Design of the times – (Article reproduced from Printing World February 2009) – Part 2
Design of the times – (Article reproduced from Printing World February 2009) – Part 2 – 8th April 2009
Gap in the market
While cutbacks to UK design won’t necessarily be brutal, the downturn will have an impact on the £11.6bn-turonover UK design industry. A leading London design house does not come cheap, so there’s a gap in the market for the printer with the right shaped business model.
“We don’t have the overhead of a design agency, because the overheads are paid for by running the explains,” explains Peter Harrison, production director of The Printing House. A combined printer-designer can provide a cost-effective proposition. “In effect, all we have to cover is the cost of software, the computer and wages,” adds Harrison. The Crewe based offset and digital house follows the well-worn strategy of using underpriced design as a way to hook a customer, then making up the margins on the ensuring print. “The first job is always tough. You quite often give the design away at no charge to land a new customer, “he says. It’s not a charity though, but a strategy. As the firm’s designers become increasingly fluent in the customer’s design needs, the client relies more heavily on the supplier and foster a good relationship, allowing it to edge the price up.
To be continued…
Print Buying Direct is the online facility for buying print of The Printing House Ltd of Crewe, Cheshire, UK
The Printing House are specialists and experts in Prospectus of all kinds – see our dedicated prospectus Website www.schoolprospectus.info
Tags: Crewe Printers, digital printing, graphic design, offset, The Printing House