oki laser printer capable of this?

[Dave271069]

for some strange reason in two days ive had about 5 request from random potential customers asking me if i can do Flyers, letter heads, business cards etc etc
at the moment ive been telling them not just yet but its something maybe in the future, but then i was wondering what my OKI C610 is capable of? could flyers, letter heads be something i can make a few quid on (not expecting much) or do i need to be considering a large format printer? whats your thoughts guys/gals
Dave

[socialgiraffe]

Hi Dave

In theory yes it would be able to do stationery and marketing material, but it will not be as good in my opinion. For example, if you try and fold a laser printed item it will show cracking along the fold because the toner is fused on top of the paper, where proper ink soaks in.

Its probably worth you tying up with a local digital printer, not only will they do a better job, but could potentially lead to them selling your items to their customers as well.

[logobear]

The print cost per page would not be economic for runs beyond maybe 100
- for upto 100 you might be able to charge (say) 40p per A4 (ideally 50p/sheet +/++) - and everyone be happy, but for long runs, prises drop dramatically.
A very heavy toner page could cost you upto 30p a sheet, ......
Do your own in house flyers, but don't look on your little Oci as a copy shop machine, coz it isn't!

[Dave271069]

Thanks guys, next question! What sort of printer is right for this type of work, I'm only asking as I have a graphic designer who works along side of me and we give each other work. So if its affordable for us to think about in the future then the work is out there but if the printer is going to cost 10's of thousands then we can't afford it this week anyway :rolleyes:

[daviddeer]

Personally I would suggest farming most of your work out to litho for large runs as the cost of print and finishing is prohibitive. I have been wanting to break into this market for some time and have lost count of the hours I have spent reviewing products and suppliers. For production you will need either an all in one solution (print laminate and trim) which runs into the thousands or concentrate on small runs (sub 500) for which you will still need a trimmer/guillotine and a lamination system. Check out [url="http://www.copyshopnews.co.uk/] copy shop news [/url] for the latest technology and subscribe to the magazine for free to get the low down on suppliers etc. For business cards and heavy stock have a look at [url="http://www.intecprinters.com/] this site [/url]. They produce/adapt printers specifically for the small business market as well as finishing equipment. To be honest you can spend a small fortune on equipment and get little return.
I suggest finding a local printer who does digital. I can get 5,000 a5 flyers for around £50 inc vat singe sided full colour delivered. I just ftp the file with trim marks and they do the rest. Digital printed 500 of a4 folded full colour laminated or full gloss printed both sides trimmed and folded to a5 for around £170 delivered in three days. so at the moment it is not worth spending 3-4 £thousand which would take a year or more to earn back.
Second hand equipment worth considering are the oki 9xxx series which takes 300gram paper and has a relatively low colour cost per print at around 10p a page or xerox phasers which do a great job but seem to exist in endless variety and capability.. Used business card trimmers are as rare as tribbles fur, caslon do some nice ones, the cheaper ones don't align properly and if the paper slips bang goes your profit. You may want a folder but again the used ones are usually knackered. Hand creasers are great but very slow, imagine creasing 500 sheets of paper!
Then consider your market. Is it worth buying a perforater , wire binder , trimmer, a3 printer and laminator for an order of 20 calenders. Look at vistaprint everyone buys from them and they are your competitors. try matching their prices.
My maxim is " I can make anything, but can I sell it"
Anyway good luck.

[Dave271069]

Thanks for taking the time to reply, very interesting, and yes there is a local digital printer near me so time to arrange a visit. Thanks

[ssp]

Thanks for taking the time to reply, very interesting, and yes there is a local digital printer near me so time to arrange a visit. Thanks

One of my clients runs a printing company, I handle his I.T. I can ask him about a forum discount if you are all interested. He does all of my flyers and promotional items along with my business cards.

[logobear]

I closed my copy shop (of 19 years) just over 3 years ago, it had it's day!
Why paper when you can facebook?