With over 35,000 commercial printers in the US, it is not too difficult to find a printer near you, however,

it can be a daunting task to try to find the best one for your print job. As a traditional industry, commercial printing is well established with many printers operating for decades, yet, a traditional directory search will not necessarily turn up the best results. Beyond a basic online search, how can you find the best commercial printer for your needs?

Before you search, start here.

First, let’s start with defining what “best” means for you. Specifically, what are you looking for? Most likely you have several requirements for your print job. Is there a tight deadline or budget? Maybe you have a unique design, a rare format, or an uncommon material? Perhaps you need design, delivery, or fulfillment services too. Before starting your search, clearly define for yourself exactly what you need and what you envision the outcome to be. Within your needs list, rank by what is most important to you and what is less. Be sure to mark what is flexible and what is not. By doing this, you are setting the bar for the printer by defining what “best” means to you.

Does location matter?

Local, regional, or national. Does it matter where the printer is located? The simple answer is maybe. The job size, deadline, and budget can all play a role. By extending your search beyond the local printers, you will be increasing the number of great candidates to choose from. Your comfort level dealing with an out-of-town printer will also come into play. For a larger job, you may prefer to be more hands-on. You may have good reason to want to visit the printery in person for quality assurance. This could affect who you choose. Whether local or not, be sure all the delivery charges are factored into the job estimates so you can easily compare one offer with another.

The basic search

Start your search using Google or your favorite search engine. Search with phrases like: “commercial printers near me” and “digital printing presses near me (or insert the desired city/state in place of “me”). Be sure to do both city and state/region search. From the printeries that come up on the first two pages, go to their website and find their About Us page. Look for their annual sales figure. The top 1% of commercial printers in the US have a minimum of $5 million in annual sales.^[1] You can disregard any printers with less than this amount or that do not disclose it. Of course, sales figures alone do not directly correlate with great quality or a good value, they do reveal they are doing something right. At this point, you could have a dozen or so good contenders for your print job. Take a closer look at their websites. Narrow down the list further by removing any that do not compete contact information, have a severely outdated website, or that do not clearly describe the range of services they provide.

 

5 Ways to identity a great commercial printer

 

#1 Repuation

Like many businesses, the commercial printer’s reputation will make or break their long-term success. If they have a bad reputation, they will lose repeat customers and can only stay in business for so long. Whereas a good reputation will show in not only how many years they have been operating but also in recent growth. Have their annual sales been increasing? Have they been expanding their operations with new equipment, facilities, and additional services? If so, most likely their website will show this growth in its content.

Also look for accolades and awards they have received. It’s also common for companies with a good reputation to list on their website some of their well-known clients along with real testimonials. Pay special attention to these, as they can tell you a lot about what their existing customers enjoy the most from this business relationship.

 

#2 Quality

This is one category in which you should not be willing to compromise. Persistent, exceptional quality should be the normal standard. Ask for samples of their work. The customer testimonials should play a role here too. In fact, they may even be able to refer you to speak to one or two of their clients to confirm directly what kind of quality you can expect. Look for clients with similar needs to your own and look for their candor. Timing is another measure of quality. Do they meet their deadlines? Are they efficient and quick? Also look at the range of capabilities of this commercial printer. A wide range of services, especially complex in nature, shows the degree of experience and skill they have.

 

#3 Price

Getting an upfront price range and then later a detailed quote should be a very easy process for a top quality printer. There should be no mystery to process and it should be fast. The quote for your print job should be detailed, including all that you requested and everything you may need to pay. This price estimate should be binding at least until the “good through” date included. If talking about pricing and your budget seem like a real difficult thing for them, it’s best to move on.

 

#4 Service

From the moment you land on their website, good customer service will show through. Their contact information will be easy to find from any page and their will be multiple ways to contact them. This should include a phone number, email, and possibly instant messaging. Remember, first impressions are important, but so are all the rest. Sometimes, even the best companies have a bad customer service or sales interaction. It’s how they recover from that interaction that really shows how good their customer service culture is.

 

#5 Innovation & technology

Even though their still some very traditional printing tools still in use, like offset printers, the best commercial printers embrace innovation and technology. They will have replaced some of their offset printers with digital inkjet printers. They know the latest consumer and industry trends. They leverage available technology and new industry best practices and techniques to lead, not follow.

Your commercial printing partner

Here at Alliance Graphics and Printing, we are a top commercial printer in the US. We may not be the biggest, with the most sales, but that allows us to focus on quality and customer service. We are always striving to be considered the best.. Feel free to measure us against the criteria shown above. We would like to think that we meet all of it or else we are trying hard to fix it. We want to be your commercial printing partner. We would love to discuss your next print job and how we can help make it a success for you. Let’s talk.

^[1] https://www.piworld.com/article/2020-printing-impressions-350-largest-printing-companies/