Tips On Starting a Small Commercial Printing Company - Commercial printing is indeed big business because of the price of machineries, equipment, and supplies needed to start one. The start-up capital will have to be big, but you can save as you start a commercial printing company.
Tips On Starting a Small Commercial Printing Company
By Kaye Z. Marks
Sep 1, 2011 - 2:14:26 AM
Commercial printing is indeed big business
because of the price of machineries, equipment, and supplies needed to
start one. The start-up capital will have to be big, but you can save as
you start a commercial printing company.
Here are some things needed in opening a printing company. Your printer
and computers might be expensive, but the rest of your operations can
continue even with a tight budget. The most basic need would be the
commercial printer itself, the cutter, the finishing materials, the
paper supplies, the ink, the plates (if you are going to do offset
printing), and of course your computers. Then you would need personnel.
Initially, you may need one layout artist who will also be your creative
department head and an assistant artist who can also do most of the
finishing jobs like cutting, binding, and packing.
You, being the owner,
could handle the business side of things, including marketing and
finance. You will also have to agree on who will handle the printing. On
the other hand, you could alternate the printing tasks, whoever is
available. Everyone will have to fill in two shoes. Should the orders
increase for a period and you would need additional personnel, you can
just hire a part-time hand that can assist you with finishing so that
all of you can concentrate on business and creative work. After all,
finishing tasks can be no-brainer jobs.
Maximize the use of your computers. Most likely, you already have a
desktop or a laptop for your personal use. You can double its use for
your business proposals and financial statements. However, you will need
to purchase two more units of desktop computers with high
specifications for the layouts. These will be for your two artists. You
can just add units if you will add more personnel. As such, one computer
per person would be enough.
While you may think that you are just a small printing company, you
could still stock on paper by purchasing in advance, especially those
normally ordered by your clients. This will protect you from price
surges and also increase your profit margin when the prices suddenly
increase. Since you already have the paper stocks on hand, you can
increase prices based on the current rates and enjoy better profits.
You
may also want to dabble in the printing of special materials like
invitations and stationeries. You do not have to the special papers in
advance because these are expensive. Instead, ask for samples of
materials and available colors from your supplier. The client will just
choose from the swatches should they prefer to use a certain material.
This will keep you from stocking up expensive material that will remain
unused for some time.
Just a reminder though. This might be a small commercial printing
business but you should make sure that you have secured the proper
business permits and legal documents to operate such. And pay your
taxes, too. It would be great to enjoy the rewards of your growing
commercial printing company without having to contend with legal battles
or the IRS because those are real hassles that could also put an end to
your operations. So be warned and be careful against legal
entanglements.
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