Mom and Pop retailers and service shops struggle - and often lose - to stay in business in this world of mega stores, one-stop-shopping and e-commerce. One service, however, stands out among the small hometown brick and mortar shops as a far better choice than its mega merchant competitors.
It's your local printer.
It's true that if you need a high-volume printing job completed you have many options - some of them at a very low rate. You can print out the multiple copies on your own home or office printer. You can stop by the nearest Office Max, Office Depot or Staples store and either leave the project with them, or do it yourself at their copy machine and be on your way in 30 minutes or less. These mega merchants offer other printing services as well - business cards, for example. You can also purchase your own business card software and paper and do it yourself, or order your cards online.
So why is your local printer still important?
Perhaps in this day of Internet instant gratification and speedy self-service, it's old hat to suggest the personal touch as a value. But I think it's the very fact that today is about Internet instant gratification and speedy self-service that makes the personal touch even more important than just a few years back.
Folk that have printing jobs are seldom folks who know how to accomplish the task. Oh, it's okay to get your 200 or 500 black and white copies completed in the cheapest way possible, but what if you're a brand new business and you need a brochure? Not only do you need it printed, but you also don't know which paper weight is best, which color is the most noticeable and reproduces the most prominently, or which font is the clearest choice. Your local printer will. What if you're not the greatest speller or wordsmith and you'd like a little help but don't know who to call? Your local printer undoubtedly has a name or two of local writers/editors who use her or his printing services on a regular basis.
What if you want something fancy on that business card - a border that's not in the clip books? Or a custom color? Perhaps you haven't designed your logo and are running dry on ideas for it. Do you think you can get that from Office Max? I think not. But you can get all that and more from your local printer. Typical local printing services include full color and digital printing, newsletters, catalogs, brochures, web printing via heat set, magazine production, envelopes and labels, copy layout and design assistance, photography, videography, logo design, greeting cards, and micro CD services.
Your local printer can also become one of your best friends and a great networking resource. As a writer with a long time relationship with the same local printer, I left my card at their shop. From their referral I found three new clients - people who needed a printing job but needed some editing first. I have several projects I need accomplished on a regular basis -marketing mail out postcards, my business brochure, the front cover of my book, and my two-sided business cards. When I'm running low I call the printer, tell them what I need and how many. They pull up my template, complete the job, then call and let me know they're ready. I stop by (they're one mile from my home.)
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Robert Michael is a writer for Dymo Pinters which is an excellent place to find printers links, resources and articles. For more information go to: www.dymoprinters.com
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