Companies are looking for alternative ways to save money and resources in their day to day business activities. More and more businesses are looking at outsourcing printing as a means to cut costs.
Cost & Time - There is a common misconception that outsourcing printing will cost more money than using available in-house services. While in certain cases this proves true, it is often beneficial to consider your options and compare your actual costs of printing in-house vs. outsourcing. Consider this: When utilizing your in-house printers, not only are you paying for your paper supply and in certain cases ink, but often times you are also paying a fixed amount per impression. Your fixed cost is determined by your printer supplier and falls into a wide number of ranges, some as high as 25 cents per impression. So if you are printing a B&W sheet of paper, with a splash of red on the top as part of your logo, your printed considers this a colour impression and you will pay the full colour price. You also need to factor in employee time that is dedicated to printing. If your printing needs are complex and employees are using overtime hours to finish projects, this may be a substantial drain on your funds. Other factors such as frequent paper jams and service calls may cause lengthy delays and further burn up employee time.
Equipment - In order to successfully print in-house, you will need to hire staff and purchase equipment. Starting with the basics, you will need a printer, or several printers depending on what kind of printing you want to do. In addition, you will need an operator who can fully utilize your machines, and potentially a designer to look over the creative and printing process. Sticking a colour copier in the office may be one solution, but unless you train your staff in printing and finishing, you run a chance for poor quality prints, frustrated staff, and a slew of errors which may cause tension in the office.
Quality - Technology is ever changing, and a print-house is more than likely to stay modern to the times in order to compete with other shops in the area. This ensures your job is always printed on the latest machines at top quality and efficiency. Furthermore, a printer will always have trained staff with experience that will make sure each project is being handled properly. Why is all this important? In today's society, image is everything. Presenting your clients with high quality prints will reinforce their confidence in your services. You wouldn't hold a meeting in a t-shirt and sneakers, so why present clients with subpar printed materials? Image is not only tied to your dress code or office décor - it is tied to every piece of information that leaves your office. Low quality prints may give your clients the wrong impression.
When should you outsource your printing?
This question is a difficult one and will vary from one business to another. There are too many parameters to narrow it down to one suggestion, but here are some tips that may help you.
1. Start with looking at your staff. Are they overwhelmed or frustrated? Are they spending time on complex printing tasks that take away from their usual work?
2. Second, look at your printing costs. How much do you pay for supplies, how much time do employees spend printing, and how much is your supplier charging you for your impressions? Do you pay maintenance costs? How about training? Service calls? Once you add everything up, determine what you are actually paying.
3. Third, look at your quality of printing. Are your images pixilated or faded? Is your text smudging or looks jagged? Maybe fonts don't look right? Getting white streaks across pictures? Can your printer handle high quality heavy stock? Gloss? Textured?
4. Fourth, look at your time requirements for printing. Are you printing large amount of marketing materials that take long amounts of time to complete from start to finish? Is your printer exceptionally slow? Are employees struggling with document finishing such as collating or binding? Are deadlines being missed because of high printing demands?
If any of these scenarios apply to you, it may be beneficiary to find a good printing partner and work with them to give you the best industry rates at optimal turnaround time and quality. You can probably look in the yellow pages or the internet to find a reputable printer. Just keep in mind, like everything in life; print centers are not created equally. Shop around, and find one that is right for your business needs.
Often times, a printing shop may issue corporate rates if all your printing is transferred to them. So make sure to see if you can set up an account and inquire about its benefits.
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