We’re asked, almost daily to do some free work for a worthy cause. We do it whenever we can, provided we agree that the cause is indeed worthy, and that we have the resources to do it. We support the local community, because that’s what responsible businesses do. But lately I’ve been wondering if that one-way street needs another lane. Does the community have an obligation to support local businesses?

Consider all the industry associations. A2N2. AIGA, SGN, PRSA, AMA &c. Over the last 30 years, we’ve given these organizations tens of thousands of dollars in free or discounted work. I’m not begrudging it, mind you. But it is rare that we see anything “concrete” coming back the other way. Not once has one of these organizations said: Because you’ve been such a great supporter, we’d like to pay you for this job. The closest we’ve ever come is an invitation to bid on a project. Of course the work is always awarded to a cheaper printer… probably one who does NOT do a bunch of free work for the organization. Do individual designers or agencies ever choose to work with companies who support their industry BECAUSE that company supports that industry? If not (and while this is an open question… I’ve never seen any evidence of it), I’m forced to ask why we bother. Putting our logo on something is only valuable to me if the audience is willing to act differently towards our company because they saw it.

I think it’s time that the industry associations take a good hard look at their missions and values. If the industry associations paid going rates for the work that they ordered, I bet companies like mine would be more likely to pay membership dues.

Just a thought.

I learned when following up on a recent estimate that we had lost a job because our competitor said we cost less because we only print digitally. This was odd on several levels.
First, our competitor fibbed. We have digital and offset presses (not to mention letterpress), and have for over six years now. All of our competitors know this.
Second, our client believed the fib… despite having purchased offset printing from us many times in the past.
Third, who cares? If the price is right, the product looks good, it is on time… does it matter whether the process used is digital or offset?
One of the neat things about having every process there is (more or less… we don’t to rotogravure, for example) for putting pigment on paper under one roof, is that we are free to help our client choose the right way to work… without bias towards process. Tell us your goals. We’ll help you meet them!

We try to have “clients,” here at Reno Type — not “jobs.” We think that the value we can add to a relationship is well worth a few bucks more in price (though we’re usually cheaper than out local competitors). Part of a real relationship is communication, and we are happy when a client tells us that had to go with a cheaper vendor (not because we don’t want the work, but because it means our client values us enough to tell us what’s REALLY going on. This helps us serve them better.

A long time client recently sent their four-color business cards, letterhead and envelopes to an on-line printer. They needed em cheap, and knew that from a price standpoint, we couldn’t compete…. so they didn’t even ask us. [Note: even in this situation, ask us. We will never lie to you.. and just might be able to suggest changes that would allow us to do the work cheaper!].

Visiting with the client to go over proofs on another job, I got to see what the on-line printer provided for that “bargain” price.

Garbage, that’s what. Truth is, it was a challenging print job. Not one that we (or anyone for that matter) could do cheap… but that online printer just billed the credit card, slapped it on a big gang-run… and shipped the result. If THAT is what local printers like me have been complaining about… cheap online printers “stealing” our work… we can rest easy. That is NOT competition. Half price… but now it’s in the garbage can… and someone will get to REPRINT IT.

There is a whole lot more to “green” printing than specifying recycled paper.

I meet with a group of print shop owners from around the west a couple times a year. We discuss trends, challenges, marketing, and try to help each other do better. We met in Santa Cruz on Friday, and though “green printing” wasn’t on the agenda, we all had something to share. I thought you might like hearing our perspective on the matter…. at least if being “green” really matters to you.

1) Ever notice that there are no paper mills in Reno? Where paper comes from is at least as important as how much post consumer waste is in it. Turns out, most of the “affordable” recycled papers come from the other side of the ocean. Arguably, an american non-recycled paper is more environmentally kind than a recycled paper from China, say.

2) Paper that is FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified comes from forests that are managed in a sustainable way. This may well be more important than recycled content.

3) The BEST way to save the environment from paper waste is to avoid wasting it in the first place. The following is advice you’re not likely to hear from most printers, as this sort of waste is good for our bottom line.
-Proofread BEFORE you print. You wouldn’t believe how many jobs go in the garbage because of this one.
-Don’t order more than you need just to lower the unit cost. You will not be saving money OR the environment. Something like 30% of all printing is discarded without ever having been used.

4) How about printing locally? Buying from the cheapo internet printer is not good for the local economy OR the environment.

5) How green is your print shop? Do they use eco-friendly press chemicals? Do they dispose of them properly? Do they have an in-house system to reduce waste, re-use supplies, and recycle all that can be? Do they encourage you to print more than you need? Do they support any environmental causes?

The environment is important to us at Reno Type. When you specify “recycled” paper, don’t be surprised if we ask a lot of questions. If you want to print GREEN, we want to help you do so in a cost effective manner.

By the way, our HOUSE paper is 30% recycled, FSC certified and comes from the good-old U.S. of A. We use only vegetable based inks, and a watterless press, which, in addition to producing less waste products than conventional presses, makes it efficient to print smaller quantities.

As the printing process becomes more and more automated, the physical quality of printing increases. The average job that comes out of our shop nowadays looks like the best work produced by anyone five or six years ago — from a “print quality” standpoint. But guess what? I have very little work that I’m proud to show off. Not because of the print quality, but because of the typesetting.

UGH! If I see one more expensive print job with badly justified type, or an inch mark instead of an apostrophe or a 2-letter orphan, I’ll EXPLODE. Typesetting is more than just words on a page. It is a craft which ensures that those words look good, and are easy to read.

If you are in charge of spending money on printing. PLEASE find someone who knows about type, and ask them to take a look at it before ink hits paper. Or find a book on typography. It matters. I swear!

Wow. I see everyone was busy over the long weekend! While we were eating turkey and watching football, many of you were thinking of work for us! We’ve quite a pile of new estimates and work, and are working through them as fast as we can. Please accept our apologies if this takes a bit longer than usual. There are a LOT of them.

Oh… and THANK YOU!

Ha! we’re so frickin’ busy at Reno Type that we may not get out of here in time for thanksgiving dinner… let alone early today. The amusing part is that pretty much every job’s deadline is noon today. I guess we’re not the only ones who were hoping for an early Thanksgiving.

If it sounds like we’re complaining — we’re NOT! After the last year, having this much work makes us happy little printers. If you haven’t given us that emergency job yet, though, we may have a little problem.

Pass the cranberry relish!

Pass the pumpkin pie! Reno Type is officially closed Thursday and Friday the 26th and 27th for Thanksgiving and I ate too much, so now must lounge about and eat even more day. Depending on how things go, we may cut out a bit early on Wednesday… playing it by ear right now.
In case you’re one of those “plan ahead” types, you’ll want to know that we’re closed on Friday the 25th of December and Friday the First of January, too.

Very few folks still use “film,” (once nearly ALL of our business), and even fewer have imagesetters and can make it. We still do it, believe it or not, but it has become quite challenging to source the raw materials. Even MORE challenging to keep chemistry fresh for that one job a week. Why am I telling you this? Because we have to raise our prices on it. Effective January 1, 2010, film will cost about 30% more than it does today. We’ll be posting a revised price list in our “downloads” area soon.

Been outside? Holy cow! Must be blowing over 60mph. I heard Heavenly Valley was going to open today. Can you say “wind hold?”

Unfortunately, this sort of wind affects more than just our ability to ride a chair-lift. If affects our power. The last 30 minutes have seen spikes, outages and brownouts here at Reno Type. This makes it really hard to work (and potentially expensive… delicate equipment was not meant to be treated this way).

The weather conditions will affect our ability to complete work today…. we’re doing our best, but Ma Nature is in the driver’s seat right now. Sorry for any inconvenience!