Happy Birthday Cake Quotes Pictures Meme Sister Funny Brother Mom to you to me Pictures: Happy Birthday Greeting Happy Birthday Cake Quotes Pictures Meme Sister Funny Brother Mom to you to me Pictures

Wednesday 26 November 2014

Happy Birthday Greeting Happy Birthday Cake Quotes Pictures Meme Sister Funny Brother Mom to you to me Pictures

Happy Birthday Greeting Biography

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Greeting cards are pieces of paper or cardboard upon which photos, drawings, and a verse of cheer, greeting, celebration, condolence, etc. have been printed or engraved. Greeting cards are decorated with a variety of images and include messages to appeal to diverse audiences, sentiment, and occasion to be remembered. Greeting cards are easily made at home using pen and paper or software sold by greeting card and other companies. Recently, virtual cards that include images and verse can be sent to someone by way of the Internet and e-mail and may be printed out on paper by the receiver. Despite the electronic availability of these cards, the greeting card industry continues to sell cards in retail store in huge numbers. Over 1,500 greeting card manufacturers sell an estimated seven billion cards each year. Each household receives an average of 80 cards annually.
The market research associated with the development of a successful greeting card is just as important as attractive graphics or appropriate verse. Research has pushed large greeting card companies to expand traditional product lines and offer cards for pets, step-siblings, divorce, weight loss encouragement, company lay-offs, and more. Some smaller greeting card companies specialize in the production of cards that appeal only to one or two specific markets. Greeting card companies require a diverse talent pool in order to produce commercially-successful product, and these forms employ everyone from cartoonists to market researchers to pressman who print the cards.

History
Some speculate that ancient Egyptians may have recorded greetings upon papyrus and sent them via messenger to the intended parties, and it seems plausible that the ancient Greeks recorded sentimental verse on scrolls, as well. By the late Middle Ages, letters and messages of love, including romantic verses sent near St. Valentine's Day, were exchanged throughout Europe. Personal messages of greeting and sentiment were individually crafted until the mid-nineteenth century. The first commercially-produced greeting card was a Christmas card invented in 1846 by British businessman Henry Cole who asked a printer to produce a printed Christmas greeting he could quickly send to friends. The idea caught on and mass-produced Christmas cards were popular by the 1860s. Louis Prang, an American printer who invented a multi-color printing process called chromolithography, fashioned beautifully colored cards by the 1870s. Cards for Easter, birthdays, baby arrivals, etc. soon followed. The larger American card companies were founded in the early years of the twentieth century and a number exist today and remain leaders in card sales. Innovations in card production have primarily revolved around developing efficient printing methods, diversifying the product offering by nurturing a large creative talent pool, and devising more effective point-of-sale displays so consumers can easily see the products in an attractive display.

The Future
The future of greeting cards seems strong, with card sales for one company alone reaching nearly $4 billion last year. However, two very recent developments may affect the future of the greeting card industry tremendously—perhaps adversely. The first is the software available that allows consumers to create their own greeting cards (with the assistance of easy-to-use programs) using a personal computer and a color printer. Some card manufacturers created this software for sale; so, they see profits when the software is purchased, but it may reduce sales of store-bought cards. The second development is that anyone with Internet connections may send a free cybercard that can be taken off of a website and sent via e-mail. They may be obtained through any one of dozens of websites, require no postage stamp, and may be sent in an instant. In addition, many such cybercards feature sound, music, and animation. Even the large card companies offer such cards and they are often free-of-charge. It remains to be seen whether the new cybercard will affect over-the-counter sales of paper greeting cards.