subject: What Is A Print Broker? [print this page] One of the best ways to make sure your advertising campaign is a success is to pay for the services of a print broker. A brokerage expert or company is not the same as a printing company's sales representative. In some instances though, a brokerage service may give you more value for your money.
What exactly is a broker? As the term implies, this is the middleman between companies and customers. They differ from company sales agents because they are not employed or strictly affiliated to one printer alone. Also, unlike sales personnel, they don't earn through commissions given by an employer. They are separate entities from printers and they earn money by putting a profit margin on printing projects that they take on.
The fundamental meaning of print brokers should already help you understand what you can use them for. All good definitions however should explain further why they are more logical options than sales representatives. Of course, you might be able to save some cash if you got rid of the person or company in the middle and made deals with a printing company yourself.
There are a few good reasons for choosing to go for brokerage companies. You should want to get a broker if you are not aware of what it is exactly that you will be getting yourself into. Having advertising tools printed is not always a simple process. In the actual scenario, you need to pay attention to such issues as flow of work, implementing graphical concepts, choosing materials and monitoring delivery. A qualified print broker should be able to look at the possible stumbling blocks in these sections and make sure that solutions are already ready for them.
There's one more good reason to get a broker and that is because they know everyone in the industry of printing. Knowing who's who is sometimes even more vital than knowing how printing is performed. Obviously, every printing company will try to put its best foot forward to make sure that they get clients. Unfortunately, not every printer can execute your project well. If you want an opinion on which printer is best for you, there is no better person to ask than a broker who has no formal ties with various print companies. An excellent print broker can even do so much more for you if you have a big project. He can suggest several different companies with different specializations.
In the long run, a good middleman can help you save more on project costs. Although you may have to pay extra for brokerage, a good service provider can actually help prevent waste or errors that can drive up production costs. They can also help ensure timely delivery of materials that are in excellent condition so you don't actually have to spend more on a solution to temporarily cover for late materials or on replacements for damaged goods.
You never have to end up worrying over your printed materials if you search for good print brokers. Once you've spotted a reputable middleman to help you out, you can let him worry about your projects.
