4 Costly Printing Mistakes Your Business Needs to Avoid

Printing materials for your business can feel like an overwhelming process. There are so many options to choose from as well as different formats of printed outreach and more. You might not be sure where it is best to focus your efforts or what information needs to be included in the printed materials that you are using for your business outreach.

While digital outreach has become the mainstay of business advertising these days, there are still many ways that printed materials are relevant and necessary for your business’ promotional needs. You should not be afraid of business printing materials when they are needed just because you are not sure how to design and properly utilize these materials.

If you are ready to learn more about the costly printing mistakes that your business needs to avoid to create success, read on!

Costly Printing Mistakes Your Business Needs to Avoid

1.       Spelling Errors and Copy Errors

Spelling errors and copy errors can haunt your printing processes. If you are using a cheap printing company to design your printed materials, or you have been copy-editing these materials yourself, you might find after you have printed hundreds of items, that you have spelled something incorrectly. Spelling errors can make your business look less legitimate and can be distracting from your branding and business message.

You should make sure that you do not send anything out to print that has not been carefully spell-checked and reviewed. Even issues like phrasing or branding mistakes can lead to issues with your printed materials. You do not want to pay for a large run of printed items only to find that they cannot be used due to a mistake that you have made on your side of the printing contract process.

2.       Poor Quality Paper

Printing your promotional materials on poor quality paper or on materials that are not correct for the printing process that is being used can lead to sloppy outcomes that do not look nice enough to use for your company. This is one of the most common mistakes that is made when ordering printed materials, particularly if you are selecting all the design materials and processes yourself.

Poor quality paper always makes for a bad impression and an instant distrust in your business. You should make sure that you do not use low-quality paper for any item that you have created that you intend to distribute at tradeshows or during any other person-to-person contact.

3.       Hard to Read

Make sure that everything on your printed materials is clear and easy to read. It can be easy to be drawn to fonts and other formatting choices that will make reading your printed items difficult to read. There is nothing worse than being excited about the printed materials that you are making, and then getting them back from the printer and realizing that they are not legible or easy to engage with.

Always favor clarity over styling and make sure that you are not so attached to some colors and fonts that you obscure the important information that needs to be conveyed by your brochures and fliers. If you are working with a printing company for design needs, you should expect that they will know which fonts and colors are going to be the most effective for your outreach and the clarity of your message.

Clarity is often more important than design notes. When people are asked about which ads they remember, you will be surprised at how many of these ads are quite simple and basic. This is a common problem when designing ads, and it can be easy to be attracted to complex ads that are too confusing to convey the right message.

4.       Printing Too Many Items

It can be easy to get excited about handing out a certain kind of flier or brochure, but you should always consider the size of your business and the likelihood that you will need a very large number of promotional materials of any kind. If you are going to a tradeshow or some other large event and you will need a large print run to be completed for your needs, make sure to get samples before you agree to the full print job.

Having samples in hand can help you to decide if you like the items enough to agree to a large print run. You will be disappointed if you pay for a huge print run of any item that you do not 100% love, making it increasingly important to be sure of the items before you get a larger order in hand. 

Also, be sure that short-term items like coupons and offers that will expire do not get printed at the same level as fliers that you can reuse. This will save you money in the long run and make sure that you do not waste your printing budget on items that will not be used again.

Printing Mistakes Can Make Marketing Difficult

Always make sure that you avoid these common printing mistakes while creating promotional material for your company. There are often no second chances to be had when advertising to potential consumers and you do not want to miss a chance to make a conversion. Sloppy printed materials can make buyers wary of your products and lead to a lost sale as well as a bad impression.

If you want to be sure that you are going to show everything that your business is about readily through your printed outreach, you will need to be sure that you have the right quality items in hand. Just creating generic printed items is not enough, but making your items too complex will make it hard for people to learn the information that they need about your products and services.

The balance between creating the right messaging that is simple to read, yet grabs the attention of your customers can be hard, but designing with these tips and tricks in mind can save you lots of wasted printing budget each year.