I think that many of our customers are used to walking into stationery stores and art supply stores to see different colored papers in person. They might be trying to match specific colors for their theme. They might even bring examples of those colors with them to hold up as comparisons.
While LCI Paper has a larger color palate and overall selection of papers, envelopes, pochettes, pocket folds, accessories, and other stationery items, you can’t see and touch the items in person. Or can you? On most of our product pages, you have the option to order a single sample. We recommend that you start your project early enough so that you can order samples of a few color choices so that you’ll be able to see the papers in person, feel the different textures, and then make a decision with confidence.
Let’s walk through the process of ordering a few samples. I’ll simulate an order from a fictional person located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Let’s say that a Lisa Martinez wants to find a card stock in a particular shade of sky blue to use as a card for her baby boy announcement. If she were to open up LCIPaper.com and search for A7 blue card, a large number of results would appear. While she can see the colors that are on her screen, the reality is the same colors can look different on almost every screen. What you see on your monitor probably looks different than what Lisa sees on her monitor. And most of us use LCD monitors which do not exactly reproduce colors accurately. It’s almost impossible to buy a CRT monitor, and high end LCD monitors designed for accurate color reproduction (for applications like desktop publishing) start at around $2,000. So if you’ve planned ahead and you have some extra time, it’s best to see a sample.
Back Lisa’s “A7 blue card” search results; the most relevant show up first. I would recommend to Lisa that she order a sample of each of these cards:
A7 Invitation Card Gmund Colors Summer Sky (GM7BC-PW)
A7 Invitation Card Reaction Card Clear Sky Blue (RE7C-01)
A7 Invitation Card Juniper Berry (AP7BC-JB)
Lisa can easily calculate the cost of her order by clicking on the “Items In My Cart” or “Check Out” links. At that point, Lisa can click on “Calculate Shipping” where she’ll enter her zip code. Each of Lisa’s samples cost $1, and her shipping cost for First Class Mail through the US Postal Service is $2.28. Her total cost including shipping is $5.28.
When the samples arrive a couple days later, Lisa will be able to see the three colors and even make test runs through her printer. At that point, she’ll have decided on exactly which item she’d like to order, and she will place the order with confidence.
I enjoy hearing from customers and having the opportunity to help answer their questions. Throughout each day, I talk to many of you on the phone. I’m happy to describe a product as best I can. I might put you on hold while I jog out to the warehouse and pull an item that you’re wondering about. I do my best to describe it and compare it to another similar item, but I always recommend that if you have any doubts and if you have the time, order a sample so you can see the product and touch it.
Joshua Birch
josh@lcipaper.com
