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I'm working with a group of speakers and we're in the process of getting everyone's brochures designed and printed. We've had a lot of discussion about the printing process and costs so I thought I'd share some of my thoughts and experience with you.

Printing comes with a very wide variety of options, all of which affect your pricing: color, size, quantity, paper type, special processing and more.

These options can include black and white, two-color process, four-color process, bleeds (ink flows off the page) vs. non-bleeds (there's a border of white around the edges so the ink "stops" before it gets to the edges of the paper), single-sided vs. double sided, folded vs. flat, etc. Adding to the cost is the type of paper, the weight of the paper, the size of the piece, and additional processing functions such as scoring, folding, perf'ing (running a perforation on part of the piece so readers can easily tear off something like a registration form or response card.

Further, the larger the quantity you print, the lower your cost per piece becomes. I've literally had print jobs where the difference between 2,500 and 5,000 was less than $20! That's because the bulk of the printing cost is in the preparation and set up. Once the presses are running, the individual paper price per sheet becomes nominal. You're realizing economies of scale.

Still further, if you gang everything together (run multiple pieces at the same time), you can save a bit as well. For instance, when I did my first brochure, my budget was limited. So, to save money, I did my entire stationery kit at the same time (business cards, letterhead, envelopes, etc.). This meant they didn't have to change ink on the press to run other jobs between mine. I did a single color (using the green in my logo) on Beckett Enhanced cream-colored paper. The Beckett line had the same paper in heavier cardstock (weight) for the business cards so everything flows together quite nicely. I also chose a larger quantity (5,000 I believe) over the 1,000 piece option because I knew I'd be using this stuff forever and the cost savings was substantial.

All of these details factor into final printing costs. And pricing varies from printer to printer so you should always get two or three quotes if you don't have an established relationship with a printer.

Obviously, you want to be budget conscious with your printing, but you also want to make sure you are getting a good quality product. This single piece will often be the first and only impression anyone has of you, so you want to make it count. It's important to look as professional on paper as you are in person.

And that, dear grasshoppers, is my lesson for the day. I hope it helps!

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