Today, Patent Press® Greeting Cards received top prize in two categories at the 31st annual 2020 LOUIE AWARDS. The Greeting Card Association (GCA), founded in 1941, is the U.S. trade association which represents American and International greeting card publishers, both large and small, through leadership, advocacy and recognition of creativity. Similar to the OSCARS in the motion picture industry, the GCA has come together each year, since 1988, to recognize and celebrate the best that the greeting card industry has to offer in the form of the LOUIE AWARDS. Each year hundreds of companies, from around the world, submit thousands of their best cards to be judged in various categories for a chance to win a coveted LOUIE AWARD. From the thousands of submissions judges face the difficult tasks of selecting 3 finalists in each category. PATENT PRESS® is both honored and humbled to have been selected as a finalist in 5 categories for the 2020 LOUIE Awards. On July 30 PATENT PRESS® was named 2020 LOUIE AWARD winner of the BEST FATHER’S DAY CARD as well as RISING STAR: - This category recognizes a card line that has been in operation for 3 years or less and distinguishes themselves as a “RISING STAR” in the industry in terms of creativity and execution. For this category companies submitted 5 cards that are representative of their line.
PATENT PRESS® GREETING CARDS is a line of greeting cards which features re-mastered patent artwork, from actual patents, filed with the USPTO (United States Patent & Trademark Office). The artwork is interesting, iconic and fascinating. The cards fall into two categories: a collection of approximately 300 Black & White cards which are accompanied by a wide range of sweet, funny and even edgy greetings. There is also a smaller, curated collection, of blank cards featuring patent artwork that has been painstakingly colorized. All cards are 5”x7”, easily lending themselves to framing, and retail for a very reasonable $3.95 each. The card line has been up and running for about 2 years; currently there are about 100 stores throughout the country carrying the line as well as an online website and store. Bob Hickey, founder of PATENT PRESS®, refers to his line as “The Art of Invention”, but acknowledges that customers indicate that what seems to make the line so special is his unusual ability to pair perfect greetings with the original patent artwork.
Last year PATENT PRESS® became a member of the Greeting Card Association. The GCA, founded in 1941, is the U.S. trade association which represents American and International greeting card publishers, both large and small, through leadership, advocacy and recognition of creativity. Since 1988 the GCA has come together each year to recognize and celebrate the best that the greeting card industry has to offer in the form of the LOUIE Awards Celebration. Each year hundreds of companies, from around the world, submit thousands of their best cards to be judged in various categories for a chance to win a coveted LOUIE Award. From the thousands of submissions judges face the difficult tasks of selecting 3 finalists in each category. In March of each year the finalists are announced. PATENT PRESS® is both honored and humbled to have been selected as a finalist in 5 categories for the 2020 LOUIE Awards. The categories and corresponding PATENT PRESS® cards selected are as follows:
]]>When it comes to feeling better, laughter may in fact be the best medicine. According to an article from the Mayo Clinic Staff, laughter may just be what the doctor ordered. Listed as the short-term side effects of laughter are: Stimulating many organs such as the heart, lungs and muscles as well as increasing endorphins; Relieving your stress response; and Soothing tension. Increased exposure to humor and laughter also leads to long-term health, such as: Improving your immune system: Relieving pain; Increasing personal satisfaction; and Improving your mood.
This being the case, why not help out your family; friends or coworkers by providing a healthy dose of laughter with your Get-Well card. Bob Hickey, Owner of Patent Press Greeting Cards , doesn’t really believe in gloom and doom or sappy cards. His cards all feature remastered artwork that accompanied patent applications filed with the United States Patent & Trademark Office. His extensive line features artwork from over 350 patents so there is something for everyone, from toys to sports or music. What makes these cards truly unique is the off-beat greetings he adds inside. Obviously when it comes to medical patents the artwork could be highly clinical such as the Colonoscopy System & Method ; but (no pun intended) it is the Greeting that provides the real medicine – LAUGHTER!
Hickey also saw the need for health care professionals to recognize the value of laughter for their own long-term physical and mental health. He offered, “Let’s face it they have a stressful job helping to keep everyone else healthy, there is nothing wrong with them sharing a healthy laugh themselves.” The patent for something as basic as the Rectal Thermometer is easily recognizable to any healthcare worker; add in the Greeting and the everyday tools of the trade provide some much needed levity.
So, the next time you want to send someone a get-well card, give the gift of laughter.
]]>Click on "Black & White Cards" - this will show you all of the B&W greeted cards (there are 304 of them as of this writing). They just appear in numerical order (these are the design #'s assigned to each card it has nothing to do with a ranking (more on that in the "Top 100 Cards"). Click on any card of interest (I know they all are). The front of the card will appear larger. These images have watermarks and the patent # in the upper left pixelated out for security purposes; the cards have the actual patent # and no watermarks - you probably assumed that, but you never know. To the right of the larger image are 2 thumbnails: the upper one is the front of the card that you are currently looking at; the lower one is the greeting inside - click on it it - will now appear as the larger image.
Click on "Colored Cards" same idea as above only there only 65 colorized cards and they all come blank.
Finally, the "Top 100 Cards". So a little quick math (304 B&W cards + 65 Color cards = 369 Cards) tells us there a good # of cards. This is nice because there is something for everyone but for some it is overwhelming. Hence the "Top 100" - in no particular order or rank - just the 100 most popular cards. Keep in mind, like all popularity lists, this doesn't necessarily have the card that you would like the most -so feel free to visit often and eventually check out all the cards.
Oh, one more thing, when you are looking at the page for any card, the right half of the page is everything about purchasing that card. The price is easy - they are all $3.95. Simply fill in the Quantity of the card you want [I always recommend a three digit # here :) ] and click "ADD TO CART" to continue shopping or "BUY IT NOW" to just purchase that card.
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