The Difference Between a Printer, Print Broker and Print Management Company

Published: Friday, 24 March 2017 09:51

Each type of print company offers its own benefits & drawbacks, so it's up to you to decide which method best meets the needs of your business.

When choosing a printing company for your business's needs, it can often seem a bit overwhelming in terms of the amount of choice that you have. How do you determine which printer is right for your unique needs, both now and in the future?

To start with, you'll need to figure out if you want to be working with a print shop like G Force Printing, a print broker or a print management company. Here's what you need to know about each type of business:

Printer

A printer is a dedicated printing shop that owns its own printing equipment and completes printing jobs in its own facility. In most cases, these types of organisations provide graphic design, binding and finishing services, giving customers the complete printing package. Each printer is likely to use different printing equipment for different types of printing jobs. While some printers may only offer one style of printing, like digital, offset or large format, others will be able to offer all three.

Depending on the printer you choose to work with, you may also have access to additional services, like warehousing of your printed materials, online print management and even dedicated account managers to help manage your workload and make your life easier.

Working with a printer, especially one that can handle a variety of different types of printing jobs, will give you greater control over the consistency of your printed items. You'll also have more control over the printing deadlines, as you are working directly with the supplier, rather than going through a middleman or other third party company. Another bonus of this direct access is that you'll have more negotiating power in terms of pricing, especially if you plan on placing large orders on a regular basis.

Print Broker

Print brokers do not actually own any of their own production equipment. Instead, they contract with other printing companies to complete printing jobs for their clients. Organisations like graphic design and branding agencies often act as print brokers, engaging printing services on behalf of their clients.

One advantage of working with a print broker is that you don't need to do the legwork to find an appropriate printing company yourself. However, print brokers may mark up the prices of the printing so that they can make a profit for their services, even though they can typically negotiate lower prices from the printers themselves.

Print Management Company

Like print brokers, print management companies don't actually complete any printing jobs themselves. Instead, they present each print job to their extensive list of printing suppliers, awarding the job to the lowest bidder. Many print management companies also offer warehousing services, allowing your organisation to have your printing done in bulk at lower rates, then having it delivered only as needed.

Working with a print management company can help your organisation get much more affordable rates on printing than you would be able to obtain on your own. However, this does not necessarily mean that you will be getting the best printer for your particular job, merely the most affordable.

Making Your Choice

Each type of printing company offers its own benefits and drawbacks, so it will be up to you to decide which method best meets the needs of your business. It is important to do your research into any printing company you are considering working with to ensure that they are capable of producing what you need with the level of quality that you desire.

Working directly with a printer gives your organisation the greatest control over your printing jobs, but it also requires the most work from you. Here at G Force Printing, we do everything we can to make the process as easy as possible for you so that you can focus more on other aspects of running your business. Get in touch with us today to learn more about our wide range of services such as notepads, signage, business cards, Take 5 booklets (view our range of take 5 safety booklet templates), pull up banners, A frame signs and how we can help with your printing needs.