10 reasons why every independent publisher should use a print broker

a pile of paperback books from a print broker

Why do you think large publishers have whole print departments dedicated to sourcing book print? It’s because understanding and knowledge of the industry is key; knowing the machinery means that you can place the right job with the right printer every time and at the right cost.

Not to mention, it can be costly when mistakes are made with book print, so spending all that money on wages and all that comes with employment is worth getting it right.

When it comes to independent publishers, however, they often don’t have the money to pay for a dedicated team or a print specialist with that knowledge base. What happens then is that they either try to sort the print out themselves or they end up relying on a printer to look after their needs.

This may sound like a solution to the problem at hand, but it is adequate at best. A printer’s job and priority is to fill their presses, that’s it. Thinking about what will be right or the most cost-effective option for your book won’t be on their mind at all.

This is a where a print broker comes in. They act as your virtual production department, bringing you the expertise and understanding, yet they completely prioritise your needs (and at even less cost than if you place the print yourselves). To explain more, here are the top 10 reasons to use a print broker.

10 reasons you should use a print broker

1. It costs you nothing

paperback books to represent investing in a print broker

You heard that right, a print broker doesn’t cost you a penny. If anything, it saves you money because we have built and maintained long-term relationships with our print partners for years. We find the best place to print each job and then leverage our relationships to negotiate trade rate pricing for your job.

To put it simply, our cost is absorbed into the cost of printing the book so it won’t cost you any more than you are paying for your book print now and you may even save money. You’re essentially getting a professional print production expert on your team (that would usually cost upwards of £25,000) for free.

2. Your needs are always the priority

We are employed by you, not the printer, so we will always prioritise your needs and those of your project before anything else.

You can’t say the same if you go straight to a printer with a job that you need. Printers can only print on the machines they have in-house, whereas we have access to a multitude of machines, presses and suppliers, so always choose the best option.

3. You get the benefit of expert knowledge

As a print broker, we have experience from both the printer perspective and the client perspective which is absolutely crucial to balance cost and quality.

We understand all of the different equipment they use and the processes they have to go through, so we can ensure that we utilise a supplier that uses the right press for each job. The result for you then is a guarantee of quality, speed, and the most cost-effective price, every time.

a pile of paperback books from a print broker

4. Brokers know the pitfalls

Knowing the industry as well as we do means that we understand the potential pitfalls that can occur. Being aware of these means that we can anticipate potential problems or costly errors before they occur and discuss better options with you.

5. You can benefit from invaluable advice

If you had a print manager or production department in-house, you would utilise their skills much earlier on in the process to maximise the impact and knowledge on each project. To really get the most from your print, that’s what you need to be doing with a print broker. Presenting a specification to various printers is fine to get quotes but can be limiting in terms of achievable specifications for you and the printer’s capabilities.

Often, we get asked to quote just like other print suppliers, but if we get involved earlier, we can offer so much more value. For example, we can help identify and solve potential problems in format, specifications, pagination and/or production before they become problems. We can suggest different approaches to help you save further money yet deliver more impact.

6. They’ve got their finger on innovation (so that you don’t have to)

The print industry and its machinery are moving forward all of the time and by keeping up to date with these advancements, new machines can be identified which bring things like smoother production and new effective cover treatments through to cheaper prices.

It’s our job to keep on top of these changes and to stay immersed in the industry and the direction it is moving so that we can make sure that you are benefiting from any of these changes immediately.

an old printing press

7. You benefit from their network of contacts

Remember those long-term relationships that we mentioned before? We have many in a variety of specialities and even countries! What this means for you is that, when it comes to delivering on your project, we know exactly which printer specialises in that area and has the right equipment and team for your needs.

Unlike a printer who has certain machines and presses, we are not limited (and we won’t limit you!). We have contacts that cover every possible production need over sites through the UK, Europe and the Far East. More importantly, we have also established relationships and levels of trust that gives us a great deal of influence. This enables us to deliver exceptional service.

8. You always know what’s going on

Communication is key to our service and it’s one of the reasons I started this business over 20 years ago. Whether it’s just keeping you in the loop at every stage or advanced conversations to discuss the best and most effective way to print your job, our goal is to give you confidence that it’s all happening effectively.

As they say, peace of mind is priceless, so we communicate more to give you this complete confidence; it’s what sets us apart.

9. It saves you so much time

Many publishers don’t realise when they decide to just sort out the print themselves, that they are investing a huge amount of their own very valuable time. After all, time is money, so imagine what your hourly rate would be if you include getting multiple print quotes, making various calls or chasing deliveries. The true cost of this would surprise you, so this is where a print broker can really save you.

We do everything for you from sourcing the print to ensuring its smooth production right through from files to proofing to delivery. And it’s worth saying again, for no additional cost!

hardback planners from a print broker

10. You have a single point of contact

A publisher’s requirements can be quite wide; they may need different run lengths, mono or colour, paperback or hardback etc. Now, if they were trying to do everything that we do by themselves, this would involve a lot of calls and discussions with a lot of different people. But with us, we are your only point of contact every time, no matter what.

Think of us as your hub. We use several production sites to cover the range of projects for our clients, but for you, you just have to speak with us. That means no assessing how different sites work and what you need to change, no chasing different contacts for quotes or questions, and no finding that your print sales rep has moved to a new printer who happens to be ‘much better’ than the old printer after all.

With us, it’s the same person for everything (and much fewer headaches!).

Get the most from your book print

Navigating a print project alone can result in a lot of confusion, frustration, and unnecessary direct and indirect costs. That alone should be enough of a reason to have a print broker on your side, but if it isn’t, then there are 10 more reasons above.

By using a print broker earlier on in the publishing process, you can benefit from so much added value yet it won’t cost you any more than if you were to place the job direct with the printer. It’s a no brainer when you think about it. Save yourself time, gain confidence in your print, and have a professional print buyer and production department at your fingertips working for you for free.

three hardbook planner

If you want to find out more about how a Print Broker could benefit you, please get in touch. I’d love to help you get the most out of your Book Print.

Andy Rogers

[email protected]

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