What is balloon printing?
Balloon printing is quite simply the procedure of putting some type of graphic onto the surface of a balloon. Balloon imprinting businesses have been around for a long time, but modern printing techniques and new machinery are helping to increase the scope of what kind of balloons can be printed on, and what logos may be applied.
Balloons may have multi-coloured designs printed onto their surfaces, and this can be increased by using clever designs and making use of the colour of the balloon itself. It is also possible to print onto both sides of any balloon, so no matter where people are standing in relation to the balloon they ought to be able to see the printed images. Printing can be put on to both latex and foil balloons.
This article hopes to spotlight just a few of the possible uses of personalised, printed balloons. I hope you find it useful.
Advantages
Balloons are fantastic because they are not an overly pricey thing to get hold of. Even the more fancy balloons do not have to cost the Earth, and when you compare prices with many of the alternate options you can quickly see the monetary benefits of printed balloons.
One of the more interesting things about using printed balloons at any type of event is the great flexibility they offer. Today’s balloon technology allows such a wide range of styles, sizes and shades that you can really let your creativenessrun wild and let your creative side to take over.
This flexibility gets even greater when you start using balloons together to create balloon strings or sculptures. You can intermix different coloured balloons to good effect and create bold designs, or use different shapes and sizes of balloons to create eye-catching exhibits.
Another great benefit of using balloons is that they are incredibly light. This makes them incredibly easy to move about and to sculpt into various sculptures. You will not need to hire moving men or forklift trucks to get them to where you need them to be! The other great benefit is that if you are going to fill them on site, many hundreds of balloons will fit into a handbag.
The next time you see a bunch of people with balloons it’s well worth asking where they got them from for future reference.
For social events
Getting a set of your own, personalised, printed balloons for a social event always adds an additional factor of fun and interest to whatever you are doing. Whether the function you are attending is a reasonably formal affair, such as a grand dinner party, or a quite informal occasion, such as a stag or hen party, you will discover that printed balloons can really make the night stand out.
Wedding parties
Wedding parties are the ideal occasion for utilizingprinted balloons to spruce up your location. They are both formal and informal events at the same time, with a serious intent but also a focus on having fun and enjoying the day. This is where the versatility of balloon printing comes into its own.
For the wedding meal, photo-taking or any other formal announcements, you can use some smart balloons printed to match your surroundings. Then when the partyreally starts you can have a selection of fun balloons having a personalised wedding message. Or how about balloons personalised with either the bride or grooms photo to show which side of the family you are on?
Stag & hen nights
Stag and hen parties are always fun occasions, and more often than not they will involve some form of dressing up or decoration. So why not make use of printed balloons as a way of “jazzing up” your night and truly making your party stand out from the masses.
L-plate balloons. One of the more recognisable elements of a hen party is the bride to be wearing driving L-plates on their clothing. It is a classic touch that usually makes the lucky lady stand out from her party of hens. But there is no reason to restrict yourself to decorating outfits. Why not print an L-plate on a good sized balloon and attach it to the bride to be. Then everybody will easily know who to watch out for during the rest of the evening!
Nickname balloons. Groups of males out on stag nights will frequently have their photos and nicknames used by their good friends printed onto a t-shirt or top. But again, why stop at the clothing? You can print faces, nicknames, or just about any other funny facts onto personalised balloons and give them out to members of your stag group.
Decorating functions
Printed balloons at events do not have to be highly conspicuous or gaudy. In fact, you will discover that there are several ways that you can arrange printed balloons to create very stylish effects. At many formal events, such as award ceremonies or grand birthday parties, balloons can turn out to be an interesting piece of furniture rather than an outlandish statement.
The great flexibility that comes with employing balloons at events means that they can be both promotional and decorative. You might use a printed pattern on the balloons and then assemble lots of them together to give the sense of dynamic wallpaper! On the other hand you could use the surface area of the balloons to print your corporate branding or a message you want to get across to your guests. This way, your balloons can perform different tasks depending on how far away the viewer is.
Do not forget to include helium gas cylinders when planning decorations for your event.
For corporate events
Although many of us relate memories of balloons with birthday celebrations when we were youngsters, printed balloons can also be used in a more grownup environment. The use of printed balloons can actually be very advantageous in the business world. While they are not an obvious choice, there are innovative ways to use balloons for corporate purposes.
Exhibitions
Anybody who has had a stand at a corporate exhibition will know just how much competition there is for space and just how hard everybody tries to bring potential customers in their direction. If you utilise the standard strategies of marketing to your exhibition display you will find that you need to spend plenty of time, and normally lots of money, to truly stand out.
Advertising potential
If you are using helium filled balloons to help advertise your organisationthen you will be immediately at an advantage. As we all know, helium filled balloons are lighter than the air around them and will float upwards. With the right amount of string attached to the balloon you will be placing your corporate identity in a space beyond the reach of regular advertising.
Just like printing your logo or company message on carrier bags or other packaging, printing onto balloons provides a mobile marketing space that you don’t have to carry around yourself. Each time you give out a printed balloon to a visitor at the exhibition, you are effectively giving out a promotional item for your business that will be movingaround. Wherever that person goes, your company branding will go too.
Another great advantage of using printed balloons as a corporate advertising application is the price tag. No matter what state the economy may be in, firms are always looking for the most cost-effective ways to promote themselves, and printed balloons are certainly one of these methods. For a relativelylow fee you can get hold of a good quantity of balloons, all printed with your bespoke message.
It is very important to note that employing a 100 percent balloon-based treatment as your marketing plan won’t always bring the results you are looking for. It is much better to use printed balloons as a single part of your advertising campaign. Think of them as the exclamation mark at the end of your marketing sentence.
B-loony is a custom balloon printing business with staff that combines passion and wisdom within the printing market.
Balloon printing options
There are two main kinds of balloon that can be printed on; latex balloons and also foil balloons.
Latex balloons are the most typical type of balloon. They are the teardrop shaped balloons that are slightly rubbery in texture. They now come in a wide range of colour possibilities, and you can even get balloons that are semi-transparent or have a metallic surface finish. All latex balloons can be printed on but it is well worth bearing in mind the base colouring of the balloon when developing a design.
Foil balloons are in fact made from mylar, and rather than being formed of one solitary piece of material they are more commonly made by sealing two independent pieces together. This hemming procedure allows for a vast range of different shapes, including stars and hearts. Combined with their shiny finish, foil balloons have become very popular for printing personalised messages for special events.
The environmental impact
Balloons are a consumable product, and as such people are often worried about the effect they have upon the environment. The good news is that balloons are in fact quite an environmentally friendly product and using them will not have a damaging effect on the planet.
Latex balloons are made of a substance called natural rubber latex (NRL) which is gathered from trees in tropical locations. The trees are simply tapped for their rubber rather than chopped down, and the cultivation of rubber tree plantations actually helps to stop rainforest deforestation.
They are also biodegradable and can actually be used on the compost heap! Latex balloons will decompose at different speeds depending on the conditions they are left in, although testing has demonstrated that they will usually decompose completely within 6 months.
Get your own printed balloons
I hope this article will have highlighted a few of the scenarios that printed balloons are well matched to, and perhaps you are already thinking of an upcoming event where balloons would make a perfect party piece.
If you would like to find out more about getting your own customised printed balloons, there are many companies that are now offering balloon printing as a service. By exploring on-line you will be able to locate a balloon printing company that can help you out. Once you have witnessed how well balloons help to set off your celebration you will want to use them over and over!