3-color stationery: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

By Guest Contributor, Steve Brennan, Fowler Printing and Graphics, Randolph, MA

We need to order stationery. Do you react to that sentence with an “Oh, no” or see it as a new marketing opportunity? Whether you’re a new business, an established firm, or an individual, stationery is the one product that represents you to clients and customers each and every day. Steve Brennan, owner and president of Fowler Printing and Graphics, gives us some advice on designing and buying business cards.

The GOOD

As a complete package for a new client, a three-color stationery package can help your client stand out from the competition. Three colors give the designer more flexibility, and the client is always impressed with the results. It’s important to note that the individual cost of the business cards is often subsidized by the rest of the printing.

The BAD

Now jump forward six months. The company is growing. The first thing that growing companies usually need is additional business cards for the expanding staff. For the first order, say they need 500 each of 12 new lots, plus some reruns of the original cards. The client has a large invoice, but heck, it’s for 15 or more lots of business cards and the ‘per lot’ price isn’t bad – YET.

The UGLY

Like all growing companies, the time soon comes when they need just one card (it’s usually for the new CFO, so it needs to be done now and can’t wait to be ordered with other cards to save money). When the invoice hits the accounting desk, it is almost for the same amount as the invoice for 15 lots just last week. “Why?” is usually the first question, followed by “No one told me that they were going to cost that much!”

Solutions:
As printers, we run into this situation more than we would like, but there are a few things that can be done to eliminate this problem:

• If you are considering a three color design - go ahead and make it 4/C process. You’d think that the design price would increase, but actually it is often less. Printers always have process colors on their presses, but the chance that they have PMS 313, PMS 280 and black on press is slim. Each time a letterhead or envelope or the sole business card needs to be reordered, that item carries the full weight of two additional wash-ups and PMS matches.
• Process business cards (especially if the client can be flexible on the stock) can more often than not be ganged on the tail edges and sides of other process jobs being run everyday. No extra wash-ups or make-readies – now single lots of business cards can be had in a reasonable time and for a reasonable price.
• If process color is not an option for the design, then consider making the cards just 2/C, even thought the rest of the package is 3/C. . .seldom, if explained to the client, will they balk at this.
• Another option is to design the 3/C business card so that two of the PMS colors can print as “masters,” leaving only the black to imprint with the individual information about the card-holder. This method can reduce the price of single lots of business cards by up to 80%.

The printer will love you, and your client will love you. Everyone wins.