How to Save on Printing

With inflation at a 40 year high, consumers and businesses alike are tightening their budgets and looking for ways to save on everyday purchases. The printing industry, like most others, has faced rising costs of paper, ink, and materials, which in turn means higher print costs are expected nationwide. Despite rising costs, there are ways customers can save on their print projects and still enjoy high quality printing. We’ve rounded up the top ways you can save on your next order:

1. Buy in bulk 

While you certainly can order low quantities of items, this is not currently advised due to the high cost of press setup. Instead, ordering a higher volume of your marketing pieces will translate into a lower cost per piece. This might not always be possible on seasonal or time sensitive pieces that need to be updated regularly, but if you plan to order items that stay static year round (think presentation folders, business cards, envelopes, brochures, and even your catalogs), it makes more sense to order a higher volume at one time rather than smaller volumes multiple times through the year. 

2. Switch to a cost-efficient binding method

There are various binding methods you can utilize on your booklets and catalogs: saddle-stitch binding, perfect binding, and spiral binding are the most common. While all 3 methods will result in a high quality catalog, saddle stitching is the most cost efficient. It involves inserting staples into the spine of the booklet and is great for manuals, handbooks, and catalogs. Perfect binding, which results in a magazine-style spine, involves additional steps in production and thus is more expensive than saddle-stitch binding. Spiral binding is the most expensive of the 3 options and is only recommended for low quantities of books such as cookbooks, membership directories, and company workbooks. 

3. Stick with house paper stocks

With paper costs at an all time high, specialty stocks are scarce to find and incredibly expensive to source. Rather than choose a special order stock, ask your printer what house stocks are available. Choosing paper that is readily available on their production floor will save money, and you can talk with your printer about finding a suitable substitute for any specialty stock you’ve previously ordered. 

4. Order standard sizes and finishing methods

In general, the more you customize an order, the higher the cost will be. While custom projects are a neat way to get creative, now is the best time to stick with standard sizes and finishing methods (think common folds and UV coatings). All of our most common, standardized options are listed on uspress.com where you can easily select your product and view pricing. While other custom options are certainly available, you’ll enjoy cost savings by choosing a size or option already listed on our pricing calculator.