Say
you need 15,000 copies of a black and white letter. Or, maybe you need
500 copies of a full-color sales sheet. Should you photocopy or print
them? With copiers becoming more sophisticated all the time, the line
between copying and printing is becoming much more blurry. Here are some things to consider:
Photocopying
(which includes "digital printing"
for the purposes of this article)
Time: Copying can usually give you
a fast turnaround of small, or even large, quantities. A copy shop usually
has several machines ready to work as soon as you walk through the door.
There's also no costly preparation involved.
Money: Typically there's a fixed price associated
with each copy. This makes photocopying ideal for lower quantities but
quite expensive for larger quantities.
Quality: Though photocopiers have come a long way,
printing still wins the prize for quality. Toner can chip off and typically
photo reproduction quality is second grade comparatively. You'll also
have fewer choices in terms of paper stock. Linens, in particular, do
not work well for photocopying.
Printing
Time: Typically, a printing job will take longer as there's some
"pre-press work" to be done. Direct-to-Plate
printing cuts a lot of time and money out of this process. A print shop
will usually have only a few presses at their disposal so your project
will have to wait in line behind jobs that came in before it.
Money: Because of the higher costs of the press,
film and plates, you can expect to pay more for a printed job. A high
print quantity will offset these costs and will result in your paying
less per piece as the quantity rises. Again, direct-to-plate printing,
because you don't have to pay for film, can bring the price of smaller
quantities way down.
Quality: The quality of the printed product is
far superior, in most cases, to photocopying. You'll also be able to choose
from a much wider variety of paper stocks.
But, what if it's simply a question of price? Let's go back to the scenarios
in the first paragraph. If you need 15,000 of a black and white sheet,
should you print it or copy it? How do you figure it out? Quite easily
actually. Call the people doing your printing or copying and get prices
from person/company for your specific quantity. Divide each price by the
quantity (15,000 in this case) and you'll have the "per-piece price"
for both printing and copying. In this case:
Printing: $450/15,000 = $.03 per piece - the price winner
Copying: $750/15,000 = $.05 per piece
Okay, how about our 500 color sales sheet example? Printing will give
you the best quality product but are you willing to pay for it? Let's
take a look at some figures.
Printing: $750/500 = $1.50 per piece
Copying: $500/500 = $1.00 per piece - the price winner
GIVE US A CALL. WE WILL FIGURE OUT WHICH IS BEST FOR YOU!