The Silent Profit Killer Inside Every Printing Company

By Debbie Nicholson

Ask almost any printing company owner(s) what's hurting profits today and you'll hear a familiar list…

• "Ink costs."
• "Material increases."
• "Tariffs."
• "Labor."
• "Equipment payments."
   

Those expenses certainly matter, but if you have the time, let’s dive even deeper!

The greatest threat to profitability isn't sitting on your balance sheet. It's happening hundreds of times every single day.

• No alarms.
• No flashing warning lights.
• No emergency meetings.
• Just hundreds of tiny decisions...each one quietly stealing a little more profit.
• Until one day everyone asks…
  "Why are we losing so much money?
   

Most printing companies don't lose profits because of one catastrophic event. Instead, profits slowly bleed away through dozens—even hundreds—of tiny preventable decisions. Individually, they seem insignificant. Collectively, they can cost tens—or even hundreds—of thousands of dollars each year.

The frightening part-- many companies have accepted these losses as "oh, it’s just part of printing."

They're not. They're symptoms of broken processes.

Think about just one ordinary day (and yes, I could go on and on).

• An estimator misses a finishing charge.
• A CSR assumes the customer wanted gloss instead of matte.
• Prepress has to stop and ask three questions that should have been answered during order entry.
• Production can't find the job jacket
• A team member grabs the wrong substrate because the correct material wasn't identified clearly.
• A press operator waits on a hot job twenty minutes because artwork wasn't approved on time.
• The installer calls because critical measurements were never collected
• The shipping department can't locate completed pieces or parts for fulfillment
• A customer calls asking where their job is—and nobody knows. (really?)

None of these problems sound catastrophic.  But every one of them costs money.

Every Decision Either Builds Profit—or Erodes It

Highly profitable printing companies aren't simply faster, bigger or better equipped…

• They're better at making consistent, intentional decisions.
• They ask better questions.
• They document more thoroughly.
• They communicate more clearly.
• They verify instead of assume.
• They build systems that make the right decision the easiest decision.
• That's operational excellence

There is hope!

The future of printing doesn't belong only to companies with the newest equipment. It belongs to companies that eliminate waste before it reaches production. Companies that train employees to think beyond their individual task. Companies that understand every decision affects estimating, customer service, production, scheduling, shipping, profitability, and ultimately the customer's confidence.

Because companies don't lose money one catastrophe at a time.

They lose it one preventable decision at a time!