Link This | Email this | Blog This | Comments (0)

Need Design? Think “Print Shop”
March 31, 2008

When you think about design services, do you think about a high-end, boutique design shop? Or do you think about your local printer? Chances are, it’s the former. But increasingly, your local printer may be an option you want to consider.

According to the most recent Industry Measure data on commercial printers, more than one-third of print shops offer creative and design services. While it used to be that this “design” was little more than changing font size and color on template-based letterhead or business cards, that is no longer the case. Printers have added full graphic design services to their offerings, either hiring full-time graphic designers or, in some cases, even purchasing small design shops and bringing them under their roofs.

This is reflected in IM’s most recent stock image data, as well. According to “U.S. Market Sizing in Units and Dollars,” printers and trade shops combined report purchasing nearly three times as many royalty-free images and CD collections as the creative markets (although creatives spend more on these images) and twice as many royalty-free images as publishers. They also purchase nearly the same number of rights-managed images as creatives, although they spend less on them.

Rights-managed images? Yes—you read that right. While we might be tempted to say, “Of course printers are purchasing more royalty-free images than creative firms—they are focusing on the low end of the market,” the fact that they purchase the nearly identical number of rights-managed images tells a different story. When it comes to stock images, their clients have the same exclusivity needs as creatives’ clients do.

So next time you need design work, look into the services of print shops, as well as boutique designers. If they have professional designers on staff, you will likely get comparable quality to an independent design firm, but you’ll pay less for it. Why? Because printers want your print work, so they’ll often charge less than a boutique designer for the same quality of work in order to win your loyalty as a print customer. It’s part of their rebranding as marketing services providers, rather than print manufacturers, and small and mid-sized marketers are the beneficiaries.

Posted by Heidi Tolliver Nigro on March 31, 2008 | Comments (0)