It seems that with printing these days, there are plenty of printers out there who pride themselves on printing for less than everyone else. I love saving money just as much as the next guy, but I also realize that there is a time for quick, low-cost printing – and when printing your business stationery, it’s not the time.

Cheap Printing vs. Custom Printing

There is a huge difference between the printers who will gang your job up with 100 other jobs and the printers who will focus on just your job by itself. Of course when you print your job with a bunch of others, the cost to you is less because the cost is spread across many jobs to cover their cost. The tradeoff however is that you can’t specify a certain paper stock since your job is printing along with whatever the rest is being printed on. And as for color, you’re going to get simulated colors made up of CMYK dots, which isn’t bad but if you’re looking for a specific corporate color, you’re only going to get a close approximation of it. And because your job is printing with a bunch of others at the same time, the printer tries to balance the color over all the jobs, so if the color skews more blue on your job, well then, it skews more blue. You’re going to get what you get.

Custom Paper Stock

On the flip side, there is custom printing. Working with a printer on one job specifically opens up endless possibilities. The most tangible part of printing is the paper stock. Selecting a nice uncoated paper gives a more tactile feel in your hand and specifying a thicker-than-normal cover stock gives the business cards a nice heft which leaves a substantial first impression.

Corporate Colors, an Exact Match

And then there’s the difference in the ink. When focusing on one print job at a time, a printer can load up any custom Pantone ink color on press. And when the density of the ink is controlled, an experienced printer can ensure that the color will match exactly from beginning to the end of the print run. There’s even the opportunity to create custom effects with metallic inks, double-hits of color, matte and gloss varnishes, and tactile coatings.

Any of these custom treatments can give your corporate stationery an unique one-of-a-kind look and set you apart from your competition, especially since most other companies opt for the same cheap overnight printing as the guy who drops stuff off on your doorstep.

Republik Sports – Custom Branding and Printing

When the sports management and marketing group, Republik Sports, needed to print their corporate stationery and marketing pieces, Gath Design helped them create a custom package. They knew they wanted to make that memorable first impression, after all they deal with professional athletes and need to let them know they are not only a serious player, but that they can be trusted to help them create their image as well. Their stationery and printed marketing materials utilized the following custom treatments: a super-thick 130 lb. Cougar Opaque Cover business card, square flap envelopes, custom booklet envelopes, a double hit of black ink for a super dense rich black coating all over one side of the pieces, a Pantone blue ink to match their corporate color, and custom presentation folders and note cards.