This is a follow up to my post a few days ago about printing in small quantities. When my company hires printing on behalf of our clients, we’re usually doing one of the two things I described in that post… Hiring a “bulk” printer that prints many jobs at once on an offset press or using a digital printer. It is a rare occasion when will we even quote a custom job on an offset press. Most of our clients don’t see the value in this, especially if they are only willing to commit to printing small quantities and are running a simple job like business cards or a standard-sized brochure.

But at the same time, business owners need to understand that there are serious limitations to what we provide without going to a custom print job. One of the biggest is paper/finish selection. If you print bulk, you will get little or no paper selection (they may let you select weight if you’re lucky) and your pieces will likely HAVE to be finished with some type of varnish, whether it is matte or gloss. Why? Because applying the clear finishing coat allows the pieces to dry almost instantly, allowing the bulk printers to cut and package them faster and move the product out faster.

With digital printing, you will be able to select from a variety of paper stocks… But as of this writing, still a fairly small variety. If a job hinges on a custom paper stock, there is no guarantee that your digital printer will have access to it — or anything even close for that matter. As a rule, digital print stocks also do not run as thick as traditional stocks. My digital resource told me the other day that they are modifying their equipment so that it might be able to handle a 100 lb. uncoated sheet. The technology is catching up, but it’s still a long way away from being a true alternative to offset printing.

Our rule of thumb would be to tread carefully and manage customers’ expectations. A customer asked us recently if a particular type of paper might be available for his small quantity print job. We spoke to our vendor and found an acceptable digital alternative to the stock he requested. Halfway into the project though, he changed his mind and says that he wants a different type of specialty paper. This one looks like a no-go.

In the end, when it comes to printing in small quantities and on small budgets, tradeoffs need to be made somewhere. Although many of us would like to see the digital printers fill this niche someday, there still isn’t any “have your cake and eat it too” solution for small business printing.