Greeting
cards are pieces of paper or cardboard upon
which photos, drawings, and a verse of cheer,
greeting, celebration, condolence, etc. have
been printed or engraved. Greeting cards are
decorated with a variety of images and include
messages to appeal to diverse audiences, sentiment,
and occasion to be remembered. Greeting cards
are easily made at home using pen and paper
or software sold by greeting card and other
companies. Recently, virtual cards that include
images and verse can be sent to someone by
way of the Internet and e-mail and may be
printed out on paper by the receiver. Despite
the electronic availability of these cards,
the greeting card industry continues to sell
cards in retail store in huge numbers. Over
1,500 greeting card manufacturers sell an
estimated seven billion cards each year. Each
household receives an average of 80 cards
annually.
The market research associated with the development
of a successful greeting card is just as important
as attractive graphics or appropriate verse.
Research has pushed large greeting card companies
to expand traditional product lines and offer
cards for pets, step-siblings, divorce, weight
loss encouragement, company lay-offs, and
more. Some smaller greeting card companies
specialize in the production of cards that
appeal only to one or two specific markets.
Greeting card companies require a diverse
talent pool in order to produce commercially-successful
product, and these forms employ everyone from
cartoonists to market researchers to pressman
who print the cards.
History
Some speculate that ancient Egyptians may
have recorded greetings upon papyrus and sent
them via messenger to the intended parties,
and it seems plausible that the ancient Greeks
recorded sentimental verse on scrolls, as
well. By the late Middle Ages, letters and
messages of love, including romantic verses
sent near St. Valentine's Day, were exchanged
throughout Europe. Personal messages of greeting
and sentiment were individually crafted until
the mid-nineteenth century. The first commercially-produced
greeting card was a Christmas card invented
in 1846 by British businessman Henry Cole
who asked a printer to produce a printed Christmas
greeting he could quickly send to friends.
The idea caught on and mass-produced Christmas
cards were popular by the 1860s. Louis Prang,
an American printer who invented a multi-color
printing process called chromolithography,
fashioned beautifully colored cards by the
1870s. Cards for Easter, birthdays, baby arrivals,
etc. soon followed. The larger American card
companies were founded in the early years
of the twentieth century and a number exist
today and remain leaders in card sales. Innovations
in card production have primarily revolved
around developing efficient printing methods,
diversifying the product offering by nurturing
a large creative talent pool, and devising
more effective point-of-sale displays so consumers
can easily see the products in an attractive
display.
Raw materials
Greeting cards are made of card stock that
may be of wood pulp or part "rag"
(textile waste)—sturdy, fairly expensive
paper. Increasingly, these card stocks are
being made with recycled materials. Many,
but not all, of the companies put a glossy
aqueous coating consisting of water and a
water-based acrylic coating on the stock after
printing particularly when a photograph is
featured. Inks vary as well. Many companies
are moving toward the use of soy inks, containing
water-based solvents and are more easily cleaned,
recycled, or disposed of than oil-based solvent
inks. Soy ink composition varies with the
printing process; cards are most often printed
using sheet-fed printing and the soy ink for
that includes between 20%-30% soybean oil,
resins, pigments, and waxes.
The
Manufacturing Process
The manufacture of greeting cards varies greatly
depending on the size of the corporation.
Successful greeting card companies put a great
deal of importance on business research, marketing,
and creative design because these help determine
what cards will sell well.
Research and marketing
•1 Generally, before the artists and
verse writers begin to put pen to paper, large
companies support in-house researchers that
learn all they can about potential buyers.
These researchers find out all they can about
consumers' wants, needs, and concerns that
can be addressed in a greeting card not already
in production. The researchers use statistical
analysis, market research, and research on
lifestyle changes. Once the Research Department
has an idea for a new card line, they utilize
focus groups, surveys, and controlled store
tests to gauge the potential of the new product.
For example, research may indicate that changes
in the American family calls for cards that
acknowledge step-siblings, or suggest that
soaring numbers of cat owners will lead to
a successful line of cards offering sympathy
on the death of a pet.
Designing the card
• 2 Smaller greeting card companies
sometimes contract designers to provide sketches
and ideas they feel will be good sellers and
fit their niche markets. However, in larger
companies, the Research and Marketing departments
work closely with the Creative Department
in order to collaboratively devise a new card.
These larger companies employ an in- house
creative staff that includes artists, graphic
designers, photographers, writers, editors,
and copywriters. This staff provides the illustrations
and verse featured in the product. The Creative
Department "marries" the sketch
to the appropriate verse and creates a hand-made
card. Once the Marketers and Researchers are
pleased with these mock-ups are examined and
rated by consumer panels or focus groups.
The prototypes deemed most marketable are
then moved into technical production.
Graphic
design and production preparation
3 When the designs are approved to for production,
graphic artists and technical production assistants
are key to translating original artwork and
scrawled words into a pleasing, coordinated
product that can be mass produced. Thus, graphic
designers might re-size artwork to make it
fit a card, add color underneath or on top,
combine images with appropriate typefaces
for the verse inside, etc. The graphic designers
must understand the capabilities of the printing
machines and use only those numbers of colors
that can be successfully and economically
printed. Artwork, transparencies, etc. and
verse are united in a mock-up that is approved
for further development. When approved, all
the specifications for the approved card—everything
from the illustration on the front to the
verse inside to the UPC code and price on
the back—are scanned or input onto a
computer disk and sent to the printer.
Producing the printing
plates
• 4 The printing process in controlled
digitally. In the most modern printing facilities,
plates are created directly by exposure to
lasers. A computer disk has "recorded"
the image to be reproduced. A plate is run
through a machine in which a computer is used
to direct lasers to burn an image onto the
metal plate. Each color requires its own printing
plate and the computer disk is programmed
so that it outputs plate specifications for
each individual color. It is most economical
to print no more than four colors on a card;
thus, in most cases a disk produces four plates
per card. Large greeting card manufacturers
have creative departments that design both
the prose and artwork of a card. After the
artists and writers produce their portion
of the greeting card, each element is incorporated
into a handmade mock up of the final product.
Next, graphic designers translate the mock
up into a card that can be mass produced.
Oftentimes, artwork is resized, color is adjusted,
and the fonts used for the typeface is changed.
When the mock up receives final approval,
it is digitized and sent to the printer. The
plates are now ready to print.
Printing
the cards
• 5 It is important to note that before
an entire run of cards is processed, a couple
of examples are run off and submitted for
"proofing." The designers, marketers,
graphic artists, press operators, etc. examine
the card and check it carefully to ensure
the imprint is of acceptable quality. Minor
color corrections or ink adjustments occur
before the print run can proceed. When the
proof receives the sign-off, mass-printing
begins.
Greeting cards, often printed in runs of 400,000
or more, are often printed using sheet fed
offset lithography printing that permits the
printer to print between 4,000-18,000 sheets
per hour. When ink and a fountain solution
(water with chemical additives) are applied
to the laser-burned metal plate in the right
proportion, the image to be printed accepts
ink but repels the fountain solution. The
non-image (white or background area) attracts
the fountain solution and repels the ink and
is left unprinted. From the plate, the image
is applied under pressure to a rubber canvas
called a blanket. From the image is then transferred
onto a sheet of paper. The sheets of paper
to be printed, about 20 x 35 in (50.8 x 88.9
cm), are put on the press mechanically. The
press grabs a single sheet of paper at a time,
generally printing all of the black images
and words first, then moving quickly to the
next metal plate (which applies a different
color of the design) without allowing time
for drying the just-applied inks. While on
the press, an aqueous coating (that provides
shine) is applied to the just-printed card
by another plate. The cards then air dry for
approximately five to six days.
Cutting apart and packaging
• 6 After the sheeted cards are completely
dried, they are cut into individual cards
from the larger sheet by a die cutter. The
sheets are inserted into the die cutter and
an apparatus that resembles a cookie cutter
cuts them apart in one stroke. The cards are
now a long strip that is yet unfolded.
Folding
• 7 The card is then sent to the folding
machine where it is creased and folded automatically.
Cards are often packed by hand and assembled
with their envelopes in carton quantities
of 700.
Quality Control
The production process is carefully monitored.
There are at least two submissions of proof
copies to the product development teams—before
the product is put into disk and then at first
printing—to ensure the product is designed
as was envisioned and can be printed to quality
specifications. Pressmen check color, inks,
and completed sheets throughout the printing
process. The die-cutter is able to watch the
process and makes sure the cutting is done
correctly so that straight clean cuts are
made.
Folding machine operators monitor the quality
of the completed card. He or she is able to
now see the card completed and ready for sale;
this person has the prerogative to pull inferior
cards (poorly printed, badly cut or folded)
out of the line and jettison it.
Byproducts/Waste
The use of soy ink has greatly decreased solvent
disposal problems for the printer. Soy ink
does not release a significant volume of volatile
organic compounds (VOCs) into the air when
it dries. VOCs are chemical compounds that
evaporate and react in sunlight and form smog
at lower atmospheric levels. Soy ink is not
100% biodegradable, but it is far more biodegradable
than oil solvent-based inks. Furthermore,
soy ink is more effectively removed from papers
during recycling, resulting in less paper
damage and a brighter paper. The use of soy
ink helps printers meet the federal Environmental
Protection Agency's clean-air standards. Waste
papers are generally recycled by the printer
as well.
