In 2008, nearly half of all Americans attended weekly religious services, according to a recent Gallup survey. Yet today, that number is only 38% and continuing to drop. However, another 37% say they practice faith in other ways, which means there may be opportunities to re-engage that additional percentage and increase attendance once more.
Often operating with small budgets, most religious organizations print everything in-house. Not just regular communications like bulletins and newsletters, but also external flyers, postcards and direct marketing campaigns to drive membership. Therefore, it’s vital that staff have access to easy-to-use tools for building eye-catching materials that not only help retain but help build a congregation.
Several features on Toshiba multi-function printers (MFPs) can enhance internal print marketing efforts to better, and more cost-effectively, communicate events and activities. Here are just a few examples in the categories of printing, finishing, filing and workflow.
Printing
Our AquaAce Banner Paper is a great example of big impact for low dollars.
This waterproof, tear-resistant media is ideal for signage, artwork, banners and posters. It is available in a variety of sizes up to 12” x 47”, so you can get your message across in an almost larger-than-life fashion without having to outsource production.
Imagine promoting community events with colorful banners that can be hung outdoors, despite the weather. And, the best thing is it can all be done easily and cost-effectively in-house on Toshiba e‑STUDIO color MFPs.
Finishing
Keep your congregation engaged by printing program guides for weekly or special events.
You can print professional-looking booklets or pamphlets for hymnals, weddings, funerals and more — all in-house. The unique saddle stitch finisher for Toshiba MFPs will fold and staple up to 15 sheets of letter, ledger or even legal-size paper to seamlessly produce an up to 60-page booklet. The system can even fold pages without stapling, if preferred.
In addition, Toshiba MFPs support pre-imposed documents like those produced using Microsoft Publisher or can offer layout options, saving you time and effort.
Filing
Consider this, you’ve printed enough programs for 50 people, but 200 show up. Not a problem!
Another great feature is Toshiba’s e-Filing capabilities, which uses the large 320GB self-encrypted hard disk drive on Toshiba e-STUDIO MFPs to store documents that are frequently reprinted. You can even store the print settings for the job. So, if attendance is greater than expected, simply open the saved document on the large 10.1” screen of the MFP and select the quantity to print. Voila! Bulletin shortage crisis averted!
Workflows
Volunteers are a large part of your workforce, but you don’t want to have to educate someone extensively each time they help.
With Toshiba Elevate, you can pre-program commonly used workflows and clearly label them to allow one-touch production of common tasks. For example, instead of training volunteers how to do each of the eight steps to make your services bulletin, they could simply step up to the Toshiba MFP with Elevate and find your pre-programmed “bulletin” button and custom icon on the large digital screen, and they are immediately ready to put the machine to good use. Toshiba MFPs help expand your volunteer workforce with ease.
These Toshiba e-STUDIO MFP features can give your house of worship the right tools to boost attendance and engagement and are easy-to-use to make printing convenient.
So, when you need to communicate to your members, or reach out to potential members, consider these features on Toshiba e-STUDIO MFPs to enhance the effectiveness of your message:
• AquaAce Banners open up new possibilities for in-house signage
• Saddle Stitch Finisher allows for professional booklet-making
• e-Filing simplifies your print-on-demand capabilities, saving you time and conveniently eliminating job setting errors when you reprint
• Elevate streamlines common tasks to eliminate extra steps and guesswork for your staff and volunteers