What The Design Department Does At Burns Mailing & Printing

You may have the idea that our graphic designers just lay-out post cards, brochures etc., but they do much much more.  In fact our design department, along with our production manager, manage the print production. They control and run our digital presses. They send files to our plate maker so that our pressman can make the printing plates to go on the offset presses.  They can even program our paper cutter so that the the bindery operators can pull up the job ticket number and the paper cutter is programmed for that job. They also check graphic files and make a print out for our mailing manager to check,  to make sure that they meet postal specifications before printing.  We check each file that comes in, even if we did not design the job.

We say “we are a printer that knows mailing and a mailer that knows printing”.  This adds up to a true one-stop convenience for our customers. Each job moves from department to department efficiently until the final stop, the United States Postal Service.   All of these services under one roof…it is a big roof.

If you don’t need the cost of an ad agency, but want to have some printed materials printed or mailed, call me, Phyllis Burns, at 865 584-2265 or email me at phyllis@burnsmp.com.

There will be an election this year in the City of Knoxville.  Offices on the ballot in 2019 are;

  • City Major
  • City Council at-Large, Seat A
  • City Council at-Large, Seat B
  • City Council at-Large, Seat C
  • City Council, District 5
  • Municipal Judge

The primary election is August 27, 2019 and the General election is November 5, 2019.

At Burns Mailing & Printing, we have been doing political design, printing and direct mail for years.  Not only do we print and mail post cards but we also do;

  • Push Cards
  • Brochures
  • Door Hangers
  • Lapel Stickers
  • Yard Signs
  • Posters
  • Laser Personalized Letters
  • Brochures
  • Letterhead and Envelopes
  • Donation Envelopes

Burns Mailing & Printing is experienced, professional and on time.  Please give me a call at 865 584-2265 or email me at phyllis@burnsmp.com.

Burns Mailing & Printing is a certified 100% Women Business Enterprise (WBE)

Winner of the AMA’s Big Wig Award for best fulfillment/ direct mail.

 

Do You Know What A Printing Bindery Does?

Our bindery department does all the paper cutting, folding, collating, drilling and other finishing operations used in printing projects.

  • SCORING: The process of making a crease in the paper so that it will fold easily.
  • PERFORATING: The process of punching lines of a very small holes into the paper to make a section easy to tear off.
  • EMBOSSING: The molding and reshaping of paper by the use of special metal dies and heat, counter dies and pressure, to produce a raised image o the paper surface
  • FOIL STAMPING: Impressing metallic foil onto paper with a heated die.
  • LAMINATION: Applying thin transparent plastic sheets to both sides of a sheet of paper, providing scuff resistance, waterproofing and extended use.
  • DIE CUTTING: The process of cutting paper in a shape or design by the use of a wooden die or block in which are positioned steel rules in the shape of the desired pattern.

 

Above is a picture of a folder used in commercial printing.

If you have need for graphic design, digital printing, offset printing and direct mail email me, Phyllis Burns,  at phyllis@burnsmp.com or call me at 865 584-2265.

Checking Things Off My Bucket List

 

 

 

I have been blessed to travel with my family over the last 5 years. Our spring trip this year was to Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic. This was one of the most relaxing trips we have taken.  I think that everyone recharged and relaxed. I read 4 novels while I was there and got lots of sunshine and good food.  We also celebrated Michael’s 24th birthday.

We did drive to Samana, about a 3 hour drive from Juan Dolio to do some whale watching.  Samana is where the mother whales come to give birth and train their calves for the long trip back to the Boston area.  We saw two mother whales with their calves.  One of the calves breached and gave us a thrill. I have tried to see the whales in Hawaii, Boston and California, to no avail.  Either it was the wrong time of year and in the case of Boston, the weather was so bad the boats could not go out.

Back at work today, doing what we do best..graphic design, printing & direct mail.  Thanks to all my great employees for keeping things going while I was gone.

 

 

I Love Cooking

Before my late husband Ken and I got married, he ask me if I would cook breakfast for him every morning.  That was probably his favorite meal and he was a big breakfast eater.  I agreed that I would and for 52 years, I did just that  and enjoyed seeing him enjoy the biscuits, pancakes, waffles and such.  When our two daughters, Kathy and Joy were in middle school and were old enough to have overnight visits with friends, they discovered that some families did not have a big breakfast like we did at our house.  In fact, one day Joy asked me “can’t we just have cereal like our friends have at their house”. However, when their friends came to our house, they were surprised that I cooked every morning.

I don’t cook like that now that Ken has passed away and sometimes I miss that very much.  However yesterday, I cooked all afternoon because we were celebrating Kathy’s birthday. I enjoy cooking for people who enjoy eating and last night was one of those nights.

Today, I am sharing one of my favorite recipes, pecan pie.  I have been making this for 40 years and it is the easiest recipe to make.  I usually have pecans and the other ingredients required so if I need a dessert in a hurry, this is my go to recipe.

Pecan Pie

3 eggs, slightly beaten

½ cup light brown sugar

1 cup white corn syrup

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

¼ cup butter, belted

1-cup pecans

Beat eggs slightly, add brown sugar, corn syrup, salt and vanilla. Mix well by hand. Stir in butter and pecans. Mix well. Pour into an unbaked pie shell. Bake 45-50 minutes at 375 degrees or until set. I use broken pieces of pecans but you can use whole pecans as well.

 

The New Year in Lisbon Portugal

My New Year started off in Lisbon Portugal.  I have been blessed to get to travel with my family a couple of time a year.  This year we left for Portugal the day after Christmas and spent 10 days there.  Our apartment was in Lisbon but we took one overnight trip to Porto and several day trips outside the city. One of the highlights for my 11 year old granddaughter, Kate,  was the trip to Porto to the bookstore that was visited by the author J.K. Rowling when she lived there and was writing one of her Harry Potter books.  The bookstore charges to get in and they have to limit the amount of people in the bookstore.  There is a line for tickets and after getting the tickets a line to get in the store. 

 

As you can see from the smile on her face it was very much worth it. She also got to purchase a Harry Potter book, which was pretty heavy but she was willing to carry it around until we got back to the hotel.

This trip was very physical because Lisbon is very hilly, and in fact most of the towns that we visited were hilly. We tried to start at the top of the hill and walk down and then when I got too tired, we used Uber to get back to the apartment.

It was a wonderful trip but all of us were glad to be home.  Our luggage did not arrive with us and it was the next day before I could leave Nashville and drive back to Knoxville.  I am glad that today is Friday because I am still trying to recover from the trip.  It takes a few days.

 

Fall Reminds Me Of Purchasing Our Building

In 1993, we were purchasing the building where we current operate Burns Mailing & Printing.  I had been out looking for a building and property and asked my neighbor Ron Kirkham if he knew of any commercial buildings where his business was located.  He told me that a lady had some property across from him.  It was owned by a lady whose husband had died and the business was shut down.  I decided to drive by and the lady just happened to be at the building.  We talked about the business that she and her late husband had run together.  She showed me around the building and I asked her if Ken and I could come back later in the afternoon so that he could see it.  We came back and he liked it as much as I did so we gave her a down payment and purchased the building. In 1994 we remodeled the building and added another 5400 square feet of production.  She liked the idea of another husband and wife purchasing and running the business together.

It was in the fall and the leaves looked much like the picture that I took this morning.  Things change just like the leaves in fall, but 25 years later Burns is still offering quality printing, graphic design and direct mail services.

Call me for a free quote at 865 584-2265 or email me for a free estimate – phyllis@burnsmp.com.