Funeral
printing is big business. Printed Orders
of Service, acknowledgement cards, book-marks and memorial cards are just some
of the products that have become an integral part of the funeral service.
Often these
printed items are the least costly items at a funeral but remain one of the
most important. Printing often helps to
create memories that last!
They also often
act as mementoes that can be kept as a keepsake or distributed to those people
who were unable to attend the actual service itself.
Our own
funeral printing website was created in 2008 and was operational for five years
and attracted custom from throughout the UK.
However, we
have now incorporated the funeral printing product within our new digital print
website www.direct2print.co to make the
ordering process easier.
We also
found that most customers now seem to prefer sending their own digital artwork
files rather than use an online editor tool.
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| Order Of Service |
An Order of
Service is almost a pre-requisite at any funeral.
If it is
professionally designed and printed, an Order of Service becomes a valued part
of any funeral service that helps to celebrate the life of the deceased.
Because they
usually need to be approved by a large number of people they are often required
within a couple of days.
They are
also not needed in large quantities – so they are ideal for digital printing.
Orders of
Service also lend themselves to online digital printing because they need to be
produced quickly and to a high quality standard by a company with experience in
putting them together quickly and effectively.
And the vast
majority of commercial printers and funeral directors neither have the time, equipment
or capability to typeset, layout, design and print in the time available.
There are
many specialist web2print services that have been created specifically for the
design and printing of Orders of Service.
They provide
quick and easy access to popular hymns, poems or images that have a particular
meaning or theme. They also help with other design touches like borders and
help the printing process.
This saves
time searching for the relevant and correct content to include within the
service sheet.
With our
fixed £40 design and artwork costs we are able to help those customers who are
not quite so capable and would rather pass over responsibility to a trained and
experienced graphic designer.
There is
also the added financial benefit that Orders of Service for funerals are zero-rated
for VAT (see Public notice 701/32 paragraph 3.3 for those interested!).
So there is some financial benefit with death
after all!
Over the
years we have produced a wide range of Orders of Service linked to all sorts of
hobbies like gardening or fishing or those specifically linked to sport, the
armed services or music.
There is
often a particular style according to the country you come from and the
religion you belong to.
Some are
quite colourful and flamboyant and some are very plain and stark.
Some are
short and basic and others are quite long and made into a booklet format.
We use a
wide range of cards and papers – including recycled grades. The most popular
remain either white or an ivory off-white card – folded or made into an A5
finished size.
This is why
we do not offer too wide a range of cards and papers for our online print
service.
However, the
general rule when designing an Order of Service is that there are no
rules.
Sometimes we
have created a DL folded leaflet that would put many businesses to shame for
the quality and appearance.
The vast
majority have a photograph of the deceased and many have a collage of favourite
photos collected by family and friends.
There is
usually no problem with copyright, especially if the writer of the hymns or
poems has been dead for 71 years or more.
Images are
usually all royalty-free and as long as the Church or Crematorium has a CCL
licence (www.ccli.co.uk) and there is usually no need for any additional licence for
hymns or music.
Acknowledgement, Thank You & Memorial Cards
Other items
of funeral printing can usually be found in the Postcard or Greetings Card
categories at www.direct2print.co.
This is a
simple way of ordering these items when using our online print service. They can be printed single or double-sided on
a range of cards.
We have even
supplied a photographic montage – which can be framed if required.
Perhaps this
is best to order offline because if you select our Small Poster product
category the minimum quantity order is 25.
Bookmarks
The final
Product category is for Bookmarks – they are usually a standard side and given
a laminate finish for extra protection and long-life.
Bookmarks
again are ideal for our online printing service because you only need to order
a small quantity at one time.
For more
information check out our website or call Customer Services free on
0800 0346 007.
