Choosing the Right Book Printer in the Northwest

For small publishing houses and even independent authors that want complete control over their book distribution, choosing the right printer to deliver the best value on printing is an important choice. While short run digital printing on demand has enjoyed recent popularity, offset web printing cannot be beat for price and quality.

What is Web Offset Printing?

Web offset printing runs paper through a printing press on rollers and inked plates are used to make impressions on each side. Pages are then cut and bound with paperback Perfect Bindings. While the initial set up to create the plates can add to the printing costs, when running even a modest print run of 500 that cost is still only a small bump in cost per unit. The ability to print quickly and in large numbers with superior quality printing and bindings, strongly outweighs the startup cost. The paper quality is typically better than digital and produces a better quality finished book.

Advantages Over Short Run

Short Run digital press uses expensive digital equipment with no advantages in the long run to print more books- the overhead costs of the printing remain the same if you print one book or 10,000. There is no price break for printing more copies. This means a fixed profit margin. With offset printing on the other hand, all the set up costs are in the set-up. After that, it is easy and inexpensive to keep the presses rolling. The more copies you print at once, the cheaper they are per copy as the initial cost gets averaged out. With an established readership or strong marketing prospects, printing in bulk can add thousands to the bottom line.

Time Value of Money

Another factor that helps offset printing keep its price edge over short run printing is the lead time. Because you can expect delivery in six to eight weeks, printers are able to maintain a schedule of jobs and keep the presses running constantly. This helps keep all expenses low. By planning ahead and ordering your printing with enough lead time, you are able to get a discount that isn’t available with digital printing.

Planning is Key

The publishing house or independent author that has a strong marketing and distribution plan is going to come out ahead with web offset printing. With reasonable expectations for sales, and a small upfront investment, the book seller has a higher profit margin by printing in bulk.

Going Local

Using a printer that is located regionally will also keep freight and shipping charges down to a minimum, especially for regional interest books. Keeping your printing local is good for the environment and the economy, but it also means hometown service. In the Northwest, that printer is Century Publishing. The local leader in the Seattle/Spokane area for web-offset printing is committed to spectacular service.