Take the pain out of Finding a good printer

Direct Marketing relies on a number of different communications methods, whether digital, printed or mobile. As is often stated, a holistic approach has a greater chance of success than a single-pronged approach. Obviously posted material is printed and therefore, print plays an important role in the marketing strategy of many companies.

For many companies, printing is a mine field, the navigation of which is shrouded in mystery and cloaked in technicalities. Most people know what it is they want printed but have no clue of – or desire to know – the specifics of how a job should best be produced. There are so many different printing techniques, all of which have a different set of production requirements. Time and cost are the only two factors which are of real concern to the majority of people tasked with sourcing print.

It is for this reason that many people stick with their existing printer, irrespective of the quality of print or service they receive. They simply don’t know how to tell a good printer from a bad one. They also don’t know whether the printer they are using is capable of handling the different types of work they want produced or whether he is simply farming some of it out to another printer.

How exactly can the average man in the street, tasked with buying different types of print, find a printer or printers who can handle the different jobs? Not every printer has the word Print or Printer in the company name. Words such as lithographers, flexographic and converters can be confusing and do not give a clear indication of the activities of the company for the average layman. Many companies simply use a name which gives no indication of the services they offer. Searching the internet can provide a long list of printers but very often the details are wrong or outdated and those that are correct do not give any clarity to the layman.

There is a solution. The SA Print Directory offers print buyers an easy to use reference guide of printers according to the types of job which are required. There is no need for the print buyer to know any of the technical details or specifications prior to making contact. Buyers can rest-assured that the printers advertising in the directory are qualified and capable of handling the types of jobs which appear on their listings.

While the SA Print Directory is obviously a printed directory, it is accompanied by a digital version which gives print buyers increased functionality. By selecting the correct parent or main category and the relevant child or sub-category, buyers can generate a list of qualified and capable printers to meet their exact production requirements according to the type of job they want printed.

That is not all, directly on the website, print buyers can view information on each entry allowing them to make informed decisions. Also from the website, they can send an e-mail to individual companies or they can send a blind-copied e-mail to all companies listed on the website requesting that they be contacted. This places the onus back on the printer to contact the buyer.

The SA Print Directory is now being prepared for its third edition and the success has been amazing. According to publisher Vikesh Roopchand of Sentient Publishing, the hit rate on the website has grown beyond expectation. ‘The SA Print Directory has now been running for almost two full years and in that time we have received more than 1 million hits on the website. This translates into a total of a million views of our listed printers’ details by prospective clients. In addition to the increasing number of visitors to the website, we have successfully attracted a lot more printers over the two year period with the result that the Directory now has the largest category listing it has ever had.’

The SA Print Directory covers all manners of print and even some related but non-print based services such as embroidery and engraving. In fact, the Directory has more than 150 categories of ‘print’ described in simple and easy to understand terms, free of technicalities and jargon. The aim is to simplify the process of finding the right type of printer to allow print buyers to source the most qualified and relevant printers for their specific requirements.

So when next you are looking for a printer, why not consider using the SA Print Directory to find the right printer for your job. Alternatively you can simply use the directory to obtain alternative quotes, either to find a new printer or to verify that your existing printer is giving you the very best value for money. Log on to www.saprintdirectory.co.za and start searching, you will realise that there is an easier way to find a printer than letting your fingers do the walking.