r/CommercialPrinting

I was taught by a very skilled cutter that the first two cuts (opposite the lead edge) dictate the position of every other cut in a program (polar 92). I can’t wrap my head around this concept. This cutter operator was extremely good at bindery and no longer with us. Any insights from this community that can help me understand?

For those of you who've been in commercial printing for a while, where do you think the biggest opportunities are today?

If you had to pick 2–3 products, industries, or customer pain points to become an expert in, what would they be and why? I'm less interested in "sell everything" and more interested in where you've actually seen consistent growth, good margins, or strong customer demand over the past few years.

Curious what you'd prioritize if you were building a book of business today.

Hey everyone,

I'm getting tired of my work printer just struggling to print on this paper and although it has worked for a while, I'm looking to make a task I regularly have to do a bit easier.

I print our menus at work on this paper:
8.5 x 11 Off White Card Stock,Goefun 65lb Ivory Paper Printer Paper

Anyone have any recommendations that won't be insanely expensive on supplies and/or up front cost.

I recently upgraded my HP Latex 315 with the take up reel. I feel like a dunce for not getting it from the start.

I mostly print large repetitive jobs, and I want to be able to:

1. print a whole 150 foot 54" roll
2. load the roll onto the cutter
3. cut the whole roll
4. spool the whole roll back onto a core

Things that are giving me a hard time:

• running anything longer than like 12 feet through the cutter seems to eventually go askew and jam
• assuming I could keep it from skewing, having a whole roll of stickers go into the output basket would likely crinkle at some point, or at least mash itself down
• if it could all land happily in the cutter out basket, is the take up reel the best way to wind it all back up?

These prints don't need to be pristine. They are for internal use and some wrinkles are no big deal.

I swear I am going to lose my mind today.

Third time this week a "creative director" sent over artwork for a massive custom vehicle wrap and it’s literally a flat png with absolutely zero bleed

We've been doing a lot of these big experiental marketing rigs and mobile pop ups lately. The production side is actually super cool and satisfying when it all comes together, but managing the prepress for these ad agency clients is aging me in dog years

They want it printed and installed by tuesday but won't send the proper illustrator files because "the original designer is on pto". Cool guess we'll just print a giant pixelated mess then!

anybody else dealing with an influx of just terrible file prep from people who supposedly do this for a living? need to know I'm not the only one fighting this battle rn

I'm looking at bringing postcard printing in-house and would appreciate some advice on equipment.

Most of my work consists of very short runs of 20–40 postcards, where each mailing has a different design. A few times each month, I'll also print runs of around 2,000 postcards using the same design.

The postcards are full color, printed front and back, on heavy postcard stock (typically 14–16 pt / 300–350 GSM). My understanding is that I'd likely need a digital press and a cutter.

I currently own a Konica Minolta C558, but it only handles 300 GSM through the bypass tray, which isn't practical for feeding hundreds or thousands of sheets manually. I'd like something that can reliably feed heavier stock from standard paper trays.

I'm prefer to buy used equipment to save money but I'd like something that's still serviceable with parts and technician support.

A few questions:

• Is it realistic to produce this type of work in-house?
• What digital presses would you recommend for this workload?
• Would you look at used Konica, Canon, Ricoh, Xerox, or something else?
• What cutter would you pair with it?
• Roughly what budget should I expect for a reliable used setup?

I'd appreciate any recommendations or lessons learned from shops doing similar work. Thanks!

Looking for the most efficient and cost effective way to cut a high volume of postcards. Parent size 20x29 (B2) cut to 6x12 or 8.5x11. Would need to cut orders of 50k pieces at a time.

We already have guillotines for this but it takes too long. Are there any other options out there like a die cutter? Any suggestions based on your experience?

I'm in product customization (pens, golf balls, apparel, tumblers, yard signs, banners etc) and the last week has been dead. It's still my first year (started August last year) but we've been consistent since then so it feels weird to be getting almost no calls for the last 2 weeks or so despite running ads.

Is this normal for the time of year (4th of July/summer)?

Hello, I am looking into starting my own print shop, I have little experience in the field which I know doesn’t help but just wanted to make sure I am going in the right direction. I am currently looking into acquiring two Roland XC-540 printers, one is in working condition and the other one is a parts printer. Is there anything I should look out for when trying to buy them? I am buying a lot of the equipment from an operational shop that is looking for an out. They include a laminator and media cutter as well as vinyl, fabric and laminates. Please let me know if there is anything to look out for and other advice getting this thing off the ground running. I have a few clients that would be interested in my services and I know the direction I want to in. Thank you in advance for the help and yes I may be in over my head but determined to make it work.

My mother-in-law has been printing family shirts and stuff with one of these for 4 or 5 years and it started getting washed out colors this year.

I got dragooned into trying to fix it and have replaced wipers, dampers, the print head (with new dampers yet again, and manually flushed the ink lines. The new head printed slightly better, but still has missing lines.

She has finally given up on this thing, and I've seen that people sell rebuilt heads, so I'm wondering if someone can help me find a market to try to recoup some value out of the head I replaced, and the whole dang printer.

Lately, I've been thinking about what the best offset press for cardboard is. We currently run two Heidelberg Speedmasters, and I'm not sure if the CD model is the best solution anymore, or if KBA or Komori would be a better choice? Could anyone share their opinions and experience?

Also, I'm not sure if this is the right place for this question, or if a sub like r/offsetprint would be a better fit?

I would like to hear your opinion about an idea I have.

I am Brazilian 🇧🇷 and I have been working as a Graphic Designer for 10 years.

To give you some context, the average income in Brazil is around R$3,300 per month (approximately US$600–700). Graphic designers here often earn even less than that.

Unfortunately, this income is not enough for many people to have a comfortable life in Brazil, especially because the cost of living and taxes are quite high.

I have been trying to find a remote job that pays in US dollars, but getting hired through traditional methods like LinkedIn has been extremely difficult.

Because of that, I had an idea: instead of waiting for job openings, I could manually contact small Print Shops in the United States by email and offer my services as a remote Graphic Designer.

My thought is that this could be beneficial for both sides: the company could have an experienced designer with a more efficient cost compared to hiring a local full-time employee, and I would have the opportunity to earn in a stronger currency while providing valuable design support.

I would like to know what you think about this approach.

My English is intermediate. I have some difficulty speaking and understanding spoken English, but I can read and write very well, and I can use Google Translator too.

Do you think I could realistically get this type of job under these conditions?

How much does a Graphic Designer usually earn working for a Print Shop in the United States?

What types of design tasks are most common in Print Shops?

And do you think reaching out directly by email to these businesses would be a good strategy, or are there better ways to find opportunities like this?

I appreciate any advice or experiences you can share. Thank you!

Hi,

I print with 2 x Canon PRO-2600 printers I'm looking for a bigger space for my business. The Canon website says the operating temperature should be between 15°C to 30°C.

The only options that come up around my area (in the UK) are industrial-style units, which are metal buildings with very little insulation and no heating systems installed. In the winter months, I'm going to struggle to keep to 15°C (I expect it to go to single digits through freezing spells) as I'll only be able to heat the space with oil filled radiators or infrared, which I've read mixed things on.

Does anyone print at lower temperatures than 15°C? How low? Any issues?

My other idea is to point an infrared heater at the printers whilst they are printing instead of trying to heat the whole space, so it's just me that's freezing... 😄