Wow what a year for Paper!
Any one using print can probably relate to the term ‘paper price increase’ Sadly these aren’t crafty ways to increase margins for printers, but part of the onslaught from European Paper Mills to apply fairly regular increases to print companies. These are generally in the region of 6%-8% which on tight margins can be painful, so why are we telling you this?
Partly to explain that these increases are real, so when mentioned by your supplier you know it to be true, but at the same time we can offer some guidelines to help neutralise the increase and you will be able get better value for money and potentially save money on your print! These easy tips can work wonders and with the arrival of the GDPR legislation in the Spring, print is about to become the safest and most cost effective marketing tool at your disposal.
- Brands– Don’t get too caught up on branding of paper, in a similar way that we buy a ‘Hoover’ which is in fact a vacuum cleaner, a common trend is to ask for ‘Something nice quality, like Conqueror’ in reality there are many other options that can be far more cost effective and deliver the exact same quality feel. Talk to us (or your print supplier) about other options that deliver that same finish without paying for the brand name.
- Paper Weight – Not the ornate glass dome on your desk (like we all use on of those nowadays?!) But paper weight can be measured by the end user subjectively. Would a client notice the difference between 150gsm silk and 170gsm silk? Probably not, yet if you are designing a brochure at A4 size, 32pp x 5000 copies for example this difference can save you over £100+ vat – this is only a weight difference of 20g per Square metre so a fractional difference on an A4 brochure
- Weight versus Thickness – We all buy paper in terms of weight but of course judge it buy how it feels, (or it’s thickness) Were you aware some papers are thicker than others despite being the same weight. This is dependent on the surface of the paper, the smoother the finish the more the paper has been compressed and effectively polished to get that smooth surface. Hence Gloss papers always feel thinner that the equivalent weight in a Silk paper. Why not change over to silk or matt coated paper to enable you to save on weight but gain on ‘feel’ or calliper.
- Merchants – Does your print supplier just deal with the large paper merchants? Have they completed research on independent paper merchants? Most likely not, but by all means ask us if there are alternative sheets that are most cost effective. Asking your supplier to look at alternatives is a quick and easy way to pick an appropriate material from (potentially) an independent who has excess stock or a less mainstream mill paper that delivers the result you want at a price to match.
If you are working on your marketing strategy for 2018 and would like to look at the cost effective ways to achieve the results you want, why not give us a call? We have some creative ways to help. Click here to contact us and quote ‘Beat Paper Prices 2018’