Considering Printing/Distribution

[Jack Alford]

Hello everyone,

I've had a few inquiries regarding printing and distribution along with my design services. I use a company called sense creative personally and they are great with delivery and the quality is bang on.

I'm wondering if I should offer print services and put a little on for myself as a full time service as the company do a white label postage service. I would only be putting a little bit on but somethings better than nothing of course.

The people who have inquired have all been happy with the price I've given them regard the printing, I'm just not sure of the distribution side of things.

Has anyone done this before from my point now?

Jack

 

[zigojacko]

If you're acting as a reseller of a printers then they'd handle the distribution...? That's how they'd usually operate anyway meaning all you need to do is sell the service and place the order and make the payment once your client has paid you.

 

[Ashley_Price]

I'm wondering if I should offer print services and put a little on for myself as a full time service as the company do a white label postage service. I would only be putting a little bit on but somethings better than nothing of course.

Have a proper chat with the firm about this. You might find they will prefer you to advertise the same prices that they charge, then they give you a discounted price.

By offering the same price as the print firm, you're more likely to get the sale. So, for example, you charge the customer the usual £100 for 500 business cards, and then the print firm only charge you £85.00 for that job.

If you add on something for yourself, on top of the printing firm's prices, then you are in "competition" with them. Someone looking round for a decent price will see yours, then may coincidentally go to the other firm's, see their prices are cheaper for exactly the same thing, so will go with them and you lose out.

 

[Jon-YB]

Id agree with Ashley, Speak to you provider and see what they think, Im positive they would be keen for the extra business especially if you are up selling to your current customers.

 

[Deleted member 59730]

While nobody on this forum agrees with me be careful to spell out to your client what the relationship is. You cannot do both, add a fee for handling print and take a kick-back from the printer without informing the client.

 

[Ashley_Price]

While nobody on this forum agrees with me be careful to spell out to your client what the relationship is. You cannot do both, add a fee for handling print and take a kick-back from the printer without informing the client.

No, I do agree with that actually. It would be wrong to be accepting money from both sides. You either charge your customers a higher fee, or you get a reward from the printer.

My point was simply that if you charge a higher fee, and the customer looks around for other prices, if s/he comes across the prices of the printer you would be using, they are likely to use them direct because they are charging less for the same product.

 

[Deleted member 59730]

My point was simply that if you charge a higher fee, and the customer looks around for other prices, if s/he comes across the prices of the printer you would be using, they are likely to use them direct because they are charging less for the same product.

But the OP is providing design services AND the supervision of print. This is how design groups made their money before thousands of designers who had been to art school but not been taught about business practices. Supervising print, choosing paper, finish, colour etc is a skilled business which the client would find difficult.

 

[Ashley_Price]

Supervising print, choosing paper, finish, colour etc is a skilled business which the client would find difficult.

True, but they could get the OP to do the design work only, and get the printers to do the rest.

 

[Deleted member 59730]

But the designer would have the file and if he were businesslike would have already put into his quote the printing cost. I think that Jack needs to consider different scenarios and plan accordingly. A £1000 design job could have a print bill of £10,000. That would be £2,500 in his bank account instead of £1,000.