Five Books to Guide Your Print and Mail Journey

I was happy to read here the other day about how book clubs can engage employees in our industry, improving morale and retention.

A contact I made at a conference emailed me a few months ago asking for tips about books and resources about direct mail and print. It wasn’t the first time, so I offered some suggestions to help them up their game.

I’ll get to some of these books in a minute. But I thought about how many resources I have on my shelves that I look at from time to time in my writing work. It’s usually easier for me to find an answer or inspiration or story by going through them rather than a Google search or ChatGPT.

Mail and print have seen a lot of changes over the years, so many that it’s not easy for printed resources to keep up with them all. But the fundamentals and background have a lot of value, as shown in these five books.

1. Introduction to Graphic Communications by Harvey Levenson and John Parsons

As a reference that combines print with multimedia engagement, this gave me the overview that I needed but never had of the industry’s rich history and many processes and capabilities. With Dr. Levenson’s recent passing, it’s a good opportunity to go back and review how he provides a foundation to understand what all of these technologies do across our great print ecosystem.

2. Designing for Print by Marina Poropat Joyce

This is a practical, accessible guide to design from a real expert. Want to know what you need to design for binding? Or read a swatchbook? Or dealing with headache-makers somewhere along the printing process? It’s all in here, and more, because of her extensive experience, and her easy to understand explanations.

3. Pocket Pal

I know that Sylvamo just came out with a reimagined version of this classic reference but I’m still going to plug it. As someone without a strong working background in the graphic arts, I’ve turned to it often for reading up on everything from paper specs to digital prepress. And the glossary has helped clear up confusion about many key terms. The new edition is definitely going on my shopping list.

4. Million Dollar Mailing$ by Denny Hatch

My mentor Denny Hatch shows and breaks down winning direct mail campaigns, with the help of the legendary creative teams behind them. The lessons learned about testing, strategy, design, and copywriting are still relevant, even if the examples highlighted are decades old. Maybe I’ll write a modern reboot of it one of these days.

5. Everybody Writes: Your New and Improved Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley

OK, it’s not strictly about print or mail, but this book sharpened how I think about communicating more clearly and directly. In our industry, which depends so much on email, brochures, proposals, writing well builds trust. And it’s not just a practical read, it’s fun, too.

Books can’t replace hands-on experience. Years of physically handling mail - ink on paper - and actually reading it, interacting with it, taught me that.

What these books (and others) have done is to help me to ask better questions and make smarter decisions. With these references to fill in the gaps in my knowledge, I’ve been able to better connect the technical side of print with the creative and strategic goals behind it.

What books have helped you grow in print and mail? I’d love to hear your list.

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions. Artificial Intelligence may have been used in part to create or edit this content.