Today’s blog post talks about how the slightest artwork size change can sometimes result in significant cost savings.
We recently quoted a postcard project for a new client. Like we do on every project, we made sure the piece was running on the press at the most efficient size. In doing so, we realized that if they shaved just 1/8″ off the height, it would save them $1,200.
And this was on a small mailing of only 84,000 postcards.
Always make sure your print vendor is checking this for you. Or make it a habit of asking your print vendor during the artwork design stage, “Is this size we’re designing at the most press efficient size?”
So why would shaving off an 1/8″ make such a big difference?
It’s all because of how the artwork lays out on the sheets or rolls of paper. You want to utilize the paper dimensions the best you can and prevent waste. The less paper you waste, and the better fit the artwork is on the paper when it’s being printed, the more money you save.
If you have any questions pertaining to this blog post, please email Matt: matt (at) ballantine.com.
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5 comments ↓
[...] Direct Mail Nugget: Resizing Artwork To Cut Printing Costs [...]
What about sending targeted direct mail to cut down on costs? Netflix blasts their customers the same way they do prospects for acquisition mailings… seems there’s room for cost improvement there!
Hi Sean – I don’t know much about Netflix’s direct mail strategy…but I do know at their volume, they are getting extremely good pricing both on the print and mail as well as the postage.
I read the blog post you linked to…
They are probably buying saturation mailing lists which are less targeted but cost a lot less. And they have a HUGE customer base…so maybe the cost to filter them out is more than the cost to just mail to these saturation mail files regardless if they are a customer or not.
Plus, then they are always top of mind.
Ballantine – thanks for the response! I suppose you must be right. I’m in Boston, but I have a friend out in Worcester, (which is about 45 minutes away, and comprised of decidedly different demographics). Perhaps there was selective suppression of some customers, but in other areas, perhaps central Boston, this suppression was not applied.
What do you think about that top-of-mindness parallel with the use of direct mail as a branding avenue? I suppose anyway to get the logo in front of eyes counts, and while we might typically think of direct mail as designed for specific consumer actions, perhaps at costs Netflix presumably enjoys, it makes sense to use it as a branding channel.
Just some thoughts.
I think for a company like NetFlix, branding with direct mail is probably a good idea because just about the entire USA is a potential customer for them.
So they can just buy cheap saturation mail files and blast out inexpensive postcards. They’re getting new customers and keeping their name top of mind at the same time.
Obviously this only has sustainability if the product is good like NetFlix. If it isn’t, word of mouth would quickly spoil things.
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