What is an Envelope Converting Service?

Envelope converting services are a smart choice for companies that want to create a more focused marketing effort, want special styles, non-standard sizes, multiple windows, unique color schemes, non-traditional envelope sizes, or other customized features on their envelopes.

Envelopes that have been converted from large sheets of paper after printed images and text have been placed on them are a key part of a successful marketing campaign for many companies. Whenever a printing service creates envelopes from rolls of paper or large sheets of paper, the final product is called a “converted envelope.” The main advantage of conversion is that you can put all the images, text, tinting, windows, and any other features onto the paper before it’s folded and glued, or before it’s “converted.”

Understand the Advantage of Conversion

Envelope converting services give much leverage to business owners who opt for this customized way of creating envelopes. There are dozens of reasons the technique makes a high-quality product, but some of the most common ones include the overall customization allowed with converted pieces.

Some have described the difference between converted and stock envelopes as being akin to the difference between buying a suit “off the rack” and having one made by a professional tailor. The rack version might cost less, but it will be obvious that it wasn’t a custom job, usually won’t last as long, and certainly won’t fit as well.

With the custom suit, you can order it any way you want, in any fabric, with your preferred colors, size, and price range. Converted envelopes let business owners get exactly what they want on the paper before the sheets are die-cut, folded, and glued into envelopes. The possibilities are truly endless.

Decide on the Right Time for Envelope Conversion

Part of a comprehensive marketing effort is knowing when envelope converting services can help. Managers who are responsible for deciding how to spend the allotted funds for sales campaigns and other correspondence-related activities tend to opt for envelope converting for various reasons. Sometimes it’s because the company has a large stock of specialty paper that is already matched to a logo or color scheme for a particular project.

Whatever the reason behind choosing converted envelopes, most business owners do so for one, or a combination, of the following reasons:

• Color: When the goal is to use full-color envelopes in a campaign or for correspondence, converting offers unique advantages. For one thing, it’s impossible to print on multiple surfaces of an envelope after it’s been converted (folded). By placing the full-color images onto the paper before conversion, the process can help create a seamless, attractive image that is not “interrupted” by the envelope’s edges.Applying ink to paper is a rather involved process when the goal is to produce a final product of the utmost quality. This is especially true when an image needs to wrap-around (called “bleed” in printing) an envelope. When that’s the case, there’s no other way to design and create a custom-printed envelope unless you convert the envelope after printing.
• Size: Conversion allows for a virtually infinite number of sizes because the cutting and folding doesn’t take place until after the ink has been placed on the paper. Non-traditional sizes work well for envelopes that are intended for use in a special mailing or that need to hold items of non-standard size.
• Windows: Instead of the traditional, single-window envelope, converted stock can contain as many windows as necessary, including ones to reveal a return address or a small part of the contents, like an account number or check amount.
• Interior Tint: Tint is often used as a security feature so prying eyes can’t see through an envelope. However, interior tint can’t be applied after folding, which makes conversion the only option for companies that want to add one of various tint styles to their pieces.
• Embossing: Embossing is another process that simply can’t be done on standard, stock envelopes but must be applied pre-conversion. When a finished envelope is embossed, both front and back of the envelope “receive” the impression, resulting in an unprofessional look. Stock envelopes certainly have their place in the world of business, but when a client needs an embossed piece, stock envelopes just won’t suffice.
• Special Paper: Companies often bring their own paper to a professional printer and have the rolls converted into highly-specialized envelopes that match stationery or logo colors and paper types already in use. This unique method of matching colors and paper types adds a level of sophistication to envelopes used in marketing or just for standard business correspondence.

Make Profit Your Long-Term Goal

Envelope converting services can turn a so-so marketing campaign into a powerful one that creates a lasting impression on potential and current customers. When you decide that envelope converting is the path to long-term profitability, our team can help create the ideal components of your campaign and offer wholesale pricing on large jobs. For more than a quarter-century, the professionals at Rite Envelope & Graphics Inc. have been offering top-notch printing services to clients all over the U.S.

Call today and get a free price quote on your job so you can jump-start your sales and marketing efforts, broaden the customer base, and build up your brand identity in the process. The experienced Rite Envelope & Graphics Inc. team can work with you to make top-quality converted envelopes a central part of your company’s image.

You can view our full list of services on our website, or just give us a call at 610-981-2373. Why wait to unleash the marketing power of converted envelopes? We’re always happy to work alongside new customers and show them all the options available. We serve the entire U.S. market from our four offices in Washington, DC; New York, NY; Baltimore, MD; and Philadelphia, PA.