacturer or interior decorator, for instance, there may be half a dozen shades of blue, as many shades of green, pinks, reds, etc., ./ 5?*. ( OF DIRECT ADVERTISING and it is usually necessary to employ the fourth plate in order to faithfully reproduce these. The reason for this is that with the use of the foiuth color, that is the black, the engraver has a better oppor- tunity to manipulate the other three colors, so as to obtain the varying shades and the wide variety of color such subjects demand. PROCESS "COPY" Copy for two, three or four color process half-tones should be in color, for the reason that the engraver has a guide at all times for the manipulation of his plates. The chief reason, however, is that it enables the engraver to obtain his color separation in the negatives instead of hav- ing to depend upon his judgment in etching and reetching the plates. Where color-copy is furnished for three-color half-tone reproduction the copy is placed on the camera, and a filter screen, consisting of celluloid or a fluid enclosed in a spe- cially constructed glass container, is placed before the lens. The first negative made is that for the red plate. The color- filter employed filters all the colors from the subject except the red. The result is that the red portions of the subject predominate in this particular negative. The filter is then changed for the blue plate and again for the yellow, in each case making it possible for the camera to emphasize the parts of the subject required. With these three negatives the engraver has a much better opportunity to work up his plates than he would have were he working from ordinary copy, and obliged to depend on his judgment for his color effects. \,ifp. »'*>*,w^">w]f)jhi!tfif a*?*w^"r"*!'4r'»^ ,..«*«?> w !| PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE (( DUOTYPES" AND "DUOGRAPHS" Duotype plates arc two half-tones made from the same negative. Duograph half-tones are two half-tone plates made from separate negatives, these negatives being made without changing the focus or shifting the camera. Two-color half-tones are usually made from color-copy, and require considerable tooling or cutting out on one or the other or both of the plates. The term two-color half-tones, as explained above, usu- ally applies to plates printed in contrasting colors. Duo- graph and duotype plates are frequently printed in two shades of the same color; for instance, a sepia and a buff. They are generally used where a photographic or a two- tone effect is desired. REVERSED HALF-TONES The two figures shown on page 39 were made from the same drawing, by simply reversing one of the negatives. Similar " reversed " plates can be made from any drawing. Occasionally they can be used very effectively, particularly in large folders. The phrase " reversed position " should be used in ordering such plates, as a " reversed " plate, tech- nically, is one in which the colors are reversed; the white in the drawing being reproduced as black, and vice versa. This is explained further in the section devoted to " Line Engravings." Care should be exercised in the selection of subjects for reversed-position plates, for the reason that reverse position reverses everything exactly as does a mirror. A man's coat, for instance, is made with buttons on the right side and buttonholes on the left. A reverse-position plate reverses this order. A left-drive automobile if reversed will appear as a right-hand drive car, etc. OF DIRECT ADVERTISING y 1 1 K * "The predominant cover" in the automobile industry. Over one- fifth of all the automobile catalogues issued have BUCKEYE COVERS. The above are a few of them. '4-^^«MtMM>M8li«M9P| 11 la In i I PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE FINISHING THE HALF-TONE The style in which the half-tone is finished is sometimes dictated by the requirements of the job for which it is mtended, sometimes by the taste or fancy of the advertiser, and sometimes by the convenience of the engraver. It is the prerogative of the customer to specify the style of finish. If he does not do so, the engraver will use his judgment, and m most cases this will probably be eminently satisfactory to everyone concerned. The several finishes, which may be readily identified as they occur in the pages of this book, are as follows: SQUARE (Rectangular).— Half-tones are ordinarily finished in this style imless otherwise ordered. SQUARE (Rectangular) WITH LINE.— A fine black line along each edge of the plate, enclosing it. Desir- able on plates having light-toned backgrounds, as square finished hali-tones with such backgrounds, without an en- closing line, are difficult to print properly, and do not wear well. OUTLINED.— Background cut away. VIGNETTED.— Plate etched so that the printed im- pression has no definite outline, but appears to gradually fade away around the edges. OUTLINED AND VIGNETTED.— Plate partly out- lines and partly vignetted. See example on page 34. PRINTING THE HALF-TONE ui "^u® ^V^^ newspaper that comes to your hand will prob- ably be a fairly representative sample of the roughest paper on which a coarse-screen half-tone can be printed accept- ^ From this as you go up the scale you will find that just m proportion as the half-tone becomes finer and the stand- V ^ J i OF DIRECT ADVERTISING ard of work higher, so the paper must be smoother, until it reaches, in the best coated stocks, as near an approach to absolute fiatness as human skill has thus far been able to achieve. " Coated " paper is paper surfaced with a special clay which has first been applied uniformly and then " calen- dered " to the required degree of smoothness and evenness. This is the easiest paper for the printer to secure satisfac- tory results on, and is the logical printing medium for the majority of fine half-tone jobs. OBJECTIONS TO GLOSSY PAPER Glossy paper is objectionable to many people, however, being undeniably hard on the eyes because of extent to which it reflects light; and the necessity for using such paper, in the preparation of artistic books and catalogues, has always been considered one of the disadvantages of the half-tone process. In the recently introduced "dull-coated" paper the objec- tionable gloss has been eliminated, although the gain has not been without its corresponding disadvantages. The cost and the difficulty of manipulation have both been increased, while the average results obtained, in clearness of impression and faithful rendering of details in the illus- trations, are hardly equal to those obtained on the glossy paper. Dull-coated papers, too, soil more readily than the glossy papers, and this is a disadvantage where they are handled a great deal. ORDERING "DULL-COATED" PRINTING Where it is proposed to use a dull-coated paper, the work should be given only to a printer who has had expe- rience with such papers, and who can show samples that demonstrate his ability to print them properly. 45 ,,j ix»««eMtt*i*-<- -t M*i^ im mm itnimi m» * ' »« i. i» -.>« - f m PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE Half-tones can be printed satisfactorily on rough papers by first " hot-stamping " or ironing-out that portion of the paper which is to take the half-tone impression. This method is used principally on covers and small announce- ments. LINE-ENGRAVINGS Zincs, Line-engravings, also called zinc etchings and though they are sometimes etched on copper, can be made from any " copy " in which the object or design is repre- sented by solid lines, dots, or masses of color. The " copy " is almost always a drawing, and usually it is a pen-drawing, although a brush is sometimes used. A few popular " Ben Day " patterns or shading mediums. Pen-drawings, wherever possible, should be made with black india ink on white paper. Red, orange, dark blue and dark green can also be photographed, and it is useful to know this; but the only legitimate occasion for the use of any of these colors, assuming that black ink is available, is where an artist desires to differentiate certain portions of his drawing, either for the guidance of the engraver, or to J < I. OF DIRECT ADVERTISING give his client a better idea as to the effect that is to be produced. Making the drawing in black and red where the plates are to print those colors; coloring portions of the drawing to indicate the placing of " Ben Day " tints in making the plate ; and painting the sky in a drawing light blue (which does not photograph), merely to give the drawing a niore finished look, are examples of the use of colors in line- drawings. Line-engravings can not be made from wash-drawings, photographs (except photographs of line-drawings), or any " copy " containing tints or " half-tones." Where shaded effects are necessary, they are produced by drawing fine lines or dots close together. These shaded effects MUST be drawn, for the print from the finished line- engraving is always an exact reproduction of the original drawing. If a zinc etching were to be made from a drawing containing gray tones, they would be reproduced as either white or black. There is no provision for breaking them up into a fine pattern of lines and dots as in the half-tone process. THE "BEN-DAV PROCESS The only exception to this is the " Ben Day " process, by which patterns of lines and dots can be introduced into designated portions of the plate. Examples of such tints, and of designs containing them, are shown on accompany- ing pages. Real shading can be introduced into a plate by the " Ben Day " process — that is, gradations from a light to a dark tint can be produced ; but such work is both expensive and uncertain, and unless the advertiser has reason to be pretty sure of the result in advance, he will do well not to order such special work done on his plates, unless the circum- stances are such that he feels warranted in paying for experiments. 47 !<<*lliRPI9PIIPIili PRINCIPLES AND PRACTIC E Ordinary " Ben Day " work, the laying of flat tints on certain portions of a plate, is not open to this objection, and it often gives color and contrast to a design which without it would appear dull and lifeless. The " Ben Day " process is not utilized to anything like the extent it should be, and a knowledge of its possibilities Zinc etching from stipple drawing. Zinc etching from line drawing (as well as its limitations) should be part of the equipment of every advertising man, as also of every merchant and manufacturer who has occasion to concern himself with the preparation and publication of his own advertising. ADVANTAGES OF LINE-ENGRAVINGS The half-tone has already been referred to as the cheap- est and best means (in general) of obtaining printed repro- ductions of pictures or designs or objects. This is perfectly true, but it is nevertheless a rule to which there are important exceptions, and the line-engrav- ing provides such exceptions at both ends of the scale. 48 Vif^ J ^ \ OF DIRECT ADVERTISING The line-engraving for some purposes is a great deal cheaper than the half-tone, the drawing or other " copy " being considered part of the cost in both cases; and for other purposes it is a great deal better than the half-tone, although it costs more. A dishpan, for instance, is a very difficult object to photograph. If polished, it must first be gone over with putty or some similar substance to " kill " the reflections, and even then the photograph will not be good enough to serve as copy for a half-tone until considerable " retouch- ing " has been done upon it. A reproduction of a dishpan by this method would be decidedly expensive, yet it would tell nothing more about the pan than its SHAPE; and the shape is so simple that an artist could draw it with a pen in far less time than he could retouch the photograph. WHEN LINE-ENGRAVINGS ARE EXPENSIVE An intricate wall-paper or carpet pattern, on the other hand, can be readily and successfully photographed; whereas, to make a pen-drawing of such a design would be Line engraving from pen-drawing made over " silver print " of photo- graph. (Mill of The Beckett Paper Co.) PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE a long and tedious and expensive proceeding, and the fin- ished line-engraving, with the cost of the drawing added in, would be far higher than that of the half-tone. The same would be true of automobiles or buildings, or any articles or objects having irregular outlines and a great deal of detail. Vignetted half-tone from photograph of wash-drawing (Mill of The Beckett Paper Co.) Line-drawings, with the engravings made from them, are cheaper than half-tones when the objects to be repre- sented are simple; and retouched photographs, with the half-tones made from them, are cheaper when the objects are complicated and full of detail.* •This comparison is somewhat modified by the size of the plates, Line-engravings cost less than half as much per square inch as half-tones, and a very large reproduction in line might therefore be cheaper than a half-tone, even though the line-drawing cost more than a photograph. Line- drawings of photographic subjects also cost less where photographs arc available, since the drawing can be made over a " silver print " of the photo- graph, as in the example shown on page 49. 50 ./ ./ i OF DIRECT ADVERTISING The cost, however, is not always the principal factor that is considered in determining whether line-engravings or half-tones shall be used. Half-tones are often used where "zincs" would have been cheaper, and vice versa, for the sake of the general EFFECT that will be produced, as distinguished from the mere faithful representation of the article advertised. (( ATMOSPHERE" AS A SELLING FACTOR A notable instance of this is the growing use of line- engravings for the purpose of introducing " atmosphere " into the better grades of advertising literature. It is often said that a camera tells the facts, but doesn't tell the truth, and while this sounds paradoxical, it is never- theless a very accurate statement of the camera's principal limitation. A photograph tells you how a thing IS, but not how it LOOKS, and this is why you can often view a photograph of a familiar place or scene unmoved, while a painting " takes you back " to the place in a moment, even though many of the details shown in the photograph may be absent from the painting. The photograph gives you the facts ; but it requires the brush of the artist to give you the truthful impression that makes you feel as though you were really there. Something of this sort is what the more progressive commercial artists are now seeking, and with considerable success, to introduce into commercial literature — not mere illustrations of automobiles, but pictorial impressions of people enjoying rides in automobiles ; not mere illustrations of furniture, but pictorial impressions of rooms with the furniture in them, designed to make you feel as if you were actually in the room yourself; not mere illustrations of electric fans, but pictorial impressions of people enjoying the breezes produced by the fans — and so on. 51 ^Bra PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE GREATER FIDELITY OF LINE- ENGRAVINGS The best of this " impressionistic " work is done in line for the reason that the line-engraving process reproduces the artist's drawing exactly as it is. It reproduces mass for mass, line for line and dot for dot; whereas the half-tone, in reproducing a painting or wash-drawing, as has been already explained, yields an assemblage of TONES which may or may not — and usually does not — result in an abso- lutely faithful rendering of the original. In making a drawing for half-tone reproduction, the artist is obliged to make some allowance for the limitations of the process. He must make his drawing somewhat more contrastive — " contrasty *' the engravers call it — than he wishes the finished print to be, and must guess as to how much of the contrast will be lost. When he makes a draw- ing for line reproduction, he KNOWS in advance exactly what the result will be. Whatever he puts into the drawing will come out in the print. ZINC COLORWORK AND TINT-BLOCKS As explained under the head of zinc etching, such plates are made from line or pen-and-ink drawings. Where more than one color is to be used it is the rule to submit a pre- liminary color-sketch showing the actual colors and the effect expected in the final printed result. When the color-sketch has been approved, a " Working *' drawing is made. This consists of a pen-drawing made with india ink on white paper — carrying the essential parts of the design or picture — and so manipulated as to make it possible for the engraver to render the color effect shown in the original or preliminary sketch. If the job is to print in three colors, the engraver makes one negative from the line-drawing, reducing it to the 52 OF DIRECT ADVERTISING J i required size, and then makes three prints from this nega- tive on zinc. Assuming that the copy is to print in black, red, and blue, the print intended for the black plate usually carries the complete picture or design. That intended for the red plate is taken up by a color-etcher, and he removes every- thing from the plate except that portion which is to print red. The same treatment is given the blue plate. It is always advisable to employ a black plate in zinc colorwork. This plate to serve as the key-plate — that is, the plate which reproduces the picture. There may not be a particle of black in the object to be pictured, but unless a black outline is shown there is always a tendency to weakness. Zinc colorwork ranges anywhere from two to six, seven and eight printings, and wonderful effects are possible where the colors are properly manipulated. The Ben Day process plays an important part in zinc colorwork, by making it possible to produce many tints of the same color with one printing from a single plate. If one portion of a design is to print red while another portion is to be light pink, it is not necessary to print these colors separately. The pink can be produced by Ben Daying the red plate, just as gray was produced by Ben Daying portions of several of the black plates that are shown in this book. TINT-PLATES A zinc tint-plate usually consists of a solid piece of zinc for use as a foundation or panel for a type-page. Fre- quently a border line is cut into this plate so that the border itself will print white. Such plates are used for embellishing type-pages, and there is nothing more effective for the purpose and really nothing less expensive. The tint-plate is usually printed in some very light tint, such as a buff, very delicate blue or gray. 53 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE PRINTING LINE-ENGRAVINGS Line-engravings can be printed on any kind of paper, but where rough paper is to be used the engraving should be made with this end in view. A line-engraving contain- ing very fine detail requires smooth paper for satisfactory printing, just as the half-tone does. Consult your engraver and printer before ordering line-engravings containing fine detail, if the work is to be done on any but a smooth- finished paper. REVERSED "ZINCS'* Line-engravings can be made exactly like the drawing, or can be "reversed" as to either color or position, as explained under " Half-Tones." Examples of reversed- position half-tones and reversed-color zincs will be found on accompanying pages. (See page facing this for " Reversed- Color " zincs, in combination with Ben Day tints.) WOODCUTS In the preceding " Line-Engraving " section, some of the limitations of the half-tone have been touched upon. There is one other, however, which, while not so serious as those already mentioned, is nevertheless sufficient to make it worth while for advertisers to use the more expensive wood engraving for certain kinds of work. The half-tone reproduces TONES fairly accurately, but it can not differentiate between different TEXTURES having the same tone. This is a limitation of photography rather than of the half-tone process, but it is the finished plate that the advertiser is concerned with, and in this he can not get the effects that are sometimes necessary, if the object reproduced is to appear exactly as seen by the eye. A piece of wood and a piece of iron, for instance, if they reflect the same amount of actinic light, will look exactly alike if reproduced in half-tone, although to the eye they may be entirely different. The same is true of any two 54 O F DIRECT ADVERTISING V J .A i PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE substances, or any portions of an object which have the same color with different textures, or which have different colors that happen to photograph alike. The woodcut overcomes this difficulty, because in mak- ing it the artist deals with textures as well as tones; he can control the direction and character of the lines and dots that form the design, as well as the general effect. Woodcut from photograph. The woodcut, therefore, permits a much more faithful rendering of detail in mechanical subjects than is possible in either the half-tone or the line-engraving. Woodcuts can be made from any copy, but those used in advertising are usually made from photographs of the articles represented, the photographic image being trans- ferred to the wood block, which is then tooled by hand. PRINTING THE WOODCUT Woodcuts can be printed on any kind of paper, but the same restriction applies as in the case of the line-engraving — if rough paper is to be used, the cut must be made accord- ingly. So far as advertising is concerned, woodcuts are usually resorted to as a means of showing details that could not be reproduced properly by the half-tone or line-engraving processes, and this means, af course, that they are usually printed on smooth papers. 56 \.lJ ^\i K J OF DIRECT ADVERTISING SIZES OF DRAWINGS Drawings, photographs and other copies for reproduc- tion should be somewhat larger than the finished engrav- ings that are to be made from them. Often they are made several times as large; there is no general rule. Some artists prefer to make certain kinds of drawings as nearly the size of the finished plates as possible, in order the better to judge of the effect as the work proceeds. Others prefer to make very large drawings, for the reason that larger drawings require less careful handling, and can often be done with a brush instead of a pen, thus securing " broad " effects that otherwise would be out of the ques- tion. mmwimn!' )VE NUT ■s^- Four trade-mark cuts from the same drawing. Notice " filling-up " of the smallest cut. Photographs require much more careful retouching when they are nearly the size of the finished plate than when they are considerably larger, and this is an unnecessary expense that should be avoided wherever possible. Where a number of photographs are to be made for half- tone reproduction, it is best to consult the engraver as to the most suitable size. The size of drawings as a rule can be left to the discretion of the artist, provided he has had some commercial experience, and knows the size the fin- ished plates are to be made. Note. — As a rule many diflferent sizes of cuts can be made from the same draw- inj?, but there is always a limit beyond which reduction can not be carried without " losing " some of the detail in the design. Compare the largest and smallest of the above trade-mark cuts. If another cut half the size of the smallest had been made from the same drawing, the white lettering on the black ground would have been entirely illegible. 57 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE (( SCALING" A DRAWING It frequently happens that an advertiser, having before him a drawing from which a cut is to be made, wishes to know how high the cut will be if it is made a certain width, or vice versa. , Taking the accompanying diagram as an example, and letting the outline represent a drawing 7^/2 inches wide by 4% inches high, suppose it is proposed to make a cut 3^ inches long — what will be its height? Proportionate reduction or enlargement. The diagonal line shows the shaded space to be in exact proportion to the large outline. Sec explanation in text Figuring it arithmetically, the problem is one in simple proportion, and is set down this way : 754 : 454 :: 3^ : x. Multiplying A3^ by 3^ and dividing by 7%, we obtain 2^ as the value of x, which is the height in inches of the proposed engraving. 58 'I f OF DIRECT ADVERTISING A much simpler method, however, and one that allows of experimenting with various sizes without endless figur- ing, is to draw a diagonal line on the drawing, as shown in the diagram, and use this as a basis for the determination of all size and proportion questions that may arise. If it is proposed to make a cut a certain width, the height is obtained by measuring off the width along the lower margin of the drawing, then measuring the vertical distance from the point thus obtained to the diagonal line. This distance will be the height of the drawing. Conversely, if the proposed height of the cut is known, the width is obtained by laying off the height on the left border of the drawing, beginning at the lower corner, then measuring horizontally from the left margin to the diagonal line. The horizontal distance between the two will be the width of the drawing. Where the character of the drawing permits, the diag- onal line can be drawn very lightly with a hard pencil. This should not be attempted on wash-drawings or photographs, however. The same result can be closely approximated by using a piece of string for the diagonal, or by covering the face of the drawing with a piece of tracing-paper, and penciling the diagonal on that. If the drawing to be scaled down has no rectangular outline, it is of course necessary to provide one, and this should be done carefully with a T square, making sure that all portions of the drawing are inside the rectangle. INSTRUCTIONS TO THE ENGRAVER Drawings or photographs sent to the engraver should bear clear instructions as to the character and dimensions of the plate or plates that are to be made. If the drawing is known to be correctly proportioned, it is sufficient to indicate the width or height of the cut that is to be made. If this point is in doubt, however, both dimensions should be given, and it will then devolve upon the engraver to call attention to any discrepancy. 59 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE ELECTROTYPES Where more than one printing-plate of the same size is required from the same design, it is not necessary that each plate be an original engraving. By the electrotype process as many duplicates as may be wanted can be made from a single original, and at a fraction of its cost, whether it be a half-tone, line-engraving or woodcut. ORDINARY ELECTROTYPES, the kind the electro- typer furnishes unless another kind is specified, are wax- moulded, and are satisfactory for all classes of engravings except those having fine detail and intended for high-grade work. LEAD-MOULDED ELECTROTYPES are used where it is necessary to reproduce fine-screen half-tones and other fine-detail plates with absolute fidelity. Wax-moulded electrotypes from such plates are slightly inferior in print- ing quality to the originals, whereas when the electrotypes are lead-moulded, they print exactly as well as the original plates. Lead-moulded electrotypes are now used exten- sively for the better grades of colorwork. NICKELTYPES are nickel-plated electrotypes. The nickel-plating is sometimes added to improve the wearing .qualities of electrotypes from which a large number of impressions are to be taken ; but more often the purpose of it is to eliminate difficulties that are encountered when printing in colors from ordinary electrotypes. Some colored inks, and particularly reds, contain substances that set up chemical action when they come in contact with copper, so that the colors may be changed considerably while the work is in process. With nickeltypes, this trouble does not occur. ELECTROTYPES FROM TYPE-FORMS, or from forms containing both type and engravings, can be made as readily as from individual engravings alone. The elcctro- 60 OF DIRECT ADVERTISING typer can handle anything you give him, from the size of a postage-stamp up to the size of a newspaper page and larger. ELECTROTYPES FROM ELECTROTYPES are not quite as good as electrotypes made from original plates, and it is not advisable to order them where it can be avoided. MOUNTING ELECTROTYPES MOUNTING ON WOOD.— Unless otherwise specified, electrotypes are mounted on wood by the electrotyper, the completed plates as delivered being type-high. The great majority of electrotypes are wood-mounted, and this style of mounting is entirely satisfactory for all ordinary work. MOUNTING ON METAL.— Where electrotypes are of such a nature that a great deal of pressure will be required to print them properly, as is the case with electrotypes of large half-tones, and particularly if such electrotypes are to be used for long press runs, they are often mounted on metal instead of wood, the metal base being more rigid, and less likely to yield under excessive pressure or other hard usage. PATENT BASES.— Many printers use patent bases for certain kinds of work, principally catalogues and booklets, but occasionally small jobs of close-register colorwork also. There are several types of these patent bases, but the princi- ple of all of them is the same — they permit unmounted electrotypes and other plates to be assembled and registered in a form much more readily than is possible where mounted plates are assembled and locked up in a chase with ordinary " furniture." Plates for use on patent blocks must be of a prescribed thickness and should have the edges beveled at a certain angle, according to the make of block. Such unmounted plates are cheaper than mounted ones. The printer should notify the customer when " patent-block " plates arc wanted. 61 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE HOW ELECTROTYPES CUT PRINTING COSTS If you were getting out a hundred thousand small book- lets, or folders, or blotters, or letter-heads, it would be a sheer waste of money to have them printed one at a time. By making duplicate sets o^ plates (electrotypes), several complete pieces, or one side of several complete pieces, could be printed on a large sheet at a single impression, and the saving in presswork would much more than offset the cost of the electrotypes. All large editions of small advertising forms, and some- times of comparatively large forms, are printed most eco- nomically in this way, the number printed at a single impression being determined by ascertaining the point at which the cost of the electrotypes, extra make-ready, etc., equals or exceeds the saving in presswork. This is usually figured by the printer, and it is customary for the printer, in submitting his estimate, to state the number of sets of plates that he will require — or the number that he plans to furnish, if the electrotypes are included in his estimate. The multiple printing of the same design is the most obvious of the advantages conferred upon the advertiser by the electrotype process, but it is by no means the only way in which electrotypes can be used to cut printing costs, avoid undue loss risks, and maintain uniform quality in the printing. WHEN ORIGINAL PLATES ARE COSTLY it is always advisable to print from electrotypes, preserving the original plates, since if an original plate is damaged the cost of replacing it will be many times the cost of replacing a damaged electrotype. WHEN LONG PRESS RUNS ARE REQUIRED, it is advisable to print from electrotypes, not only to preserve the original plates, but also to maintain the quality of the work, a second set of electrotypes being made from the original plates and put on the press as soon as the first set 62 ^» J i OF DIRECT ADVERTISING has become enough worn so that they do not produce satis- factory results. WHEN DESIGNS ARE TO BE REPRINTED RE- PEATEDLY, the original plates should be used only for making electrotypes, thus assuring a perfect printing-plate for each job. TYPE-FORMS should be electrotyped if it is antici- pated that later reprints will be required, unless arrange- ments can be made with the printer to keep the type stand- ing for less than the electrotypes would cost, and this is hardly likely to be the case, particularly if the type is hand- set foundry type. It is also advisable to make electrotypes of type that has been set up for a long run or for a job to be printed on very rough or very soft paper, either of which may wear the type to the point where it will not produce satisfactory impressions, long before the run has been com- pleted. Many printers will not print directly from the more desirable type-faces that they use for setting up fine cata- logues and booklets — they figure that they give all of their customers better service by insisting that every such job be electrotyped, thus assuring perfect printing-plates, the equivalent of brand-new type, in every case. SOLDERING JOINTS IN RULE — Where a type- form has a rule border, particularly if the border is made up of two or more parallel rules joined at the corners, it usually pays to have the form electrotyped, instructing the electrotyper to solder the joints in the rule. These will show to a greater or lesser extent if the printing is done direct from the type-and-rule form, the joints in the rule- work sometimes being quite noticeable. 63 PRINCI P LES AND PRACTICE I A group of representative "BUCKEYE-COVERED" catalogues and booklets. All but one were printed from line-engravings. OF DIRECT ADVERTISING HINTS ON COPY-WRITING Advertising, as already stated in the introduction to this book, is not an exact science, but this does not mean that it is not a science, and still less does it mean that the writing of successful advertisements is something that can be mas- tered by rule of thumb. The best advertising is unquestionably written by experts, men who have learned to do the thing by DOING it, and wherever an important campaign is to be undertaken, or even a single advertisement published, it is best to employ an expert if one is available. It often happens, however, that a man who is not an expert is confronted with the necessity of writing his own or someone else's advertisement ; or perhaps he desires to write advertising, in order that he may gain the experience which in time will make him an expert, provided he has the requisite natural ability. How shall such a man proceed? Many writers and lecturers on advertising have a glib bit of advice that has been constructed to meet this contin- gency. They tell you to " write as you would talk," and they have repeated this so often, in one form or another, that by many it has probably come to be accepted as a sort of fixed principle of salesmanship-on-paper, something perma- nent and immutable, like the law of gravitation. ADVICE SHOULD BE TAKEN WITH DISCRIMINATION The man who wishes to use the printed word effectively as a means of making sales, should not be led astray by the constant reiteration of this phrase. He should not ignore it, but neither should he follow it blindly. He should apply it discriminatingly. He should take it, like most other advice, with a little salt. 65 ..mmeim^m^ » PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE One writer has indeed supplied a formula with which you may test for yourself the soundness of this " write-as- you-would-talk " prescription. You memorize an advertise- ment that has a '* literary " flavor, one that does not sound like " talk." You then repeat it to someone, preferably a prospective customer, when its absurdity becomes immedi- ately apparent. HOW TALK " SOUNDS " IN PRINT This is a good test, and in many cases it will work out exactly as stated. Carry it a little farther, however, by reading the transcribed report of an oral selling effort, and you will see that the converse of the proposition is also true : a good " talk " may " sound " as bad when you read it instead of listening to it as does a printed advertisement when you listen to it instead of reading it. Read a printed report of a sermon by Billy Sunday, and you will get the full force of this distinction. Billy has "punch" plus on the platform, but mighty little in print. What he says is not particularly interesting or impres- sive when you read it. It is THE WAY HE SAYS IT that enables him to sway huge audiences as he does, and that has made him the most successful evangelist of his time. If printed " talk " does not serve the turn of evangelism, how much less can it be depended upon to serve the turn of advertising, where the problem is so much more particular and difficult! The evangelist, whether in the pulpit or through the medium of the newspaper, is talking to a mixed audience. He is dealing with human nature in the mass. The advertiser talks to a mixed audience in his printed advertisements, but when the message is carried by a sales- man, the talk is nearly always to individuals, and it does not suffice for the salesman to know human nature in a general way. He must know it in all its particular manifes- 66 J k OF DIRECT ADVERTISING tations. He must be able to classify individuals as he meets them, and must know how to shape his appeal in conform- ity with their tastes and inclinations, taking advantage of their weaknesses, if they have any, and being guided con- tinually by their response, or their lack of response, to his solicitation. HOW TO SELL A MOP Imagine a salesman making a house-to-house canvass, introducing a patent labor-saving mop. At one door he is met by a woman who is obviously indolent — one who regards housework as drudgery, and the less of it she has to do the better. At the next door the woman has a brisk, energetic appearance, and she wears an air of impatience at having been called away from her work. The same appeal will not work with both these women. The lazy woman would not be impressed by a talk about the greater amount of work she could do if she had the patent mop; nor would the energetic woman be attracted by the prospect of getting her work out of the way by two o'clock, so that she could take the afternoon off. The salesman talks " less work " to the lazy woman, " more work " to the lively one, and so sells a mop to each. Now, suppose this mop is to be advertised by means of a circular or booklet mailed to both women — and to thou- sands of others, each of whom has her own peculiarities? Is it not obvious that neither of these " talks " will do, and that the printed advertising must contain solicitation of another sort? The problem of the writer of advertisements is indeed different from that of the salesman, and the substitution of general for individual solicitation, with the necessary elim- ination of the salesman's personality, is by no means the whole of the difference. 67 PRINCIPLES AND PRAC T I C E WHY WRITING IS HARDER THAN TALKING The advertisement writer must tell his story from begin- nmg to end, without interruption, and without knowing how much or how little the reader is interested. He must antic- ipate objections, not meet them. He can not emphasize statements by inflecting them, except to a very limited extent by the use of italics, and his language must therefore be more forceful, more lucid and convincing, than would be necessary if he were actually talking to the prospective customer. If the advertisement writer asks questions, he must answer them himself and in such a way that practically every reader will agree, not merely one here and there. He must remember that it is much easier to lay aside a circular or booklet than to show a salesman the door, and to offset this must make a more continuous effort to sustain the interest of the reader, and to avoid giving even the slightest offense. Keep these requirements in mind, and you may then safely follow the " write-as-you-would-talk " injunction to the extent at least of striving to give your Direct Advertis- ing a colloquial rather than a literary flavor. Remember that you are appealing to real " folks " rather than writing an inscription for a public building, and that those same folks" are infinitely more interested in themselves than they are in you. HOW TO "GET READY TO BEGIN" If you were the manufacturer of the patent mop to which we have already referred, and if you wished to write a book- let or circular about it, and were uncertain how to start, you could do a great deal worse than imagine yourself on the door-step with the mop in your hand, ready to sell it to the woman of the house. OF DIRECT ADVERTISING • * V J* i \ LOOD MORNING! Can I take up five minute* ol yoiar time— tibanks. Pm Panotu ^l Man, |urt «ot in from Phikdelidiia dus moraing. What's mj line? ^ Why Panont SSSk Board. Pm jmt out on a ^ ^^^ lort <^ ^^g^-aoquannted'tour," to famiiiame l^HEc^* you good dbakn with the m^»enar qualitie* ni our boaufd. **Hcfw, I fkm't tappom her e t ofw e f(M*ve given mudb thoui^t to afflc fooiunlHBfttsvdly if • a nnali detail, but then, a» these husinett i&Bosofriheni say, it^s the small detiuk that count "Yonkaow&at agrH4dkMl«f d&hMurdlB»w«a dwn«rii»t Km (aier, wMi •• ft rcccit U Utkst llwuKnt itni wsariBf qawfitiet— ft •mm'% Uk» lout »» ennkmrnilofekAtanmi^ Sm mpmUMm . 'It'* tbmatia, imlkw* *»• Am tuif ummatmnmn wlw mmk» ALL oar ttram mOccM*. cpt i i qiwtir «• KNOW «acMi|r wIh^ fern imba k. W« oub rsuwotM MV boMti pw« M^iAito w^ aiMaliililr m flkr. Hmt •wr-> '-^ ">• ^>>^» •«»•' tyat wsrtii uw M wU ri ay 1m buyiaf ga«d Sflk Bqm«1 iww kml it? «Wd^ f fty# mtnmn — m^ U Vt vmrmimBH» yo* Flk Arop im Masjf dMaln iar fvm uMwIwy . GaMl itty." f ,'tt^\,4>^ryi^ /vt'**.*^. iSpecUl R >| > n w Mat >tive fori MAilUFACTI«nB KY PARSONS PULP AND LUMBER CO. FrtuilifiB B«f^ Botkbnf 'M*: W****** « •«*•«• M>»«*V4t*** *•«*«« »4MI.**t*.»«>» Folder designed to suggest the call of a salesman. One of a series for which BUCKEYE COVERS were used. The illustration is a " tip-on," printed from a half-tone oo coated paper. INTENTIONAL SECOND EXPOSURE PRIN C IPLES AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT ADVERTISING WHY WRITING IS HARDER THAN TALKING The advertisement writer must tell his story from begin- nmg to end, without interruption, and without knowing how much or how little the reader is interested. He must antic- ipate objections, not meet them. He can not emphasize statements by inflecting them, except to a very limited extent by the use of italics, and his language must therefore be more forceful, more lucid and convincing, than would be necessary if he were actually talking to the prospective customer. If the advertisement writer asks questions, he must answer them himself and in such a way that practically every reader will agree, not merely one here and there. He must remember that it is much easier to lay aside a circular or booklet than to show a salesman the door, and to offset this must make a more continuous effort to sustain the interest of the reader, and to avoid giving even the slightest offense. Keep these requirements in mind, and you may then safely follow the " write-as-you-would-talk " injunction to the extent at least of striving to give your Direct Advertis- ing a colloquial rather than a literary flavor. Remember that you are appealing to real " folks *' rather than writing ^'J J'^scription for a public building, and that those same folks are mfinitely more interested in themselves than they are in you. HOW TO " GET READY TO BEGIN " If you were the manufacturer of the patent mop to which we have already referred, and if you wished to write a book- let or circular about it, and were uncertain how to start, you could do a great deal worse than imagine yourself on the door-step with the mop in your hand, ready to sell it to the woman of the house. 68 lOOD MORNING! Can I take up five minutes of y<«ir tinie--tiiank». I'm Parsons -;^ ^ ^ Man, just goi in from Philadelphia |^H this morning. What's my line? %.^ Why Parsons SUk Board. Vm just out on a J^^. SOTt of "get-acquainted«tour,** to familiarize ^iUlS?' you good dealers with the supen dkiioc wordi conaiciennf in hntymg goo«t SSk Boani, bow isn't it? "Wt^ my five Buntttm are b|>. If il'i caavanmat to you PB drop a mfia tome tone oext month ami we can diacu** furtiier &i» »Sk boaiti proUetB. Mainy duuika tot your court«*y. Good day." i^;>ecial Rcpretcntatire for TteSQMB PARSONS PULP AND LUMBER CO. Franklin Bank Buil•> OF DIRECT ADVERTISING USE AND ABUSE OF ITALICS AND CAPITALS Italics, small capitals and capitals are used to give emphasis to important words or phrases in the text of an advertisement. The principle to be applied in employing them is the same that applies to emphasizing the spoken word — " If it is emphasized too much, it isn't emphasized at all." Just as the too-vociferous speaker fails to impress his audience, so the italic or capital besprinkled advertisement defeats its own purpose. The reader becomes so accus- tomed to the frequent recurrence of emphasis that he either pays no attention to it whatever, or it serves merely as an irritant. It is the quiet-talking man, the man of reserve force, who makes an occasional emphasis count, and it is precisely so with an advertisement. Italics or capitals achieve their purpose if they are used sparingly, and not otherwise. Incidentally, it is to be noted that good copy, as a rule, does not require frequent emphasis. If the argument is inherently sound and forceful, it will for the most part carry its own emphasis. Read a Herbert Kaufman editorial, every third word italicized. Read Emerson's Essay on Self-Reliance, con- taining less than a dozen italicized words. Which is the more forceful? OTHER METHODS OF EMPHASIZING WORDS OR GROUPS OF WORDS Words, phrases and sentences can also be emphasized by underscoring, by setting in boldface type, and by printing in a color different from that in which the balance of the text is printed. UNDERSCORING is little used in up-to-date advertis- ing, and has little to recommend it. Compared with other n i"i\ PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE methods it is expensive, and it spoils the typographic appearance of the text. It is sometimes justifiable where suitable italic type is not available, but seldom otherwise. BOLDFACE type, of which examples are shown in another part of the book (see Index) is preferable to under- scoring in most cases where choice must be made between the two, as it is less expensive to use, and produces stronger emphasis with less detriment to the typographical appear- ance of the text. COLOR is often used as a means of securing emphasis, and is very effective in display advertising, but is hardly more effective than boldface type when used in the text of Catalogues and Booklets, and is at the same time much more expensive, since it entails separation of the type-forms in making up the book. Even where a book is printed in two or more colors, it adds considerably to the cost to print different portions of the text in different colors. Headings, marginal references and initial letters can be " separated " more readily than occasional words and phrases in the text, and can usually be displayed effectively in a separate color. DISPLAY advertising is ubiquitous these days, and scarcely requires definition. Any reader of any magazine or newspaper can see for himself in what manner and to what extent it differs from " straight reading-matter." He can see that a variety of type-faces and a variety of arrange- ments have been utilized for the purpose of giving character to the individual advertisements, and also, in many cases, to differentiate the several sections of a single advertisement, giving emphasis to important words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, etc. The designing of successful display advertisement calls for the same sort of restraint that has already been recom- mended in connection with the italicization of catalogue and booklet texts. 78 (^ \ i i I OF DIRECT ADVERTISING METHODS OF SETTING TYPE All advertisements in whatever form, whether they are Catalogues, Booklets, Folders, Mail Cards, Newspaper or Magazine displays, or what not, are put in type by one of three standard methods : LINOTYPE COMPOSITION.— The Linotype is a keyboard-operated machine that casts type a line at a time, each ** line o' type " being a single piece or " slug." All important newspapers are set on the Linotype, and it is used extensively for all kinds of commercial composition. Individual characters in a line can not be changed when matter has been set on the Linotype. If a line contains an error, the entire line must be reset. This book was set on the Linotype. MONOTYPE COMPOSITION.— This form of compo- sition requires two machines : the first machine, keyboard- operated, cuts perforations in a strip of paper, making a " record " somewhat similar to those used in player-pianos. The " record " is then placed in a second machine, which casts and sets the type. In Monotyped matter each char- acter is a separate piece, so that any sort of corrections are made as readily as with foundry type. The Monotype, like the Linotype, is extensively used for almost every kind of composition. The recently published (American) Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica was set on the Monotype. HAND COMPOSITION.— In setting type by hand, the compositor " justifies " each line by inserting spaces of varying thickness between the words, so as to make them APPEAR equally spaced. If the actual spaces were all alike, the spacing would appear unequal, for the reason that the shapes of the letters on either side of a space have a tendency to increase or decrease the width of the apparent ^P^*^^-. ,^^ ^^^ phrases "bad boy" and "new view," here "I spaces, the apparent space between "new" is much greater than between "bad" and and "view" boy." 79 PRINCIPLES AND PR A C T I C E The hand compositor would make these spaces appear equal by inserting a wide space between " bad " and " boy," and a narrow one between " new " and ** view." Typeset- ting machines can not " justify " composition in this way, and It is for this reason, principally, that type must be set by hand where the nearest possible approach to typographic perfection is required. r- «, r The superiority of hand composition over machine com- position IS particularly apparent when the larger sizes of type are used— say, from "18-point" up. The larger the type, the more obvious the unequalness of the equal spacing in machine composition becomes. Where smaller type is used such as that you are now reading, the difference is not so noticeable. See type specimen pages in back of book. HAND LETTERING— WHY AND HOW^ TO USE IT American type, whether the product of a foundry or of a typecasting machine operated by the printer, is the best m the world. It is remarkable alike for its mechanical perfection, and for the unending variety of practical and beautiful faces of which it is the vehicle. The ability and enterprise of the American founders has been a tremendous asset to the progressive advertiser, in that it has enabled him, or his printer for him, steadily to improve the appearance and effectiveness of his business announcements, until they have become recognized models for the advertisers of every other country in the world. The great bulk of all of American advertising is un- doubtedly printed entirely, so far as its text is concerned, from either hand-set or machine-set type, or from electro- types made from the type. There are some advertising requirements, however, sometimes very simple ones, that type will not meet satis- factorily; and when these are encountered it becomes necessary, or at least desirable, to have recourse to hand- lettering. 80 r I / I . ,i OF DIRECT ADVERTI S I N G Hand-lettering, of course, is exactly what its name implies — the letters are drawn by hand, with pen and ink, and zinc etchings are made from the drawings. " FLEXIBILITY " OF HAND-LETTERING Where hand-lettering is preferable to type, it is usually for either one of two reasons : (1) It offers greater opportunities for decorative treat- ment and elaboration. (2) It is more flexible, giving a great deal more lati- tude in the arrangement of words and phrases, and even of the individual letters in a word, than is possible with type. The second of these reasons, strange as it will seem to some readers, is the more important of the two. The decoration and elaboration of a piece of text, though often highly DESIRABLE, is never NECESSARY. The PROPER ARRANGEMENT of the text, on the other hand, IS absolutely essential, if the advertisement is to be attractive and effective. It is therefore not the advertiser with a taste for decora- tive treatment in his advertising matter, or who can use decorative treatment to good advantage, who most needs to appreciate the considerations which should determine the employment of hand-lettering. It is rather the customary user of plain printing who needs to understand that he MUST occasionally use hand- lettering if he wishes his advertisements to be properly displayed. To make the point clear, let us start with an extreme application of it, taking for purposes of demonstration the single word " Havana." We instruct the printer to set it in caps., using a bold- face italic. This is the result : HA VANA 81 ; ,«l ^m^ PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE Apparently the printer has inserted spaces before and after the " V," separating it from the other letters, but in reality he has not. The word is set solid, with the letters as close together as the printer can possibly get them. The unequal spacing is due to the fact that the mechanical divi- sions of the types do not coincide with the optical require- ments of this particular combination of letters. The larger the type used, the more glaring the inequality will be, until \ye reach the point where it would be quite out of the ques- tion to print this word in the style of type shown, without unduly detracting from the appearance of the advertise- ment of which it is a part. The only way we can get the word properly spaced, in this style of letter, is to have it drawn by hand, thus : HAVANA So much for a single word. Probably there are not a great many that would present equal difficulties. When we come to combinations of words, however, the likelihood of hand-lettering being necessary is enormously increased, for now we have to consider not only the individual letters in each word, but the relation of the words to each other. Take the phrase: Buckeye Covers This as it stands is entirely satisfactory, if we wish to use it in this form. But suppose the arrangement of the advertisement in which this phrase appears requires that both words shall be THE SAME LENGTH. We instruct 82 f i OF DIRECT ADVERTISI N G the printer to make them the same length. He does it by spacing out the second word, and this is the result: Buckeye C overs Plainly this is not very attractive. The two words do not look as if they belonged together. If the advertise- ment is important, and especially if we expect to use the phrase repeatedly in this form, it will be much better to have it hand-lettered: Buckeyi Co e vers f- Here the two words are not only equal in length, but are equal in SPACING as well, which is exactly what we want. The improvement is certainly worth much more than the few dollars the artist will charge for the drawing. If, now, we wish to give this lettering a little more char- acter and distinctiveness, we have only to instruct the artist to elaborate it a little, and we get a logotype that we can use permanently and effectively in all of our advertising: S3 18 -1 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE The same principle applies still more strongly if we wish to use two words of unequal typographic length on either side of a trade-mark, which is a very frequent occurrence. Only the letter artist can make them the same length and still have them properly spaced: BUCKEYE CDVERS in A design of this sort, if desired, can be " reversed ... making the engraving, so that the letters will appear white on a black ground : BUCKEYE lJ^*BWRT»?*J COVERS Similar "reversed" plates can be made from type, by furnishing the engraver a clean, sharp proof of the type, on smooth paper. 84 y «v PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE ...i f- ■ Unless you are willing to pay more postage than you have figured on, should it prove necessary, it is always better to have paper ordered that is slightly lighter than used in the dummy — either this or reduce the size of the book slightly BEFORE the make-up of the pages has been finally decided upon. Either alternative is much preferable to running the risk of marring the book by trimming it more than was intended when it was planned. Once the size has been determined there is no set rule for proceeding. Propositions and conditions vary widely, and so, naturally, must the methods of the catalogue and booklet builder. The following paragraphs, therefore, while set forth in logical order, should be regarded as sug- gestions, rather than as a complete program. SPECIMEN PAGES When the actual or tentative page size has been decided upon, one or more specimen pages should be made up, designs or illustrations being indicated by proofs or sketches, and text matter by proofs from type set for the purpose. When the specimen pages have been approved, they will serve as a basis for determining the approximate number of pages that will be required, which must be known before a useful dummy can be made up. SELECTING THE PAPER It is advisable, though not absolutely necessary, to select the paper for a catalogue or booklet before the dummy is made up. Dummies are often made of paper which it is not intended to use in printing the book, and the selection of the paper deferred, for one reason or another, until just before the book is ready to go to press. Where the postage must be kept down to a certain limit, however, and where printing estimates are to be asked for, it is essential to 92 OF DIRE C T ADVERTISING V k select the paper FIRST, so that the dummy will correctly represent both the weight and the material of the finished book. When selecting the paper and making up the dummy of a catalogue or booklet, it is well to bear in mind that it is not always necessary to print all of the body portion of the book on the same kind of paper. Two different papers, or even several papers, can often be used to advantage, sometimes as a means of improving the book, and other times to cut down its cost. HOW TO USE THE DUMMY Assuming that it is made of the paper which is to be used in printing the proposed book, the dummy should correctly foreshadow the book in every mechanical detail, with the single exception of the printing. It should be the correct size, shape, thickness and weight, and should show the proposed style of binding and finishing. If the dummy is found unsatisfactory in any of these particulars, the specifications should be modified and a new dummy made up. The process should be repeated as many times as may be necessary, until every detail is exactly right. It is cheaper to make new dummies than to make changes in a partly completed book.. Until it has been O. K.'d, the dummy represents the experimental stage in catalogue and booklet building. Upon being O. K.*d, it becomes the PLAN of the book, the basis from which all parts of the work are carried forward. i( LAYING OUT" AND "MAKING UP" "Laying out" a catalogue or booklet, like laying out any other sort of advertisement, is accomplished by indi- cating in the dummy the proposed arrangement of designs, illustrations and text. \yhen the type has been set and the plates of the designs and illustrations are in hand, the printer then assembles or 93 Ml PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT Combined decorative and illustrative treatment of catalogue pages. thT'Mayout"'*^"'' materials into pages in conformity with Where the text of a book reads continuously from na^e in^'rlf ***" illustrations are to be placed i^ jZ^lIt- tion to references m the text, as in the present book no Son "oXr thT f "i!^' *'"* '^ ''' "p •" g«"«y«- th'"lu" text Tt%hl ^r " f'^ll-Page ones are " broken into " the into p%« b?XSn' ^"' *^ "'^"'^ ^^ *^'" -">' "P H.^.w^'"'' ^u"" *''''*. '^ continuous but there are decorative Srtfin n°n.v'''''^''°"' ^^ ^°'^ '^^' '"^^"^^^ ^o be placed In the t WH^ ^'°"Au'' ".'^^^" P^^^^' ^ ^^y<>"t is necessary for tie t^ext ' P™'""' ^"' ^' "^^^ "°* *^k^ accoi^t of In many cases, however, it is necessary that each cata- hf r.r^" ^^ '°"^P^^'" ^" ^^^^^^' ^^d this ^u'rera layo^^^ that shows the exact location of every portion of theText as well as of every design and iHustration Under these circumstances the complete make-up is indicated by^t^^^^^ 94 V i> ADVERTISING layout, and it is only necessary for the printer to assemble the material in accordance with the dummy. If any or all of the designs or illustrations have been completed at the time the dummy is made up, the proofs should be pinned or pasted in position on the proper pages. (Pins are preferable wherever there is any uncertainty as to the proper make-up, since they permit changes to be made readily.) Where the making of the dummy precedes the comple- tion of the designs and illustrations, the latter are repre- sented by outlines or sketches, the proofs being inserted later as they come in from the engraver. The preliminary sketches in dummies are frequently elaborate and costly, sometimes more so than the working drawings. While occasionally this seems like throwing money away, it is usually money well spent. Except in the case of very simple treatments, it is exceedingly diffi- cult to design an artistic book without first making careful sketches and layouts the exact size it is to be when finished. An eflFective and mcreasingly popular make-up for a catalogue — illustrations printed on coated stock, type pages on antique-finish book-paper. 95 M W •fc^j >«!Sfr-«.. INTENTIONAL SECOND EXPOSURE PRINCIPLES V- AND PRACTICE Combined decorative and illustrative treatment of catalogue pages. thT """k out" **'*^* ""aterials into pages in conformity with Where the text of a book reads continuously from page to page, and the illustrations are to be placed in juxtaposi- tion to references in the text, as in the present book, no Stlons'oT/r'fv.''^- .^l*" '^''' '' "* "P *" g^»«ys. the illus- trations other than full-page ones are " broken into " the text at the proper points, and the whole is then made up into pages by the printer. ^ Where the text is continuous but there are decorative designs or illustrations or both that require to be placed in certain positions on certain pages, a layout is necessary for the text ^ *'' ''"^ '' ""*^ "°* '""^^ ^«°""t °f In many cases, however, it is necessary that each cata- logue page be complete in itself, and this requires a layout 2 weuTs' nf ' "''^^*i°':^*'°" °f every portion of the text, as well as of every design and illustration. Under these circumstances the complete make-up is indicated by the 94 r / OF DIRECT ADVERTISI N G layout, and it is only necessary for the printer to assemble the material in accordance with the dummy. If any or all of the designs or illustrations have been completed at the time the dummy is made up, the proofs should be pinned or pasted in position on the proper pages. (Pins are preferable wherever there is any uncertainty as to the proper make-up, since they permit changes to be made readily.) Where the making of the dummy precedes the comple- tion of the designs and illustrations, the latter are repre- sented by outlines or sketches, the proofs being inserted later as they come in from the engraver. The preliminary sketches in dummies are frequently elaborate and costly, sometimes more so than the working drawings. While occasionally this seems like throwing money away, it is usually money well spent. Except in the case of very simple treatments, it is exceedingly diffi- cult to design an artistic book without first making careful sketches and layouts the exact size it is to be when finished. THK sn mrsAKKK six to! i;i\ ••.-.;■:., ■■..-•.,f,v>.K « '•:■■:■ I*>. r-lk- ;-. V.,; -.^ thi> ?*r J> I^KU«^ J*:it -J II-. V.:. i.1 «:y..?trf- (., v(;^v. CKVT- . "^- • .• !. ■■'! ; I'.lin. :):^"S!N r. .,, ■}. '.<■, •Ill, ;;w *:,!,.;,, \\,. ■ !■■■>.! ;,.^,-,., !,, ,., (!-.. .,x .; ■ t.V iW. "n:<- ■ Si!S ' !..i.4-.! ';->. is. yriKl ^il"": "i Xf '^ t » ^ ' • • • • The above arrangement — prices on one page and illustrations on the opposite page — is cheaper and more attractive than the more common arrangement of separate cuts and descriptions or prices on the same page. Small photographs of these articles were pasted on a sheet of drawing board and a single half-tone made of the completed group. SHOULD THE FACTORY BE ADVERTISED? The question whether a picture of your factory should be shown in your catalogue or booklet is of more than casual importance. It is a question that MAY affect onlv ? \ OF DIRECT ADVERTISING a single page in the catalogue — the page on which you propose to display the cut of the factory. But it is much more likely to affect the entire catalogue, in that it may reflect a state of mind not favorable to the success of your selling effort. A cut of the factory, in itself, or a cut of your offices, or organization, will neither make nor mar your catalogue. But your REASON for wanting to show any of these may be precisely the thing that will determine the issue of your advertising venture. GETTING THE OUTSIDE VIEWPOINT If you have been sitting inside looking out, if you have been proposing to build your catalogue or booklet around the things that interest YOURSELF, it is a good time to try to get outside, to get the viewpoint of the people whose patronage you are seeking, and to determine whether the things that interest you are really the things that will prob- ably interest them. Get this outside viewpoint, and you will readily see the futility of advertising FACTORIES AND PRODUCTS, as is so often done, to people who can not reasonably be expected to be interested in either. Some products, it is true, are intrinsically interesting, and so is an occasional factory. The automobile is interest- ing, simply as a mechanical contrivance ; and its desirability as a conveyance is so universally recognized that it needs no demonstration. Automobiles, therefore, are rightly advertised on a competitive, not an educational, basis. The manufacturer knows you would like to own an automobile, and he does all that is necessary when he tells you how his is built, and why it is better than the other fellow's. Where this intrinsic interest and recognized desirability are lacking, however, it is safe to assume that the product and the source of the product are of secondary importance to the prospective buyer. FINDING THE POINT OF APPEAL What RESULTS will follow the purchase? What EFFECT will it have on the health, wealth, comfort or 97 .■,5s. I I INTENTIONAL SECOND EXPOSURE 7 f ! I PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE THE CENTER "SPREAD" When laying out a catalogue or booklet that is to consist of a single folded sheet, or two or more sheets folded and bound one within the other (a " saddle-stitched" book), it is well to remember that the two facing pages in the middle are to all intents and purposes a single page, twice the size of the others. This makes it possible to run an illustration in this space, of a size that otherwise would be out of the question. Notice how the " center spread ** is utilized by advertisers in " The Saturday Evening Post," " Collier's Weekly," and other publications. L A 4 A « ^ t 4 ^ A The above arrangement — prices on one page and illustrations on the opposite page — is cheaper and more attractive than the more common arrangement of separate cuts and descriptions or prices on the same page. Small photographs of these articles were pasted on a sheet of drawing board and a single half-tone made of the completed group. SHOULD THE FACTORY BE ADVERTISED? The question whether a picture of your factory should be shown in your catalogue or booklet is of more than casual importance. It is a question that MAY affect onlv 96 OF DIRECT ADVERTISING a single page in the catalogue — the page on which you propose to display the cut of the factory. But it is much more likely to affect the entire catalogue, in that it may reflect a state of mind not favorable to the success of your selling effort. A cut of the factory, in itself, or a cut of your offices, or organization, will neither make nor mar your catalogue. But your REASON for wanting to show any of these may be precisely the thing that will determine the issue of your advertising venture. GETTING THE OUTSIDE VIEWPOINT If you have been sitting inside looking out, if you have been proposing to build your catalogue or booklet around the things that interest YOURSELF, it is a good time to try to get outside, to get the viewpoint of the people whose patronage you are seeking, and to determine whether the things that interest you are really the things that will prob- ably interest them. Get this outside viewpoint, and you will readily see the futility of advertising FACTORIES AND PRODUCTS, as is so often done, to people who can not reasonably be expected to be interested in either. Some products, it is true, are intrinsically interesting, and so is an occasional factory. The automobile is interest- ing, simply as a mechanical contrivance ; and its desirability as a conveyance is so universally recognized that it needs no demonstration. Automobiles, therefore, are rightly advertised on a competitive, not an educational, basis. The manufacturer knows you would like to own an automobile, and he does all that is necessary when he tells you how his is built, and why it is better than the other fellow's. Where this intrinsic interest and recognized desirability are lacking, however, it is safe to assume that the product and the source of the product are of secondary importance to the prospective buyer. FINDING THE POINT OF APPEAL What RESULTS will follow the purchase? What EFFECT will it have on the health, wealth, comfort or 97 ^ ■«' J* 4\ ^.r'-'v ■■^■n PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE happiness af the buyer? Will he or she be better off after buying than before, and if so, why? These are the first things a buyer asks, and they are, therefore, the first things your advertisement should tell, if it is to get the buyer's favorable attention. The " end " should come first, and the means to the end afterward. A picture of a factory or mill should be included in a catalogue or booklet (or excluded from it) on precisely the same grounds that govern the admission of other material — its probable effect on the selling power of the advertisement. If you are selling a staple line to dealers, and it is impor- tant for them to know whether you are a manufacturer or a jobber, your factory is of primary importance, and a picture of it should appear in the front of your catalogue. WHEN THE FACTORY IS IMPORTANT If the product is an automobile not too well known, prospective purchasers will be interested to know whether it is a " manufactured " or an " assembled " car, and it would be good salesmanship to introduce the factory in evidence, if there is one. Purchasers are also interested in knowing whether the ostensible maker of a piano is the real maker, not a jobber, and it is customary to print factory pictures in piano cata- logues to make this point clear. The factory is not of pri- mary importance in either of these cases, however, and its proper place is in the back of the book. If you are selling wearing apparel, table delicacies, household goods other than pianos, office supplies, etc., the factory where they are made is of no importance whatever, so far as consumer advertising is concerned. There is, of course, no harm in running a cut of the factory in the back of a catalogue or booklet, even where it is not ** indicated " by advertising requirements, if there happens to be a spare page that would otherwise be left blank. The argument against running it in the front of such a book is not that it would be objectionable in itself, but that it w^ould occupy space which could be and should be used to better advantage. 98 •'N \ l^^ ^ OF DIRECT ADVERTISING THE COVER "Introducing the Salesman »» The cover of a catalogue or booklet has frequently been likened to the clothes worn by a salesman, and the compari- son is an apt one, in that the cover, like the clothes, is a vital factor in making the right kind of impression on the man or woman to whom you are appealing. The attitude of a prospective customer toward a sales- man is determined largely by the salesman's appearance and manner of address, and it is precisely so with a cata- logue or booklet. If it is poorly dressed, it may be either refused an audi- ence or received with scant courtesy. If overdressed, it is regarded very much as YOU would regard the repre- sentations of an overdressed individual. Only when the catalogue is dressed right, only when it wears apparel suited to the occasion, does it make the favor- able impression that is the first essential of all successful selling. THE QUALITY OF " FITNESS " In catalogue and booklet covers, as in business and social life, " fitness is quality." A business suit at a formal wed- ding, a dress suit in an office, would be no more out of place, and only a little more certain to make an unfavorable im- pression, than the wrong kind of cover (not necessarily a cheap or ill-looking cover) on an otherwise well-designed and effective catalogue or booklet. If a booklet carries a toilet-article message to women, it should have a dainty cover. If heavy machinery is de- scribed, the cover should give an impression of strength -— daintiness here would be out of place. If a catalogue is likely to be referred to frequently by workmen in a shop, 99 t^w.-^ PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE the cover should be in dark colors, and of tough, durable paper. Dignity is the proper keynote for the cover of a booklet advertising a financial establishment, while the very opposite quality is most appropriate and effective in an advertisement of a circus. Besides making a favorable impression by its style and effectiveness, the cover may often be designed so that it will give definite information, or convey a definite suggestion. HOW COVERS CAN HELP SALES The paper " clothes " that the printed " salesman " wears, in other words, instead of merely proclaiming his character and respectability, may actually begin the work of selling the goods. The means of accomplishing this may be a picture, a conventional design, a lettered phrase, or a combination of any two or of all three. Where the superiority or advantages of an article are apparent at a glance, for instance, as is likely to be the case with small novelties, a picture of the article itself, on the cover of the catalogue or booklet describing it, is much more effective than the name of the article alone. The name, in fact, might be entirely devoid of significance or interest, unless the article were one that had been widely advertised. Where the article is not obviously interesting, and where its name has no recognized significance, the strongest selling appeal is usually made by a phrase that emphasizes some point of superiority that the article possesses, or by a pic- ture that visualizes the advantages of owning it. If you were to read the words " New Idea Tie " on a booklet cover, it is probable that you would not be par- ticularly interested. The words would tell you nothing about the tie — nothing to make you want further informa- tion about it. 100 V ^ J > t L\ O F DIRECT AD VERTISING THE COVER MUST " SAY SOMETHING " Change the title to " The Tie That Never Binds," and the effect would be quite different. If that did not interest vou. it would only be because you do not wear turn-over collars. Most men who wear such collars have more or less trouble getting their ties to slide through them propcrly, and they would be favorably disposed at the outset toward an advertiser who promised relief from this annoyance. A picture of a tie could be used effectively on this cover, simply to make it more attractive, but the picture would have little or no selling value without the phrase. Suppose, however, that the proposed booklet is designed to promote the sale of cement, by showing builders of homes the advantages of CONCRETE as a building material Here the advertiser has nothing to sell to the man who reads the booklet. Neither the product advertised, nor the build- ing material of which it is the principal ingredient, can be interestingly pictured or described. The strongest appeal to the imagination and self-interest of the prospect under these circumstances wiU be made by showing him the RESULT of using concrete, and this means, of course, that the basis of the cover-design should be a picture of a typical concrete house. A great deal of the most effective advertising that is done nowadays, whether it is Direct or General advertising, involves this principle of concentrating on the results that can be obtained by specifying or using the article adver- tised, rather than on the article itself. MAKING THE SKETCH The making of a sketch for a cover-design is Ae artist's concern. It is not to be expected that the man ordering the sketch will tell the artist how it is to be made; but many artists, even the best of them, are likely to ^g^ore some of the mechanical requirements that must be met m designing lOI \ ii ^ 1 PRINCIPLES AND PRAC T I C E a cover to be produced economically; it is therefore well for the advertiser to know the requirements of this part of the work. One of the things the artist should keep in mind, and that the advertiser should put into the artist's mind if It IS not already there, is that while it is permissible, yet it is not obligatory to print all cover-designs on WHITE paper. This caution is necessary for the reason that artists usually make sketches on white drawing-paper, adding to this white paper whatever color is necessary to produce the desired effect. In this way the possibility of producing the desired effect on colored paper with fewer printings is often lost sight of. HOW PAPER SAVES PRINTING Taking the various colors of BUCKEYE COVER as an example, if it is desired to produce a fire scene, it can be done very effectively by printing, not red and black on white paper, but black alone on SCARLET BUCKEYE COVER. The effect of the black ink on the scarlet paper will be much more striking than could be produced on white paper, because the color of the paper is much more intense than that of any red printing-ink. If it is desired to show a night scene in which are illumi- nated buildings, again it can be done with one printing, if the printing is done on BUFF BUCKEYE COVER. A silhouette plate is made, printing the buildings in black or brown, and the " illumination " is achieved simply by allowing the paper to show through, or in other words leaving it unprinted, where the windows and lights are to be represented. Similar instances might be multiplied indefinitely, but the argument would be the same throughout — that it is seldom necessary to PRINT all of the colors that are to appear in a cover-design. It is always desirable to consider at the outset whether the stock itself can not be utilized as one of the colors which it is desired to produce. 102 l,i OF DIRECT ADVERTISING MAKE SKETCH ON THE RIGHT PAPER Where it is possible to determine this point before making the sketch — where the effect that is wanted is known definitely in advance — the sketch should be made on the paper that is actually to be used. This does away with all uncertainty as to the possibility of producing the desired effect on paper of a certain color, and it also provides the printer and engraver with an exact guide that indicates not only the results to be achieved, but also the color of the printing and the kind of paper that must be used. COVER-DESIGNS FROM TYPE Where the appropriation for a Catalogue or Booklet does not provide or allow for a drawn cover-design, the usual alternative is to print the title from type alone, or from a type-and-rule arrangement set up by the printer. Very often such type-and-rule cover-designs are entirely adequate and satisfactory, but sometimes they are not, and it is therefore well to bear in mind the possibility of improv- ing them at moderate cost by making line-engravings from the printers' proofs. By using Ben Day tints, reversing colors, etc., the engraver can modify a type-design in many ways, and thus greatly increase the probability of its meeting the exact requirements of the advertiser, and of the cover on which the design is to be used. A type-and-rule border, as an example, may be satisfac- tory as to general arrangement, and may look well when proved in black and white, while being entirely too weak when printed in colored ink on a colored stock. By revers- ing the colors, however, the effect on the dark-colored stock may be exactly what is wanted. The accompanying plate shows nine miniature cover- designs, all of which were made from the same copy, repre- senting a type-and-rule arrangement such as would be set 103 P PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE k ^ ^W'- '"./ ► 4 ■.♦■ BUTKFYE COVERS N BUCKEYE COVERS ■MM " BUCKEYE COVERS ^^^ BUCKEYE COVERS BUCKEYE COVERS P buckeye! i COVERS! Nine variations on a " type-and-rtile " theme. These cover- designs were all produced from the same copy by using " Ben Day tints in combination with solid color. \, \\ OF DIRECT ADVERTISING up by a printer. These reproductions give only a limited idea of the extent to which a single simple design can be modified, for the reason that here only one color has been used. If another color were added the possible modifica- tions would be more than doubled. This method can be utilized advantageously, not only as a means of improving an unsatisfactory type-and-rule cover-design, but also as a means of securing a variety of effects from a satisfactory design that is to be used on a series of advertisements. SELECTING THE COVER-PAPER When selecting the stock for the cover of a Catalogue or Booklet, assuming it has not already been selected by the artist who made the cover-design, the most important point to keep in mind is that you are choosing, not a finished product, but a printing material — the BACKGROUND, in other words, against which the cover-design of the book is to be displayed. Of several unprinted samples that you examine, whether in dummy form or not, the one that you find most attractive may be precisely the one that will prove least attractive, and that will have least selling value when YOUR COVER- DESIGN is printed upon it. If that particular paper hap- pens also to be expensive, as compared with the one that would have been most suitable, you will have thrown away a more or less considerable amount of money, besides putting a serious limitation upon the effectiveness of your book. AVOIDING COSTLY MISTAKES Most, if not all, of the mistakes that are made in select- ing cover-papers would be avoided if the selections were made from PROOFS OF THE DESIGN THAT IS TO BE USED instead of from sample-books or unprinted sample sheets. los tfal ^ ': T ^"l; PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE When a number of unprinted dummies or sample sheets are examined, it is natural to prefer the one that is intrin- sically the most attractive — the one with an unusual texture or a novel coloring. It is also entirely natural for the printer to count on this fact when he is making up the dummies. He is out to get the order, and if he has to do it by selling blank paper, he can not be blamed for picking the kind that is easiest to sell. The practice is costly for both the advertiser and the printer, however, because the WRONG paper, which is as likely as not to be chosen by this method, may prove the most troublesome of all for the printer to manipulate, while at the same time being the least satisfactory when printed. PAYING MORE AND GETTING LESS Crash Finish BUCKEYE COVER, as an example, costs considerably more than Antique Finish. As a manufactured product, it is actually worth the higher price. But it is worth the higher price TO THE ADVERTISER in a relatively small number of cases. It must be used exactly right, or it is exactly the WRONG paper to use. If a cover- design consists of an arrangement of light-face type and rule, and Crash Finish BUCKEYE COVER (or other rough-finished paper) is selected, the higher price will be paid, not for a better result than could be produced on Antique Finished paper, but for precisely the opposite, a poorer result. The light-face type-and-rule arrangement will not show up satisfactorily on the Crash Finish paper, and the printer will be likely to spoil his type printing it into the bargain. FINDING THE RIGHT COVER Misalliances of this sort, mismatings of papers and designs, with their attendant waste of time and money, can be avoided only by careful selection and adaptation, making the design fit the paper if for any reason it is desired to use a certain paper willy-nilly; but preferably by selecting the io6 -?' ./ OF DIRECT ADVERTISING paper on which a predetermined design can be displayed to best advantage. Unless the design has been drawn by an experienced commercial artist who has selected the paper and demon- strated its suitability by making a preliminary sketch on it, the best plan is to have the plates proved up on the paper or papers that SEEM suitable, basing the final selection on the actual results that are thus produced. WHEN THE PAPER MUST BE SELECTED FIRST In this way the danger of selecting an unsuitable paper and perhaps paying more for it than for the paper that would have been suitable, will be eliminated. Where this is not practicable — where for any reason the paper must be selected before the design has been decided upon — the safest way is to choose a cover-paper on which the widest possible variety of designs can be printed acceptably, avoiding dark colors and very rough or uneven surfaces. WHAT OUR RECORDS SHOW In this connection the sales records of BUCKEYE COVERS are not without significance. Of the four finishes manufactured (Antique, Ripple, Crash and Plate), the Antique Finish so far outsells the three others that it makes up the bulk of our output. The most attractive specimens that we receive from users of BUCKEYE COVERS, more- over, are on this finish. The lighter colors are equally pre- dominant, as compared with the darker ones. Almost any representative collection of high-grade Cata- logues and Booklets will be found to reflect this preference for the lighter-colored antique finished cover-papers, and it is therefore obvious that they are the advertiser's " best bet " whenever it is not definitely known that better results can be produced by using another kind. 107 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE •^ANTIQUE FINISH" MADE BY MANY MILLS To make sure that the foregoing paragraphs are not construed as an advertisement of BUCKEYE COVERS, it should be stated that antique-finished cover-papers are included in many other cover lines, although sometimes under another designation — as " Eggshell " finish, for example. The cover and end sheets of this book (Antique Finish BUCKEYE COVER) may be taken as fairly repre- sentative of this class of papers. COVER STYLES INTEGRAL COVERS.— The simplest and cheapest — and least effective — method of covering a booklet is not to use a separate cover at all, but to print the entire book on the same paper, the two outside leaves serving as the front and back covers respectively. Many small pamphlets, and occasionally a large one, are gotten out in this form, and for some purposes it is entirely adequate. The outside leaves of such a book may be given somewhat the appearance of separate covers by printing a design that entirely covers the stock, either on the front page alone, or on both the front and back pages. To be fully effective, the plates should be made somewhat larger than the finished book is to be, so that the design will " bleed off "— that is, run clear off the edges of the paper, when the book is trimmed. The " Farm Telephone Tale " booklet in the accompanying illustration is an example of this treatment, although intended primarily to suggest the use of half-tone cover-designs on smooth- finished papers. FLUSH TRIMMED COVERS.— When a separate cover is bound onto the body of a book before the latter has been trimmed, and the two are then trimmed together, mak- ing the cover pages the same size as the body pages, the io8 9j^- T OF DIRECT ADVERTISING cover is said to be " flush trimmed." This is the cheapest method of finishing a covered book, since only one set of trimming operations is required, and the binding process is considerably simplified. The cover of this book is flush trimmed. Where the appearance of a book is of great importance, however, and particularly if the book consists Types of cover-designs printed from half-tones on plaie finish BUCKEYE COVER. The one on the left in two colors ; the other in one color. of a comparatively small number of pages, it is usually advisable to specify an extension cover. (Flush trimming is much more acceptable on thick books than on thin ones.) EXTENSION COVERS.— If you look over any col- lection of high-grade catalogues and booklets, you will find 109 5. a khl ,'■ (, PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE that the covers of most of them extend from an eighth to a quarter of an inch beyond the text pages on the side oppo- site the binding, and also on the top and bottom. These are called ** extension covers." They are more expensive than flush-trimmed covers, because the body of the exten- sion-covered book must be stitched or stapled and trimmed BEFORE the cover is put on. Putting on the cover is a separate operation, and requires more care than if the book were to be flush trimmed. If the extension cover carries a " bled off " design, it must be trimmed AFTER it is printed, but before it is bound onto the book; otherwise the cover may be trimmed to the exact size before it is printed, and it will then require no further trimming. SECONDARY COVERS.— These are extra sheets of cover paper inserted between the outside cover and the body of a book, and they are used, in the majority of cases at least, purely as an embellishment. Secondary covers are sometimes the same size as the outside cover. Occa- sionally they are trimmed to a size between the two. Secondary covers do not add greatly to the cost of a fine catalogue or booklet, and as a rule they do add very greatly to its attractiveness. " BOARD COVERS " are covers which have been stiffened by reinforcing them with cardboard, strawboard or other suitable material. Where boards are used, the covering material may be either paper or cloth. The major- ity of the books offered for sale in book stores are examples of board-reinforced cloth bindings. Paper board covers are seen more frequently on children's books and on special holiday books. The number of commercial catalogues issued with such covers is relatively small, but is growing. FLEXIBLE LEATHER COVERS are too expensive to be considered in connection with catalogues intended for general distribution, except in very exceptional cases. Many concerns, however, have found that when they are getting out a new catalogue, it pays to have a limited num- ber of copies bound in flexible leather, for distribution to no O F DIRECT ADVERTISING the company's officers, stockholders, salesmen, or preferred customers, according to circumstances. Board bindings are also used in the same manner. The names of the individuals to whom the copies are sent, are sometimes printed or stamped upon the covers of such special editions. Part of any edition of a catalogue or booklet may be bound in paper or cloth boards, or in leather, without refer- ence to the style of cover and binding that is being used for the balance of the edition. LINING AND END SHEETS.— By referring to the front and back covers of this book, it will be seen that inside each of them a separate sheet has been pasted, one-half of each pasted sheet forming a flyleaf. This is known as a pasted-down end sheet. In some books the end sheet is bound separately to the body of the book, forming a secon- dary cover, and the pasted sheet runs continuously across the inside of the cover from the front to the back. The pasted sheet is then known as a lining sheet. End sheets were used in the present instance simply to give the book a more finished appearance. Had the cover been embossed, however, the end sheets would have served the additional purpose of covering up the reverse side of the embossing, which otherwise would have detracted considerably from the effectiveness of the book. Lining and end sheets together, or pasted-down end sheets alone, add greatly to the appearance of a book, and while they also add considerably to the cost of the binding, it is not always necessary to increase the cost of THE BOOK in anything like the same proportion. Where it is proposed to use a single cover made of a very expensive paper, as an example, it will often be found that the book can be made much more effective by using a less costly paper, putting the saving into lining and end sheets. This is a possibility that it is always worth while to consider when deciding upon the make-up of an important catalogue or booklet. Ill ffl! M' PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE SELLING POSSIBILITIES OF THE BACK COVER Most advertisers realize the importance of printing effective designs on the front covers of their catalogues and booklets. The habit of considering the selling possibilities of the back cover is less common, but it is nevertheless one that should be cultivated. The conclusion of a selling story is hardly of less importance than the introduction, and in INDEX &w« "Hvw to OtUr Oft wmiA* frool ^f • of vo*««i. Catalogue with index printed on inside of extension of back cover. The shaded flap was folded around the edge of the closed book to enable it to be mailed without an envelope. This flap would be omitted if the catalogue were to be mailed in an envelope. BUCKEYE COVER was used for this job. many cases the back cover of a book can be made to provide a conclusion that will greatly increase the pulling power of the advertisement. Where order blanks, information blanks, return postals, coin cards, samples, etc., are to be sent out with a catalogue, it is often advantageous to incorporate them in the cover or attach them to it in such a way that they will be before the 112 OF DIRECT ADVERTISING ^< f I PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE prospect while he is reading the book. This is particularly true of indexes and other tables that must be constantly referred to. In the " Tools With the Quality Mark " Catalogue here illustrated, it will be noted that the Index is printed on the inside of an extension of the back cover, where it is much more readily consulted than if it were printed on a page in the body of the book. Another catalogue issued by the same advertiser had a similar extension on the back cover, which carried an order blank and a space for memoranda. The Lyon & Healy music roll bulletin, shown on another page, had a perforated reply postal incorporated in the cover, the customer's name being filled in so that it served as both signature and address. The FRONT cover carried the postal in this case, the reason for which will be apparent from the illustration. Had the booklet been intended for mailing in an envelope, and had a designed front cover been used, the perforated postal could have been incorporated just as readily — and just as advantageously — in the back cover. BINDING STYLES Most catalogues and booklets are made up, so far as their text pages are concerned, of either a single folded sheet, or two or more sheets folded one within the other. Such books as a rule are SADDLE STITCHED, which means that they are held together by wire staples (inserted by machinery) through their backs. " The Saturday Even- ing Post " is bound in this way. If the cover of a saddle- stitched book is to be flush trimmed (See " Cover Styles "), it is put on before the book is stitched, and the two stapled together at one operation. If an extension cover is pro- vided, the body of the book must be stitched and trimmed first, and the cover stitched on afterward. Books can be saddle stitched only up to a certain thick- ness, depending upon the weight of the paper, the number 114 v^i?'/ OF DIRECT ADVERTISING of pages, the character of the book, etc. Thicker books, made up of two or more folded sheets or sections, must be either SEWED, as this book is, or SIDE STITCHED, as most of the popular magazines and many commercial cata- logues are. Side stitching is the cheaper method, and sew- ing the better, as it allows the book to open flat. The covers of side-stitched and sewed books as a rule are glued to the backs. SILK CORD or floss or other suitable material can be added as an embellishment to either saddle-stitched or side- stitched books. The necessary holes are punched by ma- chinery, and the cord or floss inserted and tied by hand. Thin books are sometimes saddle stitched with silk floss by machinery, but not many concerns are equipped to do this. LOOSE-LEAF CATALOGUES Permanent bindings do not meet the requirements of all advertisers. Conditions often make it necessary or desir- able to issue catalogues in such form that sheets can be readily inserted or removed, and a few of the approved methods of accomplishing this are shown in the accom- panying illustration. In the " Moreland " Truck Catalogue the separate sheets were punched and attached to a fold in the cover by means of ordinary McGill paper fasteners. The cover was a single sheet of paper, the method of folding which can be seen by looking closely at the illustration. In the " ^Valker Balance Drive " Catalogue, the separate sheets were tied with a ribbon to a flap on the center fold of a three-fold cover. The sheets on the outside folds are permanent tip-ons (separate sheets pasted to the cover) showing details of construction. The "Armleder " Catalogue consists simply of a number of punched sheets tied into the cover by a silk cord. The "Argo Electric" Catalogue was more properly speaking a portfolio, since the sheets were inserted loose in "5 *'\ ■ 1 1; f . [l I PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE the cover, and not attached to it in any way. The purpose here was not so much to anticipate the necessity of remov- ing or adding sheets, as to provide illustrations of the various models in sXich form that they could be arranged side by side for easy comparison. A few novel styles of " loose-leaf " catalogues. See references in text. A recent Packard Motor Car Catalogue, probably designed with a similar end in view, consisted of a number of separate sheets carrying the illustrations of the various models, while the text was incorporated in a separate bound ii6 OF DIRECT ADVERTISING >^v /^ap. Novel and eflFective treatment of return post-card suitable for use in catalogue, booklet or folder. Post-card can be integral, or a separate card attached by inserting corners in slots cut in book or folder. i;: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE pamphlet, the two being enclosed in a portfolio. Other catalogues have the text pages permanently bound into a cover, while the sheets carrying the illustrations are inserted in a pocket in the back of the book. UTILIZING WASTE COVER- STOCK Occasionally an advertiser finds it necessary to get out a catalogue or booklet of a size that makes it impossible to cut the cover economically out of a stock size of cover- paper. If the edition is to be a large one, the cover-paper may be obtainable in a special size that will cut without waste. For small editions, however,* it is necessary to use stock sizes of paper, and this means that a part of each sheet will be wasted, so far as serving the purpose for which it was purchased is concerned. This waste the advertiser pays for, whether he uses it or not, and it is therefore well to bear in mind the possibility of using it for other small advertising forms. Often this can be done very effectively and economically. The illustration shows a stock-size sheet of cover-paper from which four covers are to be cut, leaving a strip of waste stock from which a small folder or envelope stuffer and two post-cards can be obtained. The edition in this case is pre- simied to be large enough to make it economical to print the cover " four on " from four duplicate plates — that is, print four complete covers at each impression, printing one side of the folder and postals at the same time. If the cover were printed " two on," half of the waste strip could be printed with the two upper plates and the other half with the lower; or all of the waste strip could be printed with the two right-hand plates. *A "small" edition, from the paper maker's standpoint, is one requiring less than a ton of paper. The number of copies would, of course, depend upon the size of the book. \ ^ Viv/ \ OF DIRECT ADVERTISING If the covers were printed one at a time, it is obvious that the stock could be cut so that one quarter of the sheets would carry a cover and the folder, the two being printed together, and another quarter would carry a cover and the two postals. Acme Thr- Acme PmNrCo, CHICAGO. ILL. ACME f Acme Print Co CHICAGO ILL Acme Print Co CHicwco ai. Utilizing "waste" cover-stock. Shaded portion shows folder and two postals printed at same impression as the covers, on paper that would ordinarily be discarded. It is not always practicable and economical to print waste stock in this way, but the stock alone is worth saving if it is a good quality of cover-paper. Further suggestions in connection with the utilization of stock that would otherwise be wasted will be found under the heading " Envelope Stuffers." (See Index.) ii8 119 MB Ih ^ 1 « ! 'I \ I PRINCIPLES AND PRAC T I C E MAILING CATALOGUES AND BOOKLETS Importance of Using Suitable Envelopes " How about the envelopes?" is a question that ought to be in the mind, if not before the eye, of every man charged with the duty of getting out a catalogue or booklet intended for mailing. The envelopes in which a catalogue is mailed are usually ordered in a hurry, at the last minute — and they usually look it. More advertisers would make their catalogue envelopes the subject of forethought instead of afterthought if they could see some of the catalogues after they have been through the mails. Recently a large eastern manufacturer had occasion to write to some two hundred representative concerns for their catalogues, and of these less than ten per cent were received in perfect condition. The others were soiled, abraded and torn to a greater or lesser extent, due to the use of cheap, flimsy envelopes. Such envelopes are a doubly expensive "economy." They make a bad impression by their own untidy appear- ance, and they detract from the effectiveness of the cata- logue or booklet to just the extent that they allow it to be defaced by the wear and tear of transportation. The remedy, or rather the preventive that is better than any remedy, is to insure the effectiveness of your fine cata- logues and booklets by mailing them in substantial, attrac- tive envelopes, preferably envelopes made of the same paper as the covers. "ENVELOPES TO MATCH" means the highest attainable degree of effectiveness in catalogue mailing, and it is a good phrase to write into your specifications. lao OF DIRECT ADVERTISING V V. / BUCKEYE COVER ENVELOPES carry catalogues and book- lets more safely than ordinary envelopes, and present them to the prospect more attractively. The above are representative exam- ples, showing the effect of appropriate printing. PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE # r. m i; I HOUSE ORGANS Most Direct Advertisements, and in fact most advertise- ments of whatever sort, are made up of definite selling appeals, setting forth the merits of the commodity or service advertised, and giving the reasons, sometimes real and sometimes imaginary, why it will be to the advantage of the reader to do business with the advertiser. Modern merchandising, however, is complex and many- sided. It is not quite so simple as A B C, or rolling off a log, and out of its complexity have grown many conditions which are not met adequately by the ordinary forms of advertising. IMPORTANCE OF "GOOD WILL" A jobber sells a line of staple articles. He has no dem- onstrable advantages over his competitors. His merchan- dise is not of better quality than theirs, nor is it sold at more attractive prices. His customers buy from him largely on personal grounds. Instead of liking his goods better than they like competing goods, they like HIM better, or they like his representatives better; it comes to the same thing. If such a jobber has a small number of customers, he may retain their good will by making frequent calls. If he has a large number of customers, or wishes to get more than his share of the total business in his line, some other method of creating and maintaining good will must be devised. "TAKING THE FACTORY TO THE CUSTOMER" A manufacturer of motor cars finds that he never loses a sale when he has an opportunity to take prospective cus- tomers through his factory. This suggests the advisability of takmg the factory to prospective purchasers. How shall this be done? Another manufacturer has a large number of salesmen, and it is necessary to keep them fully informed as to the progress of the business, telling them what the organiza- 122 V \lJ| / OF DIRECT ADVERTISING tion as a whole is doing, what competitors are doing, etc. The problem is to find the most effective method of dissem- inating this information periodically. WHAT IS A HOUSE ORGAN ? A House Organ is a periodical publication, usually in booklet or pamphlet form, issued by an advertiser for the purpose of disseminating information and suggestions that will influence sales, but which for one reason or another can not be included advantageously in advertisements in other forms. " There is nothing like a House Organ," says Frederick C. Kuhn, editor of magazines for Sherwin-Williams Com- pany, Cleveland, " for kindling that spirit of sincere business friendship which is so essential to mutually profitable trade relations. Especially is this true with the smaller dealers scattered in remote corners away from the busy city. The salesman may make a brief visit now and then, seeking an order; occasionally a letter is written soliciting trade for a new product; but the House Organ brings with it news of the activities of merchants in similar business, sales and merchandising plans, suggestions for getting and retaining new customers, advertising hints, and is brimful of real human-interest copy." Sometimes the House Organ is made up entirely of " news " having reference to the advertiser's business ; sometimes it is made up partly of extraneous matter ; occa- sionally the extraneous matter comprises the bulk of the publication and the " advertising " is incidental. MAKING THE HOUSE ORGAN INTERESTING The essential thing in publishing a House Organ is to make it so interesting that the people to whom it is sent will look forward to it from month to month, and if the advertiser can find little or nothing of interest to say about his own business or products, the necessary interest-sustain- ing material must be secured from other sources. Most 123 #f I I '1 h ' t. PRINCIPLES AND PRACT ICE products can be made interesting, however, at least to peo- ple who are in a position to buy or use them, and it is well to make sure your business is an exception, before filling your House Organ with material that is devoid of specific advertismg value. (( HIGH MORTALITY '' AMONG HOUSE ORGANS — AND ITS LESSON The most significant thing about the House Organ as an advertising medium is what "Printers* Ink" has de- scribed as the "high mortality" among house organs — meaning that few of them are kept up out of the total num- ber started. The reason for this is that it is mighty easy to start a house organ, but mighty hard to keep it going after the first two or three numbers, unless the advertiser has started with a very definite idea of what he proposes to do and exactly how he proposes to do it. Many an advertiser has put into the first number of his house organ all of the material that he had been accumu- latmg for months or years, only to find that material for succeeding numbers was not easily procurable. Don't get out a house organ unless you need it. Have a definite purpose in view. Don't get out the first number, even then, unless you know where the material for the others is coming from. REGULARITY is essential in publishing a house organ. " Now and then " are not good publication dates. SYNDICATE HOUSE ORGANS.— There are several concerns who make a business of printing house organs, supplymg part or all of the reading-matter, according to the requirements of the advertiser. BOOKS ABOUT HOUSE ORGANS.- There arc ex- cellent books on the market, giving full information about every phase of the preparation and distribution of house organs, and these can be consulted advantageously by any advertiser who is seriously interested in this form of Direct Advertising. i«4 OF DIRECT ADVERTISING FOLDERS AND BROADSIDES The flexibility of Direct Advertising (as compared with announcements in periodicals) has already been touched upon, in a previous section of this book. It has been pointed out that the Direct Advertiser is unhampered by many of the restrictions that are inseparable from General Advertis- ing. The size, shape, color, character, quantity and distribu- tion of his advertisements are all within his own control. Some kinds of Direct Advertising, however, are more flexible than others, more easily and exactly adaptable to the advertiser's individual requirements, and it is in Folders and Broadsides — which latter are simply large folders — that this desirable quality finds fullest expression. In getting out Booklets, Catalogues, Letters, there are certain conventions as to size and arrangement that must be observed — certain restrictions that are imposed by the forms themselves. In getting out folders no such restric- tions or conventions are encountered. Folders or Broad- sides may be of any size that the recipient can conveniently handle and read, and they may be arranged and printed and folded in any manner that seems best to serve the purpose of the advertiser. LARGE SIZES MAKE BETTER DEMON- STRATIONS POSSIBLE Large folders obviously are more impressive than small ones, but this is by no means the only reason — very often it is not at all a conclusive reason — for using them. Mere bigness, of itself, does not sell goods. The reason why big folders in many cases have vastly greater selling power than smaller ones, is because they permit picture demonstrations and displays that otherwise would be out of the question. In many catalogues and booklets, for example, the larg- est illustration that can be printed on a page — or even on a 125 T-^ PRIN C IPLES AND PRACTICE f t , " The world's greatest medium for Direct Advertising." All of the above folders were printed on BUCKEYE COVERS. 126 OF DIRECT ADVERTISING " center spread " — is too small to show all of the important details of the article to advantage, and separate pictures of these must be printed on other pages. In large folders, a much wider range of articles can be displayed adequately in single illustrations. Where this is not possible — where for one reason or another certain details must be shown separately, the article may still be demonstrated more clearly and strikingly in a large folder by grouping several of the detail illustrations around a larger one of the complete article, and running an arrow or con- necting line from each of the small illustrations to the corre- sponding part on the large one. HOW SMALL FOLDERS CUT SELLING COSTS The argument in favor of using large folders (when conditions require them) should not be interpreted as ^n argument against using small ones. Because a large folder happens to derive most of its effectiveness from its size, it does not necessarily follow that smaller folders are ineffec- tive. Large folders meet certain advertising requirements better than they are met by any other advertising mediimi. Small and moderate-sized folders meet other requirements equally as well. In one respect the small folder is the most effective of all Direct Advertising forms — it can be made to carry your selling story to a given number of " prospects " at a cost so low that the postage alone will represent 70 or 75 per cent, or even in extreme cases a larger percentage, of the total expenditure. This obviously would not be true of a small edition. To be produced so cheaply, the folders would have to be ordered in considerable quantities. It is not often necessary, however, nor is it often advis- able, to attempt to get out folders so cheaply. Appearance 127 ^n §1 :l m PRINCIPLES AND PRACT ICE is an important factor in determining the ratio between the cost of a folder and the money it brings in. and appearance has to be paid for. Strong poster treatment of display lines, especially suitable for colored folders. Original in dark blue and black on scarlet BUCKEYE COVER. DESIGN AND ARRANGEMENT OF FOLDERS SIZE. — This should be determined with reference to the size of the largest illustration it is proposed to show, the grouping of other illustrations in connection with it, the amount of text matter that is to be printed, and the size and shape that the folder will be when ready to mail. If this last point is not given due consideration in determining the size of the sheet, it may be found that it can not be folded handily without producing a clumsy " piece " of mail matter. 128 X»- OF DIRECT ADVERTISING METHOD OF FOLDING.— This should be decided upon BEFORE the layout for the folder is made, so that the printing of type or illustrations on or across the folds may be avoided, so far as is practicable. This applies particu- larly to small type and illustrations, which will be more attractive and readable if arranged in columns or sections between the folds. ARRANGEMENT OF TEXT.— When laying out a large folder containing considerable reading matter, bear in mind that only very large type can be read easily if set in unbroken lines across the full width of a wide page. The smaller sizes of type, say from eighteen-point down, should be set in columns with plenty of white space between, the width of the columns being proportioned to the size of the type. Your printer or the editor of any printing- trade jour- nal can give you helpful advice on this point if you should be in need of it. THE COVER-DESIGN.— Everything that has been set forth concerning the importance of cover-designs, in the section of this book devoted to Catalogues and Booklets, applies with equal force to folders. The folder, like the booklet, should carry a picture or legend designed to attract the attention and stimulate the interest of the man or woman to whom the folder is sent. The reason so many advertisers neglect this, in all probability, is because they find it possible to display their advertisements effectively on one side of a sheet of paper, and they are then reluctant to pay for additional presswork (where required) merely for the sake of displaying a small design on the outside of the folder. Any advertiser, however, who will examine critically the folders that reach his desk, will scarcely be able to avoid the conviction that it pays to print folders on both sides, even if one side carries nothing but the '* cover- design." COMBINED COVER -DESIGN AND ADDRESS LABEL. — In the case of a very large folder intended to be printed on one side of the sheet only, and where to print a 129 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT ADVERTISING 11 I " cover-design " on the other side would be unduly expen- sive, approximately the same result can be achieved by printing the design on gummed paper, and using the gummed sheets as address labels. RETURN POST CARDS Return post cards are sent out with Catalogues, Book- lets, Folders, etc., for the convenience of the recipient in responding, the object of the advertiser being, of course, to increase the number of responses. Where the prospect is asked to fill out and mail the card as a favor to the advertiser, the card should be stamped by the advertiser. Some advertisers believe in stamping the cards even where no such favor is involved, but this seems to be contrary to the practice of the majority. There is no reason why a man should be bribed to respond to an adver- tisement when presumably he is acting in his own interest, and so far as business houses are concerned, it is not likely that a stamped card would be used any more readily than an unstamped one. A stamped card would undoubtedly stand a better chance of being returned from the average resi- dence, however, since people do not always keep stamps on hand in their homes. GOVERNMENT POST CARDS are furnished to advertisers in sheets, where required, each original sheet containing 48 cards. These sheets the printer can cut up into smaller sheets of 4, 8, 12, etc., printing each sheet from duplicate plates at one impression, thus effecting a substan- tial saving in presswork where a large number of cards is required. Post cards in sheets should be ordered in advance, as the local postoffice m.ay not have them in stock. ,\ 130 ENVELOPE STUFFERS The unlovely phrase at the head of this chapter is the accepted designation of a form of advertising that is deserv- ing, not only of a more appropriate name, but also of much more serious and systematic attention than it ordinarily receives. The use of envelope stuffers is extensive, but it is almost equally desultory. They are gotten out on impulse, and mailed whenever the mailing department happens to think of it. They are rarely made an integral part of an adver- tising campaign, and it is still more rare that any attempt is made to gauge their effectiveness. There are two circumstances which recommend the envelope stuffer to the more careful consideration of every progressive merchant, manufacturer and advertising man: (1) Every piece of first and third class mail matter that goes out, weighing less than the full number of ounces for which postage has been affixed, represents a neglected opportunity to get additional advertising matter carried FREE. (2) Many printing jobs, as ordinarily contracted for, represent neglected opportunities to get this additional advertising matter MANUFACTURED free, or nearly free. GETTING " ALMOST FREE " ADVERTISING The envelope stuffer, in other words, costs nothing to mail, and it costs next to nothing to manufacture, if proper advantage is taken of the occasional opportunities that arise in connection with various forms of printing. On another page of this book will be found an illustra- tion showing how an envelope stuffer or small folder may be printed as part of a booklet cover, on stock that would otherwise be wasted. 131 rff w t PRINCIPLES AND PR A C T I C E It is obvious that the same principle can be applied in many ways, and it is equally obvious that the stuffer need not always be printed on " stock that would otherwise be wasted.** UTILIZING "WASTE" PRESSWORK The presswork, in fact, represents a greater saving than the stock, and for this reason it will be found profitable to order the additional small amount of stock needed, when- ever you have a job going through of such size and char- acter that a suitable stuffer can be printed at the same time, without increasing the presswork. It is of course necessary to take paper sizes into consid- eration, as printed forms are planned to cut out "even** \yherever possible, and under such circumstances the addi- tion of a stuffer would necessitate the use of a larger size of paper, which might or might not be practicable. Booklet and catalogue covers, folders, letter and bill heads, statements, price-lists, discount sheets — these and many other office forms may be made to yield envelope stuffers as a by-product, simply by the exercise of a little ingenuity. The best method of utilizing this suggestion is to plan a series of stuffers in advance, writing the copy and having the illustrations made, if illustrations are to be included, so that you will always be prepared to take prompt advantage of any *' stuffer opportunities ** that may present themselves in connection with your printing. IMPORTANCE OF PROPER DISTRIBUTION You will also find it profitable to give careful thought and attention to the DISTRIBUTION of your envelope stuffers. It is not enough merely to get rid of them. They 132 OF DIRECT ADVERTISING should be sent out systematically. If you have a series of them, it is important to know that each customer receives the series in proper order, not several copies of the same stuffer. The cheapness of this form of advertising is no excuse for sending it out in a slipshod, hit-or-miss manner. Envel- ope stuffers are less impressive and less important than your large circulars and booklets, but this is offset to some extent by the fact that many of them go out under first-class postage. They get preferred attention as compared with other forms of printed matter, and if properly designed and distributed they can be depended upon to produce substan- tial results. The foregoing suggestions are equally applicable to many other small advertising and office forms. Mailing Cards, Postal Cards, Package Inserts, Direction Slips, Labels, Stock and Work Tickets, Time Slips, are examples. TALK IT OVER WITH YOUR PRINTER Make a practice of taking the question up with your printer when placing orders or discussing specifications. Find out whether there will be any waste stock, and, if so, whether it can be printed before being trimmed off, without necessitating additional presswork. If there will be no waste, how about the possibility of ADDING one of these small forms to the original job, printing the two together on a single sheet at the same impression, and then cutting them apart? By asking these questions, whenever there seems to be any use of asking them, you will be able to take advantage of many money-saving and business-building opportunities which might otherwise be overlooked. 133 m nlniuM^MmA, !«f If ■ I PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE MAILING CARDS Mailing Cards are simply advertisements printed on paper or cardboard thick enough to enable them to be mailed flat, without folding. The Postoffice Department does not publish (so far as we know) any restrictions as to their size, but it is of course obvious that a very large mailing card would be less effective than a folder the same size, besides being much more liable to breakage during transportation. Mailing Cards as large as 10 by 12 inches are not often seen; 7 by 10 or 7 by 11 inches is a much more practical size. This is about as large a card as can be mailed with any reasonable degree of assurance that it will be delivered flat and unbroken. Like folders, mailing cards may be printed either on one side or on both. Usually they are printed on one side only. Mailing Cards are not suitable for soliciting mail orders. They are used to best advantage where it is not the purpose of the advertising to induce prospects to take immediate action, as in " paving the way " for salesmen's calls. POST CARDS If Mailing Cards are made not larger than 3 9-16 by 5 9-16 inches, nor smaller than 2^ by 4 inches, and divided on one side by a vertical line down the middle, WRITING may be placed in the space to the left of the vertical line (the right-hand space being reserved for address and stamp) without affecting the classification of the cards as third class matter. Such Mailing Cards are designated by the Postoffice Department as " Post Cards," and it is customary to print this designation on them. It is not advisable to order a large quantity of " Post Cards " without having a sample O. K.*d by your postmaster. 134 OF DIRECT ADVERTISING V On the follo\ving pages a number of novel and effective Direct Advertising forms are pictured and described. I3S PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE BROADSIDE FOLDER "WITH RETURN POSTAL (See illustration on opposite page.) Your proposition may not warrant the running of a page advertisement in a large newspaper, but you can read- ily place an advertisement of the same size before all the people on your mailing list by utilizing the folder form here illustrated. A full sheet of BUCKEYE COVER, even the smaller size, takes an advertisement the size of the average news- paper page, and large newspapers have themselves utilized this fact by reproducing page advertisements on BUCK- EYE COVER folders for mailing to their prospective cus- tomers. Where the mailing list is large enough to warrant a reasonable allowance for drawings, engravings and type- setting, a folder such as this is probably more effective, in proportion to its cost, than any other form of Direct Adver- tisement. If used on a small list, the cost per name would be high. The bottom fold, as illustrated, with slot for a return card, is, of course, optional, as also is the method of folding the sheet. A number of different methods, each requiring a different arrangement of the text and illustrations (if any) on the other side of the folder, will readily suggest them- selves when the dummy is being experimented with. In spite of its size, this folder, made of one of the lighter weights of BUCKEYE COVER, or other stock of similar weight, may be mailed for 1 cent. 136 OF DIRECT ADVERTISING (^ yi.< 'sa^ ,. V ^v;,> •-■f •.•••!'••■ •■4^ SyCKEYE tractive iml also, and more St/. hyiW«»\».i> W we nwlbiijg Wsc, and »ih whom cosi b. tbe brf thjog ewNiiewd. II you attea«fc^nnwn> %t tMiitd %at p«t.KVAli.luVS»S. )<•*••» t aw Am UMi utAm'* ^.tek »««*"-*"" Folder made of full sheet of BUCKEYE COVER, either 20 by 25 or 22 by 28j/$ inches. Reply post card inserted in slot. Can be mailed for I cent INTENTIONAL SECOND EXPOSURE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE BROADSIDE FOLDER AA/'ITH RETURN POSTAL (See illustration on opposite page.) Your proposition may not warrant the running of a page advertisement in a large newspaper, but you can read- ily place an advertisement of the same size before all the people on your mailing list by utilizing the folder form here illustrated. A full sheet of BUCKEYE COVER, even the smaller size, takes an advertisement the size of the average news- paper page, and large newspapers have themselves utilized this fact by reproducing page advertisements on BUCK- EYE COVER folders for mailing to their prospective cus- tomers. Where the mailing list is large enough to warrant a reasonable allowance for drawings, engravings and type- setting, a folder such as this is probably more effective, in proportion to its cost, than any other form of Direct Adver- tisement. If used on a small list, the cost per name would be high. The bottom fold, as illustrated, with slot for a return card, is, of course, optional, as also is the method of folding the sheet. A number of different methods, each requiring a different arrangement of the text and illustrations (if any) on the other side of the folder, will readily suggest them- selves when the dummy is being experimented with. In spite of its size, this folder, made of one of the lighter weights of BUCKEYE COVER, or other stock of similar weight, may be mailed for 1 cent. 136 OF DIRECT ADVERTISING SyCKEYE .*'.*, i^i^f .^'^ yM»'\ mmm ■•-•fv-'!''-v-A|^i cover i^™«aoa '""'^^"' "* '«"' ""^^ tractive; 5oi aJso. auid tnnrtx,. ^ \W.u»u4x M .>tK'rx »U. loiuw.^ qutVJW ix tot evcf>tbii)g d«, and «h « hoin com is the Uw thiu? Kw-iWrfd. li j'ou atrcndd eiilxt ^i^rhcse grtal »h.)*-w.an.| pjrtKuVirix it u* attfixW the ftHKt recent one HI >yison SqnaK dt'kn in Oiti*t>r— ib<. WJtr nwi 0)erd>rcn)io«J.vf>u rtof allo< tlw ^pc^^men^ we exInNtrd »«.•« prt^mtd K ordinan letter-pre!$ ao« »******" .>til» ^^-*.w^-*'*-'' ,«**««»"'* wtamfto*— j^^flwr»«h" ^ Folder made of full sheet of BUCKEYE COVER, either 20 by 25 or 22 by 28^ inches. Reply post card inserted in slot. Can be mailed for I cent PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE BIG MAILING PIECES FOR LITTLE MAILING LISTS An advertiser who is " working " a mailing list contain- ing many thousands of names — say from ten to twenty- five thousand — has one great advantage (among others) over the advertiser working a small list. The larger list makes it possible to use expensive draw- ings, engravings, color printing, etc., and so to achieve a degree of effectiveness that would be out of the question if only a few hundred names were to be circularized. If an advertiser proposes mailing a circular to a list of twenty-five thousand names, he can afford to spend a hun- dred dollars for engravings almost as readily as fifty, pro- vided the extra fifty dollars increases the effectiveness of the circular, for the difference is only a fraction of a cent per name. Reduce the list to five hundred names, however, and the " difference " would be TEN CENTS per name, which in many cases would be more than the advertiser could afford to spend for the complete circular. The advertiser circularizing a small list, as a rule, can not afford to get out Direct Advertisements that entail a high initial cost for drawings, engravings, typesetting, press make-ready, etc., yet the small advertiser, or the advertiser with a small list, wants to send out attractive advertise- ments. How can this be accomplished? One method of getting around the difficulty is shown in the accompanying illustration. Here the problem was to send out one hundred roto- gravure prints (left over from a large edition used for another purpose) to a select list of customers. A selling talk was to go with the picture, and it was necessary that the advertisement as a whole be attractive and impressive. 138 OF DIRECT ADVERTISING It was out of the question to spend money for art work and engravings to be used on such a small number of copies, and even to set the advertisement in type would have been expensive. The advertisement as sent out was nevertheless both cheap and effective, and this was accomplished by the sim- ple expedient of printing the argument on a letter-head, tipping the letter and picture onto a sheet of heavy cover paper as shown, folding the cover paper once down the middle, printing a title on the outside at a cost of $1 for the edition, and mailing the folder flat in a large envelope. Background represents folder, lAli by 22 inches or 11 by 1454 inches, folded, made of double-thick BUCKEYE COVER. Imitation type- written letter tipped on left-hand page, picture tipped on right-hand page. 139 INTENTIONAL SECOND EXPOSURE »*,.«S«aiM^^:>'^- I PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE BIG MAILING PIECES FOR LITTLE MAILING LISTS An advertiser who is " working " a mailing list contain- ing many thousands of names — say from ten to twenty- five thousand — has one great advantage (among others) over the advertiser working a small list. The larger list makes it possible to use expensive draw- ings, engravings, color printing, etc., and so to achieve a degree of effectiveness that would be out of the question if only a few hundred names were to be circularized. If an advertiser proposes mailing a circular to a list of twenty-five thousand names, he can afford to spend a hun- dred dollars for engravings almost as readily as fifty, pro- vided the extra fifty dollars increases the effectiveness of the circular, for the difference is only a fraction of a cent per name. Reduce the list to five hundred names, however, and the " difference " would be TEN CENTS per name, which in many cases would be more than the advertiser could afford to spend for the complete circular. The advertiser circularizing a small list, as a rule, can not afford to get out Direct Advertisements that entail a high initial cost for drawings, engravings, typesetting, press make-ready, etc., yet the small advertiser, or the advertiser with a small list, wants to send out attractive advertise- ments. How can this be accomplished? One method of getting around the difficulty is shown in the accompanying illustration. Here the problem was to send out one hundred roto- gravure prints (left over from a large edition used for another purpose) to a select list of customers. A selling talk was to go with the picture, and it was necessary that the advertisement as a whole be attractive and impressive. 138 ^^L * ^^ O F DIRECT ADVERTISING It was out of the question to spend money for art work and engravings to be used on such a small number of copies, and even to set the advertisement in type would have been expensive. The advertisement as sent out was nevertheless both cheap and effective, and this was accomplished by the sim- ple expedient of printing the argument on a letter-head, tipping the letter and picture onto a sheet of heavy cover paper as shown, folding the cover paper once down the middle, printing a title on the outside at a cost of $1 for the edition, and mailing the folder flat in a large envelope. Background represents folder, 14^ by 22 inches or 11 by 14^4 inches, folded, made of double-thick BUCKEYE COVER. Imitation type- written letter tipped on left-hand page, picture tipped on right-hand page. 139 i' \1 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT ADVERTISING If H^ 1 "BUTTERFLY" FOLDER (Sec illustration on opposite page.) This is a novelty folder that is comparatively expensive to manufacture, and that is not to be recommended for indiscriminate use. When used in the right way and at the right time, however, it makes a striking and effective adver- tisement. The essential feature of the folder is that when it is opened, a folded-in portion of the sheet springs up, project- ing above the body of the folder, and calling attention to whatever special device or information may be printed on the projection. A very small folder of this kind has been used effec- tively by the Underwood Typewriter Company, and a very large one, measuring ten or twelve inches square when folded, was recently gotten out by a Cleveland printer for a large manufacturing concern, the projecting fold being used to call attention to an exclusive feature of a pump. The white lines on the large figure shows the method of folding the sheet as well as it can be shown in an illus- tration. Any ingenious printer can readily work out the same idea in other forms. Stock suggested: BUCKEYE COVER, any finish, 20 x 25 — 65 and 22 x 28 J^ — 80. 140 , i PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT ADVERTISING **AUTO-LOCK" FOLDER W^ITH RETURN CARD (See illustration on opposite page.) The illustration shows a novel method of increasing the effectiveness of a common form of folder without adding materially to its cost. The folder consists of a double sheet, printed on one side only and folded as shown in the upper figure. The " lock " is a separate strip of paper, preferably of another color. One end of this is inserted between the open ends of the sheet after the vertical fold has been made; and the other end is tucked in (at the other side of the folder) after the two horizontal folds have been made. To open the folder, it is only necessary to pull up on one end of the locking strip. Until this strip is pulled, how- ever, the folder remains securely locked, no clips or pasters being necessary. The separate strip carries the address and the stamp, and if made of a paper the color of which contrasts strongly with the color of the folder, the effect is unusually novel and striking. The return card, if used, is inserted in slot as indicated. This card is, of course, optional. Stock suggested: For folder, BUCKEYE COVER, 20x25 — 65 and 22x28^ — 80, or 20 X 25 — 80 and 22 x 2854 — 100. For the locking strip, BUCKEYE COVER, 20 X 25 — 80 and 22 x 2Sy2 — 100. 142 *% PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT ADVERTISING if ' , Ir • i' BLOTTER CARRIER WITH ORDER BLANK BLOTTER On the page facing this are shown two simple and prac- tical methods of increasing the advertising efficiency of the blotter. The first concerns the method of sending it out, and is based on the fact that in many cases where a blotter is otherwise an excellent advertisement, it is too small to carry the necessary amount of selling talk. Here a folder is utilized, not only to provide additional space for the display of the advertiser's message, but also to provide a more effective vehicle than an envelope for carrying the blotter under one-cent postage. If the outside of the folder is attractively printed, it will make a dignified advertisement; whereas a blotter enclosed in an ordinary envelope simply looks like a cheap circular. The second illustration shows a method of still further increasing the efficiency of the blotter by including an order blank. Sending an order blank out in this way means that your prospective customer will have it constantly before him, as long as he keeps the blotter on his desk. The order blank may be wire stapled between two pieces of blotting-paper, or between a blotter and a piece of cover-paper carrying your advertisement. Stock suggested : For " Blotter Carrier " — BUCKEYE COVER, 20x25 — 65 and 22x281^—80, 20x25 — 80 and 22x285^ — 100. or Double Thick. Any color and finish. u ^< i 144 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT ADVERTISING (( CATALOGUE" LETTER-HEAD (See illustration on opposite page.) Many firms print pictures and descriptions on the backs of their letter-heads. The plan is objectionable because only the printing is visible when the letter is folded, and is the first thing seen when it is taken from the envelope. A better way, and one coming into increasing favor, is to use a four-page sheet with the letter on the first page, and the pictures and printing on the inside pages. The last page is left blank, and the letter thus looks like a letter, and not like a circular, when the recipient gets it m his hand. Catalogue letter-heads are usually produced in quanti- ties for special circularizations, the first page being imita- tion-typewritten ; but in many lines it is also a good plan to stock the sheets with special offerings or announcements printed on the inside pages, and use the first page for regu- lar correspondence. N o .0 146 li 1 1 ■• ' K. \:> PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE THE "OUTLOOK" LETTER CIRCULAR (See illustration on opposite page.) An exceedingly novel and effective method of combining a letter and folder for mailing under 1-cent postage. The letter, imitation-typewritten on an ordinary letter- head, with filled-in salutation, is inserted in the folder in the manner illustrated, the folder having a cut-out aperture which allows the salutation of the letter to serve as the address. Because of its novelty, the combination is a great deal more interesting and attention-compelling than either the letter or a folder of the same size would be if mailed sep- arately; while the cost of the complete piece, if BUCKEYE COVER is used for the folder, does not exceed that of a letter under 2-cent postage. To secure maximum effectiveness, the outside of the folder should carry a design illustrating or suggesting the product or business advertised, and incorporating a panel for the address aperture, making it a part of the illustration. The folder should be the same width as the letter-head to be used, and one-half longer. For a standard 8 x 11 letter-head, the folder will be 8 x lej/i inches. No special dies are necessary in producing this piece. The rectangular opening can be cut with ordinary cutting rule on a platen printing-press. Stock recommended: For the folder, BUCKEYE COVER, basis 20 x 25 — 65 ; Plate Finish if half-tones are to be printed ; otherwise Antique or Ripple or Crash Fin- ish. For the letter-head, if for any reason a special one is required. Antique Finish BUCKEYE COVER, basis 20 x 25 — 50, and a different color from the stock used for the folder. T48 OF DIRECT ADVERTISING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE I »! MAILING SMALL SAMPLES (Sec illustration on opposite page.) Occasionally the simplest and cheapest article of its kind is the best, and this method of mailing small samples is as economical as it is effective. Mailed in this way, the sample is brought to the atten- tion of the prospect at the exact psychological moment — right after he has finished reading the printed story that leads up to it. The argument first, then the PROOF, all in one mailing piece. Sampling of this kind is much more effective than the ordinary method, and many firms have used it successfully who were unable to get adequate returns sending samples and arguments separately. The size and shape of the folder make no particular dif- ference. The only requirement is that it be folded at the bottom to retain the sample, and then folded again just above the sample. The illustrations were made with the clips on the first fold, because that was the only way the position of the sample could be shown, but it is better to put the clips on after the SECOND fold has been made. The folds fol- lowing the first two can be of any desired width, without reference to the size of the sample. Folders containing samples take the merchandise, or parcel post, rate, and 1 cent postage should therefore be affixed for every ounce or fraction thereof. Stock suggested: BUCKEYE COVER, any finish, basis 20 x 25 — 80, 22 x 2S% — 100, or Double Thick. ISO O F DIRECT ADVERTISING ^4^ i > PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT ADVERT I S I N G m '.' '-, m* . } ■■) I^^B^Ie HK^H V?) ^'•' .j^^H ' ^^^B THE "OUTLOOK" AUTOMATIC REPLY FOLDER (See illustration on opposite page.) It is unfortunate that the idea of including a signed postal (signed with the name of the prospect) in a piece of circular matter has been promoted imtil it has become a fad, more or less profitable to the promoters, but not so profitable, in many cases, to the advertiser. The undue emphasis placed on this feature by the vari- ous concerns exploiting it has not only led many adver- tisers to use it where they should have used something else, but has also deterred many others from using it where it would have been exactly the right thing. No experienced advertising man believes or will admit that making it easy for the prospect to respond is the whole end and aim of successful direct advertising. Often it is more profitable to make sure that the prospect will NOT respond, unless he is seriously interested. But there are, nevertheless, many legitimate uses for the "automatic reply" featiu-e in circularizing, and the illustrations on the three following pages show the most practicable and satisfactory methods of incorporating it in attractive and effective folders or booklets. The principle in all of these is the same — the filling in of the prospect's name on the reply postal, and the inclu- sion of the postal in the folder in such a manner that the filled-in signature of the prospect will serve as the address when the folder is mailed by the advertiser. These folders are used to the best advantage, usually, where the returned postal is an order for merchandise (in which case the prospect should be required to pencil his initials beneath the typewritten signature), or where its return can .be taken as evidence that he has a real interest in the advertiser's goods or proposition. 15a PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT ADVERTISING ifl i^ i' ^- ■\ ^m'^ ^ V PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT ADVERTISING m i ■}' CIRCULAR LETTERS Circular Letters, also called " Form Letters " are simply advertisements in letter form, which are sent in identical or nearly identical terms to a number of " prospects." Such letters may be typewritten, but as a rule they are produced by a mechanical process designed to imitate real typewriting as closely as possible. There are several of these "imitation typewriting" processes, and they vary considerably as to cost and quahty of work produced, but the principle of all is the same — the letters are printed from type, through a ribbon of silk or other material, which gives the text the " fabric " appearance that is characteristic of real typewriting. To be mailable at third-class (printed matter) rates, cir- cular letters must be produced by a mechanical process other than typewriting, and must be mailed twenty or more at a time. Salutations and signatures may be filled in by any desired method, and typographical errors may be cor- rected, but the letters as sent out must all read exactly alike. PREPARATION OF CIRCULAR LETTERS.— There are several books on the market which deal exclusively with the preparation of circular and form letters, and it would therefore be a work of supererogation to attempt to illumi- nate the subject in a few pages of the present volume. Such books are quite likely to be somewhat partisan, however they are likely to emphasize the merits of Circular Letters to the disadvantage of other forms of Direct Advertising — and it rnay therefore serve some advertisers to point out that while the Circular Letter offers an exceedingly eco- nomical method of circularizing a small list (say a thousand or two), it is often unnecessarily expensive when used in connection with a large list. COST OF CIRCULAR LETTERS.— See "What Should the Pieces Cost?" on page 27, and "Postage on Circular Letters " on page 159 for suggestions as to the cost of Circular Letters compared with printed circulars. 156 PRINTING METHODS A working knowledge of ordinary printing methods is a necessary part of the equipment of the advertising man, and of the advertiser handling his own work; but as this can be obtained readily in any printing establishment, it hardly calls for exposition in a book of Direct Advertising suggestions. There are other printing methods, however, which are less widely used, and while it is not necessary to understand these in detail, it is at least desirable to KNOW about them, and to recognize their possibilities. THE RUBBER OFFSET PROCESS is the most impor- tant of the rivals of ordinary printing, and both its popu- ^ J larity and utility are growing steadily. Rubber offset printing differs from ordinary printing in several particu- lars,^ but principally in that the plate carrying the designs and \cxt does not print directly on the paper. It prints on a rubber roller, and the rubber roller transfers the impres- sion to the paper. The principal advantage of this process, so far as the advertiser is concerned, lies in the fact that it offers a means of printing half-tones on antique-finished and other rough papers. The process can also be utilized in the production of soft, sketchy color effects, such as are hardly obtainable by any other method, excepting possibly lithography, and for this reason it is used extensively for printing the covers of fine catalogues and booklets. Rubber offset printing can not be done from ordinary cuts and type. Special plates must be made — from proofs of type-matter, and from drawings, photographs, etc., of pictures and designs. In comparison with ordinary printing, rubber offset printing is more expensive for short runs, on account of the cost of the plates. It is less expensive for long runs, as the work is done much more rapidly. (See page 164.) 157 iii PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT ADVERTISING LITHOGRAPHY is a process of printing from specially prepared stones instead of from metal plates. It is particu- larly adapted to the reproduction of pictures and designs in color — such as those seen on calendars, hangers, display cards, etc. In Direct Advertising it is utilized mainly in prmtmg multi-colored catalogue and booklet covers. EMBOSSING is a process of producing relief effects on paper by subjecting it to mechanical pressure between suit- able dies. It IS used principally on catalogue and booklet covers. For the best results the dies must be heated, and the process is then called " hot embossing." Covers which are embossed vinthout being printed are called "blind embossed." HOT STAMPING is merely a form of hot embossing, the effect of which is to " iron out " an antique or other rough-finished paper, producing a smooth surface on which half-tones or other plates with fine detail can be printed. The stamped or ironed portion of the paper is usually a rectangular panel or other geometrical shape that is to carry an il ustration. Sometimes the illustration is printed directly m the panel ; in other cases it may be printed on a separate sheet and " tipped in." POSTAGE ON DIRECT ADVERTISING According to postal regulations in effect at the time this book goes to press. Direct Advertising (printed) is classified as third-class matter, mailable at the rate of one cent for each two ounces or fraction thereof, when the individual pieces consist of less than twenty-four pages. Catalogues, Booklets and other pieces consisting of twenty-four pages or more, are classified as fourth-class (parcel post) matter. If they weigh eight ounces or less, they take a special rate of one cent for each two ounces, regardless of distance. If they weigh more than eight ounces, they take the regular parcel post zone rates. This applies to Catalogues, Booklets, Folders, Circulars, House Organs, Mailing Cards, and all other forms of printed advertisements which are not sealed against inspection, and which do not contain enclosures requiring a higher rate. If first or parcel-post matter is enclosed with a piece of third-class matter, the entire piece takes the higher rate, except that samples of merchandise affixed to circulars or other printed matter do not affect the classification of such matter as third-class mail so long as the samples occupy less than twenty per cent of the superficial area of the pieces to which they are affixed. When twenty per cent, or more of the space is occupied, the circulars or other printed matter to which the samples are affixed arc consid- ered parcel-post mail, and postage must be paid at the rates set forth in the Parcel Post regulations. 158 MAILING MERCHANDISE SAMPLES This ruling also applies to advertisements which arc printed wholly or in part ON THE MATERIAL ADVER- TISED, the Postoffice Department having ruled that the advertised material under such circumstances becomes A SAMPLE OF MERCHANDISE if it comprises 20 per cent or more of the superficial area of the advertisement. Under this ruling, paper sample-books and circulars (which 159 PRINCIPL ES AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT ADVERTISING i ir El f ! latter arc usually printed entirely on the paper advertised) are classified as parcel-post matter, regardless of their weight, although the same books and circulars, made of the same paper, but carrying the advertising of any other prod- uct, would be classified as set forth in the first paragraph on page 159. f & -f" When you receive samples or circular matter from paper manufacturers or dealers, therefore, it is well to bear in mmd that the postage on such pieces is often double what you would be required to pay if you were mailing similar pieces carrying your own advertisement. POSTAGE ON CIRCULAR LETTERS Letters arc regarded as printed matter, mailable at third- class rates, if produced by a mechanical process other than fnI?i7.?TV^''!^' provided twenty or more letters contain- ing identical text are mailed at one time. Individual salutations may be filled in with a typewriter the letters may be signed with pen and ink, and ty^ograS ical errors may be corrected with pen or pencil; but actual cnanges in the text which would make INDIVIDUAL commumcations of the letters are not permissible. What- ever corrections are made must be the same in every letter. Otherwise the letter would be classified as first-class matter and postage at the rate of 2 cents per ounce would have to While circular letters MAY be mailed under 1-cent post- oPthfsTri^^^^^^^^ " "^' ^^"^^^ ^^^^^^^^« '- '-^^ -^vanW The use of l-cent postage indicates unmistakably that the envelope contains a circular, not a personal letter and m many cases this is fatal to success. The common or garden variety of circular letter in an unsealed 1 -cent-stamped envelope is probably the cheapest m^ni:^..'".^ ''T i-P^^^^i-^^ of all Sie DirLt AdJerth^! ments that reach the average business office, and in many i6o if not most such offices they receive scant attention, or no attention at all. Entirely apart from the question of cheapness, more- over, there are certain kinds of advertisements which can pretty confidently be expected NOT to receive attention if they are readily identified as advertisements. Few men, for instance, buy life insurance on their own initiative, nor do they willingly read life insurance liter- ature, and it would therefore be a sheer waste of money to mail under 1-cent postage a series of letters the purpose of which was to sell life insurance. The life insurance com- pany's card on one corner of the envelope, together with the 1-cent stamp on the other corner, would identify the enclosure as an unwelcome solicitation to the man receiving it, and it simply would not be read. OVERCOMING INDIFFERENCE To overcome this indifference or hostility, many adver- tisers find it profitable to mail circular letters in sealed envelopes under first-class postage. This insures that the envelopes will be opened, and that the enclosed advertise- ments will be judged by their own appearance rather than by the implication of cheapness involved in the use of 1-cent postage. The 2-cent stamped circular letter, in other words, gets a chance to be " heard," which is all that any advertisement can claim. Having gained an audience because of its appearance, perhaps by masquerading as a personal com- munication, it will be read attentively enough if the intro- duction is interesting. On the other hand, if the people to whom a circular letter is mailed are known to be decidedly interested in the goods or service that the letter offers, very often nothing whatever will be gained by using first-class postage. If an advertiser, through some fortunate combination of circumstances, were in a position to offer an automobile i6i I PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT ADVERTISING I tire of standard make at half the regular price, the mere name and price, printed on the outside of the envelope, would be quite sufficient to insure the advertisement being read by the automobile owner. WHEN TO USE ONE-CENT STAMPS In general it is safe to conclude that a circular letter containing a strong appeal to the self-interest of the recip- ient, assuming, of course, that the substance of the appeal is set forth on the face of the envelope, will " pull " approx- imately as well with 1-cent postage as with 2-cent. Where the self-interest appeal is absent, or is not obvi- ous, greater returns will usually be obtained by using 2-cent postage. ** Whether the increased returns from the use of 2-cent postage will be PROFITABLE as compared with 1-cent postage depends somewhat upon the nature of the proposi- T\ 1 ' '"^^^^^5^ <^°st of the postage may more than offset the increased profit, but this does not occur often. Two other considerations that affect the determination of the proper postage for a circular letter are the standing of the advertiser and the character and circumstances of the people to whom the advertising is mailed. PPF^T^'Tr^^'f recognized standing may occasionally allow FKi^bTIGE to take the place of POSTAGE. A 1-cent- stamped circular bearing the imprint of Marshall Field & Co. could very reasonably be expected to command atten- tion where a similar circular from an unknown house might be thrown into the waste-basket unread. People who receive comparatively little mail matter are Z^h T^'V^^f^ to read and respond to circulars, and are much less likely to be influenced by their postal classifica- tion, than are people who receive a great deal of mail. 162 \^ SEALING THIRD-CLASS MATTER The rules of the Postoffice Department provide that advertising matter may be mailed at third-class rates only when it is open to inspection. Sealing, as such, is not prohibited, except when it inter- feres with adequate inspection. An ordinary envelope may not be sealed (if mailed under third-class postage), because it would be manifestly impos- sible for a postoffice employee to examine the contents with- out breaking the seal. A circular or folder carrying its own address may be sealed, even if it can not be unfolded without breaking the seal, provided it is possible for a postoffice inspector, by looking in at the ends of the folder or otherwise, to satisfy himself that it contains no writing or enclosures which would require a higher classification. GET THE POSTMASTER'S O. K. No hard and fast rule can be laid down that will apply to all cases. Some postoffice officials insist upon a strict application of the letter of the law, while others will pass circulars that are only partially open to inspection, assum- ing that the hidden parts are fairly represented by the vis- ible ones, or by an unsealed sample that has been submitted. When it is proposed to seal any kind of a folder or circular, therefore, it is important to get the O. K. of the local post- office officials before proceeding with the work. Where seals can be used without affecting the postage, they are preferable to clips, as the latter are apt to come off in the mails. Seals, moreover, give the pieces to which they are affixed a much more attractive appearance. Advertising matter mailed in any one of the various forms of ** Pennysaver ** envelopes can hardly be said to be sealed, and it is not so regarded by the Postoffice Depart- ment. The gummed flap which is characteristic of such 163 f 1' I.' PRINCIPLES AND P R A r T T r i. PM 1 »■ I Rubber offset printing on BUCKEYE COVER*; Th. , i - aally adapted to the process and is widely used b^ff^^^ 164 Jf OF D IRECT ADVERTISING envelopes is designed to make the envelope APPEAR sealed, but it is, of course, open to inspection, just as the ordinary ungummed envelope is. METHODS OF PREPAYING POSTAGE Postage on Direct Advertising matter may be prepaid by any one of four methods : By using government-stamped envelopes or wrap- By affixing ordinary postage stamps. By affixing PRECANCELED postage stamps. 4. By mailing under a " Special Permit." Stamped envelopes and wrappers are used by many advertisers, in some cases because of their convenience, and in others because it is thought they present a better appear- ance than ordinary envelopes and wrappers with separate stamps. Where a great many pieces of advertising are to be mailed, it is often possible to save considerable handling by using stamped envelopes or wrappers. Your postmaster can furnish you with a printed price-list. 1. pers. 2. 3. ORDINARY STAMPS Ordinary postage stamps, like the popular orator, are so well known as to need neither introduction nor recommenda- tion. They are the method of postage prepayment that you will naturally use, unless the circumstances seem to call strongly for one of the others. Not all advertisers know that stamps can be bought in quantities at a discount, from stamp brokers. Make a note of it if it is news to you. 165 f OF DIRECT ADVERTISING PRECANCELED STAMPS vJcntZ'i^ J^tt^^Sl "^P' "^- P*'*'^P^ ^he least con- vement pt all methods of prepay ng postaee Onat- th. precanceled stamps have been afKxed. howevei- the nieces JS2v'are*m J'^T"" °' ''1^^.""^ '" ^^e postoffice at which Scked IhT^ f„ ^"''"^ ^* '" ' ** advertiser has sorted and office? anTthU "*''*^^"'^ ^'*'* instructions from the post- omce;, and this is sometimes a decided advantacr*. ;,. tt. rollle1sThtdL''^'°^=*' °J attractive 'cTalofue" and being torn or abraded is greatly decreased "*""' SPECIAL PERMIT Mailing under a "Special Permit" eliminates the handling of postage stamps altogether, no stamps being require ,^ (( SAFE AND SANE" TYPE-FACES FOR DIRECT ADVERTISING In the " Typography " section of this book, there have been set forth some objections to the use of fancy job types in Direct Advertisements, particularly catalogues and booklets. This naturally raises the question as to what sort of faces CAN be used advantageously. On the several pages that follow, the question is answered. Here are shown a number of type-faces which are first of all easy to read, thus fulfilling the most important requirement of the Direct Advertiser, and which at the same time are pleasing to the eye, whether of the expert or the non-expert. All of these faces have received the approval of the more progressive printers and advertisers, and each one of them has been recognized as a distinct achievement in artistic type-designing. The showing is not complete, but it is fairly representa- tive of the work of the foremost typefounders, and includes faces suitable for use in every kind of Direct Advertising. It is of course necessary to discriminate in making selec- tions even from this small assortment, since no one face is suitable for every kind of work. " Boldface " types, for example, are not suitable for the text of a catalogue or booklet, although occasionally they can be used effectively for the text of a large folder. When in doubt as to the face that you ought to use, you can hardly do better than select Caslon Oldstyle, which is shown on the pages immediately following this. Notwith- standing it was designed nearly two hundred years ago, it remains to-day, in the opinion of many printers and adver- tising men, including the writer of this book, the most beautiful and legible of all type-faces. In the larger sizes it makes an excellent display type. The following displays are not to be regarded as model catalogue or booklet pages. Their purpose is to show the types, not the method of using them. To use a type effec- tively, it must be adapted to the size and shape of the space it is to occupy, as has already been explained in the section devoted to " Typography." 167 PRINCIPLE S AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT ADVERTISING M^i BUCKEYE PREDOMINANCE The unprecedented demand for Buckeye Covers, which has made them the largest- selling brand of cover papers in the world, is of real and definite value to the cover- paper user; for this demand is a cause, as well as an effea, of the superior quality and utility which charaderize the line. Buckeye Covers are popular because they are profitable; and they are profitable to an unusual degree simply because quan- tity produdion has enabled us to give more for the money, in both paper and service, than would otherwise be possible. During the past year the leadership of Buckeye Covers has been steadily main- tained, and we have been able to demon- strate repeatedly and conclusively that every user benefits by this leadership. In reducing the price of our Double Thick 18-point Caslon Oldstyle No. 471. (Hand-set.) Upper portion set loHd ; lower portion 2-point leaded. I68 H > BUCKEYE PREDOMINANCE The unprecedented demand for Buckeye Covers, which has made them the largest-selling brand of cover papers in the world, is of real and definite value to the cover-paper user ; for this demand is a cause, as well as an effect, of the superior quality and utility which characterize the line. Buckeye Covers are popular because they are profitable; and they are profitable to an unusual degree simply be- cause quantity production has enabled us to give more for the money, in both paper and service, than would otherwise be possible. During the past year the leadership of Buckeye Covers has been steadily maintained, and we have been able to dem- onstrate repeatedly and conclusively that every user benefits by this leadership. In reducing the price of our Double Thick Buckeye Covers at a time when the general price-trend in the industry was upward ; in improving the texture of the entire line without increasing its price; in the preparation and publication of various forms of business-building suggestions; and particularly in arranging for the manufacture and distribution of Buckeye Cover Envelopes, we have been but sharing with our customers the saving resulting from the increased 14-point Caslon Oldstyle No. 471. (Hand-set) Upper portion set solid ; lower portion 2-point leaded. 169 m *mpm^ 'it t mrnvm ,. , :^m^ PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE O F D IRECT ADVERTISING ii^|5^ () If" BUCKEYE PREDOMINANCE The unprecedented demand for Buckeye Covers, which has made them the largest-selling brand of cover papers in the world, is of real and definite value to the cover- paper user; for this demand is a cause, as well as an effect, of the superior quality and utility which characterize the line. Buckeye Covers are popular because they are profit- able; and they are profitable to an unusual degree simply because quantity production has enabled us to give more for the money, in both paper and service, than would otherwise be possible. During the past year the leader- ship of Buckeye Covers has been steadily maintained, and we have been able to demonstrate repeatedly and conclu- sively that every user benefits by this leadership. In reducing the price of our Double Thick Buckeye Covers at a time when the general price-trend in the industry was upward; in improving the texture of the entire line with- out increasing its price; in the preparation and publication of various forms of business-building suggestions; and particularly in arranging for the manufacture and distri- bution of Buckeye Cover Envelopes, we have been but sharing with our customers the saving resulting from the increased manufacturing and marketing efl^ciency that their generous patronage has helped us to achieve. The net result of this unique condition is that Buckeye Covers, in addition to being the easiest to buy of all high-grade cover papers, are also the easiest to use, for they are backed by a service that greatly facilitates satisfactory selec- tion and effective treatment. The i6 colors, 4 finishes and 12-point Caalon Oklstylc No. 471. (Hand-set) Upper portion set solid ; lower portion 2-point leaded. 170 BUCKEYE PREDOMINANCE The unprecedented demand for Buckeye Covers, which has made them the largest-selHng brand of cover papers in the world, is of real and definite value to the cover- paper user; for this demand is a cause, as well as an effect, of the superior quality and utility which characterize the line. Buckeye Covers are popular became they are profitable; and they are profitable to an unusual degree simply because quantity production has enabled us to give more for the money, in both paper and service, than would otherwise be possible. During the past year the leadership of Buckeye Covers has been steadily maintained, and we have been able to demonstrate repeatedly and conclusively that every user benefits by this leadership. In reducing the price of our Double Thick Buckeye Covers at a time when the general price-trend in the industry was upward ; in improving the texture of the entire line without in- creasing its price ; in the preparation and publication of various forms of business-building suggestions; and particularly in arranging for the manufacture and distribution of Buckeye Cover Envelopes, we have been but sharing with our customers the saving resulting from the increased manufacturing and marketing effi- ciency that their generous patronage has helped us to 14-point Bodoni Book. (Hand-set.) Upper portion set solid ; lower portion 2-point leaded. 171 **«.- PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT ADVERTISING t mn pit 1 1 BUCKEYE COVER PREDOMINANCE The unprecedented demand for Buckeye Covers, which has made them the largest-selling brand of cover papers in the world, is of real and definite value to the cover-paper user; for this demand is a cause, as well as an effect, of the superior quality and utility which characterize the line. Buckeye Covers are popular because they are profitable; and they are profitable to an unusual degree simply because quantity production has enabled us to give more for the money, in both paper and service, than would otherwise be possible. During the past year the leadership of Buckeye Covers has been steadily maintained, and we have been able to demonstrate repeatedly and conclusively that every user benefits by this leadership. In reducing the price of our Double Thick Buckeye Covers at a time when the gen- eral price-trend in the industry was upward ; in improving the texture of the entire line without increasing its price ; in the preparation and publication of various forms of business-building suggestions; and particularly in arranging for the manufacture and distribution of Buckeye Cover En- velopes, we have been but sharing with our customers the saving resulting from the increased manufacturing and mar- keting efficiency that their generous patronage has helped us to achieve. The net result of this unique condition is that Buckeye Covers, in addition to being the easiest to BUY of all high-grade cover papers, are also the easiest to USE, for they are backed by a service that greatly facilitates satisfactory selection and effective treatment. The 16 colors, 4 finishes and 4 weights make it easy to select a sheet exactly 12-point Bodoni Book. (Hand-set) Upper portion set solid ; lower portion 2-point leaded. 172 M BUCKEYE PREDOMINANCE The unprecedented demand for Buckeye Covers, which has made them the largest- selling brand of cover papers in the world, is of real and definite value to the cover-paper user ; for this demand is a cause, as well as an efFecft, of the superior qual- ity and utility which charad:eri2,e the line. Buckeye Covers are popular because they are profitable; and they are profitable to an unusual degree simply because quantity production has enabled us to give more for the money, in both paper and service, than would otherwise be possible. During the past year the leadership of Buckeye Covers has been steadily maintained, and we have been able to demonstrate repeatedly and conclusively that every user benefits by this leadership. In reducing the price of our Double Thick Buckeye Covers at a time when the general price-trend in the in- dustry was upward ; in improving the texture of the entire line without increasing its price ; in the preparation and publication of various forms of business-building suggestions ; and particularly in arranging for the manufacture and distribution of Buckeye Cover Envelopes, we have been but shar- ing with our customers the saving resulting from 18-point Kennerley. (Hand-set.) Upper portion set solid ; lower portion 2-point leaded. m PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT ADVERTI SING HI BUCKEYE COVER PREDOMINANCE The unprecedented demand for Buckeye Covers, which has made them the largest-selling brand of cover papers in the world, is of real and definite value to the cover-paper user ; for this demand is a cause, as well as an effed:, of the superior quality and utility which characterize the line. Buckeye Covers are popular because they are profitable ; and they are profitable to an unusual degree simply because quantity produdtion has enabled us to give more for the money, in both paper and service, than would otherwise be possible. During the past year the leadership of Buckeye Covers has been steadily maintained, and we have been able to demonstrate repeat- edly and conclusively that every user benefits by this leadership. In reducing the price of our Double Thick Buckeye Covers at a time when the general price-trend in the industry was upward ; in im- proving the texture of the entire line without increasing its price ; in the preparation and publication of various forms of business- building suggestions • and particularly in arranging for the manufac- ture and distribution of Buckeye Cover Envelopes, we have been but sharing with our customers the saving resulting from the increased manufacituring and marketing efficiency that their generous patronage has helped us to achieve. The net result of this unique condition is that Buckeye Covers, in addition to being the easiest to buy of all high-grade cover papers, are also the easiest to use, for they are backed by a service that greatly facilitates satisfactory selection and effective treatment. The i6 colors, 4 finishes and 4 weights make it easy to seledt a sheet exactly adapted to the requirements of the job ; and these are displayed in the New Buckeye Cover Sample Book in such a way that all of the weights in each color can be instantly located and compared. The paper having been seledled, reference to The Buckeye Proofs will furnish invaluable suggestions as to the process that can be used to the best advantage. These "proofs" are not mere samples — they are reproductions of actual covers, and include unusual examples of hot embossing, rubber offset and photo- gravure work, as well as flat printing. If it is necessary to submit 10-point Kennerley. (Hand-set.) Upp«r portion »et solid ; lower portion 2-point leaded. 174 BUCKEYE COVERS AN ASSET Unprecedented demand for Buckeye Covers, which has made them the largest selling brand of cover papers in 14 Point Gaslon Bold COVER PREDOMINANCE The unprecedented demand for Buckeye Covers, has resulted 18 Point Gaslon Bold BUCKEYE COVERS The demand for Buckeye Covers, which has made 24 Point Gaslon Bold NEW BUCKEYE Covers T^^hich have 30 Point Gaslon Bold 17s '1 1 P R I N C I P LES AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT ADVERTISING BUCKEYE COVER PREDOMINANCE The unprecedented demand for Buckeye Covers, which has made them the largest selling brand of cover papers in the world 14 Point Cheltenham Bold BUCKEYE COVER PREDOMINANCE is an asset to every paper buyer. The unprecedented demand for Buckeye Covers has made them the largest selling brand 14 Point Cheltenham Bold Italic *i I » pp> BUCKEYE COVERS AN ASSET The unprecedented demand for Buckeye Covers, which has made 18 Point Cheltenham Bold THE UNPRECEDENTED demand for the Buckeye Covers has made them the 24 Point Cheltenham Bold BUCKEYE COVERS Are popular because 30 Point Cheltenham Bold 176 BUCKEYE PREDOMINANCE The unprecedented demand for Buckeye Covers, which has made ^ 18 Point Cheltenham Bold Italic r < BUCKEYE COVERS AN asset to every paper buyer The demand for Buckeye 24 Point Cheltenham Bold Italic UNPRECEDENTED demand for Buckeye 30 Point Cheltv?nham Bold Italic 177 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT ADVERTISING a 1 ^1 !! INDEX NOTE.— Index is arranged alphabeticaUy, except that contents of a few important sections, such as "Catalogues and Booklets" are listed in consecutive order under the proper headings, in addition to the alpha- betical hstmg. *^ PAGE Address Label on Folders j29 Advertising a Form of Selling 5 Advertising, Cost of, in Publications 13 Analyzing your Problem 21 Antique-finish Cover Papers jos Appeal, Finding the Point of 97 Appeal, Importance of Making Specific 25 Art, when not Good Salesmanship 72 Atmosphere as a Selling Factor 51 Auto-Lock Folder with Return Card 142-3 Automobile Catalogues, Buckeye Cover used for. ............... 43 Automobile Parts, Advertising to Automobile Buyers . .............. 22 Back Cover in Catalogues and Booklets, Selling Possibilities of 112 Bases, Patent, for Electrotypes '51 Beckett Paper Company, The, Mill of 40-50 Ben Day Color Work 53 Ben Day Process 47 Ben Day Shading Mediums 45 Ben Day Tints on Covers io3-4 Binding Catalogues and Booklets ..................[... 114 BINDING STYLES. Loose-Leaf Catalogues 1 1 k Saddle Stitching '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.". 114 Sewing " U5 Side Stitching H5 Bird's-eye Views, How Made 37 Blotter Carrier with Order Blank Blotter i44-5 Blue-prints, Wash-drawings from 35 Board Covers on Catalogues and Booklets no Bodoni Tjrpe i71-2 Boldface Type, use of 7g 178 PAGE Boldface Type, examples of 175-177 Booklets, see ^'Catalogues and Booklets." Books about House Organs 124 Books about Circular Letters 156 Borders, Decorative 85-6 Borders, Pictorial 86 Bread Recipe Books, to Sell Yeast 23 Broadside Folder 136-7 See also ''Folders and Broadsides." BUCKEYE COVER. Advertisement 188-189 Folders and Broadsides 126 Envelopes 120 Embossing on 71 Offset Printing on 164 Printed from Line Engravings 64 Sales as a Gmde to Paper Selection 107 Used in this Book 4 Buildings, Illustrated Before Erection 36 Building Materials and Equipment, Advertised to Home Builders 22 Bumislung Half-tone Plates 39 "Butterfly" Folder 140-1 Business Magazines, Cost of Advertising in 13 CAMPAIGN, Planning the 21 Analyzing your Problem 21 Selecting your "Prospects" 22 Direct Advertising and Indirect Selling 22 Preparing tiie Mailing List 23 Determining the Character of the Appeal 24 What Kind of Pieces 26 How many Pieces 26 What should the Pieces Cost 27 Capitals, Use of 77 Cord, Silk 115 Carpet, Illustrating 49 Caslon Old Style Type 168-170 Caslon Bold Type 175 Catalogue Letterhead 146-7 CATALOGUES AND BOOKLETS. Definition 87 Planning the Catalogue 87 Sizes, How Determined 88 Sizes, How Affected by Illustrations 90 When the Catalogue is Overweight 90 Allowing for Ink and Paper 91 Specimen Pages, Use of 92 Selecting the Paper 92 How to use the Dummy 93 179 /^w^ ll PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE PAGB Laying Out and Making Up 93 The "Center Spread" 96 Should the Factory be Advertised 96 The Cover 99 Detailed Cover suggestions Indexed under " Covers." Binding Styles 114 Detailed Binding suggestions Indexed under "Binding." Center Spread in Catalogues and Booklets 96 Charcoal Drawings, Engravings from 37 Cheltenham Bold Type 176 Cheltenham Bold Italic Type 177 Circulars, Cost of 14 and 27 Circular Letters 156 City Directories, Getting Names From 24 Class Publications 12 Coated Paper 45 Collar Button, Size of Booklet for 90 Colored Papers, How they Save Printing 102 Color, Use of as Emphasis 78 Commercial Agency Reference Books, Getting Names from 24 Competition, Importance of Recognizing 21 Composition, Linotype, Monotype and Hand 79 Concrete Construction, Advertising to Sell Cement 23 Condensed Type 74-5 Copyright Notice 2 Copywriting, Hints on 65 Copy writing, for Catalogues and Booklets 88 Cost of Direct Advertising Pieces 27 Cost, Lowest, of Circulars 28 Cover Designs for Folders 129 COVERS, for Catalogues and Booklets 99 "Introducing the Salesman" 99 How Covers Can Help Sales 100 Cover must "Say Something" 101 Making the Sketch 101 How Paper Saves Printing 102 Make Sketch on Right Paper 103 Cover Designs from Type 103-4 Selecting the Cover Paper 105 Avoiding Costly Mistakes 105 Paying More and Getting Less 106 Finding the Right Cover 106 When the Paper must be Selected First 107 What our Records Show 107 "Antique Finish" Made by many Mills 108 COVER STYLES 108 Integral Covers 108 Flush Trimmed Covers 108 Extension Covers 109 i8o ^ -< #ff^; OF D I RECT ADVERTISING PAGE Secondary Covers HO Board Covers HO Flexible Leather Covers HO Lining and End Sheets HI Selling Possibilities of the Back Cover H2 Crash Fim'sh Buckeye Cover 106 Crayon Drawings, Engravings From 37 DRAWINGS AND ENGRAVINGS 30 Half-tone Process, The 30 For Detailed Index, See " Half-Tone." Line Engravings 46 For Detailed Index, see "Line-Engravings." Woodcuts 54 Sizes of Drawings 57 Scaling a Drawing 58 Instructions to the Engraver 59 Electrotjrpes 60 For Detailed Index, see "Electrotypes." Decorative Borders 85 Decorative Treatment of Catalogue Pages 94 Descriptions of Product not Always Good Advertising 25 Designs, Cover, from Type 103 Directories, Making Up Mailing Lists from 24 Display in Advertising 78 Druggist, Problem of the Local H Dull-coated Papers 45 Dummies, How to Use ^3 Dummies, Unprinted, Choosing Paper from 106 Duographs 42 Duotypes 42 Electric Flatirons, Where Sold H Electric Devices, Sold at Cost 23 ELECTROTYPES 60 Lead Moulded 60 Nickeltypes 60 Motmting 61 Patent Bases 61 How Electrotypes Cut Printing Costs 62 Soldering Rule Joints 63 Emphasis, How to Secure in Print 77 End Sheets in Catalogues and Booklets HI Envelope Stuffers 131 Envelopes, For Mailing Catalogues and Booklets 120-121 Envelopes, Pennysaver 163 Envelopes, Stamped 165 Engraver, Instructions to 59 Engravings, see "Drawings and Engravings." Extended Type 74-5 i8i V ^. .^ mMM Ha ^ l ii' '' il I m\ PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE PAGE Extension Covers, on Catalogues and Booklets 109 Factory, The, Featuring 70 and 96 Factory, The, Taking to Customer. 122 Fleischmann Yeast Co. Bread Recipe Booklet 23 Flexible Leather Covers, on Catalogues and Booklets 110 Floss, Silk, For Binding 115 Flush Trimmed Covers 108 FOLDERS AND BROADSIDES 125 Large Folders 125 Small Folders 127 Design and Arrangement 128 Return Post Cards 130 Envelope Stuffers 131 FOLDER SUGGESTIONS. Broadside Folder With Return Postal 136-7 Big Mailing Pieces for Little Lists 138-9 Butterfly Folder 140-1 Auto-lock Folder 142-3 Blotter Carrier With Order Blank Blotter 144-5 Catalogue Letter-head 146-147 Outlook Letter Circular 148-9 Mailing Small Samples 150-1 Automatic Reply Folders 152-5 Four-color Process Plates 40 Garter, Size of Booklet For 90 General Advertising, Physical Limitations of 12 General Advertising, Compared with Direct Advertising 13 Good Will, Importance of 122 HALF-TONE PROCESS, THE 30 Fine and Coarse Half-tones 32 Illustration Showing Half-tone Screens 33 Best Screen for Miscellaneous Uses 34 Examples of Outlines and Square Finished Half-tones 34 Copies Half-tones can be made from 35 High-light Half-tone from Pencil Drawing 36 Half-tone from Wash Drawing 36 Limitation of the Half-tone Illustrated 38 Process Plates 40 Duotypes 42 Duographs 42 Reversed Half-tones 42 Finishing the Half-tone 44 Printing the Half-tone 44 Coated and Dull-coated Papers 45 Hand Composition 79 Hand Lettering 80 High-light Half-tone 36 Hot Stampmg 46, 157 182 O F DIRECT ADVERTISING PAGB HOUSE ORGANS \l\ Definition of {5, Making Interesting f;J High Mortality Among J*T Regularity Essential Jj* Syndicate 1 24 Books About Illustrations, see "Drawings and Engravings." Illustrations, How They Affect Page Sizes w Impressionism in Commercial Illustrations ^^ Indifference of Reader, How to Capitalize jo Index, in Catalogues and Booklets JJ* Information Blanks * J^ Ink, Allowance for Weight of ^J Inserts, Package, from Waste Stock "f Insurance, Life, How Sold j| Integral Covers *"° Italics, Use of Job Types, Fancy, Objections to ^^-3 Justification, see "Hand Composition." Kenneriey Type ^^^I^ Kerosene, Enlarging Market for ^^ Labels, Address, on Folders J29 Labels, from Waste Stock ^J-J Laying out a Catalogue or Booklet ^ Lead Moulded Electros 9}J Leather Covers, Flexible ^i" LegibUity of Type Matter ■ J^ Letter-circular, Outlook JJfT Letter-head, Catalogue **^ Lettering, Hand XX Letters, Circular, Cost of ;? Life Insurance, How Sold ^^ LINE-ENGRAVINGS ^ Ben Day Patterns T^ Ben Day Process *' Stipple Drawing *® When Lhie-engravings Are Expensive *^ "Atmosphere" in Line-engravings 51 Colorwork and Tint-blocks ^ Printing I* Reversing - , , Lining Sheets, in Catalogues and Booklets *" Linotype Composition JJ Lists, MaUing, How Secured i^ Lists, Small, Big Mailing Pieces for J|2 Lithography 183 if ii PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE PAGE Loose Leaf Catalogues 115-16 Lyon & Healy, Booklet Used by 113 Machinery Catalogue, Cover for 99 Mailing Catalogues or Booklets without Envelopes 112 Mailing Cards I34 Mailing Cards from Waste Stock 133 Mailing Envelopes ' ' 120 Mailing Folders, Address Labels 129 Mailing List, Preparation of 23 Mailing Merchandise Samples * . . * 159 Mailing, Methods of Prepaying Postage , 165 Mail Order Catalogues 8, 37 Make-up, Effective, for Catalogue 95 Making up a Catalogue or Booklet 93 Monotype Composition 79 Motmting Electrotypes 51 Names of Prospects, Sources of 24 Nickeltypes ] [ 50 Objective Advertising 70 Offset Process, Rubber 157 Oil Paintings, Half-tones from 37 Order Blank Blotter ' i44-5 Order Blanks i9, 112 Order, Making it Easy to 19 Original Plates, Printing from 62 Outlined Half-tone 44 Outlook Automatic Reply Folder i52-3 Outlook Letter-circular 148-9 Outside Viewpoint, Getting the 97 Overweight, when Catalogue is 90 Packard Motor Car Catalogue 116 Package Inserts from Waste Stock 133 Paper, Catalogue, Selecting 92 Paper, Colored, how Saves Printing ,, , 102 Paper, Cover, Selecting io5 Paper, Half-tone 45 Paper, Samples, Postage on 159 Paper, Sizes, Stock and Special 118 Paper, Waste, Utilizing * ] . . * ii8-19 Paper, Weight of. Variation in [[_ 91 Parcel Post 159 Pasted-down End Sheets Ill Patent Bases for Electrotypes 61 Planning the Campaign, see "Campaign." Pencil Drawings, Engravings from 37 Pennysaver Envelopes, Postage on 163 Permit, Special, Mailing under [[ , I66 184 V OF DIRECT ADVERTISING PAGE Photographs, Retouched and Unretouched 35 Photographs, sizes to make |j Photography, Limitations of • • • |* Pianos, how Illustrated Jo Pianos, Size of Catalogue for Jj Postage {2; Postage on Circular Letters J?" Postage, Free, on Direct Advertising l|* Postage, Minimum, on Direct Advertising 27 Postage, on "Overweight" Catalogues w Postage, Prepayment, Methods of JJJ Postage, When Not Affected by Sealing J03 Post Cards Jf? Post Cards, Return • • Jf" Post Cards, in Catalogues and Booklets n^i J J^ Post Cards, in Sheets \\^ Post Cards, from Waste Stock "J Postmaster, Getting His O. K *^ Preliminary Sketches J^ Prepaying Postage, Methods of ^J^ Process Plates ?" Proofs, in Making Up Dummies Jz Proofs, Selecting Covers from *"^ Prospects, Selecting Your jt Precanceled Stamps *?? Printing Costs, How Cut by Electrotypes Vt Printing Costs, How Cut by Colored Papers 102 Printing Establishments in America ^ Printing Half-tones ** Printing Line-engravings rj Printing Methods •.;••: *Ji Printing Trade Publications, Cost of Advertismg m 1* Printing Woodcuts Jc Publishers, Why They Use Direct Advertismg as ReadabiUty of Direct Advertising, see "Typography." • Return Post Cards • :;; "" Return Post Cards in Catalogues and Booklets ^o ii Reversed Half-tones • • • -^^J Jf Reversed Line Engravings ^*» ^^' fZ Rubber Offset Printing Process \^[ Rule Borders, on Catalogues Covers JJJ;» Rule Borders, on Crash Finish Buckeye Cover i^o Rule Borders, Soldering Joints when Electrotyping 03 Saddle-stitched Catalogues and Booklets 1}* Sale, Clinching the .JZ Sales, How Covers Help ^^ Salesman, Folder Suggesting Call of ^ Salesman, Introducing the Printed ^^ 185 I ,•*«:- -■!.0mg. Hi |il I PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE PAGE Samples, Sent with Catalogues or Booklets 112 Scaling a Drawing 58 Screens, Half-tone 32, 33, 34 SeaUng Third-class MaH Matter 163 Secondary Covers on Catalogues and Booklets 110 Secrecy of Direct Advertising 19 Selling Costs, How Small Folders Cut 127 Selling Goods Before Showing Them 12 Selling, Importance of Right Appeal in 24 Selling, Indirect 22 Selling Low-priced Articles by Mail 26 Sewing Catalogues and Booklets 115 Shading, Ben Day Method 46, 47 Side Lines as Business Stimulators 23 Side Stitching 115 Silk Cord or Floss 115 Sizes, Catalogue and Booldet 88 Sketches, Cover 101, 103 Sketches, Preliminary, in Dimimies 95 Sketches, Wash-drawings from 36 Spacing, Typographic 76 Special Permit, Mailing Under 166 Specialization in Industry, Direct Advertising a Result of 9 Specimen Pages, Type 167-177 Spread, Center, in Catalogues 96 Square Half-tones 45 Stamps, Buying at Discount 164 Stamps, Precanceled 166 Stamping, Hot 46, 158 Standard Oil Company, Why Sells Lamps 23 Stitching, Saddle 114 Stitching, Side 115 Stock Tickets from Waste Stock 133 StufiFers, Envelope 131 S]mdicate House Organs 124 Technical Publications 12 Telephone Directories, Names from 24 Three-color Process Plates 40 Tiffany Blue Book, not Illustrated 87 Time Slips from Waste Stock 133 Tint Plates 53 Tints, Ben Day, on Covers 103, 104 Toilet Article Booklet, Cover for 99 Tooling Half-tone Plates 39 Trade Directories, Names from 24 Trimming Catalogues to cut Postage 91 Trimming Covers Flush 108 Two-color Process Plates 40 Type, Adapting to Space 74 i86 X O F DIRECT ADVERTISING PAGB Type-faces, Popular l^J Type-forms, Electrotyping JJ TYPOGRAPHY Jf Avoid Fancy Job Faces 73 Adapting Type to Space J* Proper Arrangement JJ Don't Use Small Type Jj •'Keeping the Reader Going" • • J; Capitalizmg Reader's Indifference 70 How Not to Use Spaces Jo Italics and Capitals jj Underscoring 44 Boldface ^ Color as Emphasis Jj Display 4; Methods of Setting Type 79 Underscoring, in Typography ^ Vignetted Half-tone J* Wall Paper, Illustrating *J Wash Drawings, Half-tones from • • • JO Waste Cover Paper, Utilization of ' } J? Waste Presswork, Utilization of 1^2 See also "Envelope Stuffers." Water Color Paintings, Half-tones from 37 Woodcuts ,5; Work Tickets, from Waste Stock J33 Wrappers, Stamped, for Mailing 1<>* Zinc Etchings, see "Line-engravings." 187 11 II The Standard Medium for Direct Advertising (An Advertisement) In Direct Advertising by mail, as in Gen- eral Advertising, the efficiency of a cam- paign is determined largely by the character of the mediums used. You must use the right papers if your selling message is to be carried to your prospective customers effectively and eco- nomically, whether you are buying " space " of a publisher or a printer. And just as you can instantly recognize cer- tain of these " right " papers, in the General field, from the fact that they have already won the approval and patronage of the most successful advertisers, so you can, in the same way and with almost equal readiness, find the right papers for your Direct Ad' vertising, A brief examination of any representative collection of up-to-date Catalogues, Book- lets, Folders, etc., will show you that in this class of advertising the predominant papers are BUCKEYE COVERS. BUCKEYE CO VERS,"The Standard Cover Papers for Economically Effective Business V Literature," are the largest-selling brand of covers in the world. They are used oftener than any other because they can be used more profitably than any other. The saving due to quantity production is greater in the paper business than in any other of which we know ; and the enormous demand for BUCKEYE COVERS, as a con- sequence, has enabled us to produce a paper that no other maker has ever been able to match, at anywhere near the price. BUCKEYE COVERS are the only high- grade cover papers that are used exten- sively by the large mail-order houses. They are also the only "cheap" cover papers that are used extensively in the manufacture of high-grade Catalogues and Booklets. The price, on the one hand, is low enough to make them attractive to those advertisers who must keep their costs down. The quality, on the other hand, is high enough to make them attractive to those advertisers who want the most effective printed matter they can get, regardless of its cost. The value represented by this unique com- bination of high quality and moderate price, is the reason why you, too, should use BUCKEYE COVERS for your Direct Advertising. '^' i88 189 I:' I LET OUR REPRESENTATIVE HELP YOU Somewhere near you — probably in your own city — there is a dealer who sells BUCKEYE COVERS. He is a good man to know. He can help you to make sure that you get full value for the money you invest in Direct Adver- tising. He can do this by cooperating with your printer. Put your PRINTING problems up to a printer who is in the habit of putting his PAPER problems up to a Buckeye Cover dealer, and you will have done about all that is humanly possible in the way of guarding against unsatis- factory service. Printers and their customers find cooperation with Buckeye Cover dealers profitable, not alone because these dealers sell Buckeye Covers, but because each one of them is the representative paper merchant in his territory, who has the necessary equipment, the necessary stock and the necessary experience to serve every customer promptly and adequately. Your printer can give more for the money you pay him, and at the same time get more for his own work, by taking advantage of the service offered by the nearest Buckeye Cover dealer, as well as of the very unusual quality and value that we have put into BUCKEYE COVERS them- selves. THE BECKETT PAPER COMPANY MAKERS OF GOOD PAPER in Hamilton, Ohio, since 1848 190 ,;r-1" BUCKEYE COVER DEALERS BALTIMORE BIRMINGHAM BOSTON BUFFALO CALGARY CHICAGO CINONNATI CLEVELAND COLUMBUS DALLAS DAYTON DETROIT DESMQINES DENVER EDMONTON GRAND RAPIDS HOUSTON INDIANAPOLIS KANSAS CITY UNCOLN UTTLE ROCK LOS ANGELES LOUISVILLE MEMPHIS MIDDLETOWN, South, DizoB CompuV) DiriMon The Whitkker Pkper Co. The Arnold-Roberts Co. The Ailing & Cory Co. John Martin Paper Co., Ltd. fJ.W. Butler ftper Co. Jtmes White P4>er Co. The Chmtfield, & Woods Co. The Cin'ti Cordage tc Paper Co. The Diem & Wing Pkper Co. The Whitdcef Paper Co. fThe Central Ohio Paper Co. IThe Union Paper and Twine Co. The Central Ohio Paper Co. Southwestern Pkper Co. fGndnnati Cord^ & Paper Co. iThe Keogh & Rike Paper Co. The Union Paper & Twine Co. The Carpenter Paper Co. The Peters Pkper Co. John Martin Paper Co., Ltd. Central Michigan Paper Co. Soathwestem P)^>cr Co. {Indiana Paper Co. C. P. Lesh Pftper Cow Graham Paper Co. Lincoln Paper Co. Western Newspaper Union Zellerbach Psper Co. Louisville Psper Co. Tayloe Paper Co. O. The Ssbin Robbins Paper Co. MILWAUKEE MINNEAPOUS MONTREAL NASHVILLE NEW ORLEANS NEW YORK OAKLAND {The E. A. Bouer Co. (Standard Paper Co. McCIellan Piper Co. Federal Paper Co., Ltd. Graham Paper Co. E~ C. Palmer & Co. Henry Lindenmejrr & Sons. Zellerbach Paper Co. OKLAHOMA CITY Western Newspaper Union OMAHA. PHILADELPHIA PITTSBURGH PORTLAND, ORE, RICHMOND, VA. ROCHESTER ST. LOUIS ST. PAUL SALT LAKE CITY SAN FRANCISCO SEATTLE SIOUX CITY SPOKANE SPRINGFIELD, MASS. TOLEDO TORONTO WICHITA WINNIPEG Carpenter Paper Co. Garrctt-Buctuuian Co. {The Ailing & Cory Co. The Chacfield & Woods Co. Pacific Paper Co. Richmond Paper Co., Inc. The Ailing & Cory Co. Graham Paper Co. * Wright, Barrett & Stilwell Co. Carrier Paper Co. of Uuh Zellerbach Pkper Co. Richmond Paper Co. Western Newspaper Union American Typ*' Founders Co. /The Paper House of I New EngUnd The Central Ohio Paper Co. The Wilson-Monroe Co., Ltd. Western Newspaper Union. John Martin Paper Co., Ltd. FOREIGN SELLING AGENTS Henry IJndenmeyr te Sons, London, England THE BECKETT PAPER CO. MAKERS OF GOOD PAPER IN HAMILTON, OHIO, SINCE 1848 V i-^'"** '-.'WH* Sb^ Pie lai^est- ' }f ©ver papers thewrld, made only by HieBecMpcrCo. Maken of Good f^per inHamilton^Ohi(]t5incei&]8 this Cowerb Budeye 0>ver.&rown.Anti4ue Finish 20x25.65— 21 X2S4.80 Sh m m € vt .V Date Due m Mife COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES 0041419197 M5^ O MAY 2 01994 NEH JUN 19 1926 » Ti: (» END OF TITLE