Printing advertising material (flyers)-What printer -Ink or LaserJet or professional?

[tankman1989]

I have a decent monochrome printer that does duplex printing (both sides) very well. The problem is that I don't think that advertising is best in greyscale, so I'm considering buying a printer to print this stuff. IDK which is best, an Inkjet or a LaserJet or get it done professionally.

I'm the type who would rather keep this in-house and not have to trek over to the copy store and pay them, but I'm guessing they might do a better job but at a higher cost.

I'm not very up to date on the quality of lower end color laser printers and mid range inkjets, but what would you suggest as the best route to take for printing materials. I'm planning on printing about 1,000 fliers a month and maybe 1000 envelopes.

It would also be great to have a color laser to print my letter head on stock paper in the office.

I'm considering this machine:
Brother MFC-9840CDW with 8,000 pages printed, 4 new high capacity color toner cartridges for only $150.. The catch is, that it doesn't work. I'm guessing I can fix it but it will take some work and I really don't like working on printers, but this printer would be out of my range otherwise.

Thoughts?

 

[PaulRome]

You need to do this yourself. You may be able to find a print shop who would do it for .20-.25c. But with the volume your talking about those cost are going to add up fast.

 

[SilverLeaf]

Have a local print shop do it. Any DIY cost savings (if any) are not worth the hassle, even if you could duplicate the quality.

There are also some added benefits to patronizing the local establishments as well.

 

[PCSupportGlasgow]

the rule with printing is more you do the cheaper it is from an actual printers.


with only 1000 you may find that it cheaper to do yourself but once you get to 5000 it will be allot better quality and cheaper from a printers. Flyer quality though from the printers will be allot better than you can produce.


Having said the above is for the flyers as im assuming envelopes will be different addresses printed on them so do them yourself on a decent laser printer to keep costs down. (by decent i mean one that can handle the monthly print total)

 

[acscva]

Check out Gotprint.net


Very high quality printing at very good prices!

 

[Morrison5891]

I had 5000 4x6 flyers designed and printed on both sides and with them being shipped to me, total was under $500. Well worth the money spent. If you wanna see my flyer, let me know.

 

[andcorptech]

I would pass on the Brother laser if I were you. We used to be a service agent for them and the spares are just not worth it out of warranty. Plus the cost per page from that model is pretty high when compared to having it professionally done.

I had the same thought as you 2 years back as I was given 2 semi functional Brother Colour Lasers, which I managed to get a fully working unit from the parts of both. Even with it only costing my time I soon worked out i could get 5000 flyers printed at the local printers for the same cost as a full set of toners which only do 4000 pages.

I still use the printer to do high quality prints for job quotations but thats about it

 

[acscva]

I would be interested in seeing your flyer that you had printed please.

 

[Steve202]

If your doing a large batch, get them done professionally, it will be cheaper and you will look more professional from your customers point of view.

 

[Morrison5891]

Here is a photo of the front and back...

 

[nightkingdoms]

All my printing needs are handled by Overnightprints.com, they have been - by far - the best printers I've dealt with as far as printed media for promotions (I have a different favorite printer for my forms). They have great quality, great customer service and - best of all - really, really good prices.

Using Morrison5891's example, 5,000 4x6 flyers (e.g. postcards) printed in full color using an offset printer (good quality), double sided runs at $173.45 with them. The more you use them, the more discounts you build.

(And no, I don't work with them or get commission or anything. I've just used them for years and they've always been really awesome so they deserve some referrals. =O)

 

[emsbronco]

If you are going to be printing large quantities on glossy cardstock, I would recommend farming it out. Most of the home and smaller business printers don't hold up under a heavy load printing on cardstock...and until you get to midrange printers, don't auto duplex heavy cardstock.

Now, if you will be doing a lot of printing and want to add some print services to your business, then you may want to look into becoming an official reseller for your favorite manufacturer's printers. Some partner programs let you get demo units for a decent discount.

On a different note, have you looked into the new US Postal Service's EDDM program? It stands for Every door Direct Mail and the cost per piece is quite low, as long as you don't mind not using specific names. EDDM is used for postal routes.

 

[Tomlin Technology]

We used ariesprint.com the last time, we got 1,000 Rack Cards for under $100 with a special deal. These are thick cardboard type glossy paper, that are about the size of a tri-fold brochure. Printed in color on front and back. If you use them, just call them and let them recommend the best options to choose in terms of paper type, color etc. And our order turned out looking great, high quality printing.

 

[LolaJohnson]

With the quantity and regularity of your prints, nowadays it is possible to have an online commercial printer do the job for you instead, as an alternative to buying the equipment and learning the additional printing skills instead. This way you're not really "trekking" to the store, because you can have your prints delivered right to your doorstep. At the same time, you can start good business relations with a printer by ordering regularly and if you are ever in need of more complicated or bigger bulk prints in the future, then you can more easily learn of and avail of special discounts and offers.

What's important is sticking with a consistently reliable commercial printer, because otherwise it would just be more trouble than it's worth (shipping, proofing, etc.) . One example of an online commercial printer you could try out, among others, is www.printplace.com and if you visit the site you can find all the details you would need in order to see if their services work for you.

 

[SprinterTech-WI]

I'll shoot the OP a pm with a quote as we do printing.... and can usually meet or beat most places out there. (quality and price are great)