Advice for a newbie

[Primrose]

Hello, I'm new here. I'm in a difficult, urgent situation with my printing and was hoping to get some help from anyone who can spare the time. I'd be infinitely grateful...


MY SITUATION

I run a small customised greeting card business and we currently outsource our printing. Since February, they have charged me a flat rate of $0.72 per A7 postcard but in the middle of November they raised it to $2.05. I diligently support local businesses and would understand a reasonable price adjustment but I think a 300% hike with no warning or explanation is absurd.

I feel so betrayed by this shop, which (in my opinion) has tried to rip off my fledgling business right when we were about to do our peak trading (Christmas cards). I charge $1.89ea for my cards and as I haven't been able to find a solution in the last few weeks, I've been making a loss on all my orders.

I am desperate to find an alternative. I would really like to buy my own printer but my options seem to be very limited.


BUDGET, REQUIREMENTS, PREFERENCES

Budget: $2,000

Media: Almost exclusively, 300gsm / 110 lb linen card stock.

Quantity: Currently about 10,000 a month.

Preference: I spoke to Xerox Australia and they explained their Service and Maintenance program where I would pay per print (works out to ~16c per double-sided 5x7" postcard) and they take care of consumables and service. I imagine with paper, I could get my cost under 50c. I love this idea but unfortunately, all the Xerox printers in my price range only go up to 216 gsm.


QUESTIONS

• Are there colour printers you can recommend (under $2000) that print on 300 gsm card stock?
• If I bought a Xerox machine that says 'up to 216gsm' and fed it 300 gsm, would it be able to handle it on the down-low, or would I break the machine?
• If Xerox is out of the question, which are the next best brands / models?
• Is laser better than inkjet? I have read so many differing opinions, I feel so lost.
• I looked at an Epson Stylus® Photo R2880 which says it handles 350 gsm but I'm worried about the whether the ink would be so expensive that it wouldn't be worth doing my own printing. (There is almost never any white on my designs - the ink coverage is 100% of the A7 card.) I also read reviews where the paper jams. (Why I'm so attracted to the Xerox service program.) Nevertheless, is the R2880 a possibility?

THANKS

Thank you for any help you can give me. About a year ago my son was injured at school and is now special-needs. I quit my job as a medical intern and we relocated for his care. I am sitting on huge student loans and my husband is a teacher so our finances are really tight. I am desperate to make this business work but this price hike and the technical side of trying to find the right printer just makes me want to sit down and cry. If anyone can help, or at least point me in the right direction, I can't tell you how much you will really be helping. Thanks again.

 

[Muddy]

I hate to say it and I certainly empathize with your situation but you won't find a printer within that budget. A real printer is going to start at 10x your budget. Mine is 40x that, and then some.

 

[Primrose]

Hi Muddy. Thanks for your reply, even though it's hard to read...I've been doing research over the past few days but I think I've always known that our budget is too small to make it even worth looking at buying our own printer now. If I stop looking though, I don't know what to do next... Ah, denial. Maybe $2,000 of lottery tickets... Thanks for taking the time!

 

[tshark]

If you can find a used Xante it might fit your needs. Supplies are not inexpensive, but they are durable machines. Maybe an Oki. They can handle thick uncoated stock.

 

[JayDA]

About the only thing that's going to fit into that budget is an Oki, they can be had used in that range. But I would be hesitant about it if you are used to outsourcing, it's a completely different world. For example, do your cards bleed? How will you finish them?

 

[Primrose]

Thanks tshark and JayDA. I hadn't looked at Oki (hadn't heard of it.) I was looking at Xerox, Epson, HP, and Ricoh. I will look at their options now.

JayDA can you signpost some of the things you're referring to when you say it's different? I'm sure it is, I just want to look up anything I don't know / hadn't anticipated. I do design my cards with a 3mm bleed around them and crop marks, and I have a guillotine that I can use to trim them down to size. Is that what you meant by finishing them (cutting) or is there something I've overlooked?

Thanks so much for your input!

 

[Josh]

Have you tried to find another printer who you could outsource the work to?

Is each A7 card personalised?

I'm in the UK and know that a lot of the personalised greeting card businesses farm the work out, even some of the bigger ones... I'd have thought you just need to find the right partner to work with!

The volume you mention... is this individual A7 cards? Or A3 sheets?

 

[Primrose]

Hi Josh. Thanks for your time. Yes, I did look at the one other possibility near me. Unfortunately all my colours came out horribly distorted on their printers-- I spent ages reading up on colour management and trying to adjust them but it didn't work.

In any case, I don't think they really wanted my business-- It seems they print mainly large quantities and it was probably quite troublesome for them to consider doing my comparatively small batches. At $1.29/5x7 card, they were also quite expensive.

I wish I still lived in the States or the UK. Australia is so far flung and it seems everything is so expensive here. Printers that cost $450 in the US are listed here at $1699+.

Sorry, I should have been clearer- the 10,000 is per 5x7 card, not A3 parent sheet. Each batch of cards is personalised but there aren't individual names on each different card. They sell in sets of 25, and I usually receive about 7 orders a day, with the typical quantity being for 50 cards.

Thanks everyone for your help so far.

 

[Josh]

10,000 per month at 0.72c (your original price) works out at $7200... thats a pretty considerable print spend!

I honestly think you just need to find the right printer to team up with... you need to find someone with a production digital press and who you get on with!

Is there any reason you need to restrict yourself by location? Could you broaden this a little bit? Could the orders be sent direct from the printer to client?

 

[ADMAN]

Happy to help Primrose

Happy to help Primrose

Please send me printing quote details and I will organise a competitive price for you.
We are a printing company on the Gold Coast and deliver jobs all over the Australia

Adman

 

[natty]

Hi,

We are an online printer based in Australia, we specialize in short run digital printing..

You can get prices off our website www.pixo.com.au/product/flyers

I am fairly certain you will be impressed with the pricing...

 

[ADMAN]

Thanks Natty, we are a Medium size printing company with large sheet work presses.
Adman

 

[Primrose]

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply! Thanks for the advice about drop shipping. I had thought about this a couple weeks ago and completely forgotten about it over the past few days when weighing up my options again.

I originally discarded the idea because I like to check everything before I send it off to clients. Until I tried printing at the other place I mentioned, it hadn't occurred to me that not all machines would print the same way, and I am scared to print and send without seeing them first to make sure the colours are right.

I also like to package my cards in nice boxes with satin ribbon, thank you card etc which I couldn't get if I were to drop ship. But I think I'm just going to have to let go of that quasi control complex and consider that option.

Adman and Natty, thanks for chipping in! I'll be in touch soon for a quote.

 

[MrKarter77]

Please send me printing quote details and I will organise a competitive price for you.
We are a printing company on the Gold Coast and deliver jobs all over the Australia

Adman

Where abouts are you located? if its qld, our shop is north qld

 

[GusG]

Budget: $2,000

Media: Almost exclusively, 300gsm / 110 lb linen card stock.

Quantity: Currently about 10,000 a month.

Why not look at a used Xerox DC12 or DC3535, you must be able to find one or even two with your budget? Despite being specced for 250 gsm I run 300 gsm SRA3 through mine all day long and I do way more than 10,000 SRA3s a month.

 

[oxburger]

Have you looked in to Web2Print companies such as Vista Print? They may be able to do your printing for you.

 

[OkiTech]

Well, for start why not try to find out which machine your cards being printed on at the place that doing it for you now... It should not be a big secret, most likely they will be happy to show-off if you ask... You may research the internet than...