8 Steps to Set Up Your Printing Business

When an aspiring businessman wants to start his own business, he faces many difficulties. Especially if it is a narrow field that requires in-depth knowledge.

1. Research the Market

You need to study the market to understand its potential and competitive environment. Pay attention to supply and demand, the characteristics of the target audience, potential customers and their pains — this will help you decide on a niche and develop a strategy.

There are many directions in the printing industry, for example, our printing house is engaged in advertising printing - printing booklets and catalogs, and business printing - we produce notebooks, folders and letterheads.

But there are printers that specialize in printing books or making packaging and labels, and this is a completely different business with its own processes that are different from ours. There are also printing salons operating in busy places, "on the street", for example, in business centers or near the metro.

Each market segment has its own pros and cons. For example, in the production of packaging, a big plus is that the workload of production is clear for several months in advance; It is also enough to have a few clients with whom the printing house works on a regular basis. But there are disadvantages - large financial investments in equipment, and you also need impressive workshops.

Advertising printing does not require large investments at the start. Entering the business is quite simple, but the competition is also high for this reason. You need to think in advance how you will differ from your competitors, this should be part of the business plan.

2. Develop a business plan
So, at the first stage, you have decided in which niche you will work. Next, develop a business plan. It should include a description of your company and services, goals and objectives, pricing, marketing strategy, competition information, financial model, and projections.

This will help you better understand how you will manage and grow your business in the next 3-5 years. Of course, a lot can go wrong, but it's better to think in advance about possible problems.

Usually, printing houses grow out of advertising agencies when there are a lot of orders and the placement of these printing orders with contractors is comparable to the cost of maintaining their own production. In addition, with in-house production, you can better manage production times, which are important in the printing industry.

My business in the printing industry started as an advertising agency – I created the design of printed products and then placed and supervised the production of these products in printing houses.

I mentioned that it is important to provide a forecast of financial flows in the business plan. Seasonality is noticeable in advertising printing: from May to August there is always a decline in orders, and in September the rise begins, the peak will be in December. In the high season, you must work at 100% capacity, which means that during this period you must have enough people in production and equipment capacity.
Equipment in the printing industry is quite expensive and is purchased on lease, so try to agree with the leasing company on linking the amount of monthly payments to seasonality. I know a lot of printers who had problems due to the inability to service payments during the summer recession.

3. Gain the Skills and Knowledge You Need
If you do not have experience in printing, then you may need training, the acquisition of specialized knowledge. Look for courses or trainings, attend industry conferences and exhibitions to stay up to date with the latest trends, meet other companies in the market. This will help you understand what others are lacking and what you may have.

One of the most effective ways to gain knowledge is to visit working printing houses. Equipment suppliers often invite potential buyers to demonstrate the operation of equipment in operating printing houses, where you can see the entire production process.

4. Make a list of services
Decide what specific printing services you will provide. For example, printing on various materials (paper, textile, plastic), creating designs, developing packaging, making promotional materials, etc.

Define your niche and find out what services are in demand in the market – go back to the first point if you didn't do it at the market research stage. This is where the "main" steps for starting a printing business end.

5. Register a business

Consult with a lawyer or business consultant to choose the most suitable structure for your needs.

6. Choose Your Equipment
A large number of companies work in the printing industry without their own production, but they are ready to devote a lot of time to customers, offer service and non-standard solutions. Printers, with their flow of orders, simply do not have time to delve into all the needs and tasks of the client - they usually need a ready-made layout from the client and the number of copies that need to be printed.

Decide what equipment and materials you will need to provide the selected services. Reach out to suppliers for information on options and costs – these can be found at trade shows, for example.

The exact list of equipment depends on the specialization of your printing house, but in any case, you will need:

printing machine
cutting machine
Finishing equipment: e.g. binding and folding machines, laminators, collators, creasing machine, punching and winding machine,
Computers for prepress.
If you focus on the urgent production of printed products, you also need:

digital printing press, such machines are now offered by Xerox, Canon, Ricoh, Konica Minolta,
Material Warehouse: Identify the most commonly used paper weights and keep them in the right amount in stock. It's not hardware, but it's important to think about it beforehand.
When the number of orders increases, you can think about buying your own equipment.

Offset & Digital Machines
Digital presses are less expensive than offset presses and do not require associated equipment to output offset plates. Print runs are getting smaller every year, and there is more and more work for digital presses. For example, it is more profitable to make runs of up to 500 A3 sheets on digital machines than on offset ones.

If a few years ago all digital machines used ink in the form of toner powder, now the technology of industrial inkjet printing is developing, and its quality is improving from year to year.

The speed of printing presses has increased markedly. But the main advantage of digital presses is the reduction of printing time, for example, it can take 30 minutes to adjust the print run on an offset machine, and less than 5 minutes on a digital one.

Offset machines can cost several hundred thousand dollars, while large-format machines can cost several million. These are complex devices that require constant maintenance. But just as airplanes, with proper maintenance, can fly for 50 years, offset machines can last for decades.

For example, in 2007 we purchased a Heidelberg SM 52-4 Anicolor – it is unique from a technical point of view due to its ink machine, which allows us to print products of the highest quality.

Since then, we have managed to change many printing machines of different formats, but this one continues to work in our printing house 24/7. The production of offset equipment is a complex technical task, and I believe that only Germany and Japan know how to make high-end machines of this type.

Production planning is a complex and important process in business. A lot depends on the client: there are situations when the deadlines have already been discussed and you need to start printing, but there is no layout yet. There is even a joke: "You print, and I'll send you the layout soon."

In order not to lose orders and not to mix up technical specifications, as well as to purchase all materials on time, you need a printing house management system — ERP (enterprise resource planning).

7. Build a Brand
After the legal procedures and the choice of equipment, you can move on to creativity — creating a brand, logo, and marketing strategy. Develop a logo and branding style for the company to stand out in the market.

Create a marketing plan and identify promotion channels to attract customers. Consider creating a portfolio and website to promote your business online. Set up and run ads to constantly find new customers.

8. Hire staff
When you have all the business processes in place and the work with equipment contractors is established, you can hire staff. Of the qualified personnel, first of all, you will need:

managers with experience in printing,
layout designer,
printer
carver.
You can look at the graduates of the printing institute and college - these educational institutions provide good basic knowledge of printing, in the future you can train an employee in all the subtleties of your production.

Total
Advertising printing has a pronounced seasonality. The number of orders depends on the business activity of customers, and there is always a decline in the summer. The hottest season starts in September and ends towards the end of the year.

During this period, many people print calendars, advertising publications and are in a hurry to earn money to rest in January. The difference in cash flow in the winter and summer months can be twofold. Therefore, in order to calmly survive the summer recession, it is necessary to have a safety cushion.

For the summer, printers often plan to repair and upgrade equipment, such as installing and running a new printing press, which can take a month.

So, to start a business in the field of printing, you need to: conduct market research and assess its growth potential, make a business plan for a period of 3 to 5 years, gain knowledge in the field of printing and management, make a list of services and choose the necessary equipment, create a legal entity, hire staff, set up and launch advertising.

Good luck in your difficult business!