How to Grow a Print Business – Your #1 Priority

Looking to grow a print business? In this article we discuss what the top priority should be and how utilising a trade printer can make growth a reality.

The Australian print industry continues grow and become more competitive each year. That means margins (and repeat customers) are harder and harder to come by. For those looking to grow a printing business, a delicate balance of operational efficiency, production capacity, and client satisfaction is necessary. It’s no longer just about having the right printing equipment.

It’s about streamlining processes and making smart partnerships that enable growth without overwhelming your resources. One key strategy that can significantly boost a print business’s growth is partnering with a trade printer.

Now, of course we’re somewhat biased – but we also know that it’s proven to work. We’ve seen Australian print shops grow rapidly thanks to this approach. As much as we’d like these all to be our own clients – that’s not the case. But the fact remains that trade print partnerships are crucial for print resellers.

Wholesale printing allows businesses to scale their operations without the massive overhead that typically accompanies expansion. So let’s dive into why operational efficiency should be the top priority and how utilising a trade printer (like Mediapoint) to make it happen.

Efficiency in Scaling Operations: The #1 Way to Grow a Print Business

When a print business decides to scale, it often faces several hurdles. Expanding the business isn’t as simple as adding more orders to the queue. In fact, this is often the worst thing you can do as it can lead to bottlenecks, delays, overwhelmed staff, equipment breakdown, and damaged reputation.

Efficient expansion involves managing increased demand while maintaining high-quality output, fast turnaround times, and excellent customer service.

Achieving efficiency requires a reduction in wasted materials, optimised labour hours, and equipment running at its highest potential. If print businesses don’t prioritise efficiency, they risk growing too quickly and falling into operational chaos.

The goal of all of this? Being able to handle larger volumes of orders without increasing costs at the same rate.

So what’s stopping resellers from just turning on the ‘money tap’ when trying to grow a print business?

Common Growth Challenges

• Limited Production Capacity: As demand grows, businesses may find that their existing equipment and workforce can’t keep up. New machinery is expensive, takes up physical space that may not even be available, and requires a long lead-time to become operational.
  
  Many Australian printers find that physical capacity is what caps their ability to grow.
  
• Maintaining Quality: With increased orders comes the challenge of maintaining consistency in output. The pressure to speed up production can lead to quality dips or purchasing cheaper materials to keep up with demand, causing dissatisfaction among clients.
  
  A good reputation is a significant advantage within this competitive industry. So, Australian print shops can ill-afford to tarnish perceptions.
  
• Rising Operational Costs: Expanding production typically means higher costs—whether it’s purchasing new machinery, hiring additional employees, or extending working hours to meet deadlines.
  
  These expenses can erode profits, especially if the business is not operating efficiently. New machinery is expensive, and training new staff takes time. Both of these stall growth and – over the short term – keep costs rising at a similar rate to new revenue.

Accessing High-Volume Production Without High Overheads:

Here’s where working with a trade printer is of major benefit. Printers gain the ability to undertake large-scale production capacity without the need to invest in costly new equipment. Mediapoint, for example, has invested heavily in industry-leading printing technology – allowing us to handle high-volume orders.

Plus, since the capacity is ‘shared’ by many other print shops and we can access volume discounts on raw materials, we can offer printing to our clients at competitive prices.

This means that smaller or medium-sized print businesses can take on bigger clients and larger jobs without having to make substantial investments themselves. It’s a win-win for everyone. We get more orders, the print shops can take on more work with out expense, and the end customer receives a quality product, faster.

Essentially, you can grow a print business without the typical overhead that expansion entails. It is not a pipedream!

Focus on Your Core Business Strengths

Whilst increasing capacity is a huge boon to Aussie printers, growing print businesses also need to get new orders to fill. It is in customer relationship management that most independent print shops really shine.

Businesses need to focus on building customer relationships, marketing their services, and improving overall business operations. Handling large print jobs internally can distract business owners and managers from these core activities.

So, when partnered with a trade printer, organisations can offload time-consuming production tasks, allowing them to redirect their focus.

Shifting to core areas like sales, customer service, and strategic planning that require a human touch (more than just more machines) is a much better use of your time.

This focus on core strengths ultimately makes the business more competitive in the marketplace and more appealing to new clients.

Grow a Print Business with Reduced Risk and Increased Flexibility

Investing in new equipment and hiring more staff comes with financial risks—what if demand drops after the investment? Or what if a new machine isn’t fully utilised for months? After all, we mentioned how the industry is becoming more and more competitive. That means the trading trends are also more volatile.

Wholesale printing offers a flexible solution. Rather than making permanent investments, print businesses can scale up or down as needed by outsourcing to a wholesale partner.

This flexibility helps mitigate the financial risks associated with traditional business growth strategies, ensuring that businesses only pay for the production they need, when they need it.

We take on a bulk of the risk – which is offset by the number of (satisfied) clients we support.

Maintaining Print Quality and Turnaround Times

Many businesses worry that outsourcing will lead to a loss of control over the production process. However, with a reliable wholesale printer, you can maintain high standards while benefiting from the efficiency and expertise of a larger production operation.

By partnering with a trusted trade printer, businesses can be confident that clients will receive high-quality products with quick turnaround times. In fact, it’s likely that both these things will improve when you work with a reputable trade printer.

Mediapoint for example offers next-day turnaround on a majority of it’s products. You can even take advantage of blind-shipping to further expedite delivery and delight clients!

This is yet another example of the advantage trade printers provide. We’ve made the investment in top-of-the-line equipment, keeping bulk stock on hand, and working from a large warehouse. That means we can offer a range of services for clients that would often eat up a majority of their margins – or are simply just not feasible.

With Mediapoint you get a flexible, scalable solution that allows print businesses to grow in a sustainable way. Whether you’re a small print shop looking to expand or a medium-sized business ready to take on larger orders, our services can help you achieve your growth goals without the typical financial risks associated with expansion.

If your print business is ready to scale, but you’re not sure where to start, reach out to Mediapoint today.