MCRL Overseas Group

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Tree-Free Paper blog cover
March 1, 2021
  • Book Printing
  • Journals
  • Packaging
  • Planners

Tree-free Paper? Consider Bamboo Paper Stock

4 reasons to choose bamboo Bamboo paper is comparable in strength, brightness and printability to paper made from wood pulp. Bamboo paper also helps reduce the environmental effects of clear-cutting and deforestation on our planet. For these reasons, MCRL has been recommending bamboo paper as an environmentally friendly alternative to tree-based paper for years. Lately, […]

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Print Eco-Friendly Journals and Planners
February 11, 2021
  • Journals
  • Planners

Print Eco-Friendly Journals and Planners

Affordable. Sustainable. Beautiful. Looking to print vegan, sustainable, plastic-free or recycled Journals and Planners? Here are three ways MCRL ensures your eco-friendly Journals and Planners are printed with the lowest carbon footprint possible. 1. Eska Eska Read All About It MCRL Overseas Group uses Eska®board, the gold standard in recycling and solid board construction. For […]

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Benefits of MCRL Overseas Group's "All-In" Quote
January 11, 2021
  • Book Printing
  • Card/Board Games
  • Journals
  • Packaging
  • Planners
  • Promotional Products

MCRL Overseas Group’s All-Inclusive Printing Quotes: Transparent, Comprehensive, and Reliable

When it comes to overseas printing, tariffs, shipping costs, and material prices can significantly impact your project’s final price and profit margin. If you’re comparing multiple overseas printing quotes, it’s crucial to understand exactly what’s included—and what’s not. At MCRL Overseas Group, we offer an all-in printing quote that provides full transparency and helps you […]
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Plant more trees and change more lives with us. 32,001 trees planted ...and counting!
January 6, 2021
  • Book Printing
  • Card/Board Games
  • Journals
  • Packaging
  • Planners
  • Promotional Products

Plant more trees and change more lives with us

36,001 trees planted …and counting! As a Trees for the Future sponsor, MCRL Overseas Group and our clients have planted over 36,001 trees since 2019 …helping to break the cycle of poverty and hunger for thousands of families in developing countries. What is Trees for the Future? Trees for the Future aims to end hunger […]

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Courageous Life® Planning System
March 3, 2020
  • Journals

Simply THE BEST!

Simply THE BEST! From start to finish, the MCRL team was outstanding. They were patient, courteous, professional, timely, and produced results that met or exceeded our expectations time and time again. As a published author, I’ve interacted with many editors and literary agents. I can tell you without hesitation that MCRL is the right choice! […]

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Soy-Based Ink
January 7, 2020
  • Packaging

Soy-Based Ink

Safe, sustainable and soy much more You just need to walk into a book store, scroll through social media or bend your ear to witness North America’s pre-occupation with food and fitness. Whether real or aspirational, there is a huge focus on health, wellness and safety. Sitting will kill you. Animal products are bad. Fat […]

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Putting ink to paper. Why the type of ink used in printing matters
January 2, 2020
  • Book Printing
  • Card/Board Games
  • Journals
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Putting ink to paper

Soy many reasons to choose soy-based ink Ink. It’s likely not something you think alot about when designing a book and selecting a printer. Ink looks pretty much the same to an untrained eye BUT studies show there are health and safety considerations, especially when printing children’s books. There are many different types of ink […]

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October 22, 2019
  • Book Printing
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Fulfillment by Amazon

FBA fees and facts Selling your product through Amazon can be one of the best things you do to get more eyeballs, around-the-clock customer service and quick delivery … BUT like most big decisions make sure to gather the facts before signing up! If you are considering Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) for orders placed on […]

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September 25, 2019
  • Book Printing
  • Card/Board Games
  • Journals
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Heads Up!

Work-back your schedule so your project arrives on time You’ve signed off on a quote and are now ready to get your project rolling. MCRL Overseas Group has a team of experienced project managers to walk you through the process and provide you with a schedule and list of items needed to begin production. Getting […]

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September 13, 2019
  • Book Printing
  • Card/Board Games
  • Journals
  • Packaging
  • Planners
  • Promotional Products

How to choose an Overseas Vendor?

Follow these 6 tips Choosing an overseas vendor to handle your printing and packaging projects can be an overwhelming exercise. In this blog we’ll provide 6 tips to help you evaluate overseas vendors.  1. Identify what’s most important to you First off, all vendors are going to have the same standard promises. Anyone can make […]

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Why Choose MCRL Overseas Group?

Commitment to Quality & Service

Our goal every day is to do a great job so our new and many returning clients keep coming back to us for help. This means communicating regularly with clients and delivering a quality product that meets or exceeds expectations.

MCRL Overseas Group is a member and 5 star rated printer with The Alliance of Independent Authors.

Our Environmental Focus

We believe in producing products with the least environmental impact possible. We're fans of Eska®board, FSC and Tree-free Paper. We plant trees each year through our partnership with Trees for the Future sponsor. Ask us about our eco-friendly materials designed to minimize waste and safeguard both communities and the climate.

Product Safety

A common concern of China-made products is safety. At MCRL we take safety extremely seriously, particularly with our toys and children’s products. Due to this diligence, we are an authorized supplier for Disney and Walmart. Find out what this means for you.

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Trees for the Future | 41,715 trees planted

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If you can think it, we can print it

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Welcome to MCRL!

Paper Thickness

Which paper weight is best for your Planners and Journals?

Bindings

Bindings: Wire-O, Concealed Wire-O, Smyth Sewn, Plastic Spiral, Metal Spiral, 3-ring
Bindings: Singer-sewn, Disc-bound, Glue strip

Page Count

How to count pages of a spiral bound book

How to count pages of smyth sewn book

Pocket on the inside back cover

We can generally do any type of inside pocket style. Just send us a picture of the style you like and we can print it.

Inside Pocket

Ribbon marker

Ribbon can be satin, grosgrain or novelty. Ribbon comes in an array of colours to match your brand palette. You can even print on Grosgrain ribbon!

Ribbons

MCRL uses YAMA Ribbon which is safety certified and tested for hazardous materials. We also offer recycled ribbon made from rPET materials (minimum order quantity of 3000 books or planners).

Ribbons

Elastic band

Elastic closures are a popular embellishment AND easy way to keep loose notes safe and secure. Elastic closures can be produced in different widths and colors.

Journal with elastic

Metal corners

Metal corners add an elegance and additional durability to your Journal or Planner.

MCRL offers various styles & colors in both shiny and matte finishes.

various styles & colors of corners
metal corner

Tabs

Tabs are a great way to organize your content. Tabs can be cut in different shapes and protected with gloss lamination (applied only to the tabs).

Tabs can only be included with Spiral and Wire-o bound books.

It’s easy and inexpensive to include tabs!

  • Most common sizes are 9pt, 10pt, 12pt paper
  • Tabs can be full color, PMS (pantone) color or black printed
  • A pocket can be included in the tab sheet
tabs

Different konds of tabs

Custom Gift Boxes

Telescopic Card Boxess

Telescopic Card Boxes

Sleeve/Drawer Box

Sleeve/Drawer Box

Magnetic Closure Box

Magnetic Closure Box

Mailer Boxes

Mailer Boxes

If you are new to Facebook Groups, here are a few rules of thumb.

  1. It’s best to post a question/request for feedback vs just mentioning your new book. For example, a post like this received lots of marketing ideas
    “My book is now on Amazon but I’m not sure I want to use their marketing services. What are some alternative ways to promote a new book. I’m a newbie and trying to wrap my head around the marketing?”
  2. Show some love. Like and comment on other posts as it builds goodwill so people will take time to share their learnings with you
  3. Be specific with your questions as these tend to get the best response
  4. If you haven’t printed your book yet, post a couple cover options and ask the group for feedback. Those types of posts get lots of comments!

Spot UV

Spot UV

Custom Pens

Custom Pens
Learn More

Foil-Stamping

Foil stamping is the application of metallic foil using a heated die. A custom-made die is heated and, under pressure, is used to fuse foil onto paper, linen or leatherette bonding the design to the surface of your book cover. Foil stamping can add shimmer and texture to highlight specific text or images on your cover.

Foil-Stamping

Heat burnished

Heat burnished
Heat burnished
Heat burnished

Deboss

Debossed pattern is sunken into the surface of the material. It produces an image that’s pressed into the material and indented.

Deboss

Emboss

Embossing refers to a method of pressing an image into paper or cardstock to create a three-dimensional design. Text, logos and other images can all be formed by the embossing method. Embossing results in a raised surface, with the design higher than the surrounding paper area.

Emboss

UV Coating

UV coating, or ultraviolet coating, is a very glossy, shiny liquid coating applied to a printed paper surface and cured on a printing press or special machine using ultraviolet light. The spot gloss UV is normally applied on a matte laminated cover to create a spectacular contrast on the cover.

UV Coating

Quarter bound

A style of bookbinding in which the spine is bound with leatherette or linen, and the rest of the cover is full color printed paper.

Quarter bound

Metallic Ink

Metallic ink is a pre-mixed ink containing metallic particles. It is a PMS color instead of a process colors (CMYK). Common metallic inks include gold, silver, bronze and gun metal. It is commonly used as a highlight feature on many printing and packaging materials.

Gilding

Give your book a gold or silver finish!

Gilt edges on a book. Foil edge gilding on a book speaks of prestige, trust and quality. It’s no longer a finish reserved for leather hardcover books. Now designers are combining the unique finishing process with printed covers to add life to their publications.

Guilding
Guilding

French Flap

The French flaps style is also called a gatefold. They are the extension of the front cover and/or the back cover of a soft cover book. There can be one or two French flaps. Flaps are functional as well as decorative. Additional information can be printed on them, such as the plot synopsis, blurbs and the author’s picture and/or biography.

French Flap

Lamination

Lamination is the process of applying a thin layer of plastic to paper or card sheets to enhance and protect the printed matter. Common types of laminate are gloss, matte and silk. We offer lamination for packaging, book covers, brochures, business cards and other printed items.

Gloss lamination

Fold-out

An oversized page in a book or magazine folded to the same size as the other pages but intended to be opened out for reading. Its particular use is to bend over or double up so that one part lies on another part.

Fold-out
Fold-out
Fold-out

Aqueous Coating

AQ is short for Aqueous Coating. This is a semi-gloss or matte finished, environmentally friendly, water-based coating applied to the printed piece. It provides additional gloss/matte finish and protection; it is not recommended for products you need to write on after being printed.

Aqueous Coating

Die-Cutting

Die-Cutting can provide die cutting for your books and paper products, creating beautiful or functional cuts in the pages or covers. Die-cutting windows or decorative designs are a simple way for your book binding to make a distinctive book product beyond other more standard finishing methods. Die cutting can make your book or paper product unique and different from anyone else’s.

Die-Cutting

Soft-touch Coating

Soft-touch coating adds a velvety-soft feel to print materials. It also allows a printed piece to gain distinction by stimulating the sense of touch. It is sometimes called a “soft-feel” or “velvet” finish. We offer this feature particularly for book covers, presentation folders, and many other types of promotional printing where distinctive qualities are important.

Soft-touch Coating

Lamination

Lamination is the process of applying a thin layer of plastic to paper or card sheets to enhance and protect the printed matter. Common types of laminate are gloss, matt and silk. We offer lamination for packaging, book covers, brochures, business cards and other printed items.