It’s been a while since I put my thoughts to paper, but here goes and again just my thoughts and not the opinion of many.

As we see our Social Media stats fluctuating over the months I am most surprised to see that our hints and tips on print is gaining in popularity.  Brings me to the conclusion that people are really interested in what we as a company can do for them and sharing of information.

With this in mind I thought it good to share some insider tips today in this blog.  How you as a print buyer or marketing person can gain some insight on how to make your print purchasing more cost effective and so some “smart” buying.

The 5 Golden Rules of Print Purchasing.

  1. Make sure your artwork is Print Ready.

Often, we get artwork that has not bleed, set up in RGB, or the resolution is not of good print quality. Therefore, we have to do some touch ups, change the artwork to CMYK or add bleed to the job.  This takes time to rectify and holds the job up because we have to rectify the artwork.  In some instances, some of the elements drop off the artwork and that may cause the job not to print out as you wanted it.  In order to get this done first time – always let your designers set the artwork in CMYK, make sure you always have bleed and that they save it as a high-resolution job at least 300dpi.

 

  1. Look a

    t alternative Paper Options.

    Let’s face it imported German Cars are more expensive than locally produced cars.  The same applies to paper, the imported stocks from “premium” suppliers are costlier than those you would buy from local importers and you will 7/10 times get similar stock for half the cost if you just ask your representative to assist you with the task at hand.  So next time you like a paper stock ask us for a similar stock that is more cost effective.

 

  1. Contemplate looking at various quantity options.

Many times we get customers asking us for a quote on 50 books when the unit cost of 50 books opposed to 100 books are marginal.  Ask your sales representative to give you some quantity breaks on quote stage then look at the unit cost and consider the type of job with the quantity you require.  Yes, you would have the odd job that only requires 20 copies of however, we will then suggest doing the job digital if the job works out more cost effective doing it that way.

  1. Consider alternative binding options.

Binding options can make a huge difference cost on the final product, trust me there are a number of binding options to consider.  Be it stitching, Purr or Sewn, that will make a huge difference in cost when coming to getting quotes done.  Ask your sales representative to give you some alternative options and discuss the outcomes so this will help you make an informed decision in the end.

  1. Continuous forms invoices and statements.

Did you know if you make your form one of the standard sizes the cost per copy can change significantly?  Conforming to standard sizes makes a huge difference to the final costing and should be the main consideration when thinking of continuous form purchasing.  Do you have plate changes, e.g.: 1st, 2nd copy and 3rd copies not being uniform (means not looks the same)? Consider changing the way the form is put together.  Do you need all the copy changes, or can you rather make the different parts a different colour? Having a legend at the bottom of the page to say what colour represents what colour in the form.

 

So, there you have it, 5 Golden Rules to consider when you are doing print purchasing.  I hope this little insight helps you in making informed decisions.  Please feel free to contact one of our sales representatives that will be more than happy to help should you require anyhelp with the setting, ordering or just quoting on your next print job.

 

If all else fails, give me a call and I will be happy to oblige and share some of my time to assist you in your planning of your job.  You can reach me on erikah@renform.co.za