Industry Definitions
Acrobat
Acrobat is part of a set of applications developed by Adobe to create and view PDF files. Acrobat is used to create the PDF files, and the freeware Acrobat Reader is used to read the PDF files. (If you go to Adobe.com you can download a free version of Adobe Reader so that you and your client can view pdf's).
Advertising
Americalist works with its diverse clientele to make direct mail an integral part of their advertising mix, focusing on helping them receive a solid return on their direct marketing advertising investment. Direct mail and email marketing enables customers – unlike mass media marketing – to focus their advertising on a target market, control costs, and receive a measurable return on their investment.
Advertising Agencies
Americalist serves the needs of advertising agencies nationwide by providing complete list services, printing, mailing, data hygiene, email marketing, and PURL marketing for their clients. Furthermore, we provide agencies with business lists to help them generate new customers.
Aliasing
In graphic design, aliasing occurs when a computer monitor, printer, or graphics file does not have a high enough resolution or is missing the correct font/image. An aliased image is often said to have the "jaggies".
Alignment
The positioning of a body of text. Text can be positioned to the left, right, or center of a page. For the best, consistent alignment, web site designers use tables and Cascading Style Sheets.
Anti-aliasing
Smoothing or blending the transition of pixels in an image. Anti-aliasing the edges on a graphic image makes the edges appear smooth, not jagged.
Bevel
Adding a beveled effect to a graphic image gives the image a raised appearance by applying highlight colors and shadow colors to the inside and outside edges.
Bitmap
A graphic image which is composed of a pattern of dots. The individual dots are stored as data on a computer. An example of an animation that is a bitmap graphic is a GIF animation.
Bleed
When a page or a cover design extends to and off the edge of the paper it is called a "bleed". In print design, the artwork or block of color must extend off the edge of the page. The artwork or block of color is then printed on larger-size paper. Then the printed page is trimmed to the desired size. Our print shop recommends 1/8” bleed on most jobs.
BRC
BRC stands for Business Reply Card. This can be a stand-alone piece or part of a self-mailer.
Brochures
Businesses turn to Americalist for design and printing of full-color brochures in a variety of sizes. Our digital printing on-demand capabilities enable customers to receive brochures fast and in the precise quantity they need (no print run is too small). Simply give our design team your specifications and we can create brochures, self-mailers, postcards, newsletters, or any collateral material. Then we print from our own facilities.
Business Lists
Select your targeted business list from our business file of more than 12,850,000 businesses updated quarterly. Select by: Geography, SICs, Home-Based, Franchises, Title Code, Location Type (Single/Branch/Headquarters), Minority Profile, Year Business Started, # of Employees, Sales Volume, Contact Name, or Woman Owned. Americalist has been at the forefront of performing business-to-business direct marketing campaigns for businesses of all sizes. Our business list experts provide free initial and ongoing consultations to ensure our clients maximize the effectiveness of their business list.
CMYK
Stands for the colors Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black. In print design, colors are defined as a percentage of each of these 4 colors. For example, the CMYK abbreviation for the color black would be 0-0-0-100. In contrast, display devices (i.e. monitors) and the internet typically define colors using RGB.
Consumer Lists
Customers can select their targeted list from 215 million U.S. consumers. Consumer lists can be further pinpointed by demographic selections (age, gender, household income, etc.) and geographic selections (zip, county, state, phone exchange, etc.). Furthermore, we can take a customer’s consumer file and turn it into a powerful marketing tool by appending and updating information and performing data hygiene to create as clean a file as possible. We deliver consumer lists in all popular formats.
Compression
A method of packing data in order to save disk storage space or download time. Compression is a technique to make a file or a data stream smaller for faster transmission or to take up less storage space. JPEGs are generally compressed graphics files.
Copywriting
Our staff copywriters craft results-driven sales copy for any industry, from HVAC shops to auto dealers, painting contractors to lawn care firms. Our copywriting team boasts years of experience and a track record of success for clients who demand results. Our copywriting team can also analyze your current mailing campaigns and suggest ways to improve your materials.
Creative Services
At one source, our team of graphic designers and copywriters design and produce brochures, postcards, self-mailers, newsletters, business cards, letterhead, signage, and an array of collateral material for hundreds of businesses every year. Our creative services professionals work closely with our printshop to ensure your pieces are completed to your precise specifications.
Cross Media Marketing
Looking to expand your marketing reach? Americalist has all the tools at one source to perform a dynamic cross media marketing campaign to promote your products or services through a combination of direct mail, email marketing, and PURL marketing.
