Your marketing materials

September 6, 2009 by Roy
Filed under: review

For small businesses, especially those who are still in their start-up stage, getting your marketing materials printed should be given a serious consideration. You have two option to do this – either through your neighborhood printing shop, or you can search the web and look at the prospects of online printing for all your business collaterals.

I know, getting a more personal touch can be easily had through a personal inquiry from printing businesses within the vicinity. Some are more than willing to accommodate you and answer all your queries – but some aren’t.

I’ve experienced that. Because, printing, being a different industry from mine, I really didn’t know what to ask the printers. Because of that, I was easily thrown off with some jargon such as offsets, color separations and the like, which justified a higher printing charge.

For the online option however, you can take your time reading through the explanations. Because most websites have articles detailing all their products and services – which will give you an idea of what type of service you need and what to ask them.

You can even see samples of their works – business cards, flyers, postcard printing, brochures, posters and more. It’s like walking inside their office and snooping through their catalog without the pressure of being asked “So, have you decided yet?”

That’s just one advantage of online printing, you can see testimonials of previous satisfied customers, as well as feedback from those who weren’t completely satisfied. This will give you a better barometer for making your decision — without haste.

So which one is really better? I suggest you explore all options, and choose one which suits you best.

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Comments

2 Comments on Your marketing materials

Richard Dannenberg on Sun, 6th Sep 2009 8:18 am

I can’t resist commenting on this issue. As a local printer, we are very happy to help a potential new customer. Parts of the printing industry are very technical and the old GIGO rule really applies. If you do not have quality photography and art and if the composition is not correct, the outcome of the print project just isn’t good.

This is really the downside of using online printers. Sure, they are cheap, but if you don’t know what you’re doing and submit poor art, you’re going to get a poor product. If you’re really interested in learning print, your local printer will teach you the printereze. For most new businesses, though, we really just try to find out what they need and then help them to get it done correctly.

Your local printer has more resources than you may imagine. If you’re a new startup, your local printer can help you with identity pieces, marketing collateral, direct mail and sometimes even online communications. And you’ll be supporting a local business that just might turn around and do some business with you later on.

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