From prospecting to production, commercial printing takes a lot of hard work—but the results are beautifully profitable.
At Apex Color, Jacksonville, Fla., commercial printing accounted for 30 percent of the work and $3.5 million in revenue last year. President Richard Ghelerter expects these figures to increase and has invested heavily in new equipment, including a five-color 20x26 press, as well as major upgrades in the pre-press department to facilitate that growth.
Similarly, Andrea Pesci-Jones, executive vice president for Canton, Michigan-based Stylecraft, reported that in 2003, 25 percent of the company's orders were for commercial printing, generating $3 million in sales. Stylecraft expects that the growth of commercial printing will continue to increase, particularly in the mid-run range (50,000 to 100,000 pieces). "Small runs can now be handled by digital presses, while larger runs are typically produced by specialized rotary plants," Pesci-Jones said.
In anticipation of growing market trends, Stylecraft decided to make its commercial printing division more of a stand-alone operation, adding a five-color press and developing PDF proof and digital color proof capabilities. "We specialize in high-end color presentation folders and die-cut pieces," continued Pesci-Jones, "and with the support of our bindery division, we were able to move into perfect bound and saddle-stitched multi-page booklets." She added that orders are also increasing for high-end color-printed, wraparound coated cover stock on book-formatted unit sets, rather than the conventional tag stock printed with black ink.
Certainly, this all bodes well for distributors, but as Ghelerter pointed out, selling commercial printing involves more than making the decision to do so.
Transitioning into Color
"Most of the buyers distributors call on purchase consumables, such as forms, and these are not always the same people responsible for buying commercial printing materials," Ghelerter observed. "Distributors must get to the right people for commercial printing and get that relationship going."
Then, there is the issue of product knowledge, and he noted that there are a considerable number of variables with commercial printing. "Many distributors understand four-color process, but there are many more who do not, or who don't know enough to effectively sell it," Ghelerter continued. To assist them, Apex Color hosts plant tours and other educational opportunities, and has a representative who specializes in orienting distributors to four-color process. In addition, the company offers distributors commercial printing dealer kits containing items such as presentation folders, brochures, booklets, rack cards and postcards to give end-users some idea of what can be done.
Stylecraft also devotes time to educational efforts, and seminars are held every other month to instruct distributors and printers on how to gather the correct information to quote and produce a commercial print order. Said Pesci-Jones, "The majority of the attendees quickly sell—and continue to sell—commercial printing."
Selecting a supplier with the proper capabilities for producing a commercial printing job may prove challenging for some distributors. Ghelerter explained that with forms manufacturing, for example, the process is rather straightforward.
"You're either a short-run or a long-run house—or, in some cases, both—when it comes to a particular size form. This makes it easier for suppliers to advertise their capabilities and for distributors to get a handle on who specializes in what," he said.
"Depending on what kind of a process-color job it is, we'll do as few as a couple of hundred pieces and as many as a few million pieces," Ghelerter continued. "And, something that sells for a few hundred dollars may involve just as much machine time as something that sells for a few thousand dollars. Because commercial printing encompasses such a grab-bag of products, there's no end to the manufacturing possibilities."
Some end-users know exactly what they want, and Ghelerter said that their projects are "speced out to a 'T'," and their files come in perfect. Some customers only have a sample and a vague idea, and the distributor has to start from scratch.
Pesci-Jones pointed out that custom mail pieces and specialized advertising require a high degree of design work, and the average distributor does not have the equipment to produce it. It's Stylecraft's experience that end-users frequently do the designing in-house or work with an outside studio before releasing artwork and specs to distributors. "If more distributors teamed up with design houses, they would be able to have their artwork professionally designed, in a shorter amount of time," she suggested.
Service Rules
As the demand for commercial printing grows, so, too, does competition among suppliers. Ghelerter stressed that striving to outperform through service and quality is the best strategy, which led Apex Color to establish a proprietary FTP (file transfer protocol) site.
"We have our own server, and hosting the FTP site speeds things up considerably," he noted. "We can have customers' files within minutes. We're also direct-to-plate now, so once proofs are approved, jobs go right into production. These two tools have helped us considerably."
Pesci-Jones explained that in the last five years, digital proofing has become the mainstay of Stylecraft's pre-press area. "An analog color proof used to take more than an hour to produce and cost in excess of $100 in materials alone," she continued. "Now, at any stage in production, we can create very accurate screen (or soft) color proofs without incurring any material costs and deliver them in the time it takes to send an e-mail. Communicating corrections this way also has a minimum effect on the timing of the project."
Ghelerter pointed out that among manufacturers, the serious players are all making a good product and are all priced well for the types of products that they manufacture. "What separates us from one another is service," he reiterated, "and that means offering support on the pre-press end and then getting jobs out the door quickly once proofs have been approved."
Pesci-Jones and Ghelerter both agreed that those who engage in price cutting to increase profits are headed for trouble.
"As a to-the-trade-only manufacturer, we have competition from printers who sell both direct and to the trade," Pesci-Jones explained. "When the economy slows down, Stylecraft doesn't have the direct sales and the higher margins on those orders to fall back on. Some distributors buy only on price, often not realizing that the printer they're buying from has a direct sales force or that when business picks up, that printer will no longer sell at cost just to keep the presses busy."
"It's dangerous for distributors to shop only for prices," cautioned Ghelerter. "They may end up with quotes on different stocks and different qualities of printing. The lower price looks really attractive, but it becomes really ugly when it doesn't buy the type of product the customer is expecting."
Imagine the Rewards
Aside from the industry's challenges, manufacturers and distributors enjoy the endless creative stimulation and aesthetic rewards of designing a beautiful commercial printing piece. "It's exciting to walk through the plant and see so many different things coming off the presses," Ghelerter commented.
He added that almost every week, his paper vendors show him new materials—papers with different coatings, for example, or developments in brightness and opacity which, Ghelerter mentioned, are always hot issues. A variety of finishes—including silk, dull, gloss and matte—also keep things interesting.
"There are a lot of mills, each trying to outdo the other, so there's always something new going on," he said. "The choices are huge when it comes to putting together a commercial printing project."
By Maggie DeWitt
- Companies:
- Apex Color