Printing Business: Here’s What You Need to Know

Summary:

Printing industry is a platform with a wide array of possibilities. And with the right knowledge you can stand outside the crowd in this huge printing market. So let us get started with the basics.

Printing press is one of the most important inventions in the history of humankind. It was invented in the fifteenth century (around 1448). Before this invention most of the books were written by hand, and it was a time-consuming process. His invention helped in spreading the knowledge in an easy way.German goldsmith Johann Gutenberg (1398 to 1468) invented the printing process. He started his career at the very small age of 13 years (1411) with his father. He was then learning how to manufacture the gold coins. In addition, during that learning process, he got an idea to get an impression on the paper. Now that is where all of this started.

Johann Gutenberg sacrificed everything in the journey of this invention. He is not only the inventor of the printing machinery, but can also be referred as the pioneer to help in spreading knowledge worldwide.

After knowing the history of how the printing press was invented, now you can know how from the traditional printing press to digitalizing the whole printing process, this evolution has transformed the printing industry. So, let us talk about the new era’s thriving digital printing industry:

What Is Digital Printing?

 

 

Digital printing is the process by which one can transfer the digital images directly on various types of media like canvas, fabric, media, card stock, etc. It is a cost-effective and an ideal option for the customers who need low volumes of printed products, as there is no need to make printing plates like mass-producing printing methods. Instead, the digital printing method uses laser printers.

Additionally, digital printing generally has a short turnaround time. This is a significant benefit for customers who want their orders ASAP.

There are many advantages of digital printing like:

• Faster response time.
• Archiving can be paperless.
• Personalized print jobs are possible
• More choices when in ink color
• Short print runs are possible
• Print only as much quantity you need
• More choices in materials

Top 5 Reasons to Start a Digital Printing Business?

If you are confused whether you should start your digital printing business or not, then we have the reasons that can influence you to say yes to this advantageous business idea:

1. Demands Minimal Investment

Digital printing is a simple method of printing from a digital-based image directly to a variety of media. This method usually refers to professional printing due to its perfect outcome. You will not have to do a huge capital investment for starting your own printing business by this method. It can also be considered as a low-investment, high-ROI kind of method when compared with other printing methods. Just make sure that you are investing in the right and only necessary printing equipment.

2. Easy Process

Using a digital printer is relatively easier than using a standard one. With digital printing, there is no requirement of printing plates, special inks, photo chemicals, and other equipment types that can be either expensive or difficult to work with. Additionally, the resulting colors of prints through digital printers are clean, vivid, and consistent throughout the material.

3. Demand Is Constant

Looking at the recent pace at which services are being digitized, it is sure that the demand for digital printing services will increase. It boils down to how you are going to compete with your competitors.

4. Promotes Efficiency

Aside from being easy to execute, the process of digital printing is also smooth and speedy. It means that you can work efficiently while making room for more orders as you go along. In addition, as we all know, more orders equal more revenue for your business. Moreover, with the neat finishing of digital printers, you will not have to worry about customer reviews too.

5. Offers a Lot of Products

The digital printing method is extremely versatile. As you know, with a digital printer, you can print on a variety of media, like photo paper, canvas, card stock, synthetics, fabric, etc. That said, there are many products that you can offer to your customers, such as:

• Invitation cards
• Product labels
• Restaurant menus
• Message cards
• Postcards
• Flyers and brochures
• Certificates
• Custom envelopes
• T-shirts
• IDs
• Tote bags
• Business cards
• Memo pads
• Legal documents
• Planners and calendars
• Custom notebooks

Top 4 Equipments You Need to Start Your Digital Printing Business

You have made it this far, so you are probably convinced to start your own digital printing business. Aren’t you? As we said before, starting a digital printing business will require a relatively small investment. However, you should know that the quality of every piece of equipment you invest in would ultimately determine the quality of your output, so we would advise you to not compromise on quality just to adjust the budget.

To get started, the following are the basic pieces of equipment that you would need:

1. Printer

The most vital and obvious piece of equipment for the printing business is a printer. Most people start their digital printing businesses with a professional laser and inkjet printer. This type of printer is easy to use but is also limited to standard size documents. You can invest in this one when you start, and as your business expands, you can invest in wide format printers and garment printers to increase the varieties of printing solutions you provide.

2. Cutting Tool

Except for cutting a lot of paper while running a digital printing business, you will have a lot of other things to look for. Thus you can have a cutting system. You can opt for either manual or automatic systems.

3. Computer and Design Software

In a world where people believe in customizing their stuff, you will need design software for sure. You can even provide an online product designer on your website for customers to design their products on their own. This way you can easily attract a large audience. The designer software will have all they need to design their art piece like various fonts, colors, clip-art, options of alignments, etc.

You will also need a powerful computer for handling the graphic design software of your choice. Additionally, you will also need a large storage space since design files often tend to eat up a lot of memory.

4. Binding Equipment

Binding equipment is not an absolute necessity, since not every print shop gives binding. You have various options if you decide to offer binding services:

• Thermal binders
• Wire binders
• Comb binders

Comb and wire binding enables you to get into the binding at a lower price point. Whereas, thermal binding equipment costs relatively more, but you can also charge more if you offer a high-end service.

Conclusion

I hope this information helped you in knowing what you needed to know about the printing business. The first step to start your printing business is knowing your audience and requirements. This will help you to know the equipment you require for your business. And all the further information is already in the article.

Author Bio:

Mr. Pratik Shah is Creative Head at Brush Your Ideas, a top-notch Web-to-Print technology solution provider that offers Custom Product Design Software as well as Web-to-Print Storefront Solutions. He has been a creative and driving force in the success of our T-shirt Designer Software.