What is your website color scheme?

Building business websites take a lot of work, but with some common sense and a keen eye for design, you can create a site that stands up to the competition and beyond. Something as simple as your color scheme will work wonders to attract new customers and keep your former clients returning for more.

City of Santa Rosa

The City of Santa Rosa uses an olive and burgundy color scheme, reminiscent of the bountiful grape vineyards within Sonoma County.

E-Myth

E-Myth employs a black and blue color scheme that stands out in a crowd.

Zazu

Zazu Restaurant and Farm’s simple design is paired perfectly with an offbeat yellow, red and black color scheme that we just love.

What colors are you utilizing within your own business website?

There are some marketing materials that are particularly appropriate for doctors and dentists.  These are referral forms or pads, practice brochures and welcome packets. Ajalon has been providing these for medical and dental professionals in Sonoma County for over 50 years.

Referral Pads or Forms

Some specialties such as periodontics and orthodontics rely on referrals from general dentists.  Ajalon has been involved in providing attractive, effective forms for dentists from Ukiah to Petaluma for many years.  Whether you need pads or individual forms.  Carbonless forms are no problem.  Maps and postcards are easily provided.  Whatever you need is only a phone call away.

Practice Brochures

It is especially important when someone comes in contact with your office, whether it is in Sebastopol or Santa Rosa, that you have a well done brochure to explain your practice to them.  Your brochure should communicate the particular focus that your practice has and provide a warm, welcoming message.  We are proud of the many medical and dental professionals that we have been honored to help over the years in designing and printing their practice brochures.

Welcome Packets or Pocket Folders

When a new client comes to your office for the first time there is a lot of information that needs to be communicated and forms to be filled out.  It is a good practice to have a welcome folder with the forms to fill out and information about your practice for them to take home.

At Ajalon we are experienced experts in planning and producing presentation materials that fit for your office.  If you are looking to upgrade your look, and to present your practice in the best light possible, call or email Ajalon today.  707.528.0288 ajalon@ajalon.com

Written by David Walrath

Ajalon Printing & Design

A Sebastopol business person was at the Sonoma County fair and ran into a an acquaintance  from Cotati. He made a nice connection and wanted to follow up and pursue some mutual business they talked about. The classiest thing he could do would be to write a letter.  Of course using his business stationery.

It is essential to have the tool of business stationery available to further your image of a sound, established business.  When real business is being done between companies there is usually the exchange of ideas written on paper.  To help you in creating the right letterhead and envelopes for your business I have 4 do’s and don’ts:

Don’t put design over readability

This is important.  The other day we got a business card that was a full solid with small, fine type reversed out of the light blue solid color.  It looked beautiful but was not easy to read.  Sometimes a person can get caught up in a design element and focus on how well it looks and forget that the purpose of business stationery is to transmit important business information well, not just look pretty.

Don’t be afraid to try some layouts yourself

There are many programs and templates available so that just about anybody could work in the comfort of their home and come up with a letterhead design.  And I think it is a good idea to do so.  However, let a professional designer do the final polish to your design. It is much easier from a printer’s or designer’s point of view to work with somebody who has some idea of what they want.

Do consult with someone besides your mother

Just as I think it is important to work on your own ideas and designs, I think it is important to consult someone who has been professionally trained in producing letterhead and business stationery.  While what your mother or friends think is important, it is good to get the opinion of a trained eye.  Any printer or designer should be happy to talk to you for a few minutes about your ideas and design.  I know we are at Ajalon.

Do be consistent

When you are considering your logo, design, and the fonts and colors, you will want to remember that you need to have something that can work in a variety of settings.  Will your identity look well in black and white in a newspaper?  Can it easily be used in a web site?  You don’t want to build a design that only properly communicates in color or must always be one way or the other.  In this day and age of mixed media it is important to be versatile.

Despite the use of phone and email, it is necessary to make that positive  impression when you use written business stationery.  The purpose of letterhead and related items is to communicate your particular identity.  The exchange of business cards and then written communication is part of the process of sealing a business deal.  Ajalon Printing is ready to help you create the exact business stationery that expresses what you want within your budget.  Give us a call today.  Or shoot off an email to ajalon@ajalon.com.

Written by David Walrath

Ajalon Printing & Design

One of our local building supply stores had this headline in a full page ad in the paper. It led me to reflect on what service is at Ajalon Printing & Design.

First, service is having a comprehensive inventory. This is true. You can’t deliver what you don’t have. Our access to paper, be it tree free, recycled, FSC certified, or the many specialty pages that we have available to us, means that we can provide the paper that our clients want.

Service is a staff that can answer your questions. One of the guiding values in dealing with all people, over the 60 years we have been printing for businesses in Sonoma County, is to answer their questions directly and openly, guiding them to their best choices.

Three of our staff members have over 20 years experience in the graphic arts industry each. Our experience is hard won and freely offered.

Service is being open for business. When you call Ajalon Printing, a person answers the phone and you are not sent into a phone tree jungle of “push this button if.” We don’t hide behind technology, but use it to better serve our customer.

Service is delivery. On time and when you need it. We always endeavor to meet your needs for delivery time. We have access to the means to give you what you want when you want, at a price that pleases you.

Service is having comprehensive abilities. If you need graphic design, marketing consultation, mailing services or just want to bounce your ideas off a receptive ear, we can do it. We also print, fold, score, die cut, foil stamp, emboss, mail, address, and print variable data on just about any project you have in mind.

Service is service after the sale. Ajalon is not going away. We have been here over 60 years and have always stood with the business community of Sonoma County, helping grow and strengthen individuals and corporations.

I love paper, I love words, their meanings and etymology and design.  Is it any wonder that I love printing?

I recently came across a word that describes well the printing industry today.  It is versatile.  It’s first meaning is having an aptitude for various tasks or occupations; many sided.  It comes from the Latin word vertere, to turn.

Today’s printer has to be versatile.  Yesterday’s printer could often work alone, doing all the operations necessary, such as writing, setting type and printing.

The modern print shop is anything but simple.  At Ajalon we have over 10 devices to put images onto paper.  Each with its own requirements.  And we have six computers involved in producing the words and images that are to be printed  on those machines.

All this leads to an environment that demands today’s print shop to be staffed by well trained, versatile people.

Ajalon has been printing in Sonoma County for over 50 years.  During that time much has changed, including the needs of our clients. We pride ourselve on being versatile and innovative in anticipating the needs of our clients, while providing a trusted and reliable source for all their printing needs.