Online printing services emerged in recent years as brick-and-mortar printing companies have begun to lose ground. You have more than a couple of reasons that you might choose an online printing company over the other choices. Nowadays, you have more custom printing options than ever before. Let's have a look.
Available 24 Hours Per Day
With online printing, you can access the services and information instantly. You no longer need to drive to a promotional printing company that opens and closes at regular business hours. Think of it in terms of the time saved. Rather than hopping in your car and taking 25 minutes to drive to your printing company, you can do it straight from the convenience of your home. You no longer need to waste time in commute or waiting until the business opens the next day.
You should, however, understand one thing about 24-hour printing service. While you can print your business logo at any hour, this refers to capturing service. Someone at the company will receive the order and process it. They might help you to design your files or get you ready for tomorrow. Still, they won't begin printing until 9 am the next morning when the other employees arrive at the business.
Affordable Pricing
Brick-and-mortar printing companies often deal with tremendous overhead costs, which will mean higher prices for the customer. When you go to get your promotional products from them, it will cost more. With online promotional printing services, you save money because they save and pass the savings on to the customer. You would ideally want a company that offers free shipping to lower the costs. Beware of how some online printing services will charge astronomical prices. In some cases, they may offer to give you "Free business cards," but they will charge much higher on the shipping to offset the cost.
The other advantage of having your business logo printed from a company online is that you don't need to worry about hidden costs. At a brick-and-mortar establishment, they have a reputation for hidden fees that add up. Most online printing services will act transparently when dealing with customers. You know what you will pay because you pay it upfront, and don't have to worry about the costs after they perform the service.
Rich Selection of Choices
Have you ever visited a local print shop and found the choices lacking? Many people report the same problem, and the biggest issue stems from how printing companies only have so much space for their products. In comparison, online companies offer you a much greater selection. Many of the traditional printing companies will often specialize in only certain types of prints. While that might be fantastic if you need a specific type of thing like promotional products of a certain quality, it doesn't lend itself to giving you many choices. With the online options, you can print your promotional logo or choose screen printing. There are far more choices online and especially for those who live in a small city where the options may not be as great.
High-End Printing Equipment
To do full-color printing requires high-end printers, and most brick-and-mortar printing companies can't afford the high cost. They need a higher volume if they will justify the cost of paying for a Heidelberg printer, which can cost up to $24,000. Online printing companies can afford this more easily because they can pull customers from around the country and even globally. This makes it more worth it for them to invest in more costly printing equipment.
With higher-end printers, the quality tends to be much better. Especially when you want a promotional logo or custom printing, the colors offer better consistency. What it looks like on the computer, for example, often looks different from its appearance on the page. That can hurt you when you need the materials to promote your business. Going with online printing services will often yield better printing quality, especially when you seek a company with this available.
Access to Professional Designs
Professional designs can cost anywhere from $300 up to $1,300 for the best business cards. Not every business can afford the cost. Many online print shops will include templates and logos that you can use for your business. It serves as a big bonus for anyone who wants an inexpensive way to get started. Startups may find that this helps them to reduce their overall costs.
Still, you have to remain aware of companies that may only offer low-quality designs. If it doesn't look appealing, don't waste your time. Enough companies out there offer these services. You also want to make sure that the final product looks highly professional especially when your customers will be the ones who see it.
Awesome Customer Service
Even when you first bring your business to an online printing company, you can often receive some excellent advice on the services. These are people who have made a living out of being a printing company, and they have seen what works and what doesn't. You have the potential to save thousands of dollars on your printing from their advice. If you experience a problem, you can speak with knowledgeable staff through multiple channels for customer service. With the average online printing company, you can contact them by phone, email or LiveChat. One of the examples is how some customers will accidentally design over the cutting line. It makes little sense to do this but some customers will go over on it, and it winds up costing them more. Speaking with a professional can help you to weed out these problems.
Fast Processing of Orders
In most cases, online printing companies will offer you much faster processing. You can receive your prints much sooner than with a brick-and-mortar establishment. With traditional companies, it can take up to five business days. You can expect at least that much time. Online printing companies, in comparison, were made for businesses short of time. They can still take time to finish, but it's often less time than if you had hired a traditional company. Speak with the company in advance to learn about your printing time.
Easier to Get Quotes
Phoning around for quotes on the pricing can take hours, and you may still not have found a good one. In comparison, online printing companies offer quotes upfront and quickly. This makes it much easier for you to get started and finish your work sooner. Productivity is one of the most essential things for a business to earn well.
Print More Items
The spirit of the age demands custom printing because you need multiple things to showcase to the world who you are. To give an example, T-shirts, mugs, cards and notepads all can use custom prints. You can print other things as well with online printing like:
- Banners
- Grocery bags
- Car wraps
- Letterheads
- Mousepads
- Leaflets
- Brochures
- Hologram stickers
- Membership cards
Great for Low Volume Print Jobs
Many times, you can get a better price with the online print companies over the traditional ones. You have cases where a low-volume print job won't bring in a lot of profit but you still want to do it. One of the examples of that would be if you were printing newsletters.
Ask for Specific Paper
Every business will have different needs because of the different tasks that they need prints for. Online printing companies give you the flexibility to print on the paper that you want to use. Different papers will serve different purposes like glossy is especially good for marketing materials. Inkjet printer paper is good for when you will print with photos. You might use matte paper when you want to make a photo book or need to print something that won't create a reflection. A bright white paper can be used to catch the eyes of your audience.
Some Industries Especially Benefit from Online Printing
You have some industries that will benefit even more from online printing. For example, healthcare is a good industry for this because you have several patient reports, and it requires remote printing. The next industry that can benefit is education. Multiple things like flyers, newsletters, magazines, and certificates can all be printed in the education sector from an online company. Finally, advertising and marketing would benefit. Printing flyers and brochures quickly and effectively, for example, will be of benefit to the advertising and marketing sector.
If you'd like to learn more about screen printing or another online printing type, contact Good Promotional Products. We are headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but we ship worldwide. At the same time, you will find us easy to work with, and we can help you with finding the right promotional goods. You will find that we have thousands of great products that we can put your logo on.