DESIGNING A PROJECT WITH PRINTING BUDGET IN MIND
No company escapes considering the bottomline in its purchases, and certainly printing is no exception. There are many ways to cut printing costs without sacrificing quality. The trick is to consider these options BEFORE designing a project.

Here are some ways to bring down the cost of printing your project:

• Be flexible with the paper and ask about sales. Paper companies often release sale sheets that discount some of their papers for a limited time. By not locking into a specific paper, you can often get the best paper price. Let your printer know you are willing to consider options.

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• Consider doing "preprints" or "shells." Shells or preprints are items that are printed with information that is repeated over time. For example, a multi-color newsletter may contain the same headers and footers from issue to issue, with black ink printing on the body. Knowing that you mail 2,000 newsletters a month, you can preprint a year's worth (24,000) of shells, thereby avoiding monthly repeated set-up charges on the color work. This brings the per unit cost down substantially. Likewise with business cards. With multi-color cards, it is best to print the colors, then come back and imprint them in black or 1 color.

• Bleeds add cost. When a piece bleeds (the ink "runs off" the sheet after trimming), it usually must be run on an oversized sheet. This extra paper is then cut away. You are therefore paying extra for paper AND cutting. Bleeds are often desirable design elements; just be aware they will cost you more.

• Odd sizes can increase costs. Paper comes in a variety of standard "parent" sizes from which we cut down the press sheet. For example, most papers come in 23 x 35 (as well as other sizes), which cuts conveniently into eight 8.5 x 11 sheets or four 11 x 17 sheets. When you start getting odd sizes, there can be a lot of waste in the parent sheet. This is waste you pay for. You should always consult with your printer on any non-standard sizes being considered for a project before it is designed to make an educated determination as to whether the design gain is worth the extra paper cost.

• Make Sure of your Quantity. The unit cost of a project decreases substantially with the quantity ordered. You should always make sure you order enough of your project. Coming back to print more can easily lead to a budget overrun.

• Proofread, proofread, proofread. When you are given laser proofs from your designer, consider these good as gold. Once you have approved your proofs from your designer, the job is output to film. Film is costly. The blueline proof you receive from your printer should be to check printing elements, NOT to check for typographical errors. At this stage, fixing the errors is extremely costly.

• Talk to your designer about what is included in their price. Often, film and proofs get overlooked, and can be a major portion of a project. Make sure you have an estimated amount for all elements of your job before beginning: design, film and proofs, printing and mailing. Make sure everything is in writing to show you what is included in your budget. If anything seems out of line, now is the time to negotiate, not when your deadline is days away and you have no options but to pay and proceed.

• Allow time to avoid rush charges. Trying to rush a job through can force errors, as well as incurring extra rush charges.