Remember that poster from a couple decades ago, where there's no room for the "d" in "ahead" so it looks like it's falling off the edge of the paper? I know, you have loads on your plate, and you can't possibly imagine where you'll find the time to stop the freight train and plan ahead. But let me just tell you, there are costs and frustration galore associated with not planning ahead.
Say you need to produce a brochure to help promote your business. You contact a designer, and tell them you need 500 printed brochures in-hand in a week. If they're still willing to speak to you after that, beware. Chances are they'll not only charge you a significant (i.e., 25% - 50%) rush charge (because, after all, they need to set aside other work to push your job through), but you may end up paying a rush charge with the printer as well. For color laser jobs, that's usually not as big an issue. But if this is something that needs to go on a press, most printers require 5-10 working days to prep, print and trim your job. And if the printer does quality work, odds are they're going to be booked in advance. Sometimes you get lucky and there's an opening; it's always worth asking. But in terms of having a successful and somewhat sane experience producing print collateral, planning ahead will give you better results and up the odds that your print piece will actually bring you a good return.
Some suggestions for planning ahead:
- create an annual publications calendar, with key events and drivers for print collateral;
- for something straight-forward, like a tri-fold brochure, aim to have text written and finalized at least 4-5 weeks prior to an event;
- if your designer won't be handling the print buying for you, book the printer when you hand off text to the designer; and
- allow approximately 2 weeks for design AND 2 weeks for printing.
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