Putting The Finishing Touches In Printing

By Author: Kaye Z. Marks
Total Articles: 252
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Commercial printing is both a complicated and sophisticated process. This is why materials processed at a printing press are quite pricey, especially if you order only a few copies.

There are so many things that a commercial printing company puts into consideration when they make the pricing for their printing jobs. The big things that go into the printing quotation are actually the operational costs of the printer. They have to pay for salaries and benefits for their employees plus commissions for the sales people. Then of course, there are utility bills like electricity, water, fuel, phone, and internet. There are office supplies, too. So while the paper, ink, and finishing requirements are needed to make computations, a certain percentage of what you are paying for actually goes to the operational costs. Moreover, of course, if you are in business, you have to pay taxes to the government. That is why depending on where you are; you are also shouldering about eight percent to twelve percent in taxes. That is a fact and you cannot do anything about that.

Now, while the printing press will have a ready guide for ...
... the most common of their printing jobs like posters, brochures and flyers because they already know the usual materials that go into these things, there are other requirements that add to the prices of the final output. These are called the finishing materials or the finishing requirements that are used to enhance the appearance of the final printed output. Some of the finishing touches required for some jobs are collating and binding. The binding may differ in the sense that you could have staples, saddle stitch, and of course, perfect binding. All these differ in terms of materials and labor requirements, hence the prices.

Then there is lamination of the surface. There is the glossy lamination and the matte lamination. Most printers offer these two with the same price. It is the clear coating that they apply on top of the printed surface either to protect the printed material or to enhance the appearance. If the printed page of a brochure is laminated, it is not easily torn and of course, it will not be wet easily unless you probably soak it overnight. It is as if the water will just slide off the page easily. If you choose the glossy lamination, the page will really appear glossy. If you choose the matte lamination, you will find that the layer will not be glossy but it is like there is a layer of plastic over it. Sometimes, the matter lamination could be textured too, like there are little grains on top.

Others want complicated final outputs and they will have die-cutting or gold stamping. Die cutting is when you like to have different shapes cut out in your final output. For example, if you want flyers with rounded corners, then that already is die cutting entails additional costs because of the mold to be made for shaping. The gold stamping in commercial printing is used for those companies with classic and elegant logos that they want to be highlighted in their materials, such as pocket calendars. With a dark printed background, a gold-stamped logo will really look nice. There are so many things that a printing company can do in terms of finishing. Of course, everything comes with a price.

Kaye Z. Marks is an avid writer and follower of the developments in commercial printing technologies by commercial printers that help businesses in their marketing and advertising campaigns.