Budget
1) How can I get the most from my print budget?
A) Choose the most efficient number of pages
The press prints large sheets of paper, which are folded and cut to make your brochure or booklet. One press sheet is usually cut into 16 pages. For this reason, you’ll get a better cost per page for a sixteen-page booklet than for a 14-page booklet, because two pages’ worth of press sheet will go to waste.
When planning your print jobs, try to design for eight pages, or 16 pages, or 24 pages—always keep it to multiples of fours, eights or 16’s for the best use of the press sheet.
B) Choose colours and varnishes carefully
Be sure that you need spot colours and varnishes. On some jobs, colours can be blended, which saves you the money of using a special “spot” colour. There are times when the effects that spot colours and varnishes provide are well worth the extra investment. It’s your choice -- but understand that special spot colours and varnishes represent extra work, which adds to the cost.
Spot colours and varnishes require extra printing plates, more paper and additional make-ready time as well as the additional materials costs. They may also require the printer to run the paper through the press twice, which takes more time and effort, and therefore, additional cost. (Note that our UV varnishes can be applied in the same print run, which makes them more efficient and affordable than traditional varnishes.)
C) Longer runs are cheaper
In all printing projects, a great deal of the cost goes into the preparation and setup of the press. The paper and ink costs are relatively small. Therefore, once a job has been set up, it can be very inexpensive to run additional copies. When printing small runs, such as for a newsletter of sustainability report, the difference between printing 1000 and 2000 is minimal—it’s usually just the cost of the extra paper, which could literally be pennies.
D) Be flexible
Being flexible in mind and body is extremely healthy, and the same applies in printing. If you can come to 3S Printers with flexibility in the size of your product, in the colour configuration and the delivery requirements, you may be able to save time and/or money in the end. Talk to us early in your project, because small changes can make a big difference.
