How print buyers can make major cost savings with simple specification changes

Can you imagine life without the car? For most of us it’s now an essential part of our lives. But it took a challenge to the way things were to create the car.

Henry Ford is reported to have said that he ignored what his customers wanted. He said that, if he had asked them, they would have asked for a faster horse drawn carriage. He needed to challenge the specification of the horse and come up with something totally different.

Print buyers need to challenge specifications too

The right changes in print specification can create much lower print budgets. Find out more

Print buyers who challenge specifications will create stronger partnerships with their internal clients. They will show their client’s how print budgets can better controlled. And they will achieve better results for their clients.

Print buyers who do not challenge specification won’t have the same relationships with their internal clients. They’ll just be seen as order processors. They won’t have any control over the work they are placing. And they certainly won’t achieve the best results possible for their clients.

Here are three ways to challenge specification and get those great results.

Have a look at what the job is being printed on

Many people are far too generous with paper specification. Paper can often be on too heavy a weight. I recently saved a client over £10,000 on a catalogue by reducing the paper weight. But the effect of this change was barely noticeable because we used a bulkier paper stock.

I also find that sometimes the grade of paper is specified that is more expensive than it need be. This can actually make the product less effective. I often see forms printed on expensive art papers. But it would be much easier to write on an offset.

However, paper is not the only way to reduce costs on a product.

Review the size of your product

If you are producing leaflets in large quantities there are good opportunities to review costs. The items are likely to be planned up on a sheet. This means that many items will be printed on the same sheet. By reducing the size by a few millimetres it is often possible to fit more on a sheet. The number of sheets to be printed is reduced. And so is the cost of the job. I have sometimes seen a 20% reduction in the cost of a leaflet after reviewing sizes.

Items that are printed on web presses can also have cost savings. This is achieved by reviewing the reel width. Making a magazine 10mm narrower can have reduce paper costs by 4.5% or more.

But sometimes reducing costs can have nothing to do with paper and size. Sometimes it is possible to reduce costs without changing either of these elements.

Challenge the print run

I sometimes see print buyers examining specifications in great detail, but not reviewing the print run. However, there are many instances of wasteful over-production. There is often a temptation to print more “just in case”. A good print buyer should see whether all this production is necessary. But sometimes they should do this in reverse.

I recently showed a client 16% savings by printing more items. They were busy producing small batches of standard items. And the savings were achieved by combining them all in one long run and managing the delivery.

Naturally, we sometimes spend a lot of time working on solutions like this and find they are rejected.

What happens if the budget holder isn’t interested?

I have seen a number of print buyers present solutions such as the ones that I have described above. But they went into great technical detail. And they forget to focus on the key factor that the budget holder was interested in: the saving.

Go to a budget holder and start by telling them that you believe that you can save them X% on a job. Then you will always be listened to.

Sometimes they will feel that a change isn’t worth it because the actual saving is small. It is important that you remind budget holders of a key rule.

Lots of small savings add up

I did some work with a publisher and suggested that some magazines would benefit by changing from perfect bound to saddle stitched. On each magazine the saving was small. But we were looking at over twenty magazines. And the combined saving was worth a substantial five-figure sum to the publisher.

But it requires the print buyer to take the initiative for this sort of work.

Here are three action points for you

  1. Gather samples of your ten most common jobs. Challenge the specification, paying attention to paper, size and print run. Ask a printer to help you if necessary.
  2. Price up the savings.
  3. Highlight the potential savings to your budget holders. Then ask for a meeting to discuss the changes further.

This article has focussed on some fairly simple changes to specification. But as you gain trust with your budget holders, you can become more radical. You can suggest personalisation, augmented reality and even NFC.

You could become the Henry Ford of print!
=====================================================
P.S. The Print & Procurement will help you reduce your print costs. You’ll also receive our free pdf report “Ten Common Print Selling Errors and What To Do About Them”. Sign up right today.

4 Responses to How print buyers can make major cost savings with simple specification changes

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Free Buying Advice
Download the E book

Download "Ten Common Print Buying Errors and What To Do About Them" (worth £25/$41) absolutely free, and receive regular practical articles on print buying.

Client Testimonial

I have worked with Matthew for just over a year now and he has delivered a number of highly successful training events for the IPIA during that time. He is very organised and produces seminars which are full of

Read the testimonial from Andrew Pearce
Client Testimonial

Matthew provided an excellent “Print Processes” training session for myself and some of my colleagues.  The feature that I liked most about the training, was that the day itself was very interactive – which not only

Read the testimonial from Rhoda Day
Client Testimonial

If you think you are on top of your print buying you might be in for a surprise! We asked Print & Procurement to undertake a print audit. Matthew said ‘’If we do not find savings sufficient to earn back our fee

Read the testimonial from Rod Fletcher
Client Testimonial

Matthew is a consultant who is totally committed to his clients and to delivering on his promises.  He has an excellent understanding of both the challenges of the print channel and the opportunities it presents. As a

Read the full testimonial from Jacky Morgan
Client Testimonial

Apart from being a thoroughly decent chap Matthew is scrupulously professional, ruthlessly efficient and always delivers excellent results.
I genuinely have no hesitation whatever in recommending Matthew. He

Read the full testimonial from Simon Lewis
Client Testimonial

In an industry renowned for its pressure, Matthew Parker delivers a very gentle but insightful intelligence about the ways of print. Somewhere between art and science there is a place that defines the balance of what

Read the full testimonial from Andy Dowen
Recent Posts

Four ways automated print pricing can make a buyer’s life easier (and how to choose the right system)

Do you struggle to find enough hours in the day? Whether you’re a full-time purchaser or managing a more general administration role, the pressure on your [more]

Why beating printing companies down on price is not the best way to reduce costs

For me, few things are better than standing on the summit of a mountain The route up a mountain is hard.  There’s a lot of work [more]

Three reasons why print buyers should challenge supplier choice

My daughter was about to burst into tears I had asked her what flavor of ice cream she would like. She gave me the same answer [more]

Why print buyers who stick to cost-cutting are failing to do their job

Wouldn't a garden look bare without anything in the flowerbeds? My wife is a keen gardener. One of her most regular jobs is the weeding. It's [more]

Three specification questions that can reduce the cost of printed items by over 30%

The print industry is dying There are huge amounts of overcapacity. Printing companies are tendering suicidal prices. So all a print buyer has to do is to [more]

Three questions print buyers must use to challenge process and prevent 30-address syndrome

Can you imagine writing the same address over 30 times? Wouldn’t it be a complete waste of your time? Aren't there are so many better things [more]