Just as video killed the radio star, the seemingly unstoppable popularity of the internet was predicted to sound the death knell for print.
And yet, in August 2017 Royal Mail research showed mail – the stuff that comes through your letterbox – was rated believable by 87% of people, compared to just 48% saying the same about email. When nearly double the number of people believe printed stuff over electronic, let’s just say we’re not ready to give up just yet!
So, if we all agree that we definitely still need print – whether that’s for direct mail, to produce a beautiful product brochure, or your latest set of corporate stationery – let us tell you about five clever ways PMG can save you money.
1. It’s not just size that counts…
Okay, so size does matter when it comes to print. But it’s not as simple as smaller = cheaper, we have to be smarter than that. Paper comes in a variety of sizes, so it’s possible for you to specify a certain sized leaflet or brochure that produces a lot of waste. Tweaking the size could mean we fit three leaflets to a row, rather than two, making you a handsome saving. One of our clients saved £8,000 when we advised tweaking their paper size by just 20mm!
2. …but what you do with it that matters
There are three main printing methods – digital, web press and litho (also called offset or plate). Each method has its own pros and cons so we’ll advise on what’s best for your particular job. If you want a small number of products digital printing gets rid of the need for minimum quantities, which can hang around in your stock room taking up space and going out of date before you get chance to use them. Our Inside Out Print Inspection saved one client £14,000 when printing their brochures. Wouldn’t that be great back in your budget?
3. Get thinner
No, not you (we wouldn’t be so personal!) but the paper you choose. Paper prices can vary quite substantially. As a print management company we get preferential rates because we buy such volumes from our suppliers, but changing the weight of the paper you were planning to print on can also add up to a decent saving on longer job runs.
4. Design is all in the detail
Can your piece of direct mail be folded so it can be posted without an envelope? Can you post it as a regular letter or will it be classed as a large letter and therefore cost more? Will a different way to hold it together be more cost-effective? Will the finish you have chosen show fingerprints or will the colours you’ve specified not reproduce well when printed digitally? Our design team naturally think about all of these things as part of the process, working to ensure your printing looks great and is produced at the best price too.
5. Proof properly
As a good Yorkshire company with an eye on the pennies there’s nothing we hate more than having to repeat a job because a customer has missed something at the proofing stage. We recommend all text is proofed before you send it to design so that mistakes are minimised. This will also keep your costs down as you don’t pay for lots of your designer’s time to make amendments. And once you’ve sent your artwork over for printing we’ll make sure you receive a proof before we finally press the button. It’s your opportunity to make sure it looks just the way you imagined and, we think, is the most important part of the process.
If you want to know more about our Clever Print Management or Inside Out Print Inspections give one of the friendly team a call to discuss how we can get you a better return on your marketing investment.
