If you’ve recently joined a start-up company or own a small business, you know the importance of a budget. Print collateral is vital to promoting a young or small business. Logos, direct mail pieces and business cards all have direct impressions on people and can help your business attract clients. While many think print materials are expensive, they can fortunately be created with a digital press, and produced at an affordable price. Check out these options:
Use your resources: If you own a small business or a start-up company check to see if you have any employees that double as graphic designers. Because graphic design companies charge an arm and a leg for work, you may be able to hire an artsy, but tech-savvy employee as a free-lancer. Many times, people are able to use programs such as Adobe Creative Suite to create professional-looking logos.
Semi-professional printing: Semi-professional printing is either printing done on a very high-quality consumer printer or printing that is done by companies, like Kinko’s, on printers that are just below professional grade. You can save money by producing items like letterhead through in-house printing. Press the print button on your digital press and you’ll have instant print collateral. Many semi-professional printers can be purchased for under $1,000. If you want print collateral that appears as though it’s been printed on a printing press you may have to spend a bit more money for a professional printer. For more important documents like brochures and newsletters, you may want to outsource your printing, however if you only need a few copies of something, print it in-house.
If you’re printing items that are awkward in size, such as small business cards, you may want to take them into a printing store. These professionals have dealt with all different sizes of paper and weights. They can also answer any questions you have about duplicates, inks and professional presses, like Heidelberg presses, if and when your company grows.
In general, be sure to use the resources that lie within your company. Check to see if any of your employees are willing to create print collateral and logos for you. Additionally, try printing the items that you can in-house as this can save a lot of money on copies and ink. Lastly, if you’re printing something that needs extra care, like an awkward-sized business card, be sure to go the professional route, as a printing expert should produce these items.