Digital Print Ink - December 2019

DEC 2019

DIGITALPRINTINK.NET 40 YEARS AND COUNTING BUILDING TRADITIONS C itizens across the globe will gather on Dec. 25, 2019, to celebrate the birth of Christ and rejoice in the blessings of their families and friends. To honor this holiday, I wanted to share a few little- known facts about the origin of Christmas, the traditions we have today, and a few modern takes on a historic holiday. WHY DEC. 25? NO ‘HO-HO’ The American Revolution was a tense time for Americans. As a result, Christmas was seen by the American Revolutionaries as an English holiday, and its celebrations were banned from Colonial America. Even after winning the war, the U.S. government remained staunchly

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Celebrate the Holidays With These Christmas Facts

Merry Christmas 2019

opposed to the seemingly British holiday. Congress’ first session even began on Christmas Day in 1789! It would take nearly 100 years for the country to federally recognize Christmas as a holiday, making American holiday traditions relatively new.

Christmas is known as the celebration of the birth of Jesus, but the Bible does not say which day Jesus was born, leaving historians and theologists to guess. Some point to the shepherds working with their flocks as a sign that it was warm and therefore not winter in Bethlehem when he was born. Others believe this theory is a farce and does not account for the relatively mild winters in the Middle East. Regardless, many historians believe Dec. 25 was chosen to celebrate Jesus’ birthday as a compromise between the Roman government and their pagan citizens. The date coincides with the festivals of Saturn and Mithra — Roman and pagan gods respectively — during which gift-giving and joyous celebrations would take place. The idea is that this made the transition to Christianity as the official religion in Rome more palatable for pagans. In addition, theologists believe the proximity of the winter solstice to Dec. 25 has a metaphorical significance, as the days to Easter get longer and brighter, signifying the light Christ brings to the world. Regardless of how it came to be, I like to think Jesus wouldn’t mind when we celebrate his birthday. He’s just happy to have arguably the world’s best birthday party with the people he loves.

JOLLY OLD SAINT NICHOLAS DAY

Santa Claus wasn’t even the original mysterious gift-giver. That title belongs to the man who inspired Santa’s career: Saint Nicholas. Nicholas served as a bishop during the third and fourth centuries. He was the son of wealthy parents

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

who died when he was still young. Honoring the lessons he learned from his Christian teachings, Nicholas gave all of his inheritance money to poor citizens and dedicated his life to serving others and God. In one such story of his servitude, Nicholas is credited with leaving bags of gold coins in three girls’ pairs of shoes that were drying

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How to Build the Perfect Snowman

(ACCORDING TO SCIENCE)

If you’re lucky enough to get a good snow day this year, building a snowman is a great way to spend it. That said, building a snowman isn’t all fun and games. It’s hard work, and you want to make sure the end result is worth the sore legs and soggy pants. Here are some science-backed strategies for building the perfect snowman. CHOOSE THE RIGHT SNOW Snow is your artistic medium, so make sure you have the right material for your project. Yes, there is a wrong kind of snow to use when building a snowman. You want the snow to be moist enough that it packs well but not so slushy that it collapses under pressure. The ideal snow for building your masterpiece is

freshly fallen snow when the temperature is around 32 degrees F. If the snow isn’t quite right, you can moisten it a little by spraying water on it. LOCATION IS EVERYTHING Before you start stacking your snowman, pick the right location for it to hang out. Asphalt will heat up faster, so stick Frosty on a grassy lawn. If you can find a place that will be in the shade when the sun comes out, all the better. PAY ATTENTION TO PROPORTION As you roll the snowballs to form the head and body pieces, keep proportions in mind. This is important for the visual aesthetic of your snowman and overall stability. Mathematician Dr. James Hind from Nottingham Trent University developed a formula for building the perfect snowman. He recommended that a snowman be 64 inches tall, while the sections of the snowman should be 31 inches in diameter for the base, 20 inches in diameter for the middle, and 12 inches in diameter for the head. Once your snowman is built, science has just one rule for decorating: Have fun. Grab a scarf and a top hat, a carrot nose and radish eyes, or a fancy bow tie. Building the perfect snowman means building a snowman that will make you smile when you see it.

WELCOME, OLIVIA!

Meet DPI’s Newest Designer and Print Employee

L ife has many milestones, and for DPI’s newest employee, Olivia Sarver, the spring of 2019 was the time she crossed over some of the biggest. Between May and June 2019, Olivia graduated from the College of the Ozarks, was hired by DPI, and got married. “With [my job], I’ve picked it up really well, and I’ve had help from the people here. And it’s gone very fast,” Olivia says. “There’s always challenges and little puzzles. The people here are a great little family that works great.” Like many college graduates, Olivia applied to many companies, hoping for a job where she could put together her degree within the print industry to good use. Olivia’s parents and sister studied English in college, and following in their footsteps, Olivia tried to do the same. But on a whim, she took a course on graphic design and the print industry. From there, she fell in love with printing and design. When the opportunity at DPI came up, Olivia could see her college dreams coming to fruition. “They had great reviews, and every time I came into my interviews, Steve [Counts] and Laurie [McCulley] were the greatest people,” Olivia recalls. “They were kind, great, and patient.”

Today, Olivia does graphic design work and runs the digital press room at DPI. Olivia says her work provides insight into the field she “stumbled into” and is passionate about. Having grown up in Hartville, Missouri, Olivia and her husband, Sam who is from Sedalia, are not too far from either of their families. The couple married on May 23, 2019, and as they adjust to their new lives, Olivia says it has been comforting to have the support of their families nearby.

“It’s been fun,” Olivia says about married life. “He’s my best friend ... It’s been really good to have him there when I come home.”

We’re glad that we were one of the businesses Olivia reached out to with her resume after college, and we’re lucky to have become the place she now calls home. Olivia makes us proud each day, and we cannot wait to see how she helps us grow. Welcome to the team, Olivia!

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Welcome, New Clients!

STAND OUT! With These

Access Home Health Clean Harbors Craftive Co. Immanuel Baptist Church Jacob’s Ladder Kings Chapel Nurse Judy Botox & Beyond Osso Buco Piette’s Café Powers Gates & Lighting Sierra Building Products

Tips for Holiday Banner Success

Studies show that 50% of in-store shoppers are compelled to visit your store or make a purchase based upon your signs. At DPI Printing & Signs, we know how valuable this holiday shopping season is for your business. Our experts can help you create meaningful, powerful banners that will make you stand out this Christmas season. Make It Work for You

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Jay Rogers

... continued from Cover

by the fire at night. This would serve as the dowry for the family’s three daughters to help them avoid being forced into slavery. Because of this, children across the U.S. and other countries that actively celebrate Christmas leave their shoes on their doorsteps on Dec. 6 in the hopes that Saint Nicholas will fill them with goodies and toys. Historians also believe the gold coin story manifested the tradition of hanging stockings on our mantles too! Regardless of what truly happened, Saint Nicholas’ story has inspired many of the theories about Santa Claus and his jolly pursuits of generosity. A WHOLE LOTTA POWER We all know people who take Christmas decor to the next level, but Universal Studios Japan is on a whole different level. Since 2011, the theme park has beaten the world record — including the one it’s held for the better part of a decade — for the most lights on an artificial Christmas tree. In 2018, Universal Studios Japan beat its 2017 record by 10,000 lights, boasting 580,000 lights on one tree. If the past eight years have been any indication, we cannot wait to see what they come up with for 2019. Regardless of how you choose to spend the holidays, have a merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Happy holidays from all of us at Digital Print Ink.

Banners should be appealing but keep your message short. Start with what kind of banner you need. Do you want to push people into your store with a feather flag that entices drivers and shoppers? Maybe you need a retractable banner for tradeshows or pop-up shops. You may need a ceiling banner to keep shoppers interested and notified of specials and deals. Regardless, DPI Printing & Signs can collaborate with your team to develop the right banner type and style for success. ( Note: The average business is seen about 50–60 times by people who live nearby. A feather flag or outdoor banner could draw in many walk-in sales, 85% of which will come from those neighbors.) Look Just Right One of the main objectives we consider when creating a banner is designing something that is going to pull in audiences. In addition, seasonal print banners change up the look of your general advertising, and they make your sales stand out beyond the average promotional banner. Business Stand Out You may have a lot that you want to tell your customers, but your banners are not the way to do that! Look to other forms of print advertising to detail the nitty-gritty of your promotions or sales. By contrast, use your banners to highlight the main point that is going to drive your sales. You don’t have to list out every detail of the sale on your banner; you just need the information that makes you the obvious choice. Let our experts help you create stunning holiday and general-seasonal banners. Call 417.881.5309 to get started today, and learn more print expertise on our blog at DPIPrintingBlog.com or by emailing [email protected].

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Impress Your Loved Ones With These Holiday Facts

Build a Snowman With Science!

Meet Our Newest Employee!

Up Your Banner Game With Digital Print Ink

How Santa Claus Became Powered by Reindeer

W e all know reindeer visit our rooftops every Christmas Eve, but what brings them there? Follow the unique and complicated history of Santa’s reindeer to find out. A visit from who on what night? In the 1820s, Clement Clarke Moore penned a holiday poem that became the foundation for a phenomenon still alive today. Commonly known as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” “A Visit From St. Nicholas” is a beloved story shared by every generation. It is in this poem that reindeer were first credited with powering Santa’s sleigh around the globe. Many popular songs, movies, and plays have preserved Moore’s vision of St. Nick, and his reindeer and their names are no exception. (Well, kind of.) Rudolph wouldn’t join the squad until a department store added him as part of their promotions in the 1930s. What’s in a name? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, and Cupid were all brought to life by Moore, but have you ever heard of Dunder and Blixem? Though we now know the duo as Donner and

Blitzen, Moore originally named them Dunder and Blixem — the Dutch words for thunder and lightning — but publishing companies wanted names that would rhyme better with the rest of the poem. Still, it was a few decades before Donner and Blitzen made their appearances in the version of the poem we know today. Reindeer burgers, anyone? Moore’s poem paved the way for Santa’s most famous form of transportation, but it was actually Carl Lomen, an Alaskan businessman, who mass-marketed reindeer as Santa’s companions. In the late 1890s, the Sami natives of Northern Europe, who were longtime reindeer herders, made their passage from Norway to the U.S. with a herd of reindeer to invigorate the Alaskan landscape and help their native neighbors. Lomen saw the reindeer as an opportunity and partnered with the Macy’s department store company to create a promotional Christmas parade in which Santa, led by his reindeer, a sleigh, and Sami herders, were prominently featured. Lomen’s goal was to promote his massive reindeer conglomerate for the production and sale of reindeer meat. Instead, a holiday story was born.

What About Dunder and Blixem?

The Strange History of Santa’s Reindeer

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