The Beauty and the Beast in Commercial Printing

Beneath the stunning graphics and vibrant colors is a demanding product requiring knowledge, service and great pricing.

What Is the most important step a distributor takes when becoming a successful commercial printing provider? Getting his or her foot in the print buyer's door.

This may sound like a simple process, but Christopher D. Wells, president and CEO of Worcester, Massachusetts-based LaVigne Inc., pointed out, "Most print buyers have lost staff and support and are strapped for time. It's very difficult for distributors to get any time with a prospect unless they have a referral from a trusted source or they can offer something unique."

By today's standards, unique, added value typically in-volves on-line ordering, tracking and usage reports, as well as print-on-demand, computer-to-plate to eliminate pre-press costs, versioning of materials for specific markets and targeting individual consumers through variable imaging.

Once through the door, however, Wells cautioned that the distributor must have a thorough grasp of the printing process to impress buyers. "Print remains one of the most complex manufacturing processes. Dealing with inconsistent variables such as paper, ink and light creates challenges that if not identified up-front, will cause major problems during production," said Wells. "An experienced print buyer will sniff out someone who doesn't understand the business in about 30 seconds."

Walking the Walk

So, how can distributors new to commercial printing deal with this catch-22? Bill Maguire, president of Peninsular Printing, Daytona Beach, Fla., recommended touring printing plants and talking to customer service and sales reps. "Distributors can't learn it all overnight, but in a relatively short period of time, they can gain enough knowledge to do a good job."

For distributor Brian Thornton, owner of Universal Checks and Forms in Orlando, Fla., getting started in commercial printing involved partnering with proven craftsmen to produce the project, as well as drawing on the mutual trust and respect existing between him and his customers.

"I've never pretended to be a plant manager," he said. "People see through phoniness—don't destroy their trust and confidence in you by trying to pull the wool over their eyes." Thornton frequently relied on sample packs from his suppliers to show customers the quality they could expect.

In 1995, Thornton left Duplex Products, where he sold core products such as continuous forms, unit sets and labels, to start his own company. When customers began requesting help with brochures and catalogs, Thornton's only choice was to become a complete vendor for their needs. "I didn't want to leave the door open for someone else to come in," he said.

Thornton quickly discovered that commercial printing and business forms are "worlds apart" in terminology, production and artwork. "Even the pitfalls you know to look for in business forms are not the same pitfalls you need to look for in commercial printing," he explained. "People like Bill Maguire at Peninsular Printing were instrumental in getting me over the learning curve by walking me through the projects."

For instance, Thornton learned that four-color work on 60 lb. paper will be different depending on whether the stock is coated or uncoated. "It might be a companion piece, and variances in color and brightness will cause colors not to match," he explained. Inks change, as well. "Bill taught me that the four-color process version of reflex blue and reflex blue out of the can are different. A one-color job sometimes must be run as a four-color process to get a specific shade."

Even specifying a job for a quote requires quite a bit of knowledge about commercial printing. "For example," explained Wells, "a book with 16 single-sided sheets printing in full color is actually specified at a printer as a 32-page self-cover 4/0."

Maguire observed that the trick to specifying a job is in learning to ask the right questions. "Because forms people think in terms of sheets, they can get the number of pages and sheets confused, and may end up quoting just half of the actual job or even doubling it," he said. "With booklets, I always tell distributors to count the pages as if they were reading a book." Maguire also recommended getting a sample to the manufacturer whenever possible.

When digital printing came on the scene, so did new production challenges. Wells explained that the preparation and submission of digital files can be fraught with difficulties, and that even experienced customers have ongoing problems with their files failing pre-flight. "PDFs were intended to eliminate some of the common file and font issues, but in order to create a proper PDF, you need to be very experienced in programs such as Quark, Illustrator and Pagemaker," he observed. "Also, the platform of choice in graphic arts is Mac—most printers will charge more to handle PC files."

The majority of the commercial printing work Thornton currently handles is digital, and he admitted that file issues are, in a word, "disturbing." "It's an area we treat with all of the seriousness in the world," he said. "There are gremlins in the system that cause changes to occur, so you can't completely trust technology."

Extreme Service

Deciding whether a project will be printed offset or digitally is also an issue distributors need to discuss with their customers. "Digital printing is still a different look and feel than traditional offset, and any experienced customer will definitely see the difference," noted Wells.

He explained that anything involving versioning or variable data really needs to be produced digitally. "Quantity is also a big factor," he continued. "Because the set-up costs are so much lower for digital production, there is less fixed cost to amortize over the run length. Another issue is the flat (unfinished) size of the piece," he added. "Most high-end digital presses can handle a 12x18˝ sheet. Many jobs are quoted with an option for digital production—particularly if there is a cost savings involved."

Regardless of the printing method used, Wells emphasized that commercial printing typically requires two to three contacts with the customer per day to make sure that things are on track. "Distributors must be ready to provide a very high level of customer service," he said.

"These customers are spending a lot of money, and what they are looking for is a beautiful piece," agreed Thornton. When customers see a four-color proof, I always stress that, due to material differences, the finished piece might be a shade or two different. If you explain it up-front, no one will be disappointed."

The Price Is Right

Wells noted that the distributors he does business with offer commercial printing to their customers as a one-stop-shopping solution. However, this might not offer distributors the profit-boost they're expecting.

"Don't sell on price," cautioned Wells. "With the overcapacity in the industry and the rate at which printers are closing their doors, you can be assured that there will always be a lower—sometimes much lower—price out there." He added that as recently as two years ago, it was common for distributors, mail houses and ad agencies to mark up print pricing 10 percent to 20 percent. But, current economic factors have greatly reduced those margins.

Maguire agreed, noting that price cutting and reductions in print spending are impacting profits. However, he reported that he is beginning to see some rebounding. "Basically, it involves intelligent marketing and selling by everyone," Maguire said. "The distributors who know what they are doing are selling commercial printing quite successfully."

By Maggie DeWitt