Inkwell Printing Company

Advice from the Printer

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4 Postcard Marketing Ideas For Small Businesses

For years postcards have been an effective way to raise brand awareness for a business.  If you are struggling to come up with new ways to bring in customers, consider adding them to your marketing strategy. Here we have put together 4 ways to use postcards that you may not have thought of.

Postcard marketing

  • Coupon
    • The first strategy is to use your postcard as a coupon. Include a discount on products or services if they bring in the card to you. This ensures that the potential customer will hold on to your ad and you will stay in front of them for a longer time.  If a customer was on the fence about using your company this can be just the nudge they needed to contact you.
  • Share News
    • Another great use of a postcard is to use them to share exciting news. If you are opening a new location, you can mail them to the surrounding area to drive traffic to your new store. Or they can be used to announce a sale or event that is coming up that you believe the customer might be interested in.
  • Promote Services
    • Using them to promote products and services is the most commonly used strategy. This is a tried-and-true method of driving sales to your store front or website.  Don’t over crown the card with too much information and make sure to include an eye catching graphic if possible.
  • Thank You
    • Our final tip on how to use postcards is to use them to show appreciation for your customers. Sending a thank you after a purchase is a very thoughtful way to show that you care about the people who support your company.  You can mail this to them or even just slip a card into a shipped order.  If you really want to go above and beyond you can leave a blank space on your postcard so you can write a personal handwritten note.

Hopefully we were able to give you a few more ideas on how you can effectively use postcards in your marketing strategy.

For more helpful information check out our blog at: /advice-from-the-printer/

And for more information on Inkwell Printing Company check out our website at: www.inkwellstl.com

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How To Convert Leads From Print

Is print a part of your marketing? Do you use flyers, brochures, business cards, or direct mail? These can all be great tools if you are effectively using them to generate leads.  Or they can be a waste of time.  Do you feel that you aren’t seeing any benefit from your mailings or your handouts? The problem could be in the design of the piece.  Keeping that in mind, we’ve put together some tips that will help you generate far more leads the next time you use a print piece for your marketing. We’ve been doing this for over 30 years and we have seen some amazing pieces as well as plenty that could use a little work…follow this list to make sure you are one of the amazing ones.

  • Target

First and foremost, your piece must appeal to your target audience.  Who do you design it for? Think about what you know about your customer.  Are they a certain age, gender, or income level? These can all be targeted with specialized mailing lists.  Also, the style you will use can vary greatly depending on what demographic you are going for.  You do not want to design your piece for “everybody”, that’s a good way to catch no one’s attention.  Whoever you are targeting it is crucial to use a design that specifically aims for them.

  • Headlines

Next you need some strong headlines.  Keep them short and to the point.  Focus on the benefit the customer will get from you.  Most people skim a piece before they decide if they will give it the time to read it.  The headlines need to catch their interest and portray to the customer why they should give you any more of their attention.

  • Short and Sweet

Now that your headlines have captured their attention, don’t lose it.  This is not the time to be rambling about your product or service.  Keep it short and direct.  Get all the relevant information out as easily consumable as possible.  Do not over-crowd your piece, this is a quick way to lose the potential customer.  Make use of space, use a graphic or a beautiful picture to tell the story not a flood of text.

  • Branding

In all things you design branding is crucial.  If your brand is strong enough then just a glimpse can tell a potential customer that this piece is from your company.  So, it is a good idea to tie all your pieces together.  If possible, use your printed pieces to drive traffic to your website or get them to sign up for your email blast.  This is a great way to hit all corners of your market and to have all your marketing strategies working together as one.

  • Call to Action

We can’t tell you how many beautiful eye-catching, attention-grabbing pieces we have seen over the years that fall flat because of a lack of a call to action.  What is the point of grabbing a person’s attention and giving them all the information about your product if you don’t intend to do anything with it?  You must include some sort of direction at the end.  Whether that is simply to come visit you store or check out your website, you need to directly tell the interested party what you would like their next steps to be.  Include an expiring coupon on your postcard while asking them to come visit you.  Ask them to sign up for your email newsletter to collect some customer information.  Tell them to call now to get more information they might be interested in.  Whatever your call to action is just make sure it is direct and simple to do.

  • Track

The final step to increasing the effectiveness of your printed material is to track all the data you possibly can.  When a customer contacts you try to figure out how they heard about you or what made them call.  This will help you learn which pieces are performing well and which ones need to be tweaked or dropped entirely.

 

Print marketing is a very effective tool in 2022 but it must be done correctly.  Keep these tips in mind when you are designing your next piece and you will see much better results!

For more helpful information check out our blog at: /advice-from-the-printer/

And for more information on Inkwell Printing Company check out our website at: www.inkwellstl.com

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Flyer Design Tips

A flyer is one of the most versatile marketing tools available.  They can be used for many different things, such as spreading information, invitations to an event, or company announcements.  The design of your flyer can be completely different based off what you intend to use it for.  So, we have put together a few tips to help you when you are putting your flyer together.

Goal

The very first step in designing a flyer is to determine the goal you want to achieve.  This will help you decide how to lay it out as well as give you a metric to measure the effectiveness.  If your goal is to invite people to an event then the most important thing is a large eye-catching graphic accompanied by a few lines of text to give crucial information about the event, including time and location.  Do not clutter the flyer with too much information.  This will lead to people simply tossing it away, no one is as excited about your company as you are so do not expect them to read a novel about you.  Just stick to a few lines of information.  Now if the goal is to announce a new product or service then you of course should add more relevant information.  Good spacing and editing can make sure that the flyer does not look messy and disorganized.

Images/Graphics

The next step is to select your images you plan on using on the flyer.  A high-quality eye-catching image is important.  Try not to use a stock photo, if possible, use a photo that is relevant to your business.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words so use a good picture to speak for you and avoid cluttering with too much text.  If a beautiful picture doesn’t really work for your industry, then consider using a graph to show data that supports your information.

Branded

Branding your flyer is an easy but crucial step.  It should fit in with the rest of your marketing pieces.  At a quick glance a consumer should be able to tell that this flyer represents your business.  Use your company colors throughout and make sure your logo is easily visible.  This can tie into the last tip about images. If you don’t have a particular image that you want to use, then make your logo the focal point of the flyer.

Ready To Print

This step can be tricky if you don’t have much experience designing. Just keep in mind that just because it looks good on a computer screen that does not necessarily mean that it will print out and look the same.  There are all sorts of factors to determine if it is ready to print, like margins and bleeds.  If you are not sure how to lay out the file then either hire a professional or look up some guides online that can walk you through the appropriate settings.

Call To Action

Finally, we have the call to action.  Many companies make this mistake, they will have a beautiful flyer that is well designed and should be effective.  Yet it will not work for some reason.  This is almost always a failure in the call to action.  Remember your goal of the flyer and then make a clear and direct request that fits that goal.  If you want people to attend your stores sale, then directly ask them to come in.  If you want them to inquire about your new product then you must tell them to call you or email you.  Whatever the goal is, don’t be afraid to ask for it.  This is a key piece of your flyer and should not be overshadowed.

 

Hopefully these tips can help you design an effective flyer for your business!

For more helpful information check out our blog at: /advice-from-the-printer/

And for more information on Inkwell Printing Company check out our website at: www.inkwellstl.com

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5 Reasons Why Your Business Needs A Brochure

Brochures are a powerful marketing tool that can be used to promote your business and build your brand.  Here are 5 reasons you should add brochures to your marketing strategy in 2021.

Informative

One of the strongest attributes of a good brochure is the ability to pass on information.  Whether that information is about a future event or a big upcoming sale, a brochure can provide every detail an interest party could need.  Add a few eye-catching graphics for the background and then whatever the most relevant information is (e.g., event dates and time, contact info) and you will have a very effective marketing tool.  When advertising events keep the info simple and to the point, don’t overload the brochure or it will distract from the event itself.  On the other hand, if the goal is to explain a new product or service then more information is appropriate.

Tangible

In the digital world that we all live in now there is something to be said for a marketing piece that can be touched and held in the hand.  We are overwhelmed with digital ads everywhere we look. Our emails are full of spam and our social media pages are covered in ads.  One way to separate yourself from all the competing ads is to place your message directly in the hands of a potential customer. This will prevent your message from getting lost in the flood of overwhelming advertisements.  Tangible marketing pieces still rank the highest when it comes to consumer preference.

Distribution Versatility

Another strength of brochures is in the wide variety of ways they can be distributed.  You can pass them out on a street corner to promote an upcoming event.  You can hand them out outside of your business to promote a sale and encourage customers to come inside.  You can pass them out at tradeshows or equip all your sales team with brochures to give to potential consumers who are seeking more information.  Brochures have countless distribution strategies that other types of marketing lack.  Having a few brochures available to you at all times is a great idea because you never know when the situation might present itself to use this powerful marketing tool.

Branding

We all know how important branding is.  Countless studies have shown the impact that staying in front of your customers can have on them.  That is where a brochure can fit in perfectly to your marketing strategy.  A brochure can be easily branded to fit your company message and is a tangible piece that is not competing in the crowded world of digital attention.

Target Audience

Finally, we reach probably the biggest strength of the brochure, its ability to be targeted to whatever market you are after.  Brochures are highly customizable and with the unique distribution methods you can design on that is aimed at a very specific niche.  It is not uncommon for companies to have multiple different designs of brochures promoting the same product.  This way you can tailor your brochure particularly to whoever you are going to be meeting.  If one day you are advertising to industry professionals at a convention you can have a piece that dives into the specifics and use industry known terms.  Whereas if you are going to be meeting the public you can focus it on more general knowledge.  This ability to target a specific niche in your market can help make your brochure your most effective marketing tool.

 

For more helpful information check out our blog at: /advice-from-the-printer/

And for more information on Inkwell Printing Company check out our website at: www.inkwellstl.com

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7 Ways To Use Flyers In 2021

Flyers are an old classic when it comes to marketing strategy.  They are used by small single person businesses all the way up to global corporations.  In a digital world it may seem that flyers are a way of the past, but the numbers do not support that.  Studies show that many consumers still prefer tangible pieces when it comes to marketing materials.  Handing a potential customer something that they can feel and touch adds a personal component to your marketing that can not be done on a screen.  Here we have put together 7 ways to use flyers that are quite effective in 2021.

Flyer

New Company

If you are a brand-new business or one that is just opening in a new area a flyer can be a perfect way to get the word out to the local community.  If you are in an area that has a lot of foot traffic you can stand outside your store and hand them out to announce a grand opening and stir up some excitement for the big day.  If you are not in an area with foot traffic you can go to convention centers and or local public events to hand out your information to people that live in the area.

New Product

Similar to announcing a new company you can use your flyer to announce a brand-new product or service.  Especially if your company is branching into a new market, a flyer is perfect to introduce yourself to consumers that are in your new target audience.

Educate

We see this strategy primarily with our nonprofit organizations that we work with, but a flyer is perfect to educate people on the cause that you support.  It’s a great way to explain what your organization’s mission is as well as to bring some awareness to your cause.

Explain

Another great use for a flyer is to simply explain your product or service.  These work best when used at tradeshows.  Whenever you get a potential customer who is showing interest in any of your services, being able to hand them a flyer that has answers to any of their questions is the perfect way to help convert them into a buyer.

Invitation

Flyers as invitations are a highly creative use as well.  These work best to invite a person to an event you are throwing, whether that is a grand reopening of your store or maybe an anniversary celebration.  Include all the relevant contact and RSVP information on your flyer and a little advertisement about your company.

Drive Website Traffic

Flyers can be linked to your digital marketing strategy as well by using them to drive potential customers to your website.  This is especially effective if you are struggling to get many viewers to your new site.  A well-designed flyer can help you get high quality leads and your first few website sales.

Advertise A Sale

One of the most recognizable flyer marketing strategies is to use them to advertise a current sale or promotion.  This is a great way to let the local community know about a weekend sale and to drive customers into your retail store.  If you are worried about attendance during a promotion, hit the streets and hand out some flyers to drum up interest and excitement.

 

These 7 strategies here are still highly effective in 2021.  We have seen many of our customers use these simple plans to grow their business and highly encourage anyone to get started on flyer marketing.

For more helpful information check out our blog at: /advice-from-the-printer/

And for more information on Inkwell Printing Company check out our website at: www.inkwellstl.com

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How To Use Leave Behinds In Your Marketing

Leave behinds are a marketing staple in any business that does door to door sales, but they can be perfect for creating a lasting impression in any business.  A leave behind is by definition anything that you leave behind you after a visit, but the primary examples are business cards, brochures, door hangers, magnets, calendars, water bottles, and a variety of other promotional products.

leave behinds

There are a few questions you should ask yourself when you intend to incorporate leave behinds into your marketing plans. You need to ask how much information you want to leave with the customer? Is the item relevant to your business or market? And how do you plan to distribute the materials?

Distribution

First, we will cover distributions strategies.  The most obvious strategy comes in to play if you are doing door to door sales.  If you can get in front of a potential customer, it is especially important to leave, at bare minimum, your contact information in the form of a business card.  You should also leave them brochures that remind them about your product or service.  An excellent way to do this is to prepare a sales folder that stores all the relevant information a customer might need, this can be left after a conversation or simply left with the receptionist if you are unable to meet with anyone.  Another distribution strategy is to utilize tradeshows.  When it comes to tradeshows, promotional products are a staple of marketing strategies.  This is where you will want to have a variety of different items alongside your informational brochures.  Make use of the more inexpensive promotional products, like pens and hand sanitizers, for these shows since you will most likely hand out a large number of them.  Obviously, the higher quality and more useful a product is the longer a potential customer will use it and the longer your name will stay in front of them.  But this also drives up the cost, so finding a nice balance is important for tradeshows in particular.  The third strategy and what we believe is the best of the three, is to leave your leave behind with a customer once your service is completed.  A happy customer can be an endless source of referrals and a great way to make sure that a customer remembers you is to provide them with a useful promotional product.  Depending on what your business is you may have an opportunity to leave a notepad or some other promotional product at a customer’s house or if the customer travels to you then you should make sure they always leave the transaction with a promotional piece.

Relevant

Another strong opportunity is to consider if you can leave a relevant product with your customer.  If you are trying to sell phone plans you can leave products that are relevant to phones like screen cleaners or useful items that go on the back of phones.  We know of a plumber that left branded plungers behind for his customers, talk about a unique product. As a printing company we like to leave behind notepads and calendars with potential and past customers.  This keeps our name on their desk for as long as they as the notepad lasts.  We have found this to be the most effective product for us.  So, it may take a little creativity to come up with a useful product that is relevant to your business personally, but it can definitely pay off if done correctly.  Now a product does not have to be uniquely relevant to you, it can also simply be relevant to your customer.  We have seen a lot of success with branded cups and water bottles, the type that keeps your drink cold or warm for long hours.  It is worth it to invest in the nicer cups because customers will sometimes use these for years and can lead to countless referrals.  Another successful product we have seen is branded tote bags.  These can be anything from reusable shopping bags to nicer bags that people take with them to the beach.  If you can give a customer a useful product that they appreciate, it will constantly have your name in front of them for months to come.

Information

The final question to consider is how much information you want to leave with the customer.  This can help you decide exactly what type of product you want to go with.  If you simply want to build name recognition then a pen, magnet, or sticker can work.  If you hope to leave your contact information you will need to figure out how to attach a business card with a product.  And if your goal is to leave product or service information then you will need to go with something like the folder package suggested above.

 

Hopefully, these questions will help you implement leave behinds into your marketing plans this year.  They can be highly effective at increasing repeat customers and getting referrals.  We recommend them to all our clients.  Good luck with your marketing goals this year!

For more helpful information check out our blog at: /advice-from-the-printer/

And for more information on Inkwell Printing Company check out our website at: www.inkwellstl.com

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5 Inexpensive Print Marketing Ideas

Now more than ever businesses are looking for ways to save money in their marketing budgets while still getting their name out there.  We have put together a few simple tips to help you save some money and still bring in new customers.

  1. Branded Apparel/Vehicles
    • One of the best and least expensive ways to advertise your business is to use yourself as a walking billboard. Get branded shirts and jackets so that your business is on display whenever you are out and about.  Do you have a company vehicle?  A vehicle wrap is seen by countless people while you do your normal commute.  Even if you just have a personal vehicle consider at least putting stickers on the bumper or back window.
  2. Branded Giveaways
    • The next strategy is to let your customers advertise for you. Do this by giving out branded items such as reusable grocery bags, water bottles, and cups.  If these items are useful then people will carry them around and always have your brand on display.
  3. Business Cards
    • Business cards are one thing that a business owner should always have on them. You never know when you may meet someone that expresses an interest in your business’s products or services.  Business cards are very inexpensive, but they are priceless when it comes to handing out your contact information quickly and effectively.
  4. Every Door Direct Mail Postcards
    • Direct mail still has one of the highest response rates out of any form of direct marketing. However direct mail can get pricey as you make your list more and more targeted.  If you do an every door mailing though the price drops significantly.  This limits your ability to target a particular demographic, but it makes it extremely easy to blanket an entire area with your message.  This is highly effective especially if your business targets a specific area within a city.
  5. Thank You Cards
    • Last but not least, consider sending out thank you cards after a sale is completed. Mailing a personal thank you has been shown to drastically increase the rate of return customers.  This can lead to more referrals as well.  It is a small act but one that can go a long way towards building a long-term relationship with you and your customers.  For the best results make sure to personalize the card in some way and send it out soon after the transaction is complete.

Hopefully, these tips can help you save some money while still marketing your business.  Best of luck and stay safe!

For more helpful information check out our blog at: /advice-from-the-printer/

And for more information on Inkwell Printing Company check out our website at: www.inkwellstl.com

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4 Common Mistakes In Print Design

Whether you are designing a flyer, brochure, postcard, or even a business card the design you choose is crucial to the success of the piece.  If possible, you should hire a design professional to layout your print piece.  But sometimes that is not an option, so here are a few mistakes you should avoid when designing something for print.

  1. Clutter

The number one mistake that we see made in print is overcrowding your piece.  It is tempting to try and give your prospect all the information you can about your company, but a cluttered brochure just leads to people ignoring the piece all together.  Keep your design simple and make use of empty space.  Avoid using too many different fonts and colors.  A sleek, simple design is far more effective than a piece that reads like a college textbook.

  1. Communication

Another common mistake that we see is in communication.  Remember that you are the expert on your topic but the people that you are addressing may be new and uniformed.  Try to avoid too many industry terms that your potential customer might not understand.  Have a clear and direct goal with your piece.  Do you want to send people to your website or try and bring them in to your store? If so then state that clearly and directly.  Provide all the necessary information that a person may need to contact or visit you.  Remember our point on clutter and keep the goal clear and concise.

  1. Images

The old saying an image is worth a thousand words is truer than ever when it comes to print marketing.  Some of the most effective pieces we have seen have made use of a beautiful graphic or photograph and a few simple sentences.  This is especially effective if your company is in an artistic industry.  A photographer for example can let their work speak for itself with an eye-catching picture and their contact information.  A real and relevant picture can also make the piece more personal and help connect with your potential customer.

  1. Call To Action

Last but not least, you absolutely must include some form of a call to action.  Too often do we see a well-designed piece that catches the eye of a consumer but then does nothing with the attention they have gained.  You need to capitalize on the time that you have a person’s attention and encourage them to contact you or visit your website. If you are in a retail environment then consider a timed sale, this will help add some urgency and increase the odds that a consumer reacts to your piece.

 

Remember to avoid these four mistakes when designing your print piece and you will be off to a strong start! Goodluck on your marketing goals in 2021!

 

For more helpful information check out our blog at: /advice-from-the-printer/

And for more information on Inkwell Printing Company check out our website at: www.inkwellstl.com

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4 Holiday Marketing Strategies

The Holiday season is just around the corner and marketing plans are kicking off.  2020 has been a tough year for business so budgets are predictably tight.  Because of that we will take this time to focus on affordable and impactful marketing strategies.

Holiday

  1. Postcards
    • Strategy number one is to run a postcard direct mail campaign. These campaigns are highly effective and quite affordable.  You can use postcards to stay at the front of your customers minds as well as to inform them about sales and other announcements. Email inboxes are flooded with ads these days, but people are receiving less and less physical mail.  This gives you a unique opportunity to stand out amongst your competition during the holidays.
  2. Holiday Cards
    • Similar to postcards, holiday cards are an affordable strategy as well. These cards are an excellent way to thank your past customers for their business.  It can also be a nonintrusive way to invite them back to your store.  A holiday card should be kept simple and not designed to look like an ad.  This will give it a more genuine feel and truly thank your customers.
  3. Coupons
    • Coupons tie into strategies 1 and 2. You can attach these to your postcards and your holiday cards.  This will give your customers an incentive to come back into your store or to visit your website to check out current sales.  Coupons are highly effective when used with past customers, they are a great way to create repeat business.
  4. Calendars
    • Calendars are an excellent strategy because they make a great gift to hand out. Your customers will appreciate a calendar to hang up in their office or at their house.  This will ensure that your name stays in front of them for the entirety of the upcoming year.  A well-designed calendar is affordable and can create unlimited exposure to your customers.

Hopefully these strategies can help you stand out from the competition this holiday season!

For more helpful information check out our blog at: /advice-from-the-printer/

And for more information on Inkwell Printing Company check out our website at: www.inkwellstl.com

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How To Use Postcards To Reach Customers During Covid-19

2020 has been a tough year for businesses of all sizes.  It has forced us to rethink how we attract consumer attention.  One way that we have found to be particularly effective is through the use of postcard marketing.  Postcards are a classic form of marketing and have worked their way back in to relevance especially during this unusual business climate.

Postcards

Announcements

The easiest way to use postcard marketing is to use them for making announcements about your business. This is a great way to let people know that you are still open and what you are doing to protect your customers during these times.  One of the major problems businesses are facing is that people are not out and about like they used to be.   This is drastically cutting down on your business’s visibility.  If people are no longer walking or driving by your doors, then you may be out of sight out of mind for them.  Obviously, your outdoor signage is still important but consider all the customers that are not driving by your signs anymore.  This is a huge market of people that you still need to attempt to reach.  A postcard can be a perfect way to let them know you are open and ready for business.

Brand Recognition

Similarly, postcards are great ways to build brand recognition.  With people not seeing your outdoor signage as often as they used to, a postcard can help you stay at the front of their minds.  People are online more than ever now and their attention span for ads is the shortest it has ever been.  This means that your digital ads are competing with countless other companies and people are paying less and less attention to them.  On the other hand, mailboxes are receiving far less mail than they did in the past.  This offers you the opportunity to put your message directly in to the hands of potential customers and have their entire attention for a few moments.

Sales

A tried and true strategy for postcard marketing is to use them to inform customers about sales.  Using a postcard as a coupon or simply to let them know about a store wide sale has been a very strong strategy.  You can set up your design to either drive customers to your store or to encourage them to check out your website for exclusive offers.  You need to do something to get more eyes on your business and postcards might be the perfect way to make that happen.

Design

Now a little bit about the actual design of your card.  If possible, have a professional help you out on this part, not only will they know how to lay the card out correctly, but they will also know what works and what does not.  One simple rule to follow is that less is more when it comes to postcards.  Take advantage of the space on your card to show off a picture or graphic.  It is tempting to fill up the card with information about your business, but this has been shown to have a negative effect on your audience.  People respond more favorably to a colorful picture or graphic then a block of text.

Sizes

When doing an EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail) Postcard there are size requirements that must be met.  We have found that the most popular size is a 6×11 inch card.  This fits the parameters and has had success in marketing plans.  If you decide to mail to your own list instead of blanketing an area, then a 5×7 postcard is the most common.  When providing your own list you have far more flexibility on the sizing and shape of your cards but it can cost a little more than doing an EDDM.

 

Hopefully, you found some of these tips useful and you can incorporate them in to your marketing plan.  We wish you luck on growing your business and staying healthy!

For more helpful information check out our blog at: /advice-from-the-printer/

And for more information on Inkwell Printing Company check out our website at: www.inkwellstl.com

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