Cost Savings Series – Topic #5: INK!

Welcome back to our new Cost Savings Blog Series! Last week we kicked off the series with 3 tips to save money with paper stock changes.

Next up in our cost savings series? INK! And how you can make simple changes to save budget dollars! That’s right, how you use the ink on the paper can affect the cost of your projects too. And if you know how to use color in the right way, you can actually save money. Here’s a few ideas from Senior Account Manager, Barbara Baldinelli.

Tip #1: No need for colored stock.

Use a flood of ink instead of purchasing traditional colored stock. You know we have been discussing how difficult it is to get specific paper? Well colored stocks fall into this category too! Instead of trying to get that special and specific colored stock, try using a flood of ink instead. Adding a one-color flood of yellow ink to a reply envelope can you give the same effect as purchasing special canary stock. To the donor, it still stands out like you want it to with that pop of color, and most importantly, it will save you time and money in the supply chain.

Tip #2: Bleeds are not worth it!

Did you know if you have a photo or a color bar that goes all the way to the edge of the paper and bleeds off, you are using and wasting more paper to achieve that look? The look can be achieved through art without needing to actually bleed off the edge of the page. If you traditionally do this on envelopes, having that bleed affects the printing process for an envelope and also impacts the price and lead times. So just remove the bleed. Your design won’t suffer, the donors won’t notice, and you will be able to gain a little back in your pockets – not to mention saving some paper too!

Tip #3: Two inks are better than three!

Rethink your ink. Do you really need to run it 3-color? We’ve seen many designs where the logo is 2 PMS colors but there is a component code, address or an indicia that prints in black, making it a 3 color design. Consider printing the code, address, indicia or other text in one of the colors of your logo. If your PMS color is dark enough and provides enough contrast against the white paper stock, you can use it instead of the 3rd color. Making the switch from 3 color to 2 color can save as much as 20% every time you print. So if this is something you run on every campaign, those savings add up fast!

Stay tuned for next week’s cost savings tips on Postage! If you are interested in a program audit, we would love to talk to you about how Production Solutions can help you better navigate the complexities of your budget.