Printing costs

[Michael Pollock]

How do other salonees buy printing? Does it seem expensive to get
reports and brochures etc printed? What are the issues and problems
that you experience with this? I often see boxes of undistributed
material in people's offices and conference rooms - I have some in
mine. Is this a general problem? And if you have printers you like -
would you share their names with the group?
thanks

[Robb High]

Ways to save $ on printing:

- Using printers outside of NY (like way outside).

- Getting 2-3 bids (on any given day a printer is either backed up
with work, or desperate for it so going to multiple sources increases
the chance of getting someone who is "hungry").

- Giving printers lots of time so they can fit your job in vs. having
to "get it done now."

- Printing things together (meaning a DM piece + brochure) vs.
individually (which may require some design/paper stock trade-offs).

- Not always feeling that everything has to be 5-color on 100lb.
vellum stock (in fact, nothing from the non-profit world should be.)

But in today's world the only really good reason to kill a lot of
trees is to use the printed material to recruit them to "join" the
group on the web site so that email can be used to create loyalty and
generate support.

[Michael Pollock]

Tamara Moscowitz posted this - but it got a weird header so I have
moved it here to the printing thread.

Tamara says:
I agree with Robb. For cost-effective printing you should look
outside of
New York -- like Canada and China. Museums do this all the time for
catalogues. Second, try not to use a print broker. He's a middle man
and
the cost goes up. Definitely get several bids. Also, always ask the
printer if there is a similar quality paper that is less costly. Make
sure
you see samples of a printers work. To those of you who have smaller
printing jobs - not catalogues or annual reports, but need a spiffy
looking
piece, try printers in Long Island City.
Tamara