It is surprising what can be done with a simple wire spring. It took only a little imagination to utilise a spring in the manufacture of these wobbly bits interactive pop-up cards to transform an everyday object into something memorable and that is exactly what you need for your direct mail promotions. The die-cut feature on the front of the card is what captures the imagination and provides the interaction. However, whilst our examples are fun greeting cards there is nothing to say that the die cut couldn’t be your best selling product. It could easily be a box of breakfast cereal, a spray polish, a bottle of pop, a mountain bike - anything goes with an interactive pop up card such as this.

You will be surprised at how much interest is created by this very simple pop-up engineering device. The wobbly cards will be passed around your customer’s office for everyone to have a wobble. They really are very amusing and highly interactive. Another important point that is well worth considering is that there might be added mileage in a product promotion if you were to plump for a standard greeting card size. These often have the option of matching coloured envelopes at a fraction of the price of regular commercial coloured envelopes. This is an important consideration not only for marketing budgets but also for the added interest and anticipation that a coloured envelope generates in each morning’s stack of business mail. All in all, a card with a wobbly die-cut could provide a fun answer to the tricky problem of trying to find something different for your next promotion.

The actual V-fold pop-up is created by a die-cut printed piece that is affixed to the left and right of the centrefold. Opening the card creates the lift. However, it is the die-cut which creates the pop-up feature in pop-up print and that can be in virtually any shape that you like. Your best-selling product could be a box of cornflakes, a motor car, a computer or a pair of shoes but pretty well any shape can be die-cut to your custom shape. However, we should make one important point here - simple shapes work the best in pop-up printing. There is no point spending money on a really intricate cutter as it is the lifting action which attracts attention. Our motto in pop-up engineering is - keep it simple, keep it affordable, keep it effective.

The V Fold pop-up allows quite a few variations to create different effects in pop-up printing. For example, the pop-up feature can lean forwards, backwards or it can be upright when the card is fully open. The V fold can be situated at the bottom of the centrefold or towards the top, depending on the effect that you want to create. It can be off-set from the centre to create a lean to the left or the right and there are double V-fold possibilities for more intricate effects. The pop-up cards are usually printed in 4-colour process on 350gsm silk artboard.

The “V-fold” is probably the most common example of pop-up printing and there is a good reason for that. Although the v-fold is a very simple pop-up technique it gives a terrific display with a very dramatic lift. These points are vital in promotional mail as they create focus and impact, drawing your customer’s attention to the focal point of your B2B marketing campaign. The fact that the “V-fold” is a fairly simple mechanism also helps to keep the assembly costs down which will help your pop-up printing budget.

The “Parallelogram” stand-up card display is one of the most popular pop-up mechanics found in B2B Advertising and Marketing and there are very good reasons for that popularity. The main attraction, of course, is that the stand-up display gives immediate focus to the main point of your marketing piece. This is a point that can be easily lost on a flyer, leaflet or small brochure. The main point of a piece of B2B marketing and advertising is to grab your customer’s attention and to direct focus to your main selling point. 

The actual Parallelogram stand up feature is created by a die-cut piece that is affixed to the left and right of the centrefold by means of a connecting “bridge”. Opening the card introduces the lift to create a very simple pop-up engineering mechanism.  However, it is the die-cut that is affixed to the stand-up card which creates the pop-up feature and this can be in virtually any shape that you like. Buildings are always popular and the pop-up card also lends itself to settings such as room interiors, cityscapes and skylines. It is very popular with the construction industry, real estate agents, hotels, interior decorators and educational establishments. However, we should make one important point here - simple shapes work the best. There is no point spending money on a really intricate cutter as it is the lifting action which attracts attention. Our motto for pop-up and stand-up cards is - keep it simple, keep it affordable, keep it effective.

The Parallelogram stand-up card allows quite a few variations to create different advertising and marketing effects. For example, creative use of 2, 3 or even 4 stand-up pieces can create depth and perspective to a centrefold scene though it is advisable not to overdo it as this can make the stand-up card bulky and unattractive. Also, most parallelograms are made in landscape aspect with the cover opening from the bottom upwards.  The Parallelogram pop-up card is a very worthwhile consideration for your B2B marketing and advertising campaigns.

The stand-up cards are usually made in 350gsm silk artboard and printed in 4-colour process.

Here’s something totally new from Pop-up Crafts – a selection of automatic 3-D pop-ups ready for you to decorate and interpret in your own special way. These products add an extra dimension to standard pop-up cards and will help to give you even an even greater opportunity for self expression and to show off your card making skills. The first products to be included on our Pop-up Crafts website are our three most popular pop-up shapes – a box, a cube and a pyramid.

Because of the specialist skills and techniques employed in pop-up assembly we have decided to start by offering these products to the card making and scrapbooking world in ready-assembled form ready for you to get to work applying your creative skills. However, we are sure that many of you will want to tackle the assembly yourselves, so we will soon bring out these products in kit form. However, we would like to hear your thoughts on this so why not drop a line to our resident crafts specialist on “Gail’s Page” - an online forum which will be new to Pop-up Crafts later this week.

The pop-up engineering example pictured isn’t a product as such, rather than an illustration of a simple way of adding an amusing movement with the use of an uncomplicated cardboard engineering technique. Effects such as the one created here can give rise to many marketing ideas which can enhance a promotional campaign. There are many effects that can be achieved with pop-up engineering cuts and creases all of which can add an extra dimension to an otherwise ordinary card / leaflet. Just give us a call to discuss any marketing ideas that you might have.

The “open mouth” is a good example of how simple pop-up engineering techniques can add humour and movement to pop-up cards and promotional print. There are many variations that can be utilised to achieve a certain effect and if you do have a marketing idea for design please feel free to call to discuss it. This actual pop-up cut and fold is almost always used to portray a mouth – often of a frog or a fish. Other marketing ideas involving similar simple pop-up engineering techniques could include: diamond; umbrella (using just one triangle); roof (using just one triangle); Christmas tree (using one triangle under another etc).

The pop-up cards are usually made in 350gsm silk artboard and printed in 4-colour process.