powerwrx

iTrader: (11)

i want some single sided a5 flyers printing up as free as posable

or as close as

corradoboy

Can be done online for peanuts. Just email/upload a PDF and they usually deliver within a week for £40 or so.

http://www.bestprinting.co.uk/170gsm...-c-1_9_15.html

Ste RB5138

Its no wonder small commercial printers are going to the wall with those prices!

corradoboy

If they don't move with the times and invest in modern digital equipment to be able to offer fast turnaround at low prices, they can only blame themselves. I've been in print for 24 years and have seen it revolutionised, often painfully for many, by new technology. Many of my colleagues have lost their jobs over the years, and I became a part-time driving instructor to protect myself from what I see as an inevitable end to my print career at some point. Repro houses are pretty much redundant with designers supplying finished PFD's direct to printers, and with a bare minimum of staff they can turn around work easily and quickly. I run a department at a major printers over the weekend, and on my own I manage to handle the data and platemaking duties for 5 presses on-site, and for another 8 presses across two other sites, easily.

CT_dunmow

I run a printers, can offer you some good prices if you pm what your after.

Chris

Lancaster

Tell me about it. I run my own digital print company (Lancaster Print)and I am watching print companies going down the tubes all the time.

Companies like these web ones are playing a dodgy old game in my opinion and often there are some hidden "extras" to contend with so beware.

Talk to either Myself or CT Dunmow about what you want or find a local digital printer to you, you'll get a good price.

Lancaster

I have been in print for 18 years and have watched the decline too. It's sad to watch really.

As you rightly say, it's all too easy these days for designers to send a PDF which you rip straight in without and need for pre-checking, hit the button and job done. I come from a litho background and moved into digital print when I set up my own company in 2002. In hindsight it was a good move but a scary one at the time as Litho still ruled the roost.

My biggest bugbear with print is the rise of Print Management companies, I believe that they are fairly culpable for the decline of the print industry, due to thier relentless squeezing on price of printers. Everyone seems to work on such tight margins these days.

fitzscoob

There is still a requirement for the industry, although from my personal view, I need a printers that can also, fold, and sew. Also, the biggest set back in my trade is that I need a gilding machine, not many of these dotted around for trade work any more.

powerwrx

iTrader: (11)

ive been in the print trade myself for 10 years working as a print finisher (MBO folder opp) and ive been made redundant from 4 of them with 3 of them actually closing down.

Ste RB5138

I have been unfortunately made redundant twice as a Artworker, its changed a lot since I got my first job in 1999 from college, scanning, planning up film then making plates, aah memories.

Nowadays I work for one of St Ives companies in the Mac studio doing Point Of Sale, we had a email around the other day which included:
"You will have seen digital screens popping up in retail stores, travel points and anywhere where there is high traffic flow of people. In some cases these will replace traditional print"



scary stuff

corradoboy

I w*rk on the big glossy magazines (Cosmo, Red, Elle etc), monthly's (Top Gear, Good Homes, Good Food etc) and weekly tittle-tattle's (Star, New, Closer etc) and runs are getting lower, advertising is falling so page numbers drop, and we are squeezed so tight on price that we actually make a loss on almost every title we print. It's only the lucrative tip-ins (shampoo samples, perfume swatches etc) and inserts (promo leaflets) that keep us afloat. We have a site in Bulgaria already, and it only takes better organisation from the editors, and a reliable shipping contractor to take the majority of our work to cheaper manufacturing nations. Speed of turnaround forces some titles to remain local, but I could manage it so all the major monthly's could be out-sourced from new EU and non-EU countries, easily.

I too started with gallery cameras, flat-art and scans, combining in the dark-room using bumps and squeeze to get traps and bleeds. Even hand making vignettes and correcting them with etch and hypo. Did a few years planner/plate-making in greeting cards, then ran the repro side of a jobbing printers, overseeing the installation of Mac's and CTP. Then when I'd got it all running they pulled the rug from under me It backfired though as they'd underestimated how much knowledge and technical ability I brought to the party and they lost 35% of their client base through cocked-up work over the ensuing 9 months I was only out of w*rk three weeks and signed a contract for +50% and 100 more days off a year Now I live the easy life, 3 night-shifts a week with minimal responsibility, driving an Apple Mac and occasionally slotting a plate or 16 into a couple of Trendsetters, while it lasts

Ste RB5138

Glad it worked out for you in the end. I wouldn't mind doing 3 continental shifts a week, save a fortune on fuel!

corradoboy

I gave up on Scoobs a long time ago, so fuel isn't an issue anyway. I run a map'd Fabia vRS which is almost as quick in the mid-range as my old Scooby, but can get 55+mpg I'd love a BMW 335D next, but can't find the £20k to get it