9 Ways to Cut your Printing Costs

offset printing

One or more of these production tactics can help your organization cut fat out of its printing budget — with no loss, or even gains, in advertising effectiveness:

Combine printing runs

If you are producing multiple versions on a four-color folder, running more than a single version on the same press sheet can save on make-ready charges and plate changes.

Ask early

Talk to us about your goals and plans early in the process of designing your project. There may be cost-savings tips you can implement. As well as saving production costs, you can save design time by not needing to rework an idea.

Piggy-back on a larger print run

If you are testing a format that costs a lot to produce in small quantities, ask if you can run your job as a plate change in a bigger project.

Make economical size changes

A small size tweak in printing a job element often cuts costs dramatically. Ask about optimal sizes.

Use house paper

Paper stock often accounts for 50% of the cost of a printed piece. Besides slashing your expenses, employing a house stock can save lead time.

Affordable personalization

Variable printing, hinging on database information, can generate response lifts of 10% to 80% or higher than one-size-fits-all offset printing. Usually, personalized copy more than pays for itself.

Aim for maximum postal discounts

We can suggest ways your mailing can qualify for USPS discounts and avoid surcharges that can add up to thousands of dollars.

Use bleeds judiciously

Designers love bleeds. Often bleed printing is functional and desirable. However, documents without bleeds can save you 3% to 6% on your printing costs.

When possible, use saddle-stitch binding

Saddle stitching in increments of four pages usually is the least costly binding method, besides speeding delivery time.