Don Clampitt at a recent PIA Southwest Meeting. Image: Pat McGrew

At a Southwest PIA chapter meeting last fall, Don Clampitt, CEO at Clampitt Paper, hosted the event in his Denver warehouse so everyone could touch, smell, and experience the range of papers available. Many of the printers who attended found new options for their clients. Clampitt voiced one of the most important takeaways: “It takes a print sample to sell paper!” It’s why their warehouses are arranged to make it easy to see options and feature print samples! If you haven’t thought about your paper choices lately, this is a good time to get reacquainted!

Paper is the infrastructure of most of the print we experience. Transactional documents, marketing mail and collateral, books, magazines, catalogs, menus, and many of the signs and tags we see in retail settings are built on paper! It is the most effective form of communication, creativity, and brand storytelling because it engages us in ways that pixels and screens cannot. Businesses and creatives, with their fingers on the pulse of the markets they serve, understand its unique power and use print in their communication strategies to win new customers and seal lasting impressions. One of the most potent ways to demonstrate the continuing relevance of paper is through compelling print samples—those tangible showcases of craft and creativity. Print samples cut through digital noise and make an indelible impact on the recipient.