Patriotic Printing: Design Ideas for Adding Americana into Advertising
Holidays often mean two things for your business: a busy few weeks and a boost in sales. And the key to a successful campaign? The right design at the right time. For the Fourth of July, we’re talking patriotic and Americana printing that celebrates the season and engages the community. From subtle stars and stripes to bold red, white and blue, check out these easy and effective ideas for adding strategic spirit to your Fourth of July signage and print marketing.
Hail the Homegrown
Give a shout-out to the sweet land of liberty. With custom Labels and Stickers, our online printing services help you declare your made-in-the-USA status on your products and packaging.
Promote each item’s heritage with “Printed in the USA” or “Made in the USA” labels and stickers in any shape and size, with full-color or unique white ink and crack ‘n’ peel paper stock with a split back lining. (Hint: Keep your labels organized and easy to use with our convenient Roll Labels in your choice of shape.)
Not just for product packaging, sticker and label printing is a great way to advertise your business, too. Hand out branded stickers as you walk in Fourth of July parades or give them away at community picnics and events.
Design Tip: Dive deeper into how to get creative (and more customers) with label and sticker packaging by checking out our Custom Branding blog.
Fly the Flag
Nothing says Independence Day quite like the American flag. That star-spangled staple draws attention to your message instantly, whether you’re promoting a retail sale or advertising events like parades, picnics and fireworks.
With its iconic design, the flag can be used as-is or incorporated creatively throughout your online printing pieces. Think custom Sell Sheets that list product specs or promo details on each stripe or Step and Repeat Banners with event sponsors named in each star.
Sharon Toler, marketing and event manager for SharePoint Fest, took an inspired approach to branding with her banner printing. Using the flag as an outline, Toler’s design highlighted various technologies and paid homage to the conference site, Washington, D.C.
“We like to include a patriotic theme for our graphics, signage and imagery [since it’s] a focal point in our Expo Hall,” Toler said. “The large graphic gives the attendees an opportunity to take a photo in front of it to share on social media.”
With stars and lines to mimic stripes, plus bright colors and different font sizes, Toler’s step and repeat design is ideal for corporate and Fourth of July banners alike. “[It] naturally encourages attendees to use it as a photo backdrop,” said Toler, which means free advertising and awareness for you as guests proudly post.
Pay Homage to the Past
Show your support and unite your print marketing in smaller ways, too. With Collated Printing, you can create patriotic playing cards and personalized promo decks for employees or as prizes during Fourth of July activities.
Sally Mathews Inglett, president and founder of MEternally, LLC, customized this idea for her Favorite Things reminiscence product line “to bring joy to seniors, caregivers and those with dementia.”
Including double-sided cards with gloss laminate, the deck features full-color activities and photos “used to start conversations and create connections,” said Inglett. It’s proof that patriotic designs can be more than just a marketing tool.
“By reminiscing [about] time spent in the military, we’re able to help seniors validate the importance of their contributions to our country and share their experiences and memories with family and passed between generations.”
Design Tip: When printing custom playing cards or decks, follow Inglett’s lead and use our UV coating or gloss or matte laminate. They protect your cards from frequent handling and make shuffling easy. (Considering other uses for Collated Printing? Check out our Top 10 Marketing & Design Ideas!)
Salute with Stationery
Part of the festive Fourth of July fun is sending summertime salutations, and you can do just that with custom Cards and Invitations. Whether you’re designing patriotic cards for personal use or staying in touch with customers and clients, Fourth of July graphics add a little history to your hellos.
Card printing with Smartpress, The Bernard Group’s online division, means you can choose from more than 10 folding options to create the perfect presentation, add perforation for instant event RSVPs and add matching envelopes to complete the package.
And since all those customizing features are also available with our invitation printing, Kristin Kozel, founder and creative director of Inkbleat, had the freedom to design custom invitations for the Omni Nashville Hotel. Adding a classic single fold, her invites became hospitality cards.
“[They] asked if we could create a patriotic design they could use over the summer and specifically for Memorial Day/Fourth of July,” said Kozel. Playing off the famous “I Believe in Nashville” art mural, Kozel’s cards radiate rustic country charm with faded, lived-in shades of red, white and blue.
With convenient options for your business like shrink wrapping and split shipping, Smartpress and The Bernard Group made Kozel’s design pursuit a happy one.
“As a small business owner, I love that Smartpress makes it easy to blind ship and exclude order info that the final user doesn’t need to worry about,” she said. “Being able to find previous orders and proofs is so easy and makes large reorders easy to do in just a few minutes.”
Honor Troops & Veterans
Not just about barbecues and baseball, July Fourth gives you an opportunity to honor veterans and support troops near and far. And it gives your business an opportunity to do the same. From military graphics and insignias to patriotic mottos and quotes of courage, your Fourth of July designs can pay tribute to the nation as a whole or individuals in and around your community.
Try commemorating the home of the free and the land of the brave by sponsoring an outdoor event and advertise it with custom posters. Our Small Posters make it easy to promote a patriotic celebration with coated and uncoated paper stocks, durable cover weights and protective UV coatings.
Or personalize a banner, like Rodney Petersen, owner of Petersen Design, did. Arranging Air Force and flag graphics, Petersen planned to welcome his grandson home with our custom Hanging Banners. However, Petersen’s bright colors and sharp font stayed boxed when it seemed his grandson wouldn’t be getting leave.
That is, until a knock at the door revealed his grandson, surprising his family. And with convenient install options like grommets, pole pockets and ball bungees, Petersen’s custom banner was finally able to fly high.
“I’ve ordered hundreds of banners from Smartpress and The Bernard Group. The print and finish quality is excellent and the pricing is the best I’ve found,” said Petersen.
Now that’s something to celebrate.