Save Printing Costs: 5 Tips to Save Thousands on Your Next Project

We know you want to save on printing costs. And we know that it’s little mistakes and oversights that really add up in print design. Consider these 5 tips and you could potentially save thousands in printing costs for your next project.

1. Know your schedule.

At home printing takes seconds. You finish your design, you hit print, and your desktop printer whirs into action. A few moments later, you are proudly displaying your awesome design.

In the world of commercial printing, things aren’t that quick. There certainly isn’t a button to push – well, actually there are quite a few buttons to push, but you get my point.

When your file arrives at the shop it will be scanned, proofread, and pre-flighted  before going on press. Printing plates will be made, and remember one plate is made for each color on each side. Then the presses will be prepared, inks mixed and added to the machine, the press will be warmed up and made ready to run. Then finally your job will get on press.

And don’t forget that real ink takes time to dry.

So what does this mean? Simple, you need to plan ahead to get your printing done on time. Of course, each job has its own unique needs and complexities, but it is safe to say an average job that goes on press takes at least one week from start to finish. If you are in a rush, then your printer will use a more demanding process. And we all know what that means – higher printing costs.

2. Know your quantity.

You only need a thousand of those new brochures? Are you sure?

Remember print is a production process, and much of the time and effort is in setting up and getting ready to print. Once the presses are rolling the difference between 1,000 and 5,000 of a product is a lot less than starting over again. It is much cheaper for you to start with a larger amount for a 1st printing than it is to come back and run the whole job again.

Because when you do the latter, you are starting the whole process over from the beginning and incurring all the set-up costs again.

3. Can it be digital?

Certain jobs can’t be printed digitally. An example is letterhead, because letterhead will often end up going through an office laser printer. The heat from the laser printer can break down the toner in a digital print and leave the user with a mess. Definitely not the place for digital printing.

But many jobs can be printed digitally. The quality and capabilities of digital print are changing at a rapid pace, and it can often pay to investigate your options. The quality of digital printing is exceptional and in the hands of a qualified operator your designs will look amazing.

Especially when you are working in smaller quantities, digital can really help save.

4. Get your paper right.

We have seen customers come to us with a certain paper in mind. Great, we love knowledgeable customers. But how do they know it is the paper they want to use? Sometimes it’s for no other reason than it has always been the paper they use.

If it works why question it?

Well, the price of paper changes all the time. Something that was fashionable a few years ago may have been less expensive, but now it’s a rarer item and the cost reflects it. Maybe that paper better fit a previous project, but isn’t right for your next project.

Always take the time to check and be sure that there isn’t a paper that better fits your budget and demand for quality.  There might be a better paper at a better price. Consider too that there are very nice papers that we keep in stock all the time. Having these stock papers means we can pass along savings to all of our customers.

Bottom line, to save printing costs it’s always worth investigating paper options.

5. More than one person should proofread.

Okay, actually let’s say more than 2 people, or 5, or 10 people. Of course this is obvious, right? We know it is, but we also know that more than any other advice we could give this will save you the most on printing costs. The truth is sometimes you can read something a hundred times and miss the most obvious mistakes.

Never forget to ask someone else to look over what you are printing, read the text, check the design, and get opinions. In fact, ask as many people as you can.

Unlike something posted on the web, what is printed stays printed. What seems like a small correction can mean starting the whole production process again with all the costs involved.

So proofread – early and often!