10 Ways to Stretch Your Printing Budget
I have worked in the advertising industry for over fifteen years
and learned many tricks to stretch the budget. In general many
printers are desperate for business. Low cost office color
printers and posting materials on the Internet have taken a
large bite out of the market. Read the 10 tips below and see if
you can get more printing for less money.
1. Use the Internet- Call a few local printers for
estimates and then look on the Internet for the best deals.
Usually the best areas to purchase printing from are the less
developed states where industrial space and labor are less
expensive. Printing in states like Pennsylvania, Southern
States, and the Mid Western States can save you up to 50%. Once
you have found a printer give them a small job to test their
services. Chances are if you found them on the Internet they are
not close and you can't just stop by to check them out.
2. Plan Ahead - I know in today's market this is often
difficult but a little extra time can save big money. Printers
will charge between 25% and 100% on rush charges. Shipping
charges for ground instead of overnight can save tremendous
amounts of money. I have witnessed print jobs where the shipping
costs exceeded the printing costs. If the printer is far away
then give him the time to ship your job the most economical way
possible.
3. Talk To Your Printer - Some printers specialize in
certain paper stocks, sizes, and colors. Ask them these
questions and you may be able to save money. I deal with a
printer that runs two different paper stocks, four-color
process, only. I save up to 50% if I give him a four-color
process print job to print on his house sheet. Other printers
may specialize in envelopes or long print runs.
4. Ask About Their Equipment - Do they have their own
bindery or do they send it out? If they send out that tells you
the turnaround may take longer. What types and sizes are their
printing presses? Printing a one or two color print job on a
large four color press will typically cost you more then if you
find a small shop with an older, smaller press.
5. Use Industry Standard Software Programs - Many
printers will only accept certain formats. If your materials are
not the correct format then they will need to be redone. Find
out in advance before you create your project.
6. Know Your Specifications - One of the fastest ways to
waste money is changing specifications after the designs are
done. It may sound like nothing to you, but telling a designer
to change the number of colors or the size of the job will take
time and typically you are paying for it.
7. Run All Your Printing Together - If you have multiple
similar print jobs run them at the same time. Inform the printer
that you are giving him all the jobs at one time and tell him to
run them together to save cost.