Save Money On Print Advertising - # 3 - How To Save Money on Design

Wow, this is a huge subject so I will have to stay with generalities. Let me say that the printing and production costs all start with the design. Working in the business, I have received design work from many fancy advertising/design companies that have designed absolutely gorgeous pieces but when it came to producing the product the cost was too prohibitive. That’s why I always advise: LESS IS MORE!

Which ad is a better design? Which of the two excites you? Which one makes you want to buy their product?

Content: Have you ever looked at a print ad that is so “busy” that you can’t tell what the subject is? There is a fine balance between saying too little and saying too much. Your objective is to entice the potential customer to contact you so you can discuss their needs, invite them to your place of business and close the sale. A few well-composed sentences or paragraphs, some intriguing photos and a good design is all you need.

Special Production Effects: The price of production increases greatly with special effects such as embossing, debossing, die cutting, extra trims, unusual folds, etc. In years past, these types of treatments were used to make the piece “stand out”. Today, with so many design software programs, you can achieve wonderful special effects through the design work itself. Save your money and stay away from the fancy finishing.

This sample is poorly designed; too busy, hard to read and lines of copy all over the place. But check out the special effect of the 3-D arrows.
Look at this second example.

This is a great design! It's clean, readable and says just enough. You don't have to go overboard when designing.

Standard: Use standard everything; standard finished sizes, standard sizes and types of stock, standard folds and so on. If you stay within the standards, you will stay within your budget.

This postcard is a 9 x 6 inch full bleed. (A bleed is where the images run off the edges of the stock). This would be printed on 6.25 x 9.25 stock - not a standard size. It's very nice looking, great design but has expensive finishing touches.

This postcard is an 8.5 x 5.5 inch standard size with a 1/4 white margin (the black line indicates the finished size). Still nice looking, same great design, still gets the point across but it COST LESS!


All these suggestions work well whether you contract with a graphic designer, advertising agency, printer or if you are doing the designing yourself.

Next: Save Money On Print Advertising - Series 4 - Fonts and Typestyles.

Do you have a question about printing or advertising? Please leave a comment and I'll give you an honest reply.

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CHT has worked in the printing business since she was 16 years old. She has hands-on experience in every aspect of the industry from running presses, typesetting/graphic design, sales, customer service, management and ownership.

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