HP MagCloud customers may experience some delays in receiving their shipments because of the severe weather resulting from Hurricane Irene.
USPS and FedEX are experiencing service delays due to widespread power outages, local road conditions and some office closures.
Please check their websites to see if your area may be impacted:
If you have any questions regarding your order please contact us.
President Obama once asserted “small businesses are part of the promise of America.” At MagCloud, we wholeheartedly believe this statement and strive to provide small business the opportunity to market their products with style and quality without demanding a hefty investment.
One such small business owner who relies on MagCloud is author and sales strategist Bill Zipp who published his publication, Sell With Your Ears, through MagCloud as a way to market his business and provide a valuable resource. Sell With Your Ears presents Zipp’s unique approach to the marketplace and resource and tips for uncommon ways to build a smarter, more profitable business. It represents Zipp’s thought-leadership in his industry among business owners and key stakeholders responsible for generating revenue for their business – large or small.
As a business owner himself, Zipp is responsible for promoting his brand at all times. His publication is a conversation generator in networking settings and helps spread his message to even wider audiences. “I give my publication to clients to give to their friends, essentially serving as a sophisticated, and powerful business card.”
One element we are proud of at MagCloud is the quality of the printed materials we produce every day for publishers and readers. Time and again, we hear from our customers that the quality of the printed magazine, brochure, flier, etc. exceeded their expectations and that of their readers.
Additionally, when customers like Bill who publish with MagCloud, they are take advantage of the print on demand feature which affords customers the ability to fulfill orders as they come in vs. having piles of magazines or books in their homes and offices waiting to sell and ship. (Or as Zipp explains, “I don’t have to store thousands of books in my garage.”) Bulk printing is no longer the standard in publishing thanks to print on demand.
We encourage you to learn more about Bill Zipp’s publication here, and hope that you are inspired to become an even savvier marketer with MagCloud.
Have you ever considered publishing a book through MagCloud? What marketing materials are you publishing using MagCloud? Let us know by posting below.
Many publishers have asked for more product sizes. Well we are happy to announce a new product type called Digest. At 5.5” x 8.5” it’s approximately half the size of our current Standard product, and is available in both perfect bound and saddle stitch versions.
And with a smaller size comes a smaller price point. While there are lots of things that go into creating a high-quality finished publication, another benefit of Digest is that it allows us to reduce our overall production costs, specifically those related to paper and ink. Those savings help bring our per page cost down to $.16 per page vs. $.20 per page for our larger format. Smaller publications also mean lighter packages, which can reduce shipping rates.
The Digest product offers an overall more compact and affordable publishing solution.
Publishing for Digest is similar to how you publish today you just need to modify your PDF settings for a smaller trim size (5.25 x 8.25).
For step-by-step instructions on how to create your PDF, check out our Getting Started page.
Let us know how you plan to use the new Digest product in the comments section below.
It just got easier to publish on MagCloud. We’ve revamped the publishing process for all MagCloud products making it easier to upload, update and manage your publications. With the new Publish Process you can name your publication, select your product type and begin uploading it to MagCloud all in one simple step.
As part of this new publish process, we’ve also introduced the MagCloud Smart PDF Uploader, so if your page size is slightly off, the new uploader will automatically resize pages, check and warn for low resolution images, and add blank pages if the publication doesn’t have the exact page count needed for the chosen binding option.
We’ve also addressed some of our publishers’ most common requests. We have removed the back page tagline to give you even more design freedom. The lower right-hand 1.4″ by 0.625″ of the back cover will be covered by a white label with an order number in print versions of the publication. In the near future will further reduce the amount of space reserved for MagCloud use to a very small .5” by .5” square space in the lower right corner of a publication’s back page.
In addition, we have removed the ‘Issue Number’ nomenclature. We realize not all our publishers are creating traditional magazines and you have told us that requiring issue numbers can be confusing. Now publishers have full control over naming their publication. And if you still want an issue number, no problem, just include it as part of your publication title.
For all of you out there publishing single publications, or special editions, we no longer require that you publish as part of a ‘Magazine’ group. Instead, you can now publish a standalone publication, or group your publications as collections.
Today’s release also includes enhanced search functionality making it easy for readers to find their favorite publishers and publications.
And last, but certainly not least, we are excited to announce a new addition to our MagCloud mobile family, MagCloud Newsstand for WebOS. That’s right, we’ll be bringing MagCloud to WebOS tablets this fall. With the MagCloud Newsstand for WebOS, readers will be able to browse, preview, purchase, download and read all of your MagCloud published content on their WebOS TouchPad devices.
Let us know what you think of the new Publish Process and today’s announcements in the comments section below.
As you have probably noticed our blog also received a few updates today.
Our new design and layout is intended to make MagCloud news, tips and features easier to find and enjoy.
All posts are accessible via categories — Design Resources, Events, News, Publisher Spotlight, Tips and Tricks, and Trends. Or you can search on a word or phrase to find related articles.
The blog has also become more social making it easier to share posts with friends and colleagues across your social network, as well as keep in touch with MagCloud.
Let us know what you think of our new blog design and if you have any suggestions in the comments section below.
One theme, five challenges, and a plethora of writers, editors, artists, photographers, programmers, videographers, and other Creatives from all around the world and you have a magazine. This past weekend Longshot Magazine published Issue Two focused on the theme, Debt, in just 48 hours with help from a global community of literary zealots.
On Friday, July 29 at 3 p.m. EDT, contributors were given 24 hours to fill in the blanks: “I owe ___ for ___.” Through short essays, long-form articles, photographs, illustrations, the Longshot Magazine team narrowed down all the 672 crowd-sourced online submissions on Saturday to produce a 68-page paper magazine and a slick digital edition by Sunday evening.
Headquartered at Gawker.com’s New York City office and with satellite offices around the U.S. and Europe, the team was able to accomplish their goal through various tools such as SubMishMash, Kickstarter, Google Docs, and of course, MagCloud.
Check out Longshot Magazine’s Issue Two in all its glory. If you want to learn more about their very intense weekend, visit their Tumblr blog or follow @LongshotMag on Twitter. We hope Mat, Sarah and Alexis and their crew are getting some rest today.
With more readers accessing their news, schedules and more on the go, having a publication available in print and digital is gaining importance and publishers are noticing.
As the Overland Expo team was developing their expo guide, they knew it was essential to use both print and digital formats when reaching out to their thousands of global attendees each year. They needed a service that provided online and print-on-demand resources for their readers.
That’s where MagCloud comes in.
Founded three years ago in Arizona by Roseann Hanson, the Overland Expo is held every spring and tailored to adventure travel enthusiasts. As part of this year’s Expo, their team published Overland Sourcebook, their first MagCloud magazine, because they saw that 34% of their email news subscribers access their news via iPhones with now iPads becoming another source. “We must be ready to provide material to this market,” she exclaimed. “We see the ‘writing on the wall’ to provide digital as well as print materials.”
As a 60-page listing for all things adventure – vehicles, motorcycles, accessories, camping equipment, services, information, trip planning, business consultants, fabricators, and much more – the Sourcebook became a convenient and well-received guide for the Expo’s attendees.
Hanson attributes their Sourcebook’s success to their marketing plan which combined traditional and social media efforts. “Word of mouth, in today’s high-paced, noisy world, just doesn’t work any more,” said Hanson.
Hanson noted how MagCloud “is so easy to use” for both their team and customers. Pointing out the speed and ease of uploading their digital files to MagCloud’s timely support, Hanson advised new MagCloud publishers to “test, test, test and give yourself plenty of time to get things right as well.” The Expo team also loved how easy it was to integrate the Sourcebook with iPad. “[Our readers] were very impressed and the quality is wonderful.”
If you love the outdoors and are always on the lookout for adventures that await in the unknown corners of the world, you can also own the inaugural issue of Overland Sourcebook for $13. Overland Expo donates a good portion of their proceeds from the event to support ConserVentures, a program in place to promote the exploration of the planet and conservation of its natural and cultural resources.
We’ve always seen ourselves as an integral part for any small business’ marketing efforts, but it’s humbling and exciting to be recognized by others. Recently, we were nominated as one of the 2011 Small Business Influencers. This prestigious recognition honors companies, organizations and people who have made a significant impact on the small business industry. Paired with our recent Webby nomination, it has definitely been an exciting year thus far to see our name mentioned along with so many other notable industry organizations and professionals.
We’re in the next phase of the Small Business Influencer Awards and would love your help to reach the Top 100 by August 9th. If you feel that we’ve helped make a meaningful and lasting impact on small businesses, simply place a vote! Yes, you can even place a vote every day. :)
For more information on the 2011 Small Business Influencer, be sure to follow the folks behind this initiative – Anita Campbell (@smallbiztrends) and Ramon Ray (@ramonray). Please leave a comment below if you voted so we can thank you!
As a nonprofit executive, you have a lot on your mind. From creating more awareness about your efforts to preparing for your next big fundraising event, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the pressure to survive in today’s profit-centric business climate.
Here are a few suggestions to help you stay in-the-know with nonprofit business trends and help you get the most out of your marketing and publishing budget.
One important trend in the nonprofit sector is the use of publications in your marketing plan. Publications can be used to bring attention to a specific cause, disclose the latest research in your field or to market your organization to a new audience. MagCloud provides a way for you to tell your story in your own words and pictures without breaking your budget.
How do we do it? Our self-service publishing platform and pricing structure is designed with you in mind. If you need assistance designing your first brochure or revamping an existing program, be sure to check out some of the tips and resources on our site.
Can’t afford the upfront cost or huge print run commitments? Get ready to breathe a sigh of relief. At MagCloud, you can print on demand. That’s right, you order an issue for print only when you need an issue. That means no more over-ordering and potentially wasting money and paper. You also have the option to link to your MagCloud Storefront to your website, blog, Twitter account, etc., and have users place their orders direct.
We are proud to offer the highest quality print options at an affordable price. Prints are 4-color with full bleed and you can choose between saddle stitch and perfect binding. We take pride in the quality of our print work. After all, we are part of the HP family. And who knows print better than HP?
Now, we wouldn’t be giving you the full picture of what MagCloud can offer your nonprofit business without mentioning our digital publishing option. If print doesn’t fit into your business plan or your audience simply prefers an online option, we have an excellent digital publishing service. Just like print, you set your price and can optimize your publications for mobile devices.
We hope you’ll explore what we have to offer. If you have any questions about how to get started, feel free to contact us or leave your question in the comments section below.
For the past six weeks we’ve been offering a series of design tips and tricks to help MagCloud users create publications that will capture the attention and imagination of their readers.
From dealing with trim and bleeds, to color selection and typeface dos and don’ts, we’ve tried to offer up ideas on how to deal with the most challenging design elements.
The complete list of design topics included:
—Trim, Bleed and All That Jazz
—The Importance of Layouts and Templates
—Get The Most Out Of Your Images
—Designing For Perfect Binding
—Trends and Resources For Great Looking Business Collateral
—PDF 101: Ten Common PDF Problems
We know that great design and great content are the all-star combination that can make your publication standout above the fray and keep your audience coming back for more.
Great design is also one of the things we look for when selecting publications to feature on our home page and our Put MagCloud to Work page. Those selections are what some sites would call “staff picks” and are chosen by the MagCloud team based on rich content that spans our diverse set of categories, will appeal to the broadest segment of MagCloud’s eclectic reader base and of course adhere to all the design principals we’ve referenced in our recent blogs posts. So yeah we take this design stuff pretty serious :).
We also try and share design inspiration examples and other best practices as we find them, such as this post on magazine cover design.
Let us know what you thought of the design blog series, if there are other topics you would like us to cover or if you have design tips and inspirations you would like to share in the comments section below.
Publisher's Corner 