Over the past decade or more printers have got around the arduous task of quoting by creating a price list (a generic list of pricing for printed products). Some went that step further and installed web to print services that allows you to whack some information into a website; upload your file and WHALA! it arrives back at your door. Some of these developments have changed the print game for the better – imagine being the printer responsible for producing the business cards one of Australia’s largest businesses, thats a lot of names and a hell of a lot of job titles – this is where web to print is genius.

Whilst there is value in these ways of printing there are some downfalls and a bunch of reasons why we don’t use them. We do not use web to print systems, we do not have a standard price list even for the simplest of jobs, and we never will…. you can quote me on that. Pun intended.

Below are a few reasons why we steer away from these processes along with a our top tips to get the best printing quote.

1. Print works best with collaboration
We do a whole bunch of printing for some incredibly talented designers. These people are creative geniuses, the ever flowing river of shit-hot branding concepts, the makers of all things beautiful. They will attest that an open collaborative relationship with their printer turns the design game up a notch. We can give imperative print input about how that design will translate in printed form and what things may need to be reconsidered in order to avoid a printing disaster.
Collaboration is also pivotal when it comes to budget, you may have a pool of great ideas but if you don’t have the money to execute you could be wasting your time. That doesn’t mean you should throw your hands in the air and accept to be stuck with sub-standard printing, it means it’s time to collaborate with folks like us! We can work with what you have in your start up budget or what your marketing budget has allocated to the project and make sure you get a high quality product that you are proud of.

2. Not all papers are the same
In order to do a generic price list you need to simplify your paper offering, that to us would be like someone saying we were only allowed to eat one type of food for the rest of our lives. Cue massive tantrum and exaggerated breathing. We have hundreds, if not thousands of different types of paper and we like to think we are the best at picking an appropriate stock. Paper has the power to turn a very simple design into a beautiful finished product. There is coated, uncoated, smooth and varying degrees of textured stock alone that need to be considered, with the design and the desired outcome in mind. Rather than a client looking at generic prices and having to choose a stock that they think may work for their job, we prefer to make stock suggestions that will work, thus taking the guessing game away from the client. Paper, whilst a clever little thing, can be a little cheeky at times and that beautiful colour you have in the design can be greatly affected by the texture colour and shade of the stock it gets printed on. The last thing you want is for that beautiful red you have chosen to come out patchy because you opted for a heavy textured stock.

3. We aren’t that type of printer.
We are not going to be the guys that bid for the business card contract for Commonwealth Bank, we’re not that type of printer. Although we do large volume printing for our clients, we love dealing with small businesses, and people just starting out. We feel so fortunate to have clients that have been with us for 20+ years and we relish producing their work week in week out, but variety is also the spice of life and as a team it is important that we are digging the work we are producing. We are traditional trade qualified printers that operate not only letterpress and offset presses, we also work with the latest technology in digital printing. We are set up to service a broad range of clients that gives us the variety that drives us. Web to print would smother that vibe like an over eager first date.

4. We are not robots
We are living breathing human beings! We thrive on contact and communication. We like talking to our clients, we love knowing that your kid is doing great in soccer, that you just won a new client or that you finally finished the reno on your house without losing it at the builder. The history of Morgan Printing is based on quality print, excellent customer service and strong relationships. There is enough automation in life, heck McDonalds have people ordering their ‘food’ off a touch screen and the last time I spoke to a person at a bank was when i closed my Dollarmite account. It doesn’t mean we are going to bail you up for a five minute conversation every time you need a quote, it just means you have options that don’t involve talking to a pre-recorded message or a hotline that knows nothing about printing.

5. One size does not fit all
We do a lot of special finish work, think letterpress, embossing, foiling. There is no one size fits all approach to special finishing, it needs careful consideration which can only be done with a personalised quote.

How to get the best quote

1. Pick a knowledgable, personal, qualified printer.
2. Talk about how you want the job to feel – you don’t need to know all the lingo, just lay all your descriptive words on us.
3. Be upfront about what sucked with your last job – colour, stock or quality.
4. Understand that quality and service comes at a price, and frequently that price is cheaper than the crap you have been getting from your online printer.

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Our beloved paper and print industry has been on the receiving end of some very large misconceptions and incorrect information for some time. Most of these misconceptions are born from individuals and organisations simply trying to do their best in the face of a more sensitive and caring society, which in essence is a great thing. The only thing that doesn’t make it such a peachy situation is that a lot of the information shared in an attempt to show social responsibility is (for a large part) incorrect.

As an individual I am all for being responsible for my actions (or as I like to say ‘owning your stuff’). I may very well be the person who took the last piece of cake and it could be true that I only take the recycling to the front door and not out to the bin. I am happy to own that stuff, but there is nothing worse than being in a position where you have to own things that just aint’ yours to own, like it wasn’t me who put a dirty knife in the clean dishwasher; the same way my business doesn’t have a higher carbon footprint because it is in the print and paper industry – they are icky claims and I just wont wear them.

Like most situations in life, beautiful things can be created when looking for the positive, so that is what we have been doing (along with other industry peers). We recognise that we have a responsibility to continually improve our environmental credentials and provide information to all consumers who are receiving misleading or inaccurate information so they can make informed decisions about the use of paper and print products. In the background we have been quietly making changes for years now that see us strengthen our position as advocates for environmentally friendly and sustainable printing, but we decided it is time to go a bit further and dig a bit deeper by sharing interesting facts about our industry. We will do this on the blog, over social media and don’t be surprised if we start doing it in person too.

So why wait! Here is your first round of Myths vs Facts.

Myth: Paper is bad for the environment.

Fact: Paper is one of the few truly renewable products.

1. Paper is made from wood, a natural and renewable material. I see you knodding….stick with me. As young trees grow they absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, as a wood product paper also continues to store carbon throughout its lifetime, which makes paper and print products effective carbon sinks. Why is this important? In a nutshell extra carbon dioxide increases the greenhouse effect and global temperatures, and in extreme cases can have a serious effects on ones health – think respiratory and cardiovascular issues. So that beautiful book you are reading and those business cards sitting on your side table are helping suck all the bad guys out of the air leaving you with a much nicer air to draw into your lungs.

2. For every tonne of wood a managed forest produces, it removes 1.47 tonnes of CO2 from the air and replaces it with 1.07 tonnes of oxygen…you know oxygen, that stuff we need to breathe in order to live. Responsible wood, plup and paper production ensures healthy growing managed forests and their continued benefits.

3. The paper industry has some 30 respected certification schemes, leading the race is the Forest Stewardship Council along with the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification. These schemes promote the responsible management of the world’s forests, develop standards which responsible forests can be measured by and works throughout the entire forest supply chain to ensure that timber and non timber forest products are produced with respect to the highest ecological and ethical standards. It is safe to say that our industry cares about the environment and we are happy to be taken to task to prove that.

You will notice that we have mentioned managed forest vs forest throughout this blog, it is extremely important to know that the paper suppliers that we use in Australia only source paper from mills that comply with the highest of standards and schemes. We are in full support of anti logging laws, we care about our impact on the environment and strive to strengthen our practises as a environmentally friendly printer.

We look forward to sharing more Myths vs Facts with you real soon.

Morgan Printing is a proud member of Two Sides Australia.

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GSM (grams per square inch) is a measure of weight, but we can group stocks of differing GSM into categories based on their “thickness” and their most common uses for print.

Lets start from the lightest and work up.

At the very lightest end of the scale is bank paper. This ranges from 40gsm to 70gsm. Think of the pages of a phone book or Bible for example. This paper is very thin, which enables large publications to be bound into books that don’t end up looking like house bricks! Also at this end of the scale is NCR paper, which stands for “No Carbon Required”. This paper is used in books and pads (i.e. tax invoice, quotations and receipts) when duplication of forms is required without having to write the same information on multiple pieces of paper. Web presses are also able to run lightweight art papers, as low as 30gsm. Some very high production runs like the IKEA Catalogue are printed on this kind of lightweight stock.

In the next thickness level we have stocks ranging from 70gsm to 130gsm. Uncoated stocks are most commonly used for everyday office stationery like letter heads, writing pads and with compliments slips. The paper that’s used in your photocopier is most commonly an 80gsm uncoated stock. Art papers in this weight would be used for flyers, brochures and mailbox drops. Flyers for local businesses would normally be printed on a lightweight artpaper when utilising colourful content as this paper weight is economical as well as being an effective base for ink.

Mid range paper weights are from 130-200gsm. These stocks in uncoated and coated art papers are usually specialty stocks, used for specific purposes like high end brochures and stationery. In our experience consumers tend to pay more attention to the message the printed piece conveys as stock get thicker or heavier. Brochures you pick up in travel agents would be printed on 150-170gsm art papers, once folded they become a booklet of kinds, giving the impression of a piece of valuable information that you tend to hold on to for a period of time greater than the time it takes you to get to the nearest recycle bin.

Our heavy weight stocks range from 200-400gsm. These stocks are best used for flyers, brochure covers and more commonly business cards.

This wide range of stock thicknesses gives us as printers the ability to find the right fit for your job based on your required levels of quality, quantity and budget. For your next print job consider not only the design but the way the weight and feel of the paper its printed on effects the overall content. If you need some advice we’re always willing to help, even arrange for sample sheets for you to consider.

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Here’s a few examples to get you started.

Offset lithography is the world’s most common printing process. There’s sheetfed printing as well as web offset. Web presses use large rolls of paper known as webs; sheetfed presses use paper that comes in sheets. Ink is transferred from metal plates to a rubber blanket on a cylinder to the paper. Most commercial printers in Australia have offset printing presses. Offset printing is used for all print run lengths, from short to long. Web presses are primarily used for long runs. Which press your job should run on all depends on a number of specs including but not limited to size, paper, format and quantity. We can let you know which best fits your job.

Letterpress is known as “relief” printing. Johannes Gutenberg is known as the Father of Letterpress printing with his invention of the movable type printing press in 1439. Relief printing refers to the images on the plate, which are higher than the surface, similar to a rubber stamp. Letterpress printing is being produced by fewer and fewer printers, becoming somewhat of a niche market, but it is absolutely gorgeous. Combining this beautiful old-world process with 100% cotton cards and papers produces pieces that are as impressive to look at as they are to the touch. A true artform.

Digital printing is the newest kid on the block – and every customer and company I know has a need for digital printing. Today’s digital presses use either toner or ink-jet technology rather than oil based inks. A brand-new image is made from your digital file every time. Digital printing is ideal for short-run or fast-turnaround jobs. You can print the exact amount you need with little waste due to the fast setup and virtually none of the traditional makeready of offset presses. Digital has improved tremendously in recent years compared to offset, in pricing and quality. Some would even argue that digital has the nod on its offset counterpart in some applications!

Screen printing was always called silk-screen printing, but today’s screens are also made of various other fabrics like nylon, or even stainless steel, in addition to the tradional silk. Ink is forced through a screen using a stencil pattern onto various types of papers and fabrics. Typical uses are T-shirts, signage, and point-of-sale displays.

Reprographics is a term describing duplicating and copying. Think in-house copy departments and copy or instant printing shops. (What job today isn’t an instant print job?) In simple terms, duplicates are produced of your originals.

Variable Data Printing (VDP) is an add on to digital printing that lets you personalise every copy. Words, images – or both – can be changed on each printed piece of paper.

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By creating your own content and packaging it in an attractive way you’re immediately taking advantage of what makes print a great medium. It is this tangibility that is the backbone of why print has always been successful and will continue to be so.

Now that everyone has a website, print has become a way for a businesses to stand out from its competitors. Lets face it, we live in a digital age, but putting all your eggs in one basket when it comes to getting your message across is a recipe for failure. Think of this in terms of a brand or company on social media, anyone can join social media to promote their brand but you need more than just this one medium to stand out and be taken seriously.

Print is still an extremely effective tool, especially when working in conjunction with digital. Well crafted, customised print pieces like booklets, brochures and boutique magazines used alongside an online marketing campaign can strengthen a message. A printed piece can also be a tool to point customers to your online presence. Including your web address, Twitter handle, Facebook page, and other social media information on your printed material has become standard procedure in recent times.

Print is still, and will continue to be, a viable and reliable method of reaching your customers and delivering your message. In the face of an ever expanding digital world it may have a different place but the death of print has been greatly exaggerated. Proof of this fact is right in front of you, Morgan Printing, still succeeding and moving forward after over 35 years in business. The fact that you’re reading this blog shows that we’re also embracing our digital counterpart for the part it plays in our business.

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