APRIL 22, 2021 – Will this increase be passed on to consumers? One creative printing company from Singapore explains how their business model minimises the impact of increment.
Paper price has increased globally with the greatest increase this year to a whopping 60% increase for some of the papers. This will significantly increase the cost of printed materials such as brochures, business cards, paper bags etc…
How does it affect consumers?
In general, paper cost accounts for 30% of the final price. Assuming the price to print brochure is $100. This means that $30 will be the cost of paper. With a cost of paper increase of 60%, the paper cost will now be $48 ($18 or 60% higher). With everything being equal, the selling price will now be $118 instead of $100.
This is a sunken cost that will pass onto consumers UNLESS printers are willing to go red. However, this impact is not equal among printers.
One notable printing company is www.expressprint.com.sg (Express Print & Design Pte Ltd) from Singapore. Expressprint has been collating print jobs of similar specification and printing it together which is often known as Gang-run printing. This way, every order enjoys economies of scale, sharing the setup and printing costs.
This is how they do:
Expressprint offers business card printing (See their packages https://www.expressprint.com.sg/product/business-card/) on a 310gsm Art Card stock in quantities of 300pcs, 500pcs and 1000pcs. Expressprint will then collate orders of the same quantity and lay them in a single big sheet of card containing up to 50 orders. After printing, these cards are then trimmed into the desired size of each business card and packaged into plastic business card boxes before delivering.
Ang (CEO, Expressprint), mentioned to us that gang-run printing is not easily achievable as not all printers are able to collate the same print specifications within a short-time frame. Expressprint is able to do it owing to their decision to digitalise their ordering process (with standardised print specifications) via their website some 15 years ago. It started off by standardizing business card printing specifications, adding more along the years. Today, customers’ of Expressprint enjoy the fruits of their effort with quality printing at a much lower cost.
Their current best seller includes business card printing, flyers, paper bags, label stickers (https://www.expressprint.com.sg/product/label/) etc… Their full list of printing services can be found on their website www.expressprint.com.sg
Although paper costs cannot be eliminated, with the right production techniques and business models, the entire cost of production can be significantly lowered, passing the savings to consumers. Noting the various operation, high machinery and maintenance cost every printer faced, Expressprint actually has a wholesaler program whereby any printer or entrepreneur can join them to capitalise on their existing gang-run printing. With just a small annual fee, printers can maximise their profits without having to invest in any space, machineries and labour.
Indeed, the sharing economy is the new business model.
Media ContactCompany Name: Express Print & Design Pte LtdContact Person: Xerine WongEmail: Send EmailPhone: +65 6100 8328Country: SingaporeWebsite: https://www.expressprint.com.sg/
