Before we delve into the many avenues that are available to you for cost savings, we need to discuss the bidding process. It is here that most of the costs are incurred. Keep in mind, that this process encourages vendors to cut corners and exclude others in order to bring down their price in hopes of being awarded the project, and later adding on upcharges or alterations.

Think back to just how many of your projects actually came within budget? Do your upcharges or alterations seem reasonable? If your billing is not coming in within the original budget, the only additional charges you are receiving should be from alterations you have made. If they do not seem reasonable, you may start to realize substantial savings just by making sure a more detailed estimate is obtained up front.

The question is: "What is the goal I am after within the bidding process?" Is it simply to get a variety of bids that are 'apples to apples' and make a decision based on that? Is it to get the cheapest price? Or, am I concerned about making sure that everyone really understands what the design is, how the piece is intended to be used and what the desired end results are?

The latter is what I aim to provide with this consultative and partnership approach. I hope to ensure that every one of your projects that we work on together is completely understood, the design intention is able to be accomplished, and the bid is accurate. The only way to make sure this is possible, is for both parties to ask questions up front. That way surprises will not be encountered along the way.

All of us know that in most cases not all of the specifications are decided upon early on. Yet, the more precise you are up front, the better your chances are that the bids are indeed 'apples to apples'. This is especially important when you still have creative to be approved, budgets to be OK'd, and PO's have to be cut etc.

Giving accurate, detailed information and a 100% to size color-broken dummy will ensure that the bid you receive has been estimated correctly and can be looked at as 'apples to apples'.

Listed below are line items that are Commonly Furnished in a Bid, plus Overlooked and Other Available Options that we could look into further if your design or end use allow.

Commonly Furnished Line items:

• Name of project and format of piece
• Estimated date and time needed back
• Quantity
• Size - flat and finished / folded
• Stock - weight, brand and finish
• Ink - number of colors, 4cp, PMS, bleeds?
• Coating - varnish or aqueous, or whichever is cheaper
• Artwork - in disk form and date to be ready
• Proofs - Dylux or Matchprint needed
• Press check or not
• Seperations - number and sizes of each
• Line Screen
• Die cut or perforate
• Embossing - register to print or blind
• Foil Stamping - register to print or blind
• Lamination - one sided or two, flush or sealed edge, and thickness
• Binding- saddle stitch, perfect bind, wire-o, spiral, plastic coil, GBC etc.
• Mailing - ink jetting, cheshire labeling, post office drop
• Delivery - date, location, contact person

How does the piece fold - roll, letter, gate, accordion, double parallel, etc. If a roll fold, have the panels been adjusted for the fold. Any critical crossover hookups? If so, on what pages. Has the art been adjusted for crossovers?

Stock - comparable stock ok or not. (Not all papers are created equal.) Even a grade marked number one to another number one have differences. Domestic to Foreign ratings are also very different.
(See issue entitled, Picking the Right Paper for more specifics.)
(Note: A family member piece printed with a substitute paper could result in colors and images not matching.)

Ink - PMS, any metalics and their colors. Percentage of coverage for each. Does ink run across folds and is a score necessary.
If scoring, will a press, folder or letterpress score be OK.

Coatings - wet or dry trap, contaminated or clean. Are draw downs needed? Varnish, aqueous and UV will protect your piece in a variety of levels. Their costs sometimes will not follow the same suit. Aqueous allows you to seal the sheet and move onto the next step faster than a varnish which could nullify the savings of the coating itself. (Note: finger printing is more apparent with UV over the other two, especially with darker background colors.)

Artwork - format or working software. (Some not printing software friendly.)
Proofs - are you familiar with the 2 different types of proofs Sexton has, how each can be used and save money. Ask me about Dylux vs Match Proof. Our Dylux is a CMYK, backed up (not laminated together) and is ideal for projects that may need many eyes to approve and/or possible changes. Our Digital Match Proof is for those really color critical projects.
Press Check - all forms or just one to set the color.
Separations - match transparency or pleasing color. Are any rounds of color alterations to be included.
Die Cutting - is die existing and can it be furnished, or do we need new.
Size of Die - if perforating, is it on folds only or L shaped, etc.
Embossing - is die existing and can it be furnished, or do we need new.
Height of Die - single level, multi or sculptured.
Foil Stamping - is die existing and can it be furnished, or do we need new.
Blind - or registering to print.

Lamination - lay flat, satin, gloss or dull film, sealed or flush edge.
Binding - are you familiar with Ota binding and its benefits/cost savings over perfect binding?
Grain Direction - sometimes this can really matter with various finishing processes and folding, especially with your heavier weights. If this is not discussed up front in the bid, your end pricing could reflect additional costs.

Mailing - how many lists will we be working with? Will we merge/purge and dupe eliminate? Whose indicia will we use? Is it going out First Class, First Class Presort or Presorted Standard.
Quantity - of the printing that actually mails. Is this for a Non Profit? Is there a BRC and what is the size? (To get automation postal discounts, you need to be at a 7pt or 9pt minimum. When over 4.25x6, must be 9pt minimum).

Let's Talk about Other Important Options:

Bleed - where on the piece? Sometimes going with no bleed may allow you to go to a smaller paper and/or press sheet size.
Size - downsizing the piece so it will fit onto a smaller paper and/or press sheet size. (This may also allow you to keep a bleed in some cases for no additional cost.)
Stock - using a similar grade of a different brand name, or ordering a special sheet size cuts down on waste. (Note, this usually takes time to get from the mills but can give you huge savings. If you only need a partial quantity, you may choose to put that small amount onto a standard sheet size, while waiting on the balance of the special sheet size and savings.)

Scoring - going with a press or folder score over a letterpress score can save money. (Note, threat of cracking is only reduced by going with an LP score, not eliminated.)
Tint Stripping - a PMS color can save money. However, this can also cause you color consistency issues if heavy areas or many process images are on the piece. This should be discussed up front to see if it makes sense or not.
Crossover Hookups - can add to your project by requiring several extra procedures. Typically, text weight stocks requires these extra steps while cover stocks will not.

Foiling Repeat Patterns - to avoid them within your run or live work, requires extra material to be purchased as well as a slower run speed to make sure none get mixed in.
Prepress - you can reduce production time by supplying a press optimized PDF file. Basically what this does, is reduce the amount of time necessary to prep and manage files. (Best use would be for monthly publications, reruns, reruns with corrections etc.)

Wow! Dan had no idea of the many options available to him in these different categories. When combined with being specific upfront in the bid process, he had a successful project AND is now realizing savings he wouldn't have otherwise.

If you have a production issue not discussed above that you would like me to address, or a project that needs to be looked at, please give me a call or send me an email. I will do whatever it takes to ensure you get the best value for every marketing dollar invested.

If you would like to join me on one of our upcoming tours (See issue entitled, Paper Mill Tour for more information.)

Referrals are greatly appreciated, if you know someone who I could help, or someone who might like to receive TK's Korner, please let me know.

Take care and have a great day!

Successfully,
Tom Kubinski-Printing Consultant
tkubinski@sextonprinting.com
Direct: (651) 255-1225
Cell: (612) 760-3700