Print services, or document services as the category may be called mean the printing of forms, envelopes, catalogs, brochures, etc. Copy services and machines from companies like X I C may also be included in this category, especially during a cost containment/vendor consolidation exercise.
Here are 7 things I learned about buying print services:
1. Be careful of overage charges in copy machines lease contracts. Employees use a significantly larger number of copies than they estimate they will.
2. Catalog printers will insist on a clause in the contract severely limiting their responsibility for printing errors. This may be a tough area of negotiation.
3. It is a tough call whether you should let your printer buy the paper or use a paper broker. Printers and brokers have a very antagonistic relationship so it is hard to get reliable information from one about the other. Consider your options carefully. I tend to lean towards not using a paper broker since that is adding a middleman to the process and another layer of bureaucracy
4. Your catalog printer should be able to advise you about saving money on mailing. Co-mailing (mailing your catalog with another of compatible size printed at the same time) could save you a bundle.
5. A cost per catalog difference of a cent or two might seem insignificant, but consider how many catalogs will be printed over the life of the contract.
6. If you negotiate anything unusual in the contract price-wise, check the invoices carefully to make sure accounts receivable was made aware of your special pricing.
7. Believe it or not, end user training on new copy machines is as necessary as it is with any other commodity.
Comment Preview