Short Run Printing
The combination of digital printing equipment and the Internet has made cheap short run printing a reality.
In the old days of offset printing, the major expense was getting setup. It cost almost as much to print 1 copy as it did to print 1,000 copies.
Digital technology has change all that, however, and setup costs are now near zero on high end equipment making on demand printing highly affordable to consumers.
The Internet has helped because the high volume digital equipment is extremely expensive. For example, an HP Indigo Press 5500 will cost about $245,000.
However, since the printing companies can make their products easily accessible globally vs working only locally, they can afford the higher end equipment which means higher levels of automation making their printing costs are lower… therefore, you save money.
If you’re looking to purchase digital printing equipment, Imagers is a great place to start. If you’d rather get used equipment, eBay is actually a great place to look to get the best prices.
These days, just about everything can be done in a short run including:
- Books (Hardcover and Paperback)
- Brochures
- Business Cards
- Calendars
- Canvas Prints
- Catalogs
- CDs
- Door Hangers
- DVDs
- Envelopes
- Event Tickets
- Flyers
- Folded Cards
- Folders
- Greeting Cards
- Hang Tags
- Labels / Stickers
- Letterhead
- Menus
- Night Club Flyers
- Postcards
- Posters
- Rack Cards
- Sales Sheets
- Videotapes
- Vinyl Banners
- Wall Graphics
- Window Cling
Recommendations
CD & DVD Duplication
- Kunaki
- Disk Duper
Book Printing (Paperback and Hardcover)
- Lulu
- VanVolumes
- Royal Palm Press
- Pub Graphics
- Wert Bookbinding
- Endeavor Printing
- ShortRunBooks.com
- Art Book Bindery
Business Cards
- VistaPrint
- Overnight Prints
Postcards
- Prints Made Easy
- 48 Hour Prints
Multimedia (booklets, DVDs, manuals, etc)
- Corporate Disk Company (Disk.com)
Cloud Printing
- HubCast
Brochures and Posters
- Digial Graphic Services
- Digital Printing Company
I still haven’t any cool business cards, so I am thinking if I should do them myself or leave it to a professional designer. What do you guys think?