Why customers aren’t clamoring for full-color printing

A supplier asks: Where is the demand for full-color printing? For a nominal increase in cost, branded products look so much more vibrant in full color. Are other suppliers seeing a lack of demand for full color? Distributors, what's preventing you from recommending full-color to your clients?

In the past the client asked, “What would it cost to do all my marketing materials in full color?”

By the time we got the quotes together, it was almost embarrassing to give the costs to the client because of all the surcharges. And so we didn’t push full-color jobs. They wouldn't sell. One or two colors was much easier to sell. But digital printing has changed everything.

Now, we can give them not only a full-color option, but we also can get the logo art vectorized and ready for print without any major cost or trauma trying to get it ready for the supplier.

Distributors must create the interest for multi-color. How?

• Identify the clients that could most utilize full color.

• Work up quotes of products they use and get samples.

• Identify the suppliers that are most aggressive about selling their full-color items. They will all offer deals to sell multi-color.

• Get your leave-behind items, e.g. pens, magnets, etc., done in full color so the client can see how great the items look.

• Make spec samples of multi-color items they currently buy. Spec samples sell!

• We’re all looking for new customers, so identify those that could use or may already be using full-color items.

• Send them full-color info, catalogs, samples and keep at them.

Information is what your client needs about multicolor, so you must get that info out there.

Glen D. Eley

Owner

Eley Imprinted Products

UPIC: ELEYP001

I think the reason you don’t see a demand is from old habits. For so many years we were used to quoting one-color imprints as the standard for cost savings. I keep reminding my office staff to look at full color as an option to accommodate multicolor logos. Still, there are many items on the market that will only accommodate one-color imprints.

Chris Elliott

Owner

Logo Product Experts

UPIC: lpeinc

As I notice more and more full-color printing in more areas, I also notice the message gets more obscured. My clients want their message to be recognizable in an instant and for their customers not to have to wade through a full-color picture to find it. As their art catches up to the improved printing capabilities, this will change.

Robert Beck, CAS

General Manager

Kistler’s Specialized Gifts

UPIC: KSGPROMO

Weepuls developed our full-color Polysoft ribbon in direct response to distributors wanting a four-color solution. Prior to 2013 we only offered a one-color foil stamp—two-color if registration was loose. Since offering four-color at the same price as a one-color foil stamp, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the amount of four-color ribbons being requested. A lot of it has to do with cost. If four-color was significantly more expensive than one-color, I believe the increase wouldn’t be there. But with our digital capabilities we can offer affordable four color as well as variable data to include two-position sequential numbering at a fraction of what it used to cost. With digital, we don’t have the plate costs of offset or the corresponding labor of plate-making and setup. In fact, we've been able to eliminate run charges on our Handholder line, making four-color even more affordable.

Michael Crooks

VP, U.S. Operations

Weepuline, llc

UPIC: WEEPULS

 

Buyer’s Remorse

What to do with an idle full-color printer

A Supplier Asks: We invested in expensive four-color printing equipment (a UV Logojet printer) and have now found that there isn’t as much demand as we thought. As a result, the printer nozzles are clogging from infrequent use and I’m concerned that we aren’t going to be able to profit from this investment. Does anyone have any creative ideas for how to use this equipment more?

Why not partner with area distributors to create opportunities for full-color printing? Search the UPIC site to find distributors in a 50-mile radius. See who doesn’t provide full-color printing and send those companies an email saying that you have the machines to do full-color printing and tell them that you can do contract printing for them so they can pitch full-color printing to their clients. It’s a win-win situation.

Chris Stumpf

CEO/Managing Partner

Doulos Threads

UPIC: doulos

Keep using the Logojet as a one- and two-color printer. Ink costs, setups, etc., are much less expensive when you print digitally. You will get your money back in no time and then profit.

Michael Bistocchi

Western Regional Sales Manager

Inkcups Now

UPIC: I464978