Why NFC Products go hand in hand with Printing
The global Near Field Communication (NFC) market is tabbed to grow to a value of over £38 billion by the year 2025. This explosion of Contactless technology can be credited to the large number of NFC business innovations which have been able to revolutionise sales and marketing operations across so many different sectors.
As NFC has grown, so has the sophistication of the ways in which Contactless technology is used, both in tandem with related digital infrastructures (such as in the case of the Internet of Things (IoT)), and as a standalone method for enhancing efficiency, improving accuracy, reaching new customers, and engendering the loyalty of existing customers. In the same way that Android and Apple's operating systems gave rise to all manner of applications which make our lives easier or offer us new forms of entertainment, NFC has offered a plethora of ways in which businesses can improve their everyday operations - at the back and front end.
In short, NFC is growing all the time, and one of the areas in which we have seen this continual improvement is printing on NFC products. What might seem as simple as a few words or numbers can actually have a variety of tangible benefits which allow NFC Products to offer even more return on investment. In this blog, we look at some of the advantages which NFC Product printing can provide.
Bringing out your Brand
There are a wide variety of NFC Products which are apt for logo printing - whether in black, single colour, or various colours (full colour). These products include the simple NFC Tags, On Metal NFC Tags and Custom Labels which are used to facilitate Contactless systems, as well as a whole variety of NFC Marketing Products, NFC Cards, Wristbands, Keyfobs, and even NFC Jewellery.
Some businesses might wonder why they should bother printing on their NFC Products - after all, isn't a key element of an NFC Product its ability to facilitate Contactless technology? But while this attitude is understandable, those who ignore the potential of printing might be missing out on a big opportunity to build their brand.
In the days of the hyper-competitive digital marketplace, attaining and retaining customer awareness has never been more crucial. What can seem like a small, insignificant logo can actually play an important role in bolstering marketing drives and increasing brand recognition. This is true even with NFC Products which are designed for one-time use - such as smart cards for cashless payment at a festival, or a wristband which offers secure access at a live event. But the effect of a logo can be multiplied when applied to NFC Products which offer regular use - such as Keyfobs, permanent NFC Tags and branded gifts which can double up as keepsakes such as NFC Fridge Magnets and NFC Beer Mats.
The best NFC Products offer multiple benefits - a primary benefit, including enhancing your operations and communicating with customers, and a secondary benefit offered by printing that adds an extra dimension of branding. While it has been in existence for some time now, NFC is still considered by many to be a cutting-edge technology - so consider the advantages of aligning your brand with a product which is smart, innovative and effective.
Let's get connected
As any marketer can tell you, getting connected with new customers and staying connected with existing customers are important parts of creating the 'customer journey', which can ultimately impact positively on the bottom line. Printing can help achieve this objective, offering a way of inviting customers to take the 'next step' and connect.
From a simple social media handle on an NFC Tag, to a website address on an NFC Wristband, or a telephone number on an NFC Smart Poster - printing offers the opportunity to present a visual way to get connected with a brand. This may not be feasible via Contactless technology itself, depending on the nature of the NFC Product.
Whether you opt for a custom black, single or full-colour printing service can come down to the nature of the product. At NFC Direct, we offer a free consultancy which can provide you advice on which type of printing option will be most suitable for a specific NFC Product. We can also accommodate printing for any number of units - from the thousands to hundreds of thousands, to the millions and beyond!
Enhancing logistics
NFC has allowed organisations in a wide range of industries to improve their operational efficiency at previously unimagined levels. Right at the core of this is the Contactless technology which has proved such an important tool in the armoury of event organisers, manufacturers, healthcare professionals, retailers and more. But while NFC has made a wide variety of tasks easier and more accurate, that doesn't mean we can't carry on improving.
Printing on NFC Products adds a visual dimension which allows individual NFC Tags to be recognised and cross-referenced more easily than ever before. The individual IDs, Barcodes and QR codes contained in NFC Products can now display their individual codes numerically and alphanumerically in the form of simple sequences, which allow them to be identified visually by those involved in the operation of NFC systems.
These sequences can be quite an eyeful, often extending to 14 digits. And for this reason, NFC printing such as the service from NFC Direct has come up with a solution which prints simplified versions of these codes on the NFC Product. Not only does that make the sequences easier to read and reference with the naked eye, but it also means that the printing itself does not require 'cramming' in text.
Depending on how the back end of an NFC system is operated, identifying the individual ID of an NFC Product might not be possible instantly. In busy, high-intensity environments such as live events, there isn't always the time to search for the individual ID of an NFC product. In these cases, it can be invaluable to have a clear, permanent representation of the product's ID number, QR code or barcode on the NFC Product itself. It all goes towards saving time for the front line operators of NFC systems, with the ultimate beneficiaries being the organisations using NFC and their customers. One of the beauties of NFC is its simplicity and user-friendliness, and printing can help to ensure that things don't become over complicated!
As easy as P-R-I-N-T
There is no extra hassle involved in organising NFC Product printing; certainly not when you are ordering from NFC Direct. That's because we have designed our NFC Product printing service to be an easy add-on solution which can be activated at the same time as you order the NFC Products themselves. It could be a bulk order of 2,000 NFC Keyfobs, half a million NFC Tags, or 10,000 NFC Wristbands - all you need to do is select the specific printing option from a drag down menu, and you can reap the benefits of an added tool for branding or logistics, depending on the nature of your requirements.
Have some specific artwork which you want included? It needs to be sent in a vector form if possible - that is .pdf .eps or .ai . And if you don't have your logo or other art in vector form, fear not. Just try to ensure that its resolution is over 300dpi - anything lower could jeopardise the quality of the print work.
If you aren't sure which kind of printing will work best on your specific type of NFC Product, a reputable NFC Product printing provider should be able to point you in the right direction. At NFC Direct, we are always happy to offer a free consultancy on exactly the right type of printing for each NFC Product. NFC Product printing shouldn't be about guesswork; it should be a sure fire way of increasing the effectiveness of the NFC Product which you have invested in.
Flexibility is another key part of making printing for NFC Products business-friendly. At NFC Direct, we meet the requirements of businesses large and small. We can provide printing for literally any number of NFC Products; from tens to millions. You don't have to shop around for specialised printing services when it comes to NFC Products - all the printing options you need can be actioned as you order your NFC Products.
Let's talk about Printing?
Have any questions about the range of printing options for NFC Products? You can find more information on our NFC Printing Options page here.
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