Print Design & Printing...

S

Squiddy

Guest
On occasion I like to try my hand at creating things such as greeting cards and other types of print work but... I have found that the rates of printing companies I have looked up are too pricey in order to make a good profit margin per greeting card. I look around on the net now and find it's usually more than £1 per card excluding the envelope. Which would mean that a pack of 25 Christmas cards would cost more than £25...

I once made some valentines cards and sold them locally. I was at college at the time and was able to use the college printer for what would have probably been less than cost price and got that down to around 30p per card including a hand made envelope.

Unfortunately that was on 220gsm card, so they weren't quite as thick as I'd have liked them. It seems to me that unless I happen to have £500 lying around for a decent printer I'm out of options unless I start sending my designs to places like hallmark which I'm not really willing to do.

I'm just wondering if anyone here has any experience in this area of print design, is this something I can do but need to look harder for more competitive printing rates or is this market completely monopolised by the larger companies/futile to attempt?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can provide some useful insight.
 
I did actually, hah. I used the detailed price quote which didn't mention Christmas cards, but greeting cards, which are priced at a staggering 'Grand Total' of £68.28 incl p&p. This seems rather mind boggling as I've just compared the two and they are both identical products... yet one is priced at £68 and the other at £15 - what is it with printers and pricing!

The card dimensions are a little on the small side (4.13" x 5.82") I suppose if there's nothing else I would be happy to use them as the price is profitable enough to go with.

It would be interesting to hear if anyone else has had experience in this area, I think at this late, or should I say early, time I will wait for tomorrow for some replies :)
 
Squiddy said:
Unfortunately that was on 220gsm card, so they weren't quite as thick as I'd have liked them. It seems to me that unless I happen to have £500 lying around for a decent printer I'm out of options

Hi

Without seeing exactly what you are wanting to print - I would suggest you look into Canon inkjet printers (around £100).

I have been using a Canon iP4500 for 3 years for various things including the odd special xmas card - printed on 300gsm and 350gsm card - without problems.

You need to use the top feed tray for this thickness - I suggest you get one on trial and test it with a few different brands of card to see which performs the best as some accept the ink better than others - and if you aren't happy with it you can send it back.

Or get a bargain from ebay.

Good luck - David
 
The designs themselves will most likely be full colour with a number of gradients and other effects.

For a previous set of cards I designed, the valentines ones, I used an inkjet and the quality was rather dubious - it seems strange we have differing experiences as technology is rather consistent in its production. I found that the design itself would some times smudge a little, almost ruining the entire card and when stored in stacks you could see wear where they rubbed against each other, making it look scratched in certain areas. It was my only option at the time but I wasn't impressed.

I have been trying to find out what they use to print the ones sold in shops such as hallmark - I assume it's a laser printer of some sort. I also don't like using inkjets as they are rather cost ineffective for larger runs.

I've done some research into a larger number of printing companies online and I've decided to not do cards until I have sufficient spare money as to warrant spending around £150 and get it done properly where prices will be about 25p per card - including envelopes!

Thank you for your advice.
 
Squiddy said:
I have been trying to find out what they use to print the ones sold in shops such as hallmark - I assume it's a laser printer of some sort.

The professional cards are usually printed LITHO.
 
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