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Stop the Bleeding: A Great Way to Reduce Print Costs
Melanie Kissing over at the Sustainable Printing blog gave 5 great ways to save money on printing costs. She’s got some great tips including using standard sheet sizes of paper, no bleeds, and printing double-sided.
Cutting the bleeds and using standard sheet sizes go hand in hand. Here’s why: a printer uses sheets that are any multiples of 8.5″ x 11″, with 17″ x 22″ being the most common. This allows a printer to run 4 copies of your piece on one sheet, and then cut them to size. It saves labor, click charges (the cost of running one impression through their printer), and lets them buy paper at a cheaper cost.
Let’s say your print job is an 8.5″ x 11″ sheet, which means the printer will get 4 sheets out of the 17″ x 22″ sheet. But you want a full bleed, which will cause your costs to go up.
That’s because the electronic document you’re going to provide your printer will be 1/2″ bigger than the sheet, or 9″ x 11.5″. And depending on how you lay it out, you can only get 2 sheets that size out of a 17″ x 22″. Which means the printer is going to get a non-standard size of paper, which means the costs will go up, which means your costs go up.
The easiest way to solve this is to do one of two things:
- Stop the bleed. Either use a white background, or live with a 1/4″ margin all the way around the page.
- 2) Use a solid color for the background. Avoid photos, patterns, and textures for backgrounds. Pick an all-black or all-blue or whatever color you prefer, and set the margins 1″ from the edge. This way, when the printer cuts the sheet, you avoid having a sliver of one sheet on the other, which is why most bleed projects need that extra half-inch.
photo: Peretzpup
The Greener Side of Print Finishing
As a print shop owner, you’re hearing more and more requests for non-toxic adhesives, recycled paper or even suggestions on how a client can make a print job “greener.” You may be stocked with natural dyes and recycled paper, but what about offering green design solutions?
Here are some design tips that you can share with your clients to help make their project budget and earth-friendly:
Opt for Smaller-sized Collateral
Smaller projects will fit on a smaller press sheet and can help eliminate waste.
Minimize Printing Processes
While this isn’t necessarily sound business advice for the printer, helping your clients minimize their use of printing processes could keep them coming back for future “green” projects. You may not be able to sell them on metallic foil, but you could get them to pay an added premium for a vegetable-based metallic ink.
Design for Updates
Design your pieces so that they can be easily updated. For example, bind a small booklet with a removable band instead of adhesive or use a folder instead of stapling.
Use PDFs for Proofs
Try to use PDFs instead of printing out proofs wherever possible.
Opt for FSC- or SFI-Certified Paper
There is a common misconception that de-inking post-consumer paper takes more energy. But, there are actually a wide range of sustainable/green (i.e. FSC- and SFI-certified) paper stocks that are coated and uncoated and offer numerous options for a high-quality final product and at an affordable price.
Opt for Biodegradable Laminates for UV Printing
UV coatings are incredibly cost-effective, but they’re also mineral based and most laminate coatings aren’t recyclable. However, Dikeman Laminating Company has recently introduced a biodegradable and compostable film in both matte and gloss finishes. It’s more expensive, but could be a “greener” choice for clients who want an environmentally-friendly UV printing job.
Educate Your Clients on How to Dispose of the End Product
If you’re producing a product that has staples, coils, foil or glue, then educate your client on how they can recycle the product. For a truly “green” design, suggest that your client include a “How to Recycle This Document” section or information panel somewhere on the finished project.