Cheap Graphic Design, Copying and Printing Tips

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When it comes to a printed graphic design job, there are certain questions you should ask at the beginning to prevent costly errors and to make the most of your print budget.

Here are 12 important questions to consider before printing your promotional material:

#1 Did more than one person proof-read the job?

It’s funny, no matter how many times I proof-read a job, I can overlook the same glaring error each time I pass it. Another set of eyes can pick up on different errors. In fact, the more people that can proof your job the better. Unlike a website, print is permanent and mistakes can’t be corrected.

Daniel at Daily Writing Tips recently published, ‘The Impotence of Proofreading‘.

Its a fact that a spell checker will not catch all the mistakes on your text. More specifically, it will not catch misspellings that form other valid words.

#2 If we change the size of the printed product can we print on a smaller press and save money?

There’s no need to have your A5 sized flyers printed through a large commercial printer. If you’ve been using one printer for all your projects I suggest shopping around. A printer who specialises in small-run jobs will be much more competitive for those ’spare of the moment’ needs.
#3 Did you make a “dummy” or mock-up to check configuration and presentation of your job?

If you’re producing a folded leaflet, for example, it’s always worth printing the pages yourself to be sure you have them in the correct order. If you’re in any way unsure, ask your printer for help. They’ll check the composition for you.
#4 Are you absolutely sure about the quantity to be printed?

A second print run will cost a lot more than extended first runs (or “run-on” as printers call it). If you’re asking a printer for a quote of 10,000 copies, for example, be sure to ask them to provide “run on” costs aswell. This will help to confirm how many copies your budget allows for.

Cat at Business of Design Online gives this advice when asking for quotes:

In the heat of a project it can be easy to lose sight of getting the information you need. Sure, you could request budget quote after budget quote. There’s a better way. Relax. Make a printing quote check list and bring your printer in early.

5) Limit colors as much as possible. The more inks a printer has to use, the more expense he has to go to. This will be passed along to you. More inks also mean more spoils (See Chapter Printing Problems for spoils definition) because the press must be aligned properly to make sure each different color ink plate is lined up properly. This cost too will be passed along.

6) Buy bulk. If you know you have a lot of projects coming which will use a non-standard grade of paper, ask the printer if he will stock up. He may ask for some purchase guarantees from you to insure his cost will be covered. But, the printer should realize some savings in buying in large quantities and you are within your rights to ask for some savings as well.

7) Supply your own paper. If you have a project that calls for a REALLY oddball paper, consider buying the paper yourself and supplying it to the printer. In general supplying paper to a printer is not a good idea because it cuts into his profit margin (which is typically slim just on the cost of paper). But the printer may appreciate you supplying the paper in extremely unusual circumstances. Just be sure to ask ahead of time to make sure the printer is capable of handling the paper you supply. Stationery or special events are be a common situations where unusual paper is needed, especially where an unusual or irregular trim is needed. Invitations are great examples of this. Say you have a customer planning an open house for a new industry and wants 5000 identical letters to mail to announce the open house. You can order 5000 sheets of paper cut in the shape of the building or the company logo. Then, develop the letter to go on the sheets. Send the custom-cut paper and your design to the printer, after making sure the printer can use the unusual-shaped sheets. Many times brochures are often cut to unusual shapes to
get more attention.

Get an annual contract. If you know you will have X amount of printing in a year’s time, approach a printer and explain this. Tell the printer you will guarantee him X amount of business in exchange for a discount on the total printing bill.

9) Pay immediately instead of Net-30. Many businesses offer a small discount for customers who pay up front or immediately upon receiving the merchandise. That’s because they avoid the expense of sending customers a bill.

10) Shop around. If you have more than one print shop in your local area, ask for bids for the the print job.

11) If possible, look online for a printer out of town. But, while this can be cheaper, you do lose some control over the project and you will have to pay shipping costs.

12) Deliver your project yourself and pick up the finished product yourself. In addition to saving some shipping and handling fees, you can probably charge your client a delivery fee if you deliver it to them.
To summarise…

The most important piece of advice is to ask your printer about possible cost savings. They’re the expert.

Provide as much information as possible about your future print plans. If your printer knows what print projects are on the horizon they might be able to combo-run the jobs to save you both time and money.

By scheduling jobs in advance, your printer will be thankful of the notice. There’s very little a printer dislikes more than a client who needs their job yesterday.