Print Buyers on Print Brokers

Earlier this year, I asked a group of senior buyers for their opinions about print brokers. Fret not: I wrote to print brokers, too, to get their own insights. In an upcoming Tip, I will share the brokers' comments with you. (Psst: if you are a broker and haven't sent your 2 cents to me yet, feel free.)

The buyers I polled were selected randomly. I assumed they all work directly with printers but didn't know if they work with brokers. Today's Tip shares their feelings about brokers. Because it is quite long, I've posted the full Tip on our web site rather than here.

For those of you who might not already know, here's some information about print brokers:

Unlike print sales reps, print brokers are not employed by printing companies. Rather, they represent several printers. This gives them the ability to place a wide variety of print projects with the right printer; that is, the printer who has the right equipment.

The broker takes the place of the sales rep, in a sense, as their customers deal with them, not the manufacturer. However, as brokers will remind you, they work for you - not the print manufacturer.

The term "print broker" has had a negative connotation for years. While you'll glean from the buyer comments that, in general, they prefer to work directly with printers, I must caution all buyers, particularly those of you just starting out, not to paint the entire community of print brokers with the same brush - just as you shouldn't paint printers with the same brush (or print buyers, for that matter). Keep your mind open and learn as much as you can from service providers of all kinds.

Newer terms for brokers have been cropping up, such as print consultants, print managers, print distributors, print agents, and print specialists.

By the way, "print broker" is not synonymous with "print manager." I associate print management with a totally different business model. The print management industry - a real force in the UK - comprises large companies that manage entire creative and communications campaigns for clients, from soup to nuts. Business process outsourcing, print outsourcing - these are the phrases used to describe print management firms. I don't associate these phrases with brokers.

Some of the buyers polled work with brokers and love the partnership with them. Most buyers polled feel strongly that since they're professional buyers, they don't need and would not use brokers. The second major objection? The buyers value the relationships they've built with their printer partners, and they don't want to lose them.

To read all of the collected buyer comments, click here to access the full version of the Tip on our web site. Unless noted, all comments are direct quotes.

Comments? Talk to me at mdana@bostonprintbuyers.com.

©2008 Margie Dana. All rights reserved. You're free to forward this email to friends and colleagues: please do! However, no part of this column may be reprinted without permission from the author.

First FREE Print Buying Session for Nonprofits Only!

Monday, November 24th
10 am till 12:30 pm
American Printing
Rumford, RI

Frank Romano and Margie Dana will deliver a FREE session on print buying and designing for print, limited to those who work for nonprofits. Seating is very limited; it's first-come, first-served! To register, send an email to info@printbuyersinternational.com.

American Printing has been a loyal supporter at our annual Print Buyers Conference for all three years. We are delighted that they will host our first free session for nonprofits. The session will take place at their American Premier Facility, 181 Narragansett Park Drive, in Rumford, RI.

2008 Print Buyer Conference Insights

Christine Erna, MQCS, AQS, is Executive Vice President, Mailing Fulfillment Services, for Vermillion, Inc. At our conference, she presented on Address Changes in Your Database: Can You Dig It? Here's a snapshot of that discussion:

There are major changes happening in the US Postal Service's requirements regarding managing your databases and conforming to their Move Update Regulations that go into effect on November 23, 2008. The first change in this requirement? A shorter amount of time (from 185 to 95 days) that you have to update your database with who's moved. Second, it now applies to Presort Standard Mail. There are options for Pre-Mailing & Post-Mailing to meet this requirement. Consult with your direct mail service provider or the US Postal Service. Or, you may contact Christine directly for a free consultation at 978-994-5370.

To access Christine's presentation materials, visit our speaker presentation page and click on the session title.

Plan to join us in November 2009 for the 4th Annual Print Buyers Conference! Stay tuned for details.

Job Bank Postings

NEW position posted for John Hancock Funds in Boston, MA. They're looking for a Document Center Operator.

They are also looking to hire a Senior Interactive Designer.

Two current positions exist at United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, located in Boston Massachusetts:
Web and Social Media Manager and Traffic and Proofreading Manager.

For more details, visit our job bank page.

Print Buyer Poll for October

Buyers, with whom do you forge the most important business relationship when you work with a printer?

• My sales rep

• My CSR (Customer Service Rep)

• The estimator

• The owner/top brass

• The pressmen/women

• The prepress staff

• Other

• A mix of the above

Cast your vote on our home page at www.bostonprintbuyers.com.

Print Tips Archives!

Our Print Tips archives are public. Access them from the home page of our site
under Print Tips at www.bostonprintbuyers.com.