I’ve often observed that at many small to medium businesses, print management is often delegated to the newest, most junior team member. Now, I understand that it’s all too easy to hand off print management to someone else. But first, let me tell you why this approach is a really bad idea.
Your new team member probably does not have a good enough grasp on what ‘good print management’ looks like – very few people actually do. It’s difficult to discern between all the printing options on offer and cut through the jargon – even for a more senior employee. In fact, leaving the print management process up to someone who doesn’t understand good printing management will probably mean you’re dealing with more than one of these headaches:
- Inconsistent pricing leading to paying premium prices and hidden costs;
- Receiving low quality end-products that may impact customers’ perception of your brand;
- Enduring correct branding elements;
- Taking away focus from your core operations; and
- Spending large amounts of time on what should be a quick and simple job.
Is this really the best approach if you’re trying to run a profitable business? Probably not. So here are six ways to stop mismanaging your print so you’re not throwing away money on your printing.
Six steps to better print management
Transitioning from a task that is often delegated to the newest team member, to making it a priority is a massive leap. Below is a step-by-step process on how you can prioritise print management:
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Know what you need – and what you don’t need
Keep tabs of all the printable items in your business, and how often they get used up.
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Streamline design by standardising design elements
Standardise all your branding elements, such as colour palette, logos, and templates – so you don’t have to keep redesigning each piece of collateral from scratch.
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Embrace online management
Centralise all your printing processes using an online print management platform, giving everyone access and visibility when they need it.
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Set printing goals
Give your printing clear goals to achieve, such as lowering costs, or going ‘green’ and eliminating waste.
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Leverage good design
Eliminate back-and-forth by investing in a designer to create print-ready materials and templates that can be easily customised by your staff.
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Report on your printing progress
Hold yourself and your team accountable by reporting on printing. How are you tracking on cost, waste, durability, quality? Reporting is a critical, and often forgotten, step of the process. This allows you to measure your progress, but also identify areas where you can continue cutting costs.
All of this sounds easy to say, but who’s going to do it? Especially with everything else you no doubt have going on in your business. That’s where we can come in…
Get a professional opinion on your print – on the house!
With 60 years in the print industry at Inkifingus Printers, we have helped many businesses in Australia gain a positive ROI through the effective use of our online print management system, e-Inki. Check your print health now
Find out if your business needs to refresh its printing processes with our complimentary Print Health Check – a completely free service we offer to businesses in Melbourne. We’ll audit your print processes, identify your printable items, and analyse how much you currently spend in order to devise a plan of attack that’ll get you a better ROI on your print.
Book a free Print Health Check here or give us a call on (03) 9882 4905 or send us an email at sales@inkifingus.com.au.
