A client of mine is buying some business cards, a brochure, a table runner, and a retractable banner stand for an upcoming convention.
I gave her prices for the items, suggesting an alternate paper stock to bring down the cost, and I think we were both pleased with the results. In fact, a simple paper substitution brought the price of 1,000 business cards two dollars below the prior cost of 500 business cards.
I picked up an older paperback at a thrift store recently. I had owned a copy of the same print book in the 1980's, and the cover had changed, so I looked carefully at the design and custom printing of the new cover. Granted, it was used and dog-eared, and it was still about twenty years old, but I found the cover intriguing.
I've been working with a print brokering client recently to produce a large format print banner stand. When she asked me about specifications for producing the final artwork, I brought her question to the printer who will produce the job. However, I also did some outside reading on the subject.
My print brokering client has branched out. She started with business cards and then a brochure. From there she has extended her order to retractable banner stands and table throws, and she may even need custom screen printing for t-shirts.
I received a business card to price a few days ago. My print brokering client wanted 500 copies of one version of a two sided card.
I had printed a business card for my client a few years prior, so I asked about the paper stock. I asked whether she had liked the last version of her card, and also whether the inks on this digitally printed card had been sufficiently rub resistant.
Throughout most of my 36-year career in graphic design, Apple Macintosh has been the gold standard for publication design. I have always been pleased with the software, from PageMaker to Quark to InDesign. But recent changes in pricing structure for Adobe applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign have potentially put these applications out of reach financially for a lot of people. They have gone from a one-time charge per application purchase (or for multiple applications in Creative Suite) to a subscription basis (per month/per year) of approximately $20 per month for one application or $50 per month for the entire design suite.