Make Money From Printing

According to Entrepreneur.com, digital technology advances have revolutionized the printing industry, creating business opportunities for the small business owner. Nearly every industry needs some type of printing services and while the Internet may be taking over many aspects of printing, some things are still preferred on paper. Banners, programs for special functions, birthday and holiday greetings are all still popular on paper. It's not exactly socially acceptable to hand someone a laptop to look at when they enter the church for a wedding, after all.
Niche printers, those who specialize in certain areas and create unique and interesting designs, are also becoming more popular. Examples include books, graphics, newsletters or business cards. In many cases, you do not need a lot of experience or capital to start your own printing industry business.

Printing business challenges

Reading on printing forums and entrepreneurship sites, I learned that if you want to start a proper printing business, you need to have these:

1. Deep pocket

If you want to offer offset printing, you got to have to invest in offset printing machine – which is expensive. You also need to consider maintenance costs and budgeting for spare part – even printers – replacements. Doing so without strong financing will be disastrous.

2. Exhaustive business plan

“Just do it” might generally apply in starting any businesses, but I believe in business plans, as long as you are not stuck in the planning stage and fail to do anything else beyond that. From the online discussions I read, there is one common best practice suggested by experts: Do exhaustive business plan. Printing business is a long-term business, and you need to project your financials properly.

3. Prime location

Some suggest that you should start a printing business near business district and campus area. Doing so, even if you start small, your printing business survivability is “guaranteed” by the amount of “targeted” traffic you are getting. But then again, a prime location will almost always mean expensive lease and rent.

4. The whole suite of graphic design software

Adobe Photoshop is good, but to start a printing business offering digital printing, you need the whole Adobe Design suite. This also applies for other design suites like Quark, etc. And again, it’s costly, as you need to invest thousands of dollars to purchase a license.

5. Strong print design knowledge

Your ability to use Photoshop is useful, but to run a successful printing business you need more than that – you might even need to take design class and/or courses. Sure, you could hire someone with that knowledge, but again, hiring someone is costly, especially in the early stage of your business.  So, yes, if you are thinking about starting a printing business right from your home, you need to strongly consider and re-consider. Indeed, the days of starting your printing business from your own garage are over; only a few doing so survive, but most fail – just “blame” it on the online printing companies like PrintRunner… clients can now conveniently order online and have their business card printing done in timely manner – it’s that simple, and small printing company many set at home cant’ compete with that… or not?

Steps to starting

Step 1

Research your local market. Find out if there is a demand for printing services in your local community. A lot of competition does not necessarily mean you shouldn't start your printing business, but you may want to narrow your focus or try to do most of your business nationwide on the Internet.

Step 2

Call your county or city clerk's office. Find out if you need a license to operate a business from your home. If you won't have a lot of traffic coming to and from your house and won't need a lot of parking, this shouldn't be a problem.

Step 3

File your business name with the Secretary of State. You should be able to find this form on your Secretary of State's website. If not, give the office a call, and it can send you the appropriate forms to fill out when filing a new business.

Step 4

Purchase your equipment. At first, you may not be able to afford a lot of equipment, so you will need to create a relationship with a local or Internet-based commercial printer. This is essential if you will be selling banners and other large printed items. However, for smaller items, you will be able to perform your duties with a computer and the necessary design software, such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. A digital printer will be expensive but the most valuable piece of equipment you own. Not only will you be able to print your proofs, but many small jobs can be done from there. You will also need toner, paper, a paper cutter, other tools and materials if you personally cut or design the paper.

Step 5

Build a portfolio. You can start sending the word out about your business by volunteering to do print work for area organizations and charities. Offer to create and print their newsletters, business cards, invitations and event programs. Ask if you can use what you've created in your portfolio. This will give you experience as well as something to show potential clients.

Step 6

Promote your new business with your expertise. Create and print your own business cards, newsletter, brochure and flyers. Use these to promote your business. Hand them out to friends and family, and bring them to events that you participate in. Advertise in local publications to promote your design and printing skills. Perhaps develop an insert to go inside your paper to really illustrate what you can do. A website will also be valuable, particularly if you create interesting and unique announcements, programs and invitations. You may need to consult a web programming professional to enable your customers to input their specific information and order online. Operating a printing business requires few specialized pieces of equipment, and can be operated as a home-based, storefront or Internet business. Printing businesses can be specialized and cater to different needs. Types of printing businesses include vinyl sign printing, screen-printing T-shirts, printing of business cards, brochures and documents, election ballots. Know what type of printing you want to specialize in and plan accordingly.

Starting as a Broker

This is one of few ways to start a printing business with less investment and higher rate of success.It is a good small business idea in many ways: As a broker, you don’t have to invest in printing machines. You don’t have to invest in human resources. You don’t have to acquire design software license. You don’t even need to have a location. All you need to have is a computer, mobile phone and Internet access.

Your role here is as an intermediary. Your job is to get clients and have the printing orders sent to your printing partners. You real work is maintaining a healthy relationship with your clients and printing partners.

Of course, there are some other things you need to consider to increase your chances for success:

1. Build a website

As you will likely to work from home or a smallish office, you need a “front desk” that are both appealing and effective in converting prospect into clients; you need a company website that actually allows your prospects to submit their requests online.

2. Use a virtual office

Just like businesses in other niches, in printing business image is everything. You need to look professional. Consider to rent a virtual office space with all the perks: Receptionists, mail boxes, and meeting room (if your clients insist you to meet in “your” office.) A decent virtual office in prime business district won’t cost you a lot of money.

3. Build portfolio

You need to build a portfolio. You might even need to work on projects free of charge to get your printing business name out. Consider this as an investment.

4. Crowdsource for ideas

You can offer print design ideas for your clients yourself, but if you don’t have the eye for design, you might want to consider crowdsourcing for design ideas. Sites like 99Designs.com can help you with that cost effectively.

5. Promote, promote, promote!

There is no such thing as “just build it and they will come” in printing business. Market your printing services properly, and don’t forget, you need to create your own business cards, brochures and other printed materials for your printing business – it’s a great way to let your prospects know the quality of your work.