Saving Money on Printing

If you are unfamiliar with the printing process, it may not be obvious to you that small changes in your project specifications can result in huge savings overall!

• Make use of screened images and creative design techniques rather than using more than one color of ink. Our experienced graphic design staff are pros at making one-color-ink projects look exciting and professional without sacrificing cost. Ask for tips if you are designing it yourself.
• Ask whether it would be less expensive to copy or print your item. These two different processes involve different quality, different machinery, and different set-up procedures, and therefore different costs. For small quantities, copying may be less expensive, but may not be the quality you are looking for.
• Use colored paper rather than colored inks to highlight your item. Especially for quantities under 2500, colored ink makes the project more expensive than if you selected an attractive colored paper.
• Create your own originals on your home or office computer and bring them in to be printed. All you need is a clean black-and-white copy or compatible digital file, and your item can be reproduced.
• When placing your order, just ask us for ideas! We can tell you how your project can be completed with less cost.

Selecting the Appropriate Paper for Your Project

Whatever your project may be, paper selection will affect the final appearance and cost. A beautifully designed and printed project on the wrong paper can look frivolous or unprofessional.

Below is a brief summary of the categories of paper "stock" that we carry. Keep these categories in mind when selecting a paper stock. The "#" refers to the "weight" or "grade" of the paper.

Weight

Description

Suggested Uses

20#

Bonds are copier weight and work fine for one-sided fliers. They are the least expensive stock we print. We do not recommend 20# for self-mailers or two-sided pieces because the ink tends to show through.

One-sided flyers, Photocopies

24#

Stationery or writing papers are typically watermarked and are appropriate for letterhead, resumes, or other similar uses. These papers typically contain some cotton, and matching envelopes are usually available.

Letterhead, Stationery, Resumes

60# 70# 80# 100#

Offsets and text stocks are light-weight coated and uncoated stocks, but they are opaque enough to use for two-sided flyers, programs, booklets, newsletters or catalog pages. They also work well for tri-folded mailers.

Programs, Booklets, Catalogs, Brochures or Tri-folded mailers

67#

Vellum Bristols are the lightest-weight card stock we carry. These are acceptable for some postcard uses, but are not particularly firm and cannot be bulk mailed. They can be folded easily without scoring for program covers or similar items.

Postcards, Program Covers, Posters

90# 110# 140#

Indexes are grades of card stock and have a smooth finish. They work well for index cards or postcards and hold up well in the mail. They can also be used for posters, tickets, covers, etc.

Posters, Postcards, Covers, Tickets

80# 100# 110#

These coated or uncoated covers are appropriate for any project that needs a heavier-weight card stock. Typical uses include business cards, invitations, note cards, and direct mail postcards. If designed well, this stock will make any photo or image pop.

Invitations, Note Cards

It is important to note that a higher weight does not automatically mean that the paper will be heavier than one with a lower number. For example, we carry a 100# glossy text stock that is actually less thick than a 67# Vellum Bristol stock. Please ask if you are unsure about the weight of a stock.

In addition, if your printed items must be capable of running through a copier or computer printer, consult with our customer service representatives to discuss which stocks and finishes will work best. Most stationery stocks are available with a laser-compatible finish, but it must be requested at the time the order is placed. Some stocks are inappropriate for use with printers and copiers. We are happy to provide samples of our house stocks to test in your printer before ordering.

Remember: If you're not sure which paper is best, our staff is here to help!

Common Mistakes When Selecting a Printer

Avoid these misconceptions to get the most out of your printing needs

#1. Shopping for Price Alone.
It's always wise to seek competitive bids for your printing projects to be sure you're not overpaying. However, it's a common mistake to assume that the cheapest is best, especially when it comes to printed materials that represent your company or organization. Look for a printer that offers a good value: Quality, Service, and Price together. Price should not be so important that you are willing to overlook the quality of the printing or the good service you deserve. Consider these additional factors when evaluating printers:

• Does the printer have a reputation for on-time delivery?
• What is the size of the shop? Do they have several presses so your job can be printed even if one press has problems?
• How long has the printer been in business?
• Are they helpful? Have they been helpful in the past?
• Are they willing to provide references?

#2. Changing Printers Frequently.
Print buyers who are always happy with their printing projects will tell you that they have a particular printer they work with. This is not a coincidence -- developing a solid relationship with one printer will save you time, money, and grief in the long-run. A good printer will bend over backwards for a loyal customer at those times when the customer is in a jam. They may be less likely to do this if they know the customer is only a "rainy-day" customer. We consider our customers partners in completing their projects, and we can be most effective when we have a history and experience with the customer with whom we are working. To get the most from your printing dollar, you should consider your printer to be more than just an order-taker.

#3. Paying Commercial Prices for Small Projects.
While a "commercial" printer can show you some fantastic samples of printed items, be aware of the added expense of working with these larger printers. Commercial printers typically have large presses designed for high-volume printing (more than 50,000 copies). However, because of the costly set-up charges for these larger presses, your small project for 1,000 or 5,000 brochures becomes very expensive per piece. It may also take a long time (a week or more) to receive your project due to scheduling constraints typical in commercial pressrooms.

If most of your printing needs are characteristically ordered in quantities under 10,000, you should consider using an offset-based printer such as Bouwer Printing. We specialize in short-run, fast-turnaround projects while still offering the same full range of graphic design and finishing services available from a commercial printer. Our sheet-fed presses operate at a fraction of the cost of large commercial presses, and these savings are passed on to you.

Should you have a large project or one outside of our capabilities, we are happy to help you find a commercial printer who can handle the project professionally.

How Can Bulk Mail Save Me Time and Money?

Whether you are using your own piece or taking advantage of our "design to delivery" services, we have the experience and equipment to save you money on mailing.

Q: How can I save money?
A: If we prepare your mailing to go out at the bulk rate, a letter that would have cost you 41 cents in first-class postage can be mailed at a postage rate of 23 cents or less. This savings is offered by the post office because when we process your mail, we are doing some of the work the post office would normally do. The key is that what you would have paid in postage (in this case, the 18 cent difference) is considerably less than what you pay us to process your mailing (an average of 4 cents per piece). Here's a look at your savings:

Bulk mailing through Bouwer Printing

Doing it yourself

Postage per piece

23 cents (average)

41 cents

Cost per piece to label, sort, & deliver using your mailing list

4 cents (average)

Your cost to print labels and your valuable time spent applying them or printing envelopes

Total mailing cost per piece

27 cents

41 cents + more time

Savings per piece

14 cents, plus the agony of addressing and labeling!

None!

Q: Isn't bulk mailing complicated and time-consuming?
A: Yes! That's where we can help. We have the experience and equipment to save you money on mailing. If you use our services all you do is give us your mailing list on a computer disk (or purchase a list through our or your own supplier) and we'll take it from there. We:

• Check your list for accuracy,
• Eliminate duplicates,
• Add the ZIP+4 extension,
• Add the post office bar code,
• Print the addresses directly onto your mailing piece,
• Sort according to postal regulations,
• Complete the required post-office paperwork, and
• Deliver the mail to the post office for mailing.

Q: Is the expense of direct mail worth it?
A: Yes! Bulk mail allows you to deliver an effective message directly to those people who have the highest probability of responding to your offer. It's well documented that while the cost per 1,000 contacts is higher than newspaper or media advertising, the cost per responses or cost per sale is the lowest of any advertising medium. What does this mean to you? It means the quality of your contacts is better because you are getting more responses and making more sales per 1,000 pieces than you would get using any other means of advertising. Because direct mail targets your specific audience (and not an entire subscription body or listening audience), your message is carried directly and only to those people you want to receive it. Direct mail is clearly the industry's hardest working advertising dollar!

Q: Why do people use Bouwer Printing's bulk mail services?
A: Direct mail advertising using bulk mail allows you to place your information in the hands of every consumer you want to reach. Direct mail advertising using bulk mail doesn't rely on the consumer to "come to the advertisement" as traditional print and media ad methods do; instead, direct mail goes directly to your consumer, eliminating waste. Bouwer Printing & Mailing can save you considerable advertising dollars by showing you how to target your audience and take advantage of bulk mail postage rates.

Q: How can I make my mailing an effective, stress-free experience while saving money?
A: First, decide the following:

• Who do you want to reach with your mailing? All households in Shawano? All businesses in Appleton? All home owners over 30 in New London with a combined income of over $40,000?
• What do you want to say to your audience? That you're having a fabulous grand-opening sale? That you have a new product? That you're moving to a new location?
• When do you want to do the mailing? Consider avoiding holidays or other heavy mail times. Give yourself plenty of time to make all the preparations.
• How much can you spend? Be sure to consider the entire direct mail campaign, including postage. Establish a bottom-line budget to avoid over-spending.

THEN call us ...

• To help you purchase or set up a mailing list that specifically targets the audience you want to reach.
• To help you design a mailer that will be the most effective promotion for the least amount of expense, catch the attention of the recipients, and reflect the professional image of your company or group.
• To help you select the most exciting papers and inks for your mailing while staying within your budget and complying with current postal regulations.
• To help you estimate the total cost of your direct mail campaign.
• To help you more fully understand our "design to delivery" bulk mailing services and answer any other questions you may have.

Call us today for your free consultation!

How Do I Prepare a Mailing List File?

Our bulk-mailing personnel can accept mailing lists from almost any type of word processor, spreadsheet, or database, but in order to get your project "out the door" most efficiently and cost effectively, you can help by following these tips when you create and save your electronic mailing list file:

Save the list as a text file.
Just as there are many countries in the world and many languages, so too there are literally hundreds of software programs that allow you to create mailing lists, though most do not speak the same "language." Fortunately, there is a universal language that most programs share: the text file. Chances are, your mailing list program will allow you to save your list as a text file. By doing so, your software will be able to share the list with our software, without the need for reformatting.

Make the list uniform.
If possible, your mailing list should be uniform throughout; that is, every address on the list should occupy the same number of lines, usually 3 or 4. That means you may need to insert some blank lines into your list (use the Enter/Return key on your keyboard).

NOT Uniform (Some entries are 3 lines, some are 4) John Doe 85 One Way Anywhere, AL 12345 Jane Doe 123 Oak Lane Suite 456 Nowhere, NV 67891 Jim Smith 100 N. Elm Court Apt. 12 Somewhere, US 45678

Uniform (All entries are 4 lines) John Doe 85 One Way Anywhere, AL 12345 Jane Doe 123 Oak Lane Suite 456 Nowhere, NV 67891 Jim Smith 100 N. Elm Court Apt. 12 Somewhere, US 45678

Uniform (All entries are 3 lines) John Doe 85 One Way Anywhere, AL 12345 Jane Doe 123 Oak Lane, Suite 456 Nowhere, NV 67891 Jim Smith 100 N. Elm Court, Apt. 12 Somewhere, US 45678

Just ask!
If you need help with something that you can't find the answer to on our website, just call our helpful staff and we'll try our best to provide the solution you need. We are happy to test-run your file in advance of your order to check compatibility issues. A test run will avoid printing delays.

How Do I Prepare a Graphics File?
While our design department can handle a variety of electronic file formats, a little advance planning on your part will help save time and money in the long run. We are a Mac-based design center and primarily use Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Quark XPress, and we are happy to accept any compatible file format. We also accept several PC-based files such as MS Word and Publisher, but we do not design in these programs. To aid in the processing of your files, please follow these tips:

Use the proper color tagging.
Whether your job is spot-color or full-color (CMYK), make sure each element of your file has the correct color tagged. Do not design in RGB for print. Because there is a lot of variety in the way computer monitors display colors, avoid relying on your monitor to select colors. Use a Pantone chart if available or stop in to take a look at ours.

Send a hardcopy proof of the file(s) you are sending.
Test your file's output on your computer first, then send us a copy with your order. This will help us to determine if your file outputs correctly on our system. We will ask that you proof our output to be sure it is correct.

Send all files required for the job.
It may seem obvious, but if you don't provide us with fonts, logos, photos, or other important links, your order may be delayed. Put the fonts used to create a file into a FONTS folder, including bitmap and screen versions for postscript fonts. Please don't place other folders or files inside the FONTS folder.

Use helpful file names.
Each and every one of our customers is important to us, but with the large number of files that we receive, it helps when the files you send to us begin with your name or your organization's name. Do not save the file in generic terms such as "BC" or "Business Card", but instead use your company's name so we can identify the file.

Provide a "mock-up" if necessary.
Just like people, not all printed items are alike. Providing us with a sample of how you would like your finished piece to be folded or cut is the best way to make sure your project is finished correctly.

Just ask!
If you need help with something that you can't find the answer to on our website, just call our helpful staff and we'll try our best to provide the solution you need. We are happy to test-run your file in advance of your order to check compatibility issues. A test run will avoid printing delays.