The prices can easily make your head spin when looking for commercial printing services. There’s an incredible variety to choose from, whether you’re looking for printed flyers, banners, or business cards. Qualities like design and size can be huge factors in determining how much these options cost.
Looking at what qualities are most important to you can help you figure out how to adjust your vision to meet your budget goals. You can effectively achieve your printing goals by calculating an ideal cost for budget printing and then optimizing to get the best results. Let’s break down how much you need to spend to meet your professional printing needs.
Factors That Can Affect Commercial Printing Cost
Some of the most common factors that can affect budget printing costs include materials, size, printing method, design complexity, installation costs, and quantity printed.
Depending on your specific project, some of the above won’t be relevant or additional factors will be considered. It’s essential to communicate with your printing company to understand what costs apply to your project and how they can be balanced for the best result.
Materials
The cost can vary dramatically depending on what materials you want to use for your printing project. When it comes to signs and wall graphics, there are tons of materials to choose from, like aluminum, wood, and even cork.
Temporary signage like flyers, banners, and coroplast is much cheaper and great for advertising sales or a location change. Higher-quality printed materials, like Omega-Bond, are perfect for long-term use, like store branding or outdoor signage.
Size
The larger the size of the job you print, the more it will cost per unit. This effect is magnified by the cost of the materials you choose to print on, so if you have a particularly large print, it may be worth scrutinizing the type and quality of material you absolutely need.
Colour
Colour can significantly affect the price a printer may charge you to produce your product. While printing in colour is an attractive option that can set you apart from your competitors, a well-designed black-and-white image can also have a striking effect.
Method
For jobs like printing a full-colour book, the printing method can significantly impact the budget necessary. Offset printing, for example, can sometimes be more expensive than digital printing.
With offset printing, the number of colours used will affect the price. With digital printing, the number of colours does not change the price, so go nuts with colour when using a digital printer!
When evaluating the methods available to print your project, it’s worth balancing what approach best fits your budget and expectations for quality and quantity of printing. While premium production methods may add costs to your project, they can have incredible results.
Design
If you already have a design prepared for printing, you won’t have to worry about design costs! But if you intend on employing the printing company’s designers to make your vision a reality, it may cost a significant amount, depending on the complexity. Consult your local printer to get a cost estimate specific to your vision.
Quantity
Printing in bulk is an effective way to reduce costs per unit. While the prices of design services and materials are relatively fixed, you can get more from your money in the long run by printing more signs or flyers and stretching the reach of your advertising.
Optimizing Costs For Budget Printing
To optimize printing costs and get the best result, you should work with a company you can trust and rely on to help meet your printing budget.
Your printing company should provide suggestions to help you understand the printing process and available options. You’re looking for a company that is open and honest about your options and how much they cost. They should also prioritize your input and approval of the project, ensuring that crucial parts of your budget aren’t wasted on failed batches.
You should proactively assess your desires for the project and determine what is most important. While a specific high-quality material and an enormous print size may be appealing, you may only be able to fit one in your budget. If that is the case, you need to work with your printer on what will better serve your business’s needs and offer the best result.
