eco friendly printers melbourne, commerical print companies

Is Paper Bad For The Environment?

Paper would have to be one of the most used physical materials for communication ever since it was created. It has a diverse range of commercial and personal applications, from pocket sized notepads, through to large format posters and anything in between. Given how widely used it is, there can sometimes be a stigma around using paper. A lot of people tend to see it as something that’s used once, then thrown away and therefore has a negative impact on our environment. melbourne print companies, eco friendly printers Whilst it may seem like a fair assumption – there’s always two sides to every story. Sustainability is important to all of us, so we wanted to share some other perspectives.

Is Paper Really a Wasteful Product?

Whether you’re printing promotional materials or using paper towels – most people believe once it’s in the bin, it will go to landfill and eventually decompose. Believe it or not, this is not always the case, because paper is one of the most recyclable materials in the world. melbourne printing company, eco friendly printers According to Australia’s National Waste Report 2018, our recycling rate is at 60%, where a good percentage of the paper you are using today comes from recycled paper. Even when paper is used, it still contains cellulose fibers that can be used in the mixture for making new paper, which means it’s not as wasteful as most people may think.

Is Paper Actually Bad For The Environment?

Apart from the thought that paper is wasteful, most people also believe the production of paper is bad for the environment. This usually comes from the thought that we need to chop down trees to make paper, as well as use a lot of water and energy in the process. At face value, it makes sense that paper isn’t really great for the environment. But as we said, there’s always two sides to every story. Here’s some of the most common sticking points people have with paper, and some insights most of aren’t really aware of.

melbourne printing company, sustainable printersDon’t we need to cut down lots of trees to make paper?

Yes, trees are used to make paper and chopping down trees doesn’t seem great for the environment. But paper production has come a long way.

As we’ve mentioned, a large portion of fiber used in paper production is actually recycled, meaning there aren’t as many trees cut down to make paper as there used to be. A lot of virgin fiber used in paper production is then sourced from sustainable forests where trees are being regrown as they’re cut down.

Isn’t a lot of water used to make paper?

Another big reason people believe paper is bad for the environment is because of the amount of water used in the production of paper. There definitely is a lot of water used to make paper, but what most people don’t know is that after the water is used, it’s treated before either being reused, or returned to the source.

Doesn’t paper production use a lot of energy?

Similar to the water argument – another negative perception people have of paper is the amount of energy used to make it and its contribution to greenhouse emissions. At a global level, the paper industry accounts for less than 1% of all greenhouse gas emissions. In comparison, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, fluorinated gases used in refrigeration and industrial processes make up 2%, and nitrous oxide used in fertilisers makes up approximately 6%. Furthermore, in a lot of cases, the energy being used in paper production typically comes from renewable resources such as solar, hydro or wind.

These are some of the most common issues people have with using paper, which used to be real issues in the early days of manufacturing paper. Thankfully quite a bit has changed in recent years, and in a lot of ways, this can be attributed to us being more environmentally aware and influencing businesses to make more sustainable decisions. From here, we can all do our part to continue recycling paper and not just lumping all our waste in one basket.

Choosing the Right Paper for Your Business Printing Needs

Commercial melbourne printing, sustainable printersIf you want to ensure that your paper is as healthy as possible for the environment – you can’t just choose any random paper product. You want to make sure your paper has an optimal mixture of recycled paper and virgin fiber.

If making environmentally friendly choices for business printing needs is important to you, working with a sustainability focused printer can make things a lot easier. They’ll have access to a range of recycled papers to meet your needs, paper that’s manufactured and meets the ISO 14001 EMS (Environmental Management Systems). They’ll also be able to provide print products that are FDA certified, making them suitable to be in direct contact with food or medical products.

If you’re looking for an environmentally friendly paper alternative, we also stock stone paper. Stone paper is made from crushed stones collected from industry byproducts. These are then bound by a resin to form paper with a velvety matte texture. The result is a strong, durable, waterproof paper that is made from alternate resources. Compared to wood pulp fiber paper, it’s completely free of tree material, emits low carbon, and uses less energy. Not to mention that its processing does not use any acids or other chemicals that may be harmful. The best part? It’s also highly recyclable!

Choose Inkifingus for your sustainable printing needs

Frequent use of paper may have an effect on the environment – only if we don’t use it responsibly and wisely.  As you can see – there’s a lot of misconceptions out there about paper, and a whole lot of ways we can use paper responsibly.

You can have your share in this vision and participate in reusing, recycling and re-purposing paper. At Inkifingus, paper selection is just one of our sustainable practices we help our clients with. When you partner with us, we’ll ensure the product is fit for purpose, as well as choose materials and services that will make our environment as sustainable as possible.
October 29, 2020 / No Comments /  

All Lit Up – The Inkifingus Shift to Solar Power

The printing industry has traditionally been seen as ‘energy hungry’ one, but the the drive for a greener world has never been more alive at Inkifingus. We are continually exploring options that will make our business more sustainable, and what we’re looking into now is transitioning to the use of solar power in our business operations. The use of solar energy is well known – but not all businesses have decided to grab hold of this opportunity.  We believe that this project will benefit not just our business, but the ongoing journey to a more sustainable world. Melbourne eco friendly printers, sustainable printing

Our Journey So Far

Across our Inkifingus facilities, we have already started the movement by installing LED lights. These lights are far more energy-efficient compared to other lighting systems. We also use timers that automatically turn the lights off when not in use. These efforts help to bring down our energy usage by up to 30%. You can find out more about our sustainable printing practices here.

Where to Next?

The LED lights and timers are a big step – but just one of our first steps. Our next major project (as part of our ongoing energy plan) is to invest in solar power for our business premises. The best way to generate energy is through natural means, and the sun is a great start. Solar panels are being installed in many buildings today, both commercial and household, for a two-fold purpose. The primary purpose is to minimise the carbon footprint and water usage in the business, with an added benefit being it can cut down electricity costs.  

What Is Solar Power?

melbourne sustainable printingThere are a range of renewable energy sources such as wind and hydro energy, with solar energy being one of the most common renewable energy sources being used across commercial and residential buildings. Solar power is the energy harnessed from the sun, which can then be converted into electric or thermal energy. This is the most abundant energy resource we can find on the planet as the sun is always there to shine and give us an almost unlimited supply of solar energy. According to Geoscience Australia, in Australia we receive the highest amount of solar radiation per year with an average of 58 million PJ (petajoules). Apparently, we’re not using this benefit as solar energy accounts for only 0.1% of the total energy consumption. At Inkifingus we believe we need to do our part by finding a way to take advantage of this position as part of our sustainability endeavours.

Advantages of Solar Power

There’s a wide range of benefits we can get by using solar energy. Here are just some of the many advantages:

Reduced Water Consumption

Water is an extremely vital resource in our planet, so we should avoid wasting it as much as possible. The traditional production of electricity requires a large volume of water as it’s used to cool generators, process fuel and transport the fuel through pipes. The good thing about solar energy is that it doesn’t need any water during the conversion process.

Reduced Air Pollution

When fossil fuels are burned for electricity generation, a considerable amount of harmful carbon dioxide and methane is released into the air. Inhaling these substances can have detrimental effects on our health. Worst case scenario, we can experience lung and heart-related diseases. We could say that solar energy doesn’t just reduce air pollution, but promotes a good and healthy body.

Reduced Effect on Climate Change

Aside from contributing to air pollution, the toxic gases released also contribute to the overall greenhouse effect. We need to remember that the greenhouse effect is a natural system that our planet enjoys in order to have sufficient heating for inhabitation. However, an overly unhealthy level of greenhouse gases will heat our planet faster and could contribute to catastrophic weather events in the world. Solar energy production doesn’t have any greenhouse emissions, making it healthier for the environment. melbourne sustainable printing, environmentally friendly printers melbourne

Reduced Carbon Footprint

When tapping into the grid for electricity, your household or business will contribute to the carbon footprint. Installing solar panels allows you to generate your own electricity meaning we can reduce the burden on the grid and reduce the contribution to this carbon footprint.  Furthermore, in a lot of cases we’re able to export any unused solar electricity back to the grid.

Reduced Fossil Fuel Usage

Just by looking at the sun, you can just see how abundant it is as a resource. In comparison, fossil fuels are continuously exploited and will eventually be scarce in the future giving us even more of a reason to look to the sun as a more sustainable energy source.

It’s Time To Act

The clock is ticking and we need to act fast. The sooner we shift to solar energy, the lesser our impact will be to the world. This is our next step at Inkifingus and whilst it’s not the ‘silver bullet’ – we’re always searching for ways to look after the planet we’re living and operating in, and hope this encourages others to do the same in their home or business.
September 23, 2020 / No Comments /  

Why Stone Paper Makes for a Great Sustainability Choice

Paper is such a widely used commodity that many people worry it might deplete our forests and create a negative impact to the environment in the long run. This is where stone paper can come to the rescue. Whilst there are sustainable paper sources which we’ll cover in more detail later, paper production can use an enormous amount of energy, water, and wood. By using stone paper, we use less energy with zero water and trees being used in the process. Let’s take a closer look at how stone paper has become a reliable choice as far as sustainability is concerned.

What Is Stone Paper?

Stone paper is made from calcium carbonate and bonded by a non-toxic resin, resulting in a strong and durable paper. It is bright in color and has a physical strength that can withstand far more wear and tear than normal paper. The stones being used are in crushed form, recycled from different leftovers in the industry. When crushed, it forms into calcium carbonate powder, which is an entirely natural product and safe to use. Other common uses for this stone is in toothpaste, medicines and baby powder.

Stone Paper vs. Normal Paper

Both types of paper have the same density, but stone paper definitely has more applications compared to normal paper. Due to its very nature – the surface of stone paper is smoother since it has no grain like normal paper. This gives you a smooth writing experience, and we often find on touch – the velvety finish is a real conversation starter. Unlike normal paper, stone paper is tear-resistant, so it can endure direct exposure to water, grease or even dirt. This is perfect for use in outdoor environments when the weather isn’t as sunny as you’d like, or if you have to worry about rain, mist, oil or grease.

Why Choose Stone Paper Products?

The cry of mother earth has always been to preserve our natural resources and stone paper can help with this. The fantastic thing about stone paper is it is the raw being used comes from the waste in limestone quarries. This is a great way to avoid waste and protect our environment. As well as this, the original colour of the stone is white so you won’t have to dose some strong bleaching chemicals during the manufacturing process. Since paper is being used on a daily basis, whether at school, work, groceries or advertising businesses, stone paper is a great way to make it a sustainable venture. Where suitable, Inkifingus encourages our customers to use stone paper because it is very eco-friendly, and has a great premium finish.

Applications For Stone Paper

stone paper melbourne, sustainable printers near meYou may be wondering what types of products could be made using stone paper. The great news is, virtually every paper product you can think of can be replaced by it. That being said, just because it can be replaced by traditional paper doesn’t always mean it’s always the right choice to make. The team at Inkifingus can help you figure out the best applications for stone paper in your business, but here are some commons reasons our clients choose stone paper over paper made from trees. One of the biggest our clients choose stone paper is because they’re working in extreme weather conditions, or environments where there’s excessive water, grease or oil.  As we’ve mentioned, stone paper is waterproof and tearproof meaning you can spill as much oil, water or grease on it and still be able to write on it. If you really wanted to – you could even write on it under water.  This makes stone paper printed products the perfect solution tradespeople, and particularly in the marine industry for example. Due to this level of durability, not only is it good alternative to paper – but in some can even be an alternative to plastic as you may not need to laminate cards or booklets. On the other end of the spectrum, because of its smooth velvety finish – it is widely used in sales and promotional material. As soon as your team hand a stone paper booklet to a current or prospective client, you’ll have an immediate conversation starter. Stone paper feels high end, and gets people asking questions. As well as leaving the impression of quality with clients – you’ll also be able to talk about the sustainable benefits on stone paper which can help further differentiate yourself in your clients’ eyes.

Choosing Inkifingus for your Stone Paper Products

As you can see, Stone Paper has a wide range of applications and can make a great alternative to paper. In some cases, it may even help you reduce plastic for laminated products. When you’re planning your next print job, as well as design choices – you now have a range of sustainable paper options to choose from. Stone paper may be a good option for you if you want to wow people with the smooth velvety finish, or ensure you can use your print products in extreme weather conditions. If you’re interested in using Stone Paper, but not sure how it can best be used in your business – get in touch our friendly team at Inkifingus today to see how we can implement stone paper as part of your printing services.
September 7, 2020 / No Comments /  

How 4 companies improved their business through effective print planning

This is part three in our series about how effective print planning can boost your business. To read more on this topic view parts one and two. Effective print planning has been on our minds a lot lately – from what poor print planning can mean for your business (and how to overcome it) to how to leverage print planning for a competitive advantage. Failing to plan your prints can put you at risk of losing money over low-quality prints. And “low-quality” can cover any number of sins, including:
  • Mistakes in formatting margins or structure
  • Unfit-for-purpose stocks and materials
  • Discolouration or inconsistencies of colour.
These are all relatively serious issues that I talk about a lot, and that’s because they’re absolutely vital to the success of your prints, and even more your brand! I don’t want to repeat myself though, so today, I’m going to tell you about some examples of companies who took their printing to the next level.

The companies were able to boost efficiency and eliminate revenue-draining and low-quality printing — just by changing their approach to planning

In these examples, you can clearly see the risks of not effectively planning your printing. You can also see the transformation that’s possible with some outside-the-box thinking and know-how.

4 companies who transformed their printing with effective planning

Company #1: Used fit-for-purpose signage

This organisation in the mental health field was putting together promo material for the launch of a new, interactive product. This included some large signs — 2m x 1m — to be made of simple cardboard, which the campaign organisers expected to stand up on their own. This posed an issue because the nature of the material meant that the signs would be close to impossible to stay up. Upon an initial consultation, they realised that not only had they not planned out the usage of these signs, but they also hadn’t planned the material. They didn’t have the foresight to consider the application and materials for the correct end use.

For signage, it’s important to consider the application and materials for the correct end use.

  When this organisation came to Inkifingus, they were able to receive some samples to give them an idea about how different materials would behave. As a result, they decided to go with coreflute signage rather than the unfit-for-purpose cardboard stock. The result? This company had a well-planned product that worked.  

Company #2: Changed their paper stock to save $$$

By improving the quality of their binding, this business was able to save themselves a lot of headaches

This company had a printing job put together by a design agency. This agency had specified a certain type of paper stock that would work well to show off the design they’d produced. Whilst the stock worked, and did indeed make the design truly stunning, the problem was that it was hugely expensive. When this company came to Inkifingus, we heavily cautioned them against using this expensive stock. Even though the design agency had planned for the best way to present their design, they hadn’t planned around a long-term budget. Instead, we suggested a comparable stock of similar quality, but more cost-effective for long-term printing. This advice alone saved them $3000 per print job. They were then convinced that the top-quality stock was not really necessary for their audience, who were not printing or graphic design experts, and therefore would not notice a very small change in quality to a less expensive stock. After reviewing the project requirements, we were able to recommend a lower-quality stock that was fit for purpose, and more cost-effective. So, the total savings the company experienced thanks to good advice and improved planning? $7500.  

Company #3: Eased the transition from manual to digital

This business was struggling with the technical folders required to teach the intricacies of their business. These folders were in their 4th or 5th evolution, and they were becoming inconvenient to keep updating and reprinting. When the company decided to move these manuals to digital, they anticipated that there

Creating a solid plan for transitioning your print records from manual to digital can be long, time consuming work without effecting print planning.

would be confusion from those who were used to having the manual folders around. To mitigate this, they engaged Inkifingus to print a smaller, simplified folder as well as custom pens and note pads, and a USB with the electronic version loaded to help ease the transition and provide basic instructions on how to use the digital system. The result? Thanks to effective planning, they were able to ensure a smooth transition to a better digital system, and they were able to save over $40 per unit that they were previously spending on each manual.

By improving the quality of their binding, this business was able to save themselves a lot of headaches

Company #4: Improved their product quality

This company was able to get a much better product out of print planning. Originally, they were having folders printed with a mass-market stationary and printing supplier who were giving them cheap plastic on their landscape binding. This binding was so dysfunctional (the folders repeatedly fell apart) and the colours varied so greatly between each folder that management was embarrassed. Not only had this company failed to plan their prints, but they were also receiving poor advice from the mass-market printers. When they came to us, the first thing we did was make them realise that by cutting costs on the binding, they were actually causing themselves more pain through the expensive reprints. We also advised and helped them to create a base template for all of their documentation. This was a key part of a new approach to planning prints in advance, and it allowed any employee to create a folder that was consistent, nicely-designed and professional. We were able to recommend a stronger board, reinforced lamination, multiple creases to make the folders expandable. By doing this, the lifespan was to extended to meet the end use of the product..

Achieve print excellence with effective planning

Want to achieve the same transformation that these companies have? The key to transforming the way your business approaches printing is not necessarily by taking huge, uncertain leaps. It’s simply by making sure you have a clear goal in mind, and a willingness to think outside the box. From there, all you need is some good advice. At Inkifingus, our years of experience and specific printing knowledge means that we’re fully equipped to answer any of your questions and help you plan the best possible product for your purpose. Contact Inkifingus today if you’ve got questions about printing or you would like to know more about the benefits that our expert planning advice can offer your business. Or, if you’d like more information on Inkifingus’ extensive range of products and services, you can download our product brochure here.
October 8, 2018 / No Comments /  

How can planning your prints help you grasp a competitive edge?

This is part two in our series about how effective print planning can boost your business. View part one or subscribe to our blog to stay updated. Everyone’s got a theory about how you can be more competitive. Most of that advice can be boiled down to: Be unique and cost-effective. So where does print fit into that directive? We spoke last month about what good print planning looks like — but how do you leverage that knowledge to gain a competitive edge? Well, there’s plenty of opportunities in print to shave costs. There’s also lots of ways to ensure that you’re getting the best quality product that you can — rather than dealing with errors, unfit-for-purpose products or reprints. But there’s also other areas where you can use print to create a truly unique, memorable brand for your business. Today, I’m taking you through some key ways that you can leverage good print planning to build a cost-effective, unique point of difference — so you can gain that richly needed competitive edge.

How can you use print to come out on top?

“How do I use print to get a leg-up?”

When there’s always a threatening disruptor nearby, ready to pounce on your share of the market, it’s obviously hugely important to differentiate yourself from them. That doesn’t just mean ensuring you’ve got a good hold on your margins — although that’s clearly a huge part of it. It’s also about building yourself as a memorable and recognisable brand. Both of those factors together ensure that you’ll withstand the flood of scrappy new competitors and disruptive technologies. So, how can effectively planning your prints help you gain a competitive edge? Through the creation of memorable and valuable marketing material that can be repurposed and reused. If other companies have better and more cost-effective print marketing, it’s one key area where you’re falling behind. It means at trade fairs, conferences or even just in advertising, they’ll have the more recognisable brand — and they’ll be in your customers’ heads.

Make a lasting impression with unique and innovative print

I’ve seen the concept of strong, recognisable and memorable marketing material used to great effect many times. The most effective tools to keep your company front of mind are memorable by great design, have multiple use applications, and can be repurposed over and over again. And good, well-executed print can help boost your marketing material just as effectively as digital. Best of all, you’re no longer limited to USBs and pens. New innovations in print are growing every day – allowing your print to reflect your brand, and sell your value, exactly as you’d like. With the right print partner, your options for a lasting impression are limitless. For example, rather than just making a flyer that’s going to end up in the recycling pile – have a tear-away business card at the bottom so they can easily carry and access your details for later. And speaking of business cards – why stop at an eye catching design? Grab their attention the moment you slide your card into their hands with a textured, velvet business card. Business is all about first impression, and print is a tactile experience, unique from digital. Give someone something useful, and they’ll carry your brand around with them everywhere. Give them something memorable, and you’ll always be front of mind.

When it comes to reusable collateral, use your imagination and think about what your customers will really use

Gain some expert advice on how to create competitive print marketing material

When you have endless possibilities at your fingertips, it can be a little hard to figure out where to start. Fortunately, you can always ask the experts. At Inkifingus, we use our in-depth knowledge of creative design and effective print management for brand awareness to help a wide variety of customers from a huge range of industries. Using our years of expertise, we can give advice and help you to create print products that are memorable, valuable and usable. We can also use our co-sourced printing capability to access a unique and varied range of suppliers, so you can create a printed piece that’s truly unique and customised to your needs. Contact Inkifingus today if you would like to know more about the benefits that co-sourced printing can offer your business. Or, if you’d like more information on Inkifingus’ extensive range of products and services, you can download our product brochure here.
September 10, 2018 / No Comments /  

Should you be planning your printing? (Short answer: yes)

This is part one in our series about how effective print planning can boost your business. Subscribe to our blog to stay updated on the series. The idea of actually finding the time to sit down to think about and then plan out your printing probably sounds laughable. With the stresses of needing to drive revenue hanging over your head the last thing you want to be concerned about is margins or banner sizes. But what if I told you that taking that planning time could actually save you money? We’ve spoken a lot in previous blogs about all the ways that printing can help you control costs — from ensuring you’ve got the right expertise around to ensure fit-for-purpose prints, to moving away from an ad-hoc approach. Well, another huge factor that can affect cost controls in your business is whether or not you effectively plan your prints. There’s a HUGE difference between a well-planned print job and one that’s been haphazardly thrown together. Getting what you need out of printing all comes down to how well prepared you are right from the beginning.

Creating a solid plan for you printing can reap a huge range of benefits

Failing to plan your printing effectively can lead to:
  • Making mistakes in print jobs
  • Using the wrong materials
  • Overpaying on stock or services
  • Printing something you don’t need or isn’t right for your business.
There are some key areas where many businesses fail to plan, leaving them in hot water:

The Structure

What do I mean by failing to plan print structure? Well, here’s a common scenario — you’ve probably experienced something like it: You want a specially branded folder to hand out on a training day. You get your designer to create a perfectly sleek, eye-catching design. You get a range of print quotes to find the best one. You choose the exact stock you want. And it comes back from the printer with half the design cut off by a glue flap. You’ve gone from a sleek, high-quality idea to a messy and unusable waste of money. That stock and complex folding didn’t come cheap, and now you’re going to have to pay to get it re-done. And it’s all because of a failure to plan all the details. I see it all the time; binding errors, glue flaps, and just generally poor placement of anything structural. It all comes down to a lack of experience and a failure to plan ahead.

From folders to banners, it’s vital to plan the structure of a print

The Use Situation

Failing to consider where and how your printed product is going to be used is one of the best ways to make sure it won’t be suited to that purpose. This is especially the case for items that need to be used outdoors — have you accounted for weather or durability? And if it’s for an indoor event or booth — have you considered transportation and setup? If you’ve designed a banner that needs 7 guys, a crane, and a degree in aeronautical engineering to set up, then it’s probably not right for a one-day event.

Have you considered the elements and the ease of transportation?

The Quantity

When most businesses order collateral — be it business cards, flyers or folders — they have a tendency to over-purchase because of the perception that it’s “cost-effective” to bulk buy. But what are you really going to do with all that extra product? All those extra business cards for a person who doesn’t even work for you anymore? What are you going to do with all those letterheads dated from last year?

Is printing in bulk really worth it?

You can see how a failure to plan any of these factors can lead to a huge waste of money, storage and time.

“How can I get better at planning my printing?”

The key to getting better at planning your printing is to consider all aspects. To get started, you should first ask yourself these three questions:

  • What are your overall objectives?

This is key. What’s the point of this print? What goal is it working towards, and how is it going to help you get there?

  • What are you trying to sell?

Obviously, any piece of collateral needs to be working towards paying for itself. Ask yourself how this piece is going to generate business for you — and from where.

  • What are you trying to achieve out of this printed piece?

Whether it’s giving customers an easy way to contact you, grabbing their attention, or giving them a reusable piece that will help them remember you, it’s important to keep in mind what you’re trying to achieve. This will help you ensure you’re creating the best possible printed piece you can.  

Not sure where to start? Get advice from an expert

One of the best things you can do to ensure you’re being proactive about printing and planning is to get some consultation and advice. At Inkifingus, we know all the ins-and-outs of printing, and it’s second nature to us to consider every single factor. We also offer co-sourced printing, which gives us access to a huge number of suppliers. It means we’re capable of getting you exactly what you need, in the right materials, at the right amount. Contact Inkifingus today if you would like to know more about the benefits that our expert planning advice can offer your business. Or, if you’d like more information on Inkifingus’ extensive range of products and services, you can download our product brochure here.
August 13, 2018 / No Comments /  

5 ways to avoid printing disasters and ensure quality prints

Pixelated images. Faded signage. Folders that have been glued shut. When you’re printing in bulk, any one of these is an absolute nightmare. Printing mistakes happen due to any number of factors, but they almost always stem from the same core reason: whoever was in charge of printing didn’t have the specific knowledge required to do the job properly.
May 16, 2018 / No Comments /  

The unexpected challenges and hidden costs of print management

In the golden days of mailrooms and mullets, companies like yours probably had a dedicated in-house staff member whose sole job was to organise everyone’s printing. These were the experts, and they knew everything about who and where to go to get the best outcome for their company’s print. But, with the rise of digital marketing and social media, the printing needs to most (if not all) organisations have changed. A paperless office may be the dream for the future, but businesses will always need printed products and collateral at some point. But who does do the job, and how much do they actually know? The responsibilities for print management too often lie with admin assistants or marketing managers — so someone who is unfamiliar with printing, and has 100 other things to do. So if your marketing manager is trying to take responsibility for five things at once, they can’t know everything — especially the finer quirks of printing. But having your printing managed by someone who isn’t an expert leaves you open to a number of risks:
  • Not knowing the value of printing — do you know if you want low volume digital print, or large volume offset print? Which option is better suited to your business? If you don’t know, you risk choosing the uneconomical option — which could potentially cost your business thousands.
  • Missing opportunities — do you know of every single product and service available to you? If not, you risk wasting time and effort on an unsuitable option, or missing out on one that would be great for your business.
  • Typos and proofreading errors — with electronic media, you can edit and re-edit to your heart’s content. In printing, you only get one shot. If there’s a mistake, then you have to reprint the entire batch. Not only does this increase the dollar value of the print job, it’s wasteful, environmentally irresponsible, time consuming, and can result in a lower quality print due to the need to recoup the costs.
  • Incorrect file types — digital files might be flexible and versatile on the screen, but not every file type is suitable for print. Images that are of low resolution, or an incorrect format, or an unsuitable colour resolution will produce poor quality in print.
  • Not knowing what to look for — do you know why some things look good on screen but not on paper? Or how to adjust colours to fix that? Without specialised print knowledge it’s often difficult to detect the fault in the process, and improve for next time.
  • Having to make adjustments — keep having to change your work to suit the needs of the printer? If the piece you want to print isn’t working, you need to find a solution that has to adjust to
All these are just some of the costly mistakes made by inexperienced print managers. Ultimately a business can find that an ad-hoc approach to print management can cost thousands of dollars in lost time and efficiency. One of our clients found themselves in a similar situation. As a multinational car company, they required a specific layout of business card that had to be adapted to 270-300 employees. They were facing huge costs if they were to pay an agency or graphic artist to do it. While this company had the capacity to do it themselves, the time spent setting up and completing the task would have been costly. In addition, it would have been a waste of their marketing team’s resource allocation, which could be better spent promoting the business in other areas. So what was our car company to do?

Co-sourced printing: avoid hidden costs with a dedicated print partner

In order to find the right manufacturing process, for the right application, for the right outcome, organisations need to have a closer relationship with their printer. By engaging Inkifingus with this unique problem, we developed a co-sourced printing process that allowed the car company to get their business cards mass produced and delivered to them in no time at all. We created an online template for their business card and an easily-accessible spreadsheet of names. This enabled them to more effectively double-check information before submitting the final print order. Not only did this solution reduce the likelihood of human error, it improved resourcing costs for the business. By reducing the time wasted on multiple proof readings, and in turn the number of print orders with errors in the copy, the company was able to reduce the printing and resourcing cost of their print management, and generated a better product result. They were also able to access unique, specialised solutions specific to their business, thanks to the comprehensive knowledge of their Inkifingus print partner. If you’d like to experience the same benefits, give me a call on 0400 024 905 to talk about outsourcing your print management.

Have you considered Co-sourced printing?

From designing the job, printing, collating, and binding it based on your requirements, and delivering the finished product to your doorstep. At Inkifingus, we have a dedicated team of printing specialists, all with their own areas of expertise, to help businesses achieve the best possible print outcome through our co-sourced printing model. Through co-sourced printing you can achieve:
  1. A more cost-effective approach to print management;
  2. Ongoing print management support from an expert printer, including advice and ideas for ensuring the best quality printed product;
  3. Design and concept creation from experienced designers, and printers who understand how to get the best message across through print; and
  4. A streamlined printing process tailored to the needs of your organisation.
Contact Inkifingus today if you would like to know more about the benefits that outsourced printing can offer your business.
March 14, 2018 / No Comments /