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Printing
Business
Startup
Stuff Every Business Should Know
 Printing Business Startup (Stuff Every Business Should
Title
Know )

Author Master Steve

Colleagues Somayeh Amiri, Tara Kamangar

Layout
Keyvan
Designer

Publisher Silk Road Publishing (Toronto, Canada)

Printed Book: 978-1-927060-83-4

ISBN
EBook: 978-1-927060-84-1

Website www.MasterSteve.com

Note: The author of this book gives the right to use

the present content, provided that the source is cited,
to professors, educators, teachers, lecturers, and
academic and non-academic educational centers, for
an indefinite period.
The copyright of this book is internationally registered
for the author.

Attributions:
Images Credits: Macrovector - pikisuperstar / Freepik
 Content

Introduction ............................................................................................ 5

Chapter 1: Introducing the Printing Business. .............. 6

The Role and Importance of a Print Broker ........................ 8

Types of Print Brokers .................................................................. 12

Chapter 2: How to Enter the Print brokering Market. .... 13

1. Choosing a Name ........................................................................ 15

2. Defining the Suppliers.............................................................. 17

3. Defining the Target Market ................................................... 19

3
4. Estimating the Competition Status and the

Printing Business Startup

Competitive Advantage ................................................................ 21

5. Advertisement............................................................................... 23

6. Taking Orders .............................................................................. 26

7. Delivering Orders ...................................................................... 28

Chapter 3: Printing Stages.......................................................... 29

Prepress Stage . ..................................................................................... 31

Printing Stage....................................................................................... 33

1. Types of Printing Methods .............................................. 34

1.1. Print on Paper ............................................................... 34

1.2. Printing in Large Format .........................................37

1.3. Imprint (Print on Promotional Gifts)................. 41

 2. Types of Printing Papers................................................... 42

3. Size of Printed Products.................................................... 44

4. Print Run................................................................................... 46

Finishing Stages of Printing.......................................................47

1. Print Coating .......................................................................... 48

2. Print Binding ......................................................................... 49

3. Folding Line ........................................................................... 50

4. Perforation ............................................................................... 51

5. Numbering ............................................................................... 51

Afterword ........................................................................................... 52


4
 Introduction

Some people assume magazines, books and

5
other printed products will soon be obsolete due to

Printing Business Startup

the invention of internet. Throughout the time, this
industry has been through tremendous changes,
becoming more modern while plainer in nature.
Several common and intricate applications are
introduced in the market and any user can work with
them.
In this book, the basic concepts of printing business
are explained to provide basic introduction for those
who aim to start working as printing service providers.
First, you get to know the roles and types of print
brokers. Then, you will be guided on how to enter the
market. In the following sections, you will learn the
different stages of conducting a print.
 Chapter 1

Introducing
the Printing
Business
Design and printing are enticing businesses. Most
people who are involved in these fields are print
brokers rather than owners of a printing office.
Starting a print brokering business does not require 7
any capital. Being aware of the following topics,

Printing Business Startup

anyone can start working in this field. By providing
such instructions, I aim to create jobs and foster
entrepreneurship. One of the lines of criticism I receive
is that I am introducing new people into this field by
such introductions and I am making competitors for
the old enterprises.
You must understand that there is a huge capacity
in the printing market. Furthermore, the presence of
newcomers will result in an atmosphere of healthy
and fair competition. If there is no competition in
a guild, the business in question will go into inertia.
Due to the same reason, many large corporations
face collapsing.
 The Role and Importance of a Print Broker
Specifically, 99% of people working in the printing
industry don’t get involved in technical aspects of printing.
The rest 1% are producing customized orders which are
different from routine requests. The major part of the
Introducing the Printing Business

market receives routine and traditional orders.

Print brokering, which plays a vital role in the
printing process, is a type of brokerage. Instead of
directly visiting a printing office, customers prefer
to use a print broker’s help while they apply various
ordinary and intricate applications and this is due to
some of the services print brokers provide.
Print brokers act as a mediating element between
a customer and a printing office and they do the
printing process from A to Z. Some publishers provide
8
the same services but a publisher’s job is specifically
defined as printing a book while the printing process
is mostly defined as what a print broker does.
Back in the day, print brokers would follow and
execute the entire printing process while nowadays,
printing office is responsible for everything regarding
lithography, printing, print binding and so on so forth.
Therefore, print brokers are only involved in the
design section, and after receiving the final format of
a print, they deliver it to the customer.
Print brokers don’t get into the details of production
and machinery; they only care about the quality and
the price of an order. They eventually add a certain
percentage of profit to the price stated by the printing
office and announce the total fee to the customer.
 One of the interesting things about a print brokering
business is that you have the least involvement in the
printing process. Even some customers design their
own work and the involvement in the design process
is also reduced to minimum for a print broker. A
successful print broker must concentrate his/her time
and intelligence on bringing in customers.
Instead of direct communication with printing office,
a customer would prefer to carry out their printing
orders through a print broker for the following reasons:
The first reason is that an owner of a printing
office is more involved in technical issues and they are
unable to spend time and energy on communicating
with individual customers with minor orders. 9
Assume that a customer goes to a printing office and

Printing Business Startup

orders a visiting card. Such order is a minor order with
a small price. Instead of spending time on such orders,
an owner of a printing office would rather handle the
production process.
The second reason is that customers are not familiar
with printing matters and lack any sort of knowledge
about technical printing issues; therefore, they are
unable to convey their ideas clearly to the owner of
a printing office. If customers pay a visit to a printing
office for an order, the whole printing process will
seem pretty complicated to them.
In case of a direct visit to the printing office, there will
be a possibility for the printed product to be different
from the one a customer would expect. This is a costly
issue because the profit margin is narrow in printed
 products and a reprint would impose a severe loss on
the printing office. That’s why a print broker would
explain the technical printing issues for a customer in
the customer’s language and takes the order but offers it
to the printing office using the printing technical terms.
Introducing the Printing Business

The third reason is the services which are exclusively

provided by a print broker. Due to a busy schedule,
providing such services is not possible for an owner of
a printing office.
The fourth reason is that a customer does not
need to interface with various printing offices for
different orders as there will be a more diverse access
to products when the customer use a service of a print
broker. Print brokers would publish anything while
most printing offices and publishers only work in a
10 certain field and publish limited products. A customer
can use a print broker to avoid communicating with
several printing offices to provide his/her products.
The fifth reason is cost reduction for customers.
A print broker would prorate the production cost
according to the number of orders he/she keeps.
Assume that only a visiting card and two brochures for
a company are supposed to be designed in a sheet. In
that case, the cost for design, printing plate and print
would be only of those two items, and paper waster
would be a lot; but a print broker would put 100 different
visiting cards in one single sheet and all the cost will be
consequently prorated; if the visiting card would cost
1500 dollars in the first case, it will cost 15 dollars in the
second case. This makes it possible to cut unnecessary
cost and maximize profit. In the past, there were fewer
printing orders and it could take a month to fill a sheet
but now it may take just two days or less.
Hence, print brokers are the common language
between a printing office and a customer and they
transfer the technical and specialized parameters
of a printing office in a simple and understandable
language to customers who lack specialized knowledge
in this regard. They also communicate customer’s
needs to printing offices.
For example, you help a customer voice their
intention to have a banner that is suitable for outdoor
spaces to printing office. It is your job, as a print
broker, to explain to the printing office in a way that 11
the printing office would understand that the banner

Printing Business Startup

should last six months under the sun without fading and
discoloration. The customers cannot do that as they do
not understand the nitty-gritty of printing nor do they
understand the factors that must be considered for each
peculiar printing process. In other words, as a print
broker, you transform the unspecialized comments of
a customer into applicable and understandable ideas
and deliver them to the owner of a printing office.

A print broker is a mediator, and

his job is an important business
that does not include the total
elimination of mediators.
 Types of Print Brokers

The first group includes digital print shops or copy

centers which perform most of the printing process
using some plot printers and copy machines and
outsource the rest of the job.
Introducing the Printing Business

The second group includes graphists who are

working in the printing industry. All graphists can
provide design products and supervise the printing
process. Besides, many graphists get involved in
printing job.
The third group includes publishers who are
following the printing job more professionally and
printing is their specialized job. Publishers provide
printing services but they are not owners of printing
offices.
12
The fourth group includes advertising firms. This
group conducts designing, filming and photo shooting
but they are constantly tempted to accept printing
orders as well.
The fifth group includes print brokers. This group
simply plays a mediating role. They don’t own any
printing machinery but usually act like an owner of
a printing office. This group comprises the subject of
this book.
 Chapter 2

How to Enter
the Print
brokering
Market
How to Enter the Print brokering Market

Information and awareness are the prerequisites of

entering the business of print brokering. A customer
expects a print broker to explain complicated concepts
for them in a simple manner according to their expertise.
A print broker must hold minimum information
14
regarding this industry. A part of information will
be acquired on the job while one is getting more
experienced as a print broker.
When you are closely engaged in a topic, your mind
gets engaged as well and this engagement facilitates the
learning process.
A print broker who is looking for a strategy to enter
the market will face some basic questions as follow:

ƒ
What method should I use to start my business
considering the laws of the country in question?

ƒ
Should I establish a company or is it better to work
solely?

ƒ
Is it necessary for me to rent a shop?
ƒ
How can I use tools such as websites and catalogs
to introduce myself?
To enter the printing market as a print broker, you
must thoroughly define your roadmap in great details.
Then, for you to be recognized in the market, you
must write a feasible marketing plan..
In general, you go through the following stages to
enter a printing business:

1. Choosing a Name
Pick the name of your business after you decide to
work as a print broker.
The name you choose for a domain is of great
importance and it shouldn’t necessarily reflect printing 15
anything related. You can choose the name based on

Printing Business Startup

geographical area or the domain of your activity and
the way you entered the market. For instance, if an
organization decides to work as a print broker for hair
salons, the smart thing to do would be to pick a name
which is related to the same guild.

The more specialized your

target market is, the more able
you are to attract regular and
repeat customers.

Register the internet domain of the name you pick.

You are sometimes required to register the domain
of similar names so they would be exclusively yours.
 For example, if your business name contains the
word ‘doctor’, it will be better for you to register
domains both as doctor and dr.
In picking a name, another item to note is that you
How to Enter the Print brokering Market

should be able to develop it into a brand. Branding is a

costly and time-consuming thing to do. The printing
business is a growing business with a bright future.
Therefore, if you can manage to turn your name into
a great brand, you can take your success as a guaranteed
fact.

16
 2. Defining the Suppliers
In printing business, it greatly matters to cooperate
with authentic suppliers. Define your suppliers before
you define your target market. Suppliers are the most
important factor in success of brokerage businesses.
As long as you have access to suppliers, you can do
your job in the best possible way.
Besides, printing offices, you may have to deal with
other suppliers such as graphists, post-print services
and providers of printing materials. When you have
more suppliers to work with, you have less concern
regarding the provision of your customers’ orders and
the risk of losing orders is reduced as well.
As a print broker, you must be able to deliver a printed 17
product to the customer with the best quality as soon as

Printing Business Startup

possible. In order to do so, you need to have a permanent
contract with the printing office, so they prioritize your
order when taking printing orders is at its peak.
When you have long-term cooperation, the supplier
gives you the product with lower price. Naturally, the
way a printing office interacts with minor customers is
different from the way it interacts with a print broker
who works with them permanently.

The type of collaborative

contract with suppliers can
bring comparative advantages
regarding quality, price and
time of production.
 Define your comparative advantage in collaboration
with suppliers such as printing office and graphists.
How to Enter the Print brokering Market

Comparative advantage of
production and specialized
view toward the printing
industry are the two principles
in writing marketing plan for
print brokering.

18
 3. Defining the Target Market
Just like the case with other business, defining the target
market is of great importance in this business as well. By
doing market research, define whether you want to work in
a certain market or you are going to communicate with all
guilds. Do you want to work in a certain geographical area
or do you want to cover the entire country in your work?
People from all social classes can be your target market
in print brokering business; even a housewife who
publishes a photo of her family in form of a wallpaper
and puts it on the wall is your target market.

In a print broking business,

19
divide the target market into

Printing Business Startup

two categories and separate
the business purposes from
personal/domestic purposes.

Stay focused on one or several

markets; identify their needs
professionally so you can
maneuver more easily.

When customers realize you have sufficient

information regarding their guild, they are surprised
and care more for your counseling. In addition, when
you work in a certain market, you have more to say
and obviously, you have more to gain.
 There is a North American company which provides
printing services for dentists. It is interesting to know
that dentists assume that the experts of this company
have specialized knowledge of dentistry as well, while
How to Enter the Print brokering Market

such assumption is not true. Using such device, this

company provides its services with prices higher than
other companies. Their customers are permanent.
Due to mass production, the prime cost of this
company is also less than what other companies offer.
On the other hand, since they have the designs and
forms used by dentists, dentists don’t need to pay
extra cost. The company shows a catalog of these
forms and exclusive printing materials to dentists and
their secretaries and takes an order. It has no special
idea but dentists prefer to work with them since this
20 company provides their routine needs. This company
does not apply new methods and tools, so they can be
easily replaced by a professional broker. Dentists have
lots of catalogs and anyone who once takes an order
from them will permanently have something to do.
One of the hints of this business is that what is
produced must be a consumable product, and your
target customers must constantly need to give an order.
So, there shouldn’t be any lifelong products such as
wallpaper, which may not be required to get changed
any sooner than ten years. By choosing one or several
exclusive markets, you get the chance to be a professional
in the market and consequently, you can find competitive
advantage by offering professional counseling services.
This means that counseling services open another vista
for you and earn you more loyal yet regular customers.
 4. Estimating the Competition Status and the
Competitive Advantage
Identify the stance of competitors in the market.
In the printing market, profit margin dramatically
differs for different companies; for some, the profit is
10% and for some others, it is 400%.
You should check the type and the size of a company
which gains a 400% profit.
Providing extra and exclusive services results
in attracting the customers and it increases the
competition potency. Concentrate on creating a
competitive advantage. Since companies and other
businesses consist of the most of customers in this
business, they look for more services and easier 21
ways of doing things rather than lower prices.

Printing Business Startup

Hence, quality service should always be given to
your customers. You should never compromise your
quality to offer your services to your customers at
lower price.
Make it clear whether you have any competitive
advantage in price or you provide some special
services. You should have an advantage about which
you could talk in the market. In that case, you wouldn’t
be afraid of experienced print brokers and you can
easily enter the market.
One of the advantages of print business is that
you don’t produce a product unless you have a
customer. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about
not selling your products or the loss you would face
when there are no sales. In fact, you provide your
 printing services using your expertise after you bring
in customers. When the customer accepts your price
and you close a contract, you don’t have to worry if
your competitors are offering cheaper services to
How to Enter the Print brokering Market

lure your customer.

22
 5. Advertisement
You can use the conventional methods such as
sending emails and having a face-to-face conversation
to advertise and introduce your printing business. In
this business, two types of advertisements, including
online and in person, are applicable.

ƒ
In-person Advertisement
Face-to-face advertisement is still considered
as a unique and favorite method. Some customers
are willing to see the designed samples of a
printed project in person and touch the paper by
themselves. When giving in-person counseling,
it is necessary to bring some popular samples of
23
printed projects such as visiting cards, folders,

Printing Business Startup

brochures, catalogs and posters. Keep some
elegant and expensive models of such samples in
a case and carry them with you all the time.
In in-person negotiation, the first impression
of you perceived by the other party is of great
importance. It is preferable to wear a combination
of clothes which are peculiar to your brand. Put
aside any presumption you have in mind about the
other party immediately you enter the meeting
and then, open the case containing your work
samples.
Along with a case of your favorite work samples,
you need a catalog containing an image of your
other work samples. You can turn over the catalog
and show them to your customers.
 In addition to the aforementioned items,
you should have an inventory of the prices of
your products. It should be possible for you to
calculate and announce the price of printed
How to Enter the Print brokering Market

products in real-time. If you are unable to do

it in real-time, having a list of prices handy will
help you.
In this job, it is absurd to have a time-consuming
process for calculating the price. Back in the day, it
would take two days to two months for a printing
office to announce the price. I used to announce
a price immediately and take the project despite
asking for a higher price and demanding it to be
in cash.
In today’s world of print industry, instant
24 quotation is one of the important tools. A print
broker must be able to give a price instantly
knowing the type and number of a product.
In the list of prices that you make, you should
discard prime cost and simply put the selling
price. An advantage of doing so is that you can
avoid bargaining.
Many print brokers carry several numbers of
a list of prices for their products. If a customer
asked for a product which is not listed, as
professionals, the print brokers instantly calculate
and announce the price. Otherwise, they ask for
an interval to do the calculations and give the
final price.
 Sometimes due to the fluctuations in prices,
you constantly have to update the prices. You need
to carry a laptop or touch-screen tablet. Define the
formula for the way the price of a product increases
according to the amount of raise in the price of
paper, printing plate or press. For example, a 25%
increase in the price of paper will add 10% to the
price of a brochure. Using such formula, you can
calculate final prices at any time.
While presenting in person, you should have
access to beautifully designed products. Making
a video of the products and showing them to the
customer is even better.
25
ƒ
Online Advertisement

Printing Business Startup

In online marketing, you should have intriguing
tools on the internet, especially on your website.
This is necessary to retain your regular customers
and attract more new customers. If possible, you
can provide a section of online chat for customers
so they don’t have to visit in person. A customer
would appreciate time-saving actions. It’s better
to provide an online system or you can at least
present the catalogs and prices on your website for
online access.
 6. Taking Orders
The present conditions are especially suitable for
new people to get into the print brokering business.
How to Enter the Print brokering Market

Online systems have dramatically transformed

marketing principles and they still have a huge potential
for change. Such systems are playing important roles
in the print market and they give prosperity to print
brokers by facilitating the whole job for them.

When working professionally

and online, one must be both
an expert in the corresponding
profession and a proficient
26 user of internet.

Using online systems, a customer can check the price

on the website for any printed product with certain print
run and an intended design. For instance, a customer
wants 500 single-sided visiting cards in four colors;
he/she can instantly check the price. If the customer
decides to change the print run to 1000, he/she can
again see the price in real time. For instance, we have
put 120000 prices in the website of our ad company but
we are still in need for an update of new prices due to
the high variation in products and prices; for example, a
visiting card can be printed in several forms (rectangular,
rounded corner, etc.) using different types of paper.
 Instant quotation is an import-
ant principle in attracting cus-
tomers.

Certain applications can be used to calculate the

price by receiving the properties of any product. Due
to price fluctuations, it is not possible to use such
applications in Iran.
There are many advantages in having an online system
in a print broking business. These advantages include:

ƒ
In online environment, a customer can’t tell if the
27
online system is presented by a print broker or a
printing office.

Printing Business Startup

ƒ
Using an online system, a customer is able to sit
behind his/her computer any time during night
and day, and register his/her order.

ƒ Using an online system for getting orders will reduce

the order expenses for a print broker. It is time-
consuming and costly to take orders in person because
transportation is necessary and you must spend
some time negotiating and convincing the customer.
Therefore, a broker’s profit margin will be reduced
but an online marketing has none of such expenses.

ƒ
In an online method, the customer is obliged to
pay an advance payment and there is no concern
about signing off. Hence, the online method is a
secure trade method.
 7. Delivering Orders
There are two options for the way a product is
delivered to the customer who has ordered it:
How to Enter the Print brokering Market

ƒ
You can deliver the product to the customer at
their place.

ƒ
A customer can deliver the product in person in
your workplace or in the printing office.

28
 Chapter 3

Printing Stages
How to Enter the Print brokering Market

A print project goes through three general stages:

IV. Prepress stage (preproduction)

V. Printing stage of a product
30
VI. Finishing stage which mostly happens in
bookbinderies
 31
Prepress Stage
Prepress Stage

Everything such as designing what is going to be printed,

filming and printing plate, is a part of prepress stage.

32
 33
Printing Stage
 To print whatever you
Printing Stage

want to print, you need to

be aware of certain items
such as methods of printing,
sizes of printing, types of
34
printing papers, print run
and so on and so forth.

1 . Types of Printing Methods

1.1. Print on Paper
Print on paper includes printing books,
magazines, visiting cards, brochures, etc. This
method is performed in two ways:

ƒ
Offset print

ƒ
Digital print

In offset print, first, there must be a

printing plate in lithography. Printing plate
is a metal plate like the stereo-plate put into
an offset printing machine. Previously, it
was necessary to make a film before using
the printing plate, but there is no need for it
anymore because of the modern technology
that is obtainable in printing industry.
Each color requires a printing plate. In case
of a full color print, four printing plates are
used for the four primary colors. This method
is cost-efficient when the print run is high.
Offset printing has two types:

ƒ
Roll print

ƒ
Sheet print
35
Roll print is used for projects

Printing Business Startup

with large print run such as
newspapers and magazines or
certain catalogs like device
manuals which are published in
large print run.

Offset print is usually

conducted through sheet print.
Although sheet print is not
economically justified for many
products and they must be printed
through roll print, some products
such as campaign posters will be
printed through roll print if the
print run is large enough.
 In offset print, you have to pay the cost for
printing 5000 copies even if you only need
100 copies to be printed out. That’s because
there are fixed costs, such as printing plates
and launching a printing machine. This poses
a limitation as printing plate will diminish in
quality after a given number of print runs.
An effective factor in print costs is the type
of material used in the process. Each printing
plate costs 100 dollars. If this plate is used for
one single product, all costs must be paid,
Printing Stage

and if it is used for 20 products, the cost will

be divided into 20, which makes the product
cost-effective. This is quite reasonable!
As mentioned before in the example of
36 visiting cards, the projects must be put into a
print sheet so the offset print will be
economically justifiable. It used to be hard
for print brokers to do so, but nowadays, the
sheet gets filled in much quicker time using
online marketing methods.
Digital print is cost-effective
in short print run. In this type of
printing, there is no need for a
printing plate but the materials
are more expensive. Gradually,
the costs will be reduced and
a huge load of projects will be
printed through digital printing
machines.
1.2. Printing in Large Format

The usage of printed

products in large format
is increasing even though
printing certain items such as
books, magazines and catalogs
is reducing.

This type of printing finds new applications

every day. For example, wallpaper was used
to offer prearranged form but everyone can
print his/her favorite photo on a wallpaper.
Printing in large format is very profitable in 37
wedding ceremonies where all table sheets or

Printing Business Startup

the background of where a bride and a groom
are seated contains a photo of the couple.
Choosing between roll and sheet prints
is a matter to be considered in this type of
printing as well.

ƒ
Sheet in large format is called a rigid.

ƒ
Roll in large format includes banners.

The machines used for this type of printing

are expensive and they cost about 300000
dollars. However, it is cost-efficient to buy
them. Various brands such as HP and Fuji
produce these machines.
 One of the interesting things about
this type of printing is that it provides an
opportunity for individual creativity. There
are new cutting machines in the market
which make you think about doing new stuff.
These machines bring out the ingenuity and
help an individual to create new designs and
different printing products.

ƒ
For example, box manufacturing is a
huge industry, but you previously had to
Printing Stage

produce more than 10000 boxes of a kind

to justify its production economically.
That’s because it has expensive template
and it costs a lot to design it as well.
However, using new cutting machines,
38
you can produce 20 boxes from one
sheet. You can get special customers and
demand high prices for your products.
That’s why large format printing has a
bright future.

ƒ
In this type of printing, you have open
options in designing the outdoor space.
For example, you can print the products
using these machines instead of sticking
them on the doors which may eventually
lead to some problems such as air bubbles.

ƒ
There is a bright future ahead of printing
on fabric as well, and banner printing
is practically becoming outdated. The
 drawbacks of a banner are that it breaks
when you try to fold it, it’s heavy and it’s
difficult to transport. Instead, fabric is
light and it has none of those problems.

ƒ
Currently, there is an increasing trend for
car wrapping and designing. Previously,
stickers were used on cars and they had
low quality with air bubbles under them.
However, there are currently stickers
in the market which are even more
appealing than car wrapping.

ƒ
Car wrapping has a good market and
you don’t need to go after other fields of 39
printing. Wrapping on the roof of a car

Printing Business Startup

is a very difficult job to do and graphic
specialists are unable to do a delicate
design, but exciting designs are being
introduced, printed and installed on the
roofs using modern machines.

ƒ
Interior designers use this type of printing
in wallpapers or big panels for back
lights. Since there are many houses, the
market for this job will be huge. It is hard
for companies to pay for new decorations
but the cost will be reduced and they will
be able to have new decorations because
of the large format printing machines.
 Since the large format print
brings a great profit. It is
economically efficient to work in
a specialized field; for example
you can specifically offer the
products which are printed on
front doors of houses.

For instance, let’s assume the price for a

printed banner is 150 Dollars per square feet,
and the unprocessed banner you ordered has
Printing Stage

arrived from China at a price of 35 Dollars.

Even if this price is 40 Dollars and even if 10
Dollars is added to the price for each foot, the
price cost for you is 50 Dollars per square feet.
40 You can give 30% discount for each 500 Dollars
order. This discount is 45 Dollars of 150 Dollars.
However, since the prime cost is low for you,
you make a good profit. In case of large print
runs, you can even find someone in China to
print and deliver the banner.

Don’t sell cheap for no reason.

You should give the main price (150

Dollars) and consider a discount as a gift to
earn the market or you can give out some
free items such as banners which are useful
for all businesses.
1.3. Imprint (Print on Promotional Gifts)
The third type of printing is imprint or
print on promotional gifts such as mugs,
pens, T-shirts and boxes. In this regard,
you are advised to work with suppliers who
can provide printing services in addition to
providing your required materials. This is
necessary so you can receive the prepared
product instead of buying the pens from
a supplier, paying the transportation fee
and waste your time to print the products
somewhere else; unless you buy the most
overused promoting goods in wholesale
41
and print and sell them gradually in short

Printing Business Startup

print runs. A pen with a digital panel is one
of the examples along with other attractive
promoting gifts.
 2 . Types of Printing Papers
The nature of printing materials in one of the
important points to consider as a print broker.
Except the type of the paper in use, there is no
need to know the characteristics of other materials
in offset print and other items such as catalogues,
brochures and visiting cards.
There are different types of paper in different
countries based on people’s taste.
Types of paper are categorized based on
Printing Stage

grammage. A print broker must be able to know

and identify the right and perfect paper for each
print product.

42 ƒ
250g paper is used for book covers.

ƒ
135g is usually used for brochures and flyers.

ƒ
Some paper types are more expensive and
they are used for special purposes.

As a print broker, you don’t need to be fully

aware of the sizes of papers but it is good to know
them. 100*70 and 60*90 are the most common
sizes for printing papers in Iran.
In large format printing, you can maneuver
more easily in design if you know the size of papers
and there will be less paper waste. In comparison
to offset print, materials are more diverse in large
format printing,
 Vinyl is one of the most common materials
found in the market in form of rolls. The other
material is Coroplast which is used as rigid. The
new machines can print on fabric and cardboard
as well.
The quality of materials is irrelevant in the
case of imprinting. However, some materials are
influential. Since promoting gifts are used in a
short period, the quality of materials isn’t much
noted. However, some customers care for the
quality of promoting gifts when they order them.

43

Printing Business Startup

 3 . Size of Printed Products
The size of printing products is another item
of which a print broker should be aware. You
should know the size of those products which are
most commonly ordered in the printing world.
For example, you should know in what sizes a
visiting card is printed. It is not hard to get this
information.

ƒ
Visiting card is not printed in different sizes.
Printing Stage

There is only one standard size plus a bigger

one and a smaller one. You need to know all
three of them.

44
ƒ
You should know the common sizes of flyers
and postal cards. These products are printed in 3
or 4 different sizes. Of course, there are different
sizes in customized orders for clients as well.

ƒ
Book is one of the best-selling products and
people who work in this field know that
this product is printed in folio, medium
octavo, Imperial octavo, square and pocket
(octodecimo) size. Medium octavo and
Imperial octavo sizes are the most common
ones and the rest are of less importance.

ƒ
There is a great variety in size in case of
large format printing. Therefore, no special
standard is applied unless you are working in a
certain target market.
 You should consider two points regarding the
size of products in large format printing:
First, if you are working in fairs and exhibitions,
you should know the size of a roll-up banner. If
you don’t know these standards, the design you
send for printing won’t be consistent with size of
a printing machine and it can’t be produced. Be
aware of the basic points about products so you
know the limits in which you can maneuver in a
design project. This is basic information that you
must always have as it is required for you to be
consistent with whatever you are printing.
Second, a customer can’t ask you for a product
when its sizes aren’t consistent with sizes of a 45
printing machine. If the product can’t be fit into

Printing Business Startup

a roll machine, several sheets must be used. Large
format print sheets are essentially 4×8 feet (there
are 5×10 feet versions as well).
Let’s assume a customer orders a 5×9 product
which is not possible to be produced unless there
is a roll machine for which length does not matter
and you can print with whatever length you want
but the print design shouldn’t be bigger than the
width of the print machine.
If the width of the design is larger than that of
the machine, it should be printed in two pieces.
However, you must realize that a line will be
visible where two pieces are attached together.
Therefore, you should identify the maximum
sizes of the print machines used in the market.
 4 . Print Run
ƒ Print run is an essential element in offset
print. When print run for a visiting card
raises from 1000 to 10000, the prices won’t
get 100 times higher; however, it may get
10 times higher. This is cost-effective and
reasonable.

ƒ
There is no filming and printing plate in
digital print. However, print run will affect
Printing Stage

the price.

ƒ
Print run affects the price in large format
printing as well, but the effect is negligible.
Since the configuration of the machinery is
46
time-consuming for printing a certain design,
it is economically beneficial for a printing
office to print a common design more than
once.

ƒ
Print run also matters in imprint and the
effect is something between what it is for
offset and large format printing. This type
of printing requires troubling configurations
and the costs will be prorated when the print
run is increased.
Finishing Stages of 47

Printing
Finishing Stages of Printing

It was already mentioned that the first stage of

printing is preparation, which includes designing,
filming and printing plate. The next stage is printing
and the final stage is the finishing stage of printing.
The stage after printing is called finishing, which
48
includes print binding and coating.
The services provided in the finishing stage of
printing are one of the most lucrative parts of a
printing business. These services are as follows.

1 . Print Coating
Coverings are all called print coating. Matte,
varnish, laminated and UV are different types of
coating and the important ones are matte and UV.

ƒ
UV coating means adding a shiny quality to a
print product.

ƒ
There is a type of UV called local UV, which is
only implemented on certain parts of a page
and those parts get shiny.
 ƒ
Matte coating is the same as UV except the
product is matted in this case.

ƒ
Laminated type is another type of coating
which is mostly used in visiting cards and
cardboard flyers.

For glossy papers with low grammage which are

mostly used for covers of magazines and books, UV
or cold varnish may be the only options to be used.

2 . Print Binding
Basic information is enough in case of print
binding. There are different types of binding: 49

ƒ
Swen binding

Printing Business Startup

ƒ
Glued binding which is presently conducted by
machines and a folding line is drawn on the cover.
The final price offered by printing offices for
a print product includes binding costs as well. For
example, you ask the printing office for the price
of a 120-page book with 500 print runs, 70g paper,
250g cover and a glued binding.
Print binding is rather a specialized topic that
matters for people who are involved in binding books
and magazines. There aren’t many applications for
binding in other areas unless, for example, you
want to publish a booklet for an exhibition or a fair.
Of course, bookbinderies perform different parts
of finishing stage besides print binding.
 3 . Folding Line
Folding line is also a part of the finishing stage
of printing which is conducted in the printing
office. A folding line divides an invitation, a
brochure or a catalog into multiple parts so you
can fold them.
Finishing Stages of Printing

In a book, a folding line is drawn near the

spine so the book wouldn’t open to the end and
the biding glue would last longer. This process is
defined in folding machines.
Folding machines are devices which can be
programmed to fold a brochure in different
levels and in a way you want. Folding is mostly an
important part for brochures where for example,
50 a Z folding (accordion fold) is used.
4 . Perforation
Perforation punches small holes and carves a
dotted design on a paper. For example, a ticket
is a paper which can be divided into two pieces
where each piece can be delivered or put into the
box.
The perforation process is done after printing
by certain machines.

5 . Numbering
Numbering is applied in certain products
such as bills. There is another type of numbering 51
where every printed product gets a number but

Printing Business Startup

this method is not very common and it has its
special machines and customers. They define
specific numbers for the machine so the number
given for that sheet would be printed in every
course.
The next level is sticker numbers which
can be removed after scratching. This type of
numbering also has its own special machinery.
Stickers have a market of their own. Some people
are specialized in stickers and they don’t work in
other lines.
 Afterword

The printing world is so expansive that you can

start a prosperous business by engaging in just one
single part of it. One who decides to work as a print
broker will need this collection of information. Using
this knowledge, you can easily understand all the
meanings intended in this industry and practically
Finishing Stages of Printing

launch a print brokering business. However, you must

always give quality service to your customers – ensure
your products are top-notch.
Furthermore, to be successful in printing business
world, you must be up-to-date and constantly on the
lookout for new technologies, products that can aid
your printing job and help you offer more options to
your customers.
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