How to Keep Design Costs to a Minimum

Have fun collating your favourite style references. Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

There's no questioning the importance of successful design; it can make of break the impact of a marketing campaign, company launch or event. What's always less clear is the cost of achieving such success.

As a local printer in Cambridge, we've always been keen to stress our USP as having an in-store team, trained in both graphic design and print production - we always have someone on hand to see a print project through from initial design concept to production. With low cost, and a quick turnaround, this is about as streamlined as design and print can be. Our staff are designing for machines and processes that they know how to use, eliminating any setbacks which occur when print is commissioned separately. The headache of managing communication between printer and designer is something we think everyone should be saved from!

With low cost, and a quick turnaround, this is about as streamlined as design and print can be.

Of course, a full design service isn't something which is always required, but our experienced team will always quality check files and ensure they are optimised for print. If you've done the hard work but need a little help getting your design over the finish line, we're on hand to help - file preparation for specialist finishes or die-cutting, page pagination, data merges, brochure layouts - if it's print related, we'll be able to do it.

Our combined service of 'Design and Print' has been on offer since we started back in 2009!

At Minuteman Press Cambridge, we're always looking to offer our customers the best value for money and this is the same for our graphic design service. Charged on a time basis, as is the norm across the industry, we encourage you to come to us with as fully fledged an idea as possible. That means preparing all of the necessary content: photographs, copy and colours along with having an idea of style and layout that you want in your completed project.

Not sure where to start? We always recommend taking the time to think about how your want your final print to look - pick out examples of design you like both in print and on the internet. Having a clear vision of what you would like to create will help give us direction, keep graphic design time, and the subsequent fee, to a minimum as well as the end result answering your needs. We will never copy another design, but it's important to take the guesswork out of the process in order to save time and keep costs low.

Follow the steps below to get the best value and results from our graphic design service.

1. Understand your needs

The better you understand what you want, the better your designer can deliver it to you.

Getting to grips with the needs of your project from the outset, including both visual (style, colour etc) and business (target audience, intended result etc), will help set a clear and well-constructed brief for your designer.

2. Share visual examples

Whether physical print examples or images online, 'showing' as opposed to 'telling' will help your designer understand the styles, formats and techniques to incorporate into your project. Not sure how to share? We offer in-store design appointments where you can talk through and explain the print examples you've collected or share digital images.

Pinterest is a great online platform for collating and sharing images - if you're not already familiar, we would highly recommend checking it out as a source of inspiration, and a way of storing your favourite examples, as it comes with the ability to 'pin' images from across the web. You can share a 'board' or 'pin' with us either using the e-mail link or our profile, we're @minutemancambs www.pinterest.co.uk

For help sharing via 'Pinterest' there's a helpful guide at: https://help.pinterest.com/en-gb/article/send-pins-boards-and-profiles

3. Give clear feedback

It's important that the end result achieves, or hopefully surpasses, your original intentions. To get to that point, it is realistic to have one or two revisions, but to keep this to a minimum it's key to give clear feedback. Even the best designers won't get it 100% on a first attempt. Point out what the problem is, and our designer will offer a solution - it could be as simple as adjusting the size of a logo or repositioning text.

4. Check the proof

One of the advantages of using a local printer is our ability to offer printed proofs. It's often easier to check for typing and alignment issues on a physical print instead of a screen, and also gives the opportunity to check the paper stock chosen for your order. Receiving your full order from a remote printer and realising there are issues with the design or print can add a hefty cost to your project and cause unnecessary stresses, especially if working to tight deadlines.

If you're checking a digital or printed proof, take the time to check it thoroughly - it's always worth asking somebody else to have a read through too. Once approval for a proof has been given, we move to production and no further changes can be made.

As we print in-store, we can (and will) rectify issues very quickly, but costly reprints can be avoided by careful proofreading of your final artwork before committing to print. We will always ask that copy is provided typed so we can simply copy and paste it into your project - wherever possible, avoiding handwritten copy is the simplest way to avoid typing errors.

Figure out and list the aims for your print project, Photo by Jason Goodman on Unsplash

By using a combined design and print service, you'll have saved yourself bundles of time by not having to manage back and forth communications, but by following the steps above we can continue the efficiencies and keep the cost of design low. With your input leading the way, you'll be amazed at the possibilities combined brain power can achieve!

Contact us today to start working on your next print project. www.printcambridge.co.uk

studio@minutemanpress.com