The mist swirled around me.
Everything looked unfamiliar.
I was lost.
I was out on a mountain walk recently and I took the wrong route. I thought I knew the way over the mountain pass. But I made an error when I decided where to walk.
Fortunately I quickly realised that things had gone wrong. But if only I had consulted my map and compass first I could have avoided the error. And I could have had a rather shorter walk.
If only I had realised that I needed some help, things would have gone better.
Sometimes print buyers need to realise that they need help too
Sometimes print buyers can get lost in the huge array of choices. Sometimes the constant bombardment of technical phrases can make things seem unfamiliar.
It can be very tempting for a print buyer to believe that they know all the answers. It can be very tempting to assume they know the best decision. But that is what I did on my mountain walk – with disastrous consequences.
But sometimes asking for some advice can avoid those consequences and result in an even better answer. That is why it can make a lot of sense (and save time) to consult your printer more.
Buyers who consult their printers often achieve better results. They are in control of their work because there are no technical errors. And they create some great partnerships with their printers.
Buyers who don’t consult their printers can struggle to create a good partnership with their suppliers. They have to work an awful lot harder to achieve good results. And their jobs can have errors which they could have avoided if they had spoken to their printers.
Here are three ways in which your printer can help you.
1) Your printer can help create the most economic size
I like to think that I can plan up a sheet reasonably well. But each time that I try, I get the grips wrong. Or don’t allow enough gutter. Or forget about the bleed.
Printers can plan their sheets better than anyone. They can be really helpful at showing you how you can fit an extra set of leaflets onto the same sheet. Or how to create extra pages by using a different size for your brochure.
2) Your printer can help you make the right paper choice
I have lost count of the times that I have seen people make bad paper decisions. Clients are often disappointed because the paper is too see-through.
Or too flimsy.
Or the colours are too dull.
Or the paper has cracked and broken solid colours .
Or it can’t be written on.
Or it just doesn’t feel right.
Printers have a good knowledge of different paper options for their clients. And they are able to discuss these options with you. It can be difficult for buyers to be up to date with all the paper choices. Talking to their printer can help them.
3) Your printer can help you with distribution costs
A printer with in-house mailing facilities can often reduce postage costs in a way that buyer cannot. They may have access to postage deals that are not available to smaller companies. Or they may have relationships with providers that buyers are not aware of.
Printers also have good relationships with local haulage companies. It is surprising at the delivery options that they can sometimes create.
Can printers really know more than buyers?
The answer to this question is yes, printers can know more. I like to think that I am an experienced buyer. But that doesn’t stop me from asking my suppliers questions. And sometimes they come up with answers that I have never thought of.
I was helping a client produce a magazine more economically recently. I thought I had come up with a great new size that would allow them a larger page size and cheaper prices. But I had calculated the size incorrectly. When I talked to the printer they calculated a size that was only a few millimetres different. But the printer’s size worked.
Without the printer I could have got things very wrong.
But don’t assume a printer is always right
Sometimes it is worth double checking an answer with another supplier as well. Not every printer gets everything right all the time.
And sometimes printers with different presses come up with different answers. Talking to two printers can give you a choice of solutions.
And if you have a really unusual idea, you may need to take time to explain it to a printer. Sometimes my mind works in a different way from my supplier. But when we talk about it we can usually work out a solution.
Together the buyer and the supplier can make a powerful team.
Here are three steps to get the best out of your supplier
1) Ask your supplier if you could be doing things differently with your projects
2) Challenge your supplier to reduce your price without changing their profit margin
3) Have a regular product review meeting with your supplier
Make sure you are on the right route to get the best results from your print buying
Speak to your supplier. They will prevent those bad consequences. They can guide you through the maze of choices and technical specification. They will make sure that you don’t get lost on the wilderness of print specification.
Written by Matthew Parker and reproduced with permission. www.printandprocurement.co.uk
