Steve, Sheila and the Creative Team are honored once again, to be a part of The Warrior Beach Retreat. Twice a year Wounded Warriors and their families from all across our country are brought to Panama City Beach to enjoy a week long retreat. This is all made possible by the many generous donations from the Northwest Florida community. We hope you join us to honor our troops tomorrow, by lining the streets with flags along the Welcome route below.

Welcome Route: The warriors will be passing by the following locations on Thurs, April 24th, starting at the Laketown Wharf Resort at 4:15pm and ending at the First Baptist Church around 5:15-5:20pm. You can show your support by lining the streets of the route with signs and flags.

Opening Ceremony: Thursday, April 24th at 5:45 pm. Location – First Baptist Church, 640 Grace Ave, Panama City, Florida. The public is invited to attend – please come and show your support for the Warriors!

Our son, Sgt. Joshua Cope (retired) and his wife, Erica... are our Hero’s. They have turned a tragedy into a triumph. It hasn’t been an easy journey... they have chosen to preserve amidst unimaginable hardships...their lives are an inspiration to us all.

On November 12, 2006 Joshua was severely wounded by an IED blast in Baghdad, Iraq. He lost both of his legs above the knee and both hands were injured. We have witnessed first hand, the tenacity of the American Soldier. We’ve also witnessed firsthand, the love and compassion of a soldier’s wife through Erica.

When a soldier goes to war, a family goes to war... Lest we forget!

Let us all come together and bring hope and healing to so many heroes and their families. We all have something to give. We can make a difference... together.

Linda Cope, Founder & President

If you would like to donate to help the Warrior Beach Retreat click here. Any donations are greatly appreciated. Are you interested in being one of the honored participants for a future Warrior Beach Retreat? Find out more information here.

We are absolutely honored to be a part of the 2014 Warrior Beach Retreat. We understand the importance of our soldiers and the huge sacrifices they make for our freedoms and want to do anything we can to help our men and their families. It was a pleasure working with the Cope family and we thank them for all they do with and for the soldiers and their families. We hope our great community does their best to show their support to these great men by donating to the retreat or just come and show your support on parade day. A list of activities, how to donate, and the parade route/time are all on the Warrior Beach Retreat website.

As 2013 draws to a close, we all enjoy the happiest and most optimistic time of the year. It’s a time when we pause, gather family and friends close to us, and appreciate all that we have. And, as we gaze at the horizon of 2014, we have hopes and dreams to be fulfilled through dedication and hard work. At this time, we reflect on our good fortune to live in America, a land of unlimited opportunities.

The past year in Bay County has been prosperous for Creative Printing. Our business team has worked long and hard. Our clients have been helpful and loyal. Working together, our family, friends, co-workers and customers have made 2013 a great year!

And so, as we take a little time off to celebrate this special season and everything that it means, we wish all of you, and your families, a very Merry Christmas filled with peace and joy.

Happy Holidays and God Bless,
Steve, Sheila, and the Print Shop Family

Here at Creative Printing we have many customers that like to create their own artwork or design and email it to us for printing. This is a great way to save you money; however, it is important for the print job to be production ready, meaning the file has to be appropriately set up in order to print.

Our goal is to prevent problems that may delay your production schedule, incur additional expense or produce an unexpected product. To see our full guide to setting up your own print job, take a look at “Submitting Print Ready Artwork.”

1. Call Your Printer First - All printers have different production ready requirements, so call before you start.
2. Resolution - Always use high quality images and graphics. Image resolution should be no less than 300 dpi, and re-sampling does not count!
3. Bleed - If your final artwork has an image that goes to the edge of the paper, you will need to have bleed around the final piece.
4. Color - If your job is printing offset all colors should be converted to CMYK.
5. File Type - Submitting a high quality PDF with fonts embedded or converted to outlines is the best way to submit your artwork.

If you have any question regarding this checklist please call or email us. Our goal here at Creative Printing of Bay County is to help you submit your own files and have them print perfectly!

Do you have a special little one having a birthday soon? Are you having trouble deciding what kind of birthday party theme to help make the day “extra” special? You’re in luck, over the next couple of months we are going to share several creative, fun birthday party themes. Here at Creative Printing we just LOVE getting creative. This month we are sharing 2 birthday party themes one of our wonderful team members has used. These are just adorable!

Remember here at Creative we offer custom birthday party invitations, posters and banners that can be designed to match any theme. Give us a call or stop by and our friendly team will gladly help you get started. Don’t you feel like getting creative?  

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Who doesn’t just adore this sweet story? This theme is a great way to incorporate reading and bring the story to life! For an added touch serve food from the story.

Recently we had to honor of printing a couple posters for Master Sergeant (MSgt) Aguilera’s  room dedication at Tyndall Air Force Base  Panama City, Florida.  MSgt Aguilera is “amazed” to have this room dedicated to him.

Creative Printing of Bay County worked with Mr. Wolf to help finalize and print this project. Mr. Scott Wolf owner of Wolf Designs, designed the posters and did a magnificent job.

We want to wish you all a Happy Memorial Day! Thank you to all the military, past, present and future that have served to protect the United States of America.

Do you recognize Apple, Nike, Pepsi, and McDonalds logos every time you see them? Why is that? A lot of time and work are put into the logo design process to get it just right so it makes a big impact on consumers. Logos need to be distinctive and stand out among the others. Branding your company begins with the development of your company logo.

So what goes into the Logo Design Process? Below the process is explained and you can visually see how much work it takes to get the logo desired for your business. From client meetings, to sketches, editing and digital design, this is a tedious process.

Here at Creative Printing our graphic designers work closely with you to get the logo that you envisioned and help your brand stand out. Call or stop by to get started and we will gladly assist you throughout the entire process. Remember, here at Creative, we are a one stop shop, for all of your printing needs.

A+ Smiles,a Pediatric Dental Office in Panama City is now open! Dr. Eric Berry and Dr. Matthew Ticola are experts in their field of dentistry and look forward to serving the dental needs of children in our area.

From logo design, business stationary, office décor, signage, door vinyl, outdoor signs and everything in between .... A+ Smiles chose to Get Creative! They are a great example of how to utilize our graphic designer and printing services to create and keep a professional consistent image. Large format prints make great décor and can be mounted to either black or white foam board or printed on canvas to give your office a new look. Use large format prints as an easy way to display your logo at the office!

Logo

Graphic Design is everywhere! We see it on street signs, billboards, television, online, in restaurant menus, business cards, books, and many other places. Graphic design combines text and images in a creative manner in order to reach a particular audience visually. They make things “look pretty” in order to grab the target audiences’ attention.

A logo is not just something that is visually appealing it is creating a brand and communicating what a company is/does without much needed explanation. The first stages do not involve much designing at all, but more so research.

Wedding Season is quickly approaching and "many brides to be" are busy planning the wedding of their dreams. At Creative Printing, our designers stay on top of the latest design and color trends so we can create your custom designed wedding invitations and RSVP cards. With all of our designs you can change anything from colors to fonts, or we can create a unique design to meet your theme and budget. The possibilities are truly endless! Why worry about going through store after store to find a wedding invitation you “might” like, when you can have them designed to match your wedding perfectly!

By the Sea

Arranging a funeral or a memorial service for a loved one can be an emotional and overwhelming task. There are so many details to consider before your final goodbyes. Here at Creative Printing we can help ease this difficult time by helping you create programs, large prints or collages, book marks, prayer cards or any other mementoes can be personalized to remember your loved one. You can choose to turn this time into a celebration of life and recall all the good times through the use of these keepsakes that will honour the memory of your loved one.

Are you preparing a shower for a special “Mommy-to-be?” Are you trying to decide on the perfect theme to shower her in love? We want to help you get creative by sharing several unique and creative baby shower ideas.

Rubber Ducky Theme

At one point or another, you have all most likely played with a rubber duck in the bathtub as a child or with your children. Why not take this cute little toy and have an adorable, fun baby shower. Then the baby will have plenty of bath toys!

As spring approaches many “brides to be” are busy planning the wedding of their dreams. Trends change from year to year and with each season. We would like to share several popular wedding trends for 2013. These trends can be used for both spring and summer weddings.

1.  Wedding Colors

Right now Mint appears to be the most popular wedding color for 2013. It is calm and can be  used in a variety of ways that make your wedding look elegant.

Image from Wedding Paper Divas  

Creative Printing is celebrating a special birthday this month. We would like to wish Stephen (aka Papa), owner of Creative, a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Did you know that 75 million Americans believe having pets in the workplace makes people happier?  Have you ever been to an office or work environment that allowed pets? Here at Creative Printing we have two very special print shop pups, Pepper and Polly Ruff. Have you met them yet?

Our print shop pups were born in December 2009 and have been joining their proud parents, Steve and Sheila Ruff, for the past 3 years. These two cuddly and spoiled dachshunds are often found curled up in Steve’s lap while he is working at his desk or waddling around the shop looking for friends with food.  Our customers sure love to see our furry friends and they have truly become a part of the Creative Team.

Purrina is an advocate of pets at work. They created a video to share how their employees feel about bringing their dogs to the office.  Want to learn more about bring animals to work? Here are some tips for preparing your workplace for pets. We invite you to share your pet story with us and the next time you are at Creative Printing of Bay County say hi to Pepper and Polly.

Graphic designers create visual materials that effectively communicate information for advertising, publications, movies, posters, signs, websites and many more. They use a creative process that combines art and technology to efficiently communicate ideas. The designer works with a variety of communication tools in order to express a message from a client to a particular audience.

In today’s technology driven world, a Graphic Designer is a “must have” for a business. Most people do not use the phone book to look up your number or address anymore. They go straight to Google via their phone, tablet or computer. Graphic designers help your brand stand out; whether it is on paper or online.

Have you visited our NEW website? Creative Printing of Bay County is very excited about the new website and would love to hear your thoughts! In 2012 we celebrated 30 years of business. We are proud to be a part of the Panama City community for so many years and look forward to many years to come.

To our friends and customers,

Warm wishes for a Joy-filled Christmas Season and a Peaceful and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas from our fantastic team at Creative Printing!

We are looking forward to 2013 and getting CREATIVE!

Receiving mail, that is not a bill, is always exciting! Why not bring a smile to your family, friends, and co-workers faces by sending them custom Christmas cards? It’s not too late to get them out before Christmas.

Take a look at these custom samples to get your creative juices flowing!

Tis the season to be jolly…!  Christmas is right around the corner. Have you started shopping yet? If not, we have 10 ideas to help you get started. All the items below are customizable and that makes them extra special.

1.     Custom Calendars

Christmas is the perfect time to give the gift of custom calendars. The New Year is coming and everyone is going to need a new calendar. Why not spend the time selecting pictures for each month? This makes the calendar extra special. You can also include birthdays and special days to remember on each calendar you have printed. Don’t forget you can add your business information as well as friends and family.

So what kinds of copies are people making these days? Let’s take a look.

Red

• (Think passion) stimulates, arouses, increases awareness.
• Elevates a room’s energy level. It’s a good choice when you want to stir up excitement.
• Pumps the adrenaline.
• Draws people together and stimulates conversation.
• Love.
• Has been shown to raise blood pressure, speed respiration and heart rate.
• It is usually considered too stimulating for bedrooms or classrooms.
• May trigger feelings of anger in some people.