Helpful facts and tips for all your printing needs…

Knowing the most economical pagination for you A4 publication.

If you are producing an A4 publication always remember the magic number 16.
When figuring out how many internal pages (not including the cover pages) your magazine should be where possible always try to make it a multiple of 16 as it will provide you with the most economical print price.
Examples:
16 pages plus a 4 page cover
32 pages plus a 4 page cover
48 pages plus a 4 page cover
Under standing the size of your print job and what sized printer should be producing it.
So many people end up paying way over the odds for their print. Not because the printer they are using is expensive but because the size of press the printer they are dealing with has is not correct for their specific job.
The bigger the press the larger the setup costs, so if your job is reasonably low in quantity than the high set up cost of a larger printer will make your job more expensive than it needs to be. On the flip side, you may have a job that is actually too big for the printer you’re dealing with which means it’ll take longer for them to produce compared to a larger sized printer again leaving you paying over the odds for your print.
Speak to us and we’ll make sure you print goes on the right sized press, saving you money.
Ordering small quantities does not always work out cheapest in the long run
When ordering your print, albeit business card, magazines or flyers, always ask for multiple quantities so you can start understanding the economies of scale when ordering print.
Yes – only getting a small print run may be cheap but if you find yourself having to order again and again throughout the year then this will be working out to be more expensive than just ordering a larger order in the first place.
For example, 250 business cards may cost you £28. Order this 3 times in a year and you’re paying £84. Where ordering 750 business cards may only cost you £45 (prices shown are purely examples).
Understanding paper stocks
 A lot of people get caught up using a certain paper stock because it is what they have heard or before, or they know someone else that is using it. Do not be fooled, paper prices can vary greatly between different weights, finishes and even just down to the paper supplier. For example, if you’re producing a medium to long run magazine by simply speaking to us about what your paper stock options are we could potentially save you hundreds of pounds on the paper buying alone.
Most important rule in print – Understanding turnaround times
On a daily basis, we deal with customers that apply incredible pressure on them selves because they don’t understand the scheduling and turnaround time process in print. Some smaller jobs may be able to be turned around in 24 hours or even just a few hours but a lot of print can take anywhere between 3 – 10+ working days depending on volume and the print finishing involved.
One of the first things you should do when you know you have a print project coming up is speak to your printer (which should be us by the way) and discuss the job and their expectations of how long the print should take to turn around. Something which you thought might just take a few days may actually take 5-7 working days which means you’ll need to either get your artwork submission date brought forward or delivery date put back.
A job that is planned and scheduled correctly between customer and supplier will always go far smoother, leaving less chance for things to go wrong and everyone involved a lot happier.
]]>