When to Outsource Your Printing Needs

Management’s major budget decisions for the office often pertain to whether or not it will be more cost effective for the firm to outsource work to external companies or to invest and have the work done in-house. This is often the question when a firm must consider whether or not to buy a wide format printer.

Wide format printers are used to print anything on paper that is larger then the standard 8-1/2” x 11” printer paper. Usually, these large scale prints entail a graphical aspect such as in a poster, sign, or blue print. If your company is one that needs to make a number of these prints every month, it may be worth the investment for your firm to purchase a wide format printer and do the prints in-house. 

Some companies, including graphic design firms, architectural firms, or poster printing companies, have a need for wide format printers simply because of the nature of their work. In these companies having a wide format printer is considered to be a necessity for their daily operations. However other companies, such as advertising companies, that need to make graphical prints for presentations (or anything else) have their printing outsourced to external printing businesses. To these companies large scale printing may not appear to be an important part of the firm’s daily functions, so investing in the necessary printing equipment might not surface as a logical decision.

Though the initial investment can look daunting, (many wide format printers can cost anywhere between $2,000 and $11,000 plus), after initially buying the necessary tools for make wide format prints, many companies will often find that the supplies quickly pay for themselves. By adding up your firms monthly printing expenditures spent on outsourcing large scale prints, you can easily make an estimate on about how long it will take your firm to consider the wide format printer an asset and not an investment. When taking the time to weigh these costs remember to make sure to take into account the maintenance costs of up keep on the printer. The costs of accessories such as the special paper (often called plotter paper) and inks/toners required for the wide format printer are also necessary to account for when reporting the total cost of the investment.

Like all other printers, the cost of a wide format printer’s ink or toner can widely vary depending on the brand and model of the printer. The paper will also very in cost depending on the quality and functionality of the paper. Universal bond plotter paper, which is used for every day basic black and color line prints, can cost about $12-$15 per roll. Heavyweight Coated Paper, which is thicker for long-term posters and signs can range from $50-80 per roll. On the other end of the spectrum, banner paper with Tyvek, which can be used to make professional grade indoor/outdoor banners, can cost anywhere form $150-$250 per roll.