If you run a business, the chances are that your printed materials are an important part of your advertising and marketing strategy. Whether it’s a business card that you leave with a prospective client or flyers for distribution over a wider area, the design and quality of your printed materials are paramount in presenting your business as professional, polished and attractive to potential customers.
Choosing the best printing service for your business can be a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack. With so many printing companies claiming to offer the best quality and services, and throwing in added incentives such as free delivery and a super-fast turnaround, how can you be sure that the company you select is really going to deliver?
What do you need?
In addition to deciding which promotional materials you’d like to have printed (business cards, letter heads, flyers etc) you’ll need to think about the design and quality of your items. If you already have a design for your printed business materials then you’re likely to be looking for a company who simply offer Door Hanger Printing Nearby services. If, however, you need help with your logo design and are perhaps looking for professional input regarding your company branding as a whole, you’ll need to find a company offering graphic design in addition to printing services.
The Finer Details
Without getting too technical, printers categorise printing paper in gsm – grammes per square metre. Technically, you can print any item onto any weight of paper, however this would not be advisable! Printing your business cards, for example, onto a low gsm paper will produce something rather insubstantial and fail to communicate the high quality, professional image with which you wish your company to be associated.
Neither would you wish to print a large poster onto high gsm paper; not only would it be impractical, it would also cost a lot more in delivery than would be desirable. If you’re unsure as to the best type of paper for your business stationery, business cards, flyers of posters, a good printer will be able to advise you accordingly – don’t be afraid to ask.
The quality of your final product is clearly very important and it’s a good idea to ask your prospective printer for recent examples of their work. If you’re fortunate enough to know a little about printing, you’ll be in a good position to ask more insightful questions about specific printing processes, resolution etc, however few people are! The quickest and most reliable way to establish the quality you can expect from your printer is to inspect a range of their work and to ask yourself the simple question, would I be proud to give this to a potential customer? It’s also a good idea to visit the printer’s website and read their testimonials. If other customers have been happy enough with their work to go to the effort of putting it into writing, the chances are you will be too.
The pre-printing process is vital in ensuring that end up with a finished product that you’re delighted with and it’s important to find out how any prospective printer will deal with revisions to your design. Good customer service means that your printer should revise your design until you’re completely happy with it. If you’re going to be financially penalised for making changes at the pre-printing stage, find another printer! It’s also worth asking whether your printing costs will be discounted if you use the company’s design service.
The People Behind the Printing
A Stradivarius violin in the hands of a musical novice will not sound any better than a cheap second-hand fiddle bought from the local market. Similarly, your printed materials will only live up to your expectations if those people carrying out the process have the necessary experience and expertise to do an exceptional job. It’s easy to be seduced by printing companies claiming to be using the latest digital printing equipment and of course, this should be taken into consideration. It’s arguably even more important, however, to consider the people behind the printing! Don’t be afraid to ask questions about their experience and customer service policies and to inspect samples of their work. A reputable printer will be more than happy to share this information with you.
