Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Discount Printing

Starting a discount printing business is one of the easiest and smartest decisions that I have ever made. Although I now do quite a bit of work, the discount printer idea was originally thought of as a way to make money without working. I got the idea when a friend asked me to help her put together a presentation at the last minute. Basically, there was very little to do besides some busy work. All I had to do was to help her get everything set up right to print and then run the copies off. I realized then that people would probably pay a fortune for a deluxe discount printing service.All I really needed for the discount printing service was a high-end printer, a powerful computer, and some basic supplies. Although it cost me a few thousand dollars to get my discount print shop ready, after an initial investment, I knew that overhead would be pretty low. That is one of the great things about running a discount printing business – your expenses are really reasonable. All I would need was ink, various paper stock, and an occasional printer servicing. The costs would be proportional to how much business that I did, which meant that I would always be able to afford them.I found a supplier for cheap printer toner, set up my gear, and I was ready to go. I won't say that we are the cheapest printer out there, but we do have some good prices with a great turn around. The thing is, I was trained as a graphic designer. I fell so easily into this job that it even scared me. Although I often get rave reviews from clients about the quality of my discount printing company, for me it is all in a day's work.One of the great things about discount printing is the high rate of customer loyalty. You would not believe how many of my customers come back again and again to have me do the job for them. Many of them have had last-minute jobs messed up for them before by other discount print houses. If I do a great job even once, I have them hooked for life. And once I hook them, I get their friends and associates as well. Word of mouth really is the best for of advertising, especially in the business I am in.