THE job requires no specialised degree from any tertiary institution. It revolves around information and publicity. Once there is an event, you will be needed to provide your services, and in our society today, events are always taking place. We are talking about the printing business, especially printing of handbills and posters.

Your clients are numerous ranging from churches to businesses like tutorial centres. Ahead of the 2011 elections, politicians at all levels — local, state and federal — are certain to use this medium to publicise their political ambitions. Therefore, this is certain a good time for one to get into this business.

A brief overview
The Managing Director of JVC Publications, Mr. Mike Ubi  spoke on  the world of printing.
“It begins in the mind and what information you wish to pass across; that is, something you want people to know. The information you want to pass across is the main subject, andthe kind of print work you eventually do depends on this.

“There are different methods of printing,” he explained. “There is screen printing which is what artisans use to make prints on shirts, mugs, nylon bags and the like. This is totally different from paper printing.”

Mr Ubi also said, “Printing on paper requires the use of certain machines which vary in size, quality of output and the cost of production. Various printing machines exist. The first is generally called the 201 machine. It is used in printing on A4 size or A5 size paper, envelopes, business cards, or anything small.

“Next is the 1/2-kord machine or 18-50 machine. This can print A4 and A5 sizes also, including A3 paper size and any other small size print. It will give you better quality output than the 201 machine.

“The Kord machie is bigger. It prints A2 (larger paper size than A4 and A5 that is commonly used for producing posters) and other smaller paper sizes depending on how it is laid out on the plate.

“The Sord machine is used for printing A1 size paper prints. The Sord machine has the highest quality of pring, technically called resolution. This machine is also used for printing bill boards.”

Simple steps to printing
The JVC Publications boss spoke on  how simple it is for one to come out with a print work, whether a handbill or a poster. The procedure, he explained, also applies to any other size of publication as long as it is one paper.

“The first thing to do is the design done on a computer. This is the job of a graphic artist, who you will pay to get this aspect done. How much they charge depends who is doing it - the person’s expertise and exposure, and also the complexity of the design work.

“After the design has been done, it must be printed out. There are two kinds of print out, namely: the computer print out and digital separation. Digital separation is of higher quality, and it gives you exactly what you see on the computer screen.”

One must note that the overall quality depends on these two initial stages. If the design work is poor, the final output will be poor also. If one chooses to do the cheaper computer print out, they will definitely have a lower quality compared to a job done with digital separation.

Challenges
Gbenro Adeleke is the man behind 7-digits Prints. He said that choosing a printer that can give the exact  quality a person wants is the most challenging part of the job. “You may hear that in a particular place they do such quality of work. But when you go there and try them out, they may just not live up to expectation at that moment. The next thing is to start running artound loking for another credible and trustworthy printer who will not fail and this can be very tasking.”

Mr.Adeleke pointed out that finishing is the icing on the cake that must be done prfectly for the work to be apreciated. Therefore, gather recommendatons of reliable  and proven impression house who will give the best production.

How profitable?
Mr Cyril Olajide is the CEO of  DFI Impressions Ltd. He spoke on how profitable the printing job can be. 

“I can go to a business centre and get me a graphic artist to do a design for me for N1,000 to sometimes, N5,000. A digital separation printout could cost about N3,500, for the common A2 size poster done at a digital separation house. A black and white plate costs N500.

“If one is doing a job alone in black and white. This is the only plate they will have to do before going to print on paper a process called ‘impression’. However, as the DFI Impressions CEO said further, a colour job will involve more.

“A full colour work will take four plates. Each of these costs N500. Then paper is purchased in reams of 500 sheets each. Bond paper costs about N2,500 for a ream and glossy paper costs much higher.”

At the end of the day, Mr Olajide  said that with as little as N20,000, anyone could go into this business and begin production. He said that in the business, it is common practice to bill  clients at least 100 per cent  over the cost of production. This is because in the event that the job does not come out as expected, one could easily do an improved one without going back to ask for more funding.

A remarkable incident which Mr Olajide recounted was one in which a friend of his lost a job because his bill was too low. He said, “My cost of production was N150 per print. My friend billed them N350 which is more than N200 profit on each print. But he lost the job to a guy who quoted N1,500 per print.”

Mr. Olajide said the prospect felt that his friends bill was ridiculously low. He said the prospect believed “the man will not deliver at such a low price.”

Critical success factors
Do worst case scenario budgeting and plan for possible flaws in the final print in order to make ammends without significantly affecting profit and production deadlines. Mr. Olajide said this is why one must utilise the industry standard of 100 per cent commission to make room for extra expenses.

There is also the need to make provision for delay at the impression stage of the job. You may get to the person making impression only to find out that your job is the fourth in line, and that it would take two days before it gets to your turn. How do you handle this if you doing publicity for a job that is just around the corner?

It is advisable for you to have more than one reliable point at which you do your impressions. Several of them abound especially in Lagos, which makes it the choice destination for printers around the country.

Having this information in mind and putting it to work, especially in this season of elections is one sure