Printing for the Trade: How Trade Printers Support Resellers

estimated reading time: 4 minutes

What Is Printing for the Trade?

Printing for the Trade, also known as Trade Printing, refers to a business-to-business partnership in which a print manufacturer creates printed materials for a print reseller. The manufacturer offers wholesale pricing to the reseller, who then marks up the product and sells it to customers under its own brand.

In a trade printing arrangement, resellers work closely with their customers. This includes finalizing project specifications, ensuring artwork files are print-ready, and submitting orders for production.

Conversely, the actual manufacturer of the printing remains invisible to the reseller's customers. Serving strictly as the reseller's production partner, the manufacturer performs the printing, finishing, and bindery work required to complete each order.

If requested by the reseller, the print manufacturer may also perform order fulfillment. However, only the reseller's name will appear on packaging and paperwork, ensuring the reseller's branding and customer relationships remain intact.

How does Trade Printing Support Resellers?

Printers that sell to other professionals within the trade often specialize in efficient, high-volume production of specific print products. This includes books, catalogs, brochures, comics, calendars, maps, direct mail pieces, laminated printing, and more.

Partnering with trade printers enables a reseller to...

• Offer a wider range of print products
• Accept orders for larger quantities
• Maintain consistent quality
• Improve customer satisfaction and retention
• Gain access to specialized expertise
• Lower operational risk
• Know project costs upfront

Trade printing plays a crucial role in helping print resellers expand their offerings to customers. manage capacity, and deliver high-quality products without the expense of adding equipment, personnel, or floor space.

Who Uses Trade Printers?

Trade printers support a broad range of service providers across the printing and marketing landscape, including:

Commercial Print Shops

Commercial print shops often rely on trade printers to supplement in-house production. For example, a print shop might partner with a trade printer for specialty items or projects that exceed current production capacity. This strategy allows businesses to win more work and avoid losing customers to competitors.

Copy Centers

Retail copy centers, such as a FedEx Office or UPS Store, primarily serve small business professionals, students, and other walk-in customers. As such, most of the orders are on the smaller side. By working with a trade printer, a copy center can accept orders that are larger and more complex than what they normally offer, thus improving their bottom line.

Print Brokers

Print brokers are professionals that focus on print sales, project management, and customer relationships instead of production. Most print brokers do not own any presses or printing equipment. Instead, they leverage the equipment and expertise of trade printers to provide professionally printed products to their customers.

Marketing and Advertising Agencies

Marketing and advertising agencies use trade printers to produce high-quality campaign materials for their clients. This allows the agency to focus its efforts on strategy, design, and execution while letting the trade printer handle the physical production of postcards, flyers, brochures, and other promotional pieces.

Graphic Designers

Graphic design firms and freelance designers regularly partner with trade printers to ensure their creative works are produced in a professional and cost-effective manner. Having relationships with trade printers gives designers a hassle-free way to provide a complete, end-to-end solution for their print clients.

Independent Book Publishers

Trade printers that specialize in book printing can give smaller publishers access to high-volume production capabilities and specialized equipment without having to make costly, long-term investments. By offering a wide range of printing, binding, and finishing options, trade printers enable each title to be produced in the format best suited to its content, audience, and distribution goals.

In-House Print Departments

Many universities, government agencies, and large corporations maintain in-house print departments to support their ongoing communication needs. Trade printers provide a reliable solution for managing overflow work, as well as handling specialized projects or production requirements that exceed the capacity or technical capabilities of internal operations.

Direct Mail Companies

Mailing houses and direct mail service providers frequently rely on trade printers for printing and finishing services. These partnerships streamline the production process and ensure the efficient processing of postcards, letters, and complex variable-data campaigns, helping mailing service providers to deliver consistent quality.

Looking for High-Quality Trade Printing at Affordable Rates?

For over 40 years, Color Vision has been providing high-quality, affordable printing to the trade. By supporting print resellers, agencies, and designers, we have enabled businesses of all sizes to compete, grow, and deliver professional-grade print products to their customers.

As a full-service provider, we offer offset and digital printing as well as a wide variety of finishing and bindery options. We also offer numerous services, such as variable data printing, kitting, assembly, and mail fulfillment.

So whether you are looking for book printing, full-color printing, laminated printing or any other type of printing, use our simple Quote Request form to send us your project's specifications and we will be happy to email you a custom quote. Or, if you prefer to discuss your project by phone, give us a call at 800-543-6299.

As always, we look forward to assisting with your trade printing needs!

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