Professional Printing on Waterproof Paper? When You Need It, When You Don’t
The glory of the modern printer is that it puts the control in your hands. Whether you are a small business owner making your own marketing materials, or you want to advertise your upcoming garage sale, your printer helps you create whatever you want. The only limitations are your imagination and your digital design skills. Despite the freedom granted by this technology, there are still situations in which professional printing is going to be more beneficial than trying to DIY. From materials to design challenges, here are some elements to consider if you are debating using a professional printing service or trying to do it yourself:
Printing on Waterproof Paper
Waterproof paper, like the at-home printer, provides a great deal of flexibility and makes it easier for businesses and individuals to create high-quality marketing materials, learning tools, and so much more. TerraSlate waterproof paper is rip-proof, colorfast, and works with any laser printer or copy machine, meaning you can easily make durable paper goods that look like they were professionally printed.
For businesses, this means you can easily print your own flyers and posters to use for outdoor advertising, as well as create coordinated in-store signage. For the more heavy-duty industries, waterproof paper offers a way to easily print building plans, electrical diagrams, field manuals, safety signage, and other information that needs to hold up against things like heavy wear and tear or hot, messy kitchens. Waterproof paper is ideal in that it allows you to create your own materials without outrageous cost and trust that your signage can hold up against the onslaught of messy conditions, temperature fluctuations, heavy use, and the general vagaries of weather.
Overall, waterproof paper is a great way for businesses to get the professional materials they need without breaking the bank. But if you can create all of these materials for yourself, is there ever a point that printing services are necessary? Consider:
Classified vs Non-Classified
If you need to print a stack of materials, using professional printing services may very well be the faster and more cost-effective option. With this option, you will not need to worry about supplying paper or ink, as those costs are included and absorbed by the printing company. However, if you have sensitive information, sending that to a printing service may not be the best idea. Whether it’s a top-secret file or your restaurant’s secret family recipe, duplication and printing of those materials should be kept in-house to keep that information secure.
Design Services
Not everyone is a design whiz and that’s okay! Design services available to provide creative help for anyone who isn’t fortunate enough to have a designer on staff. If you plan to use design services from a company that also provides printing services, it’s worth pricing out the cost of their printing services at the same time. That way you can be sure of a quality product since the designer will have a good idea of the materials on which their creations will be printed. In addition, many of these dual-service companies offer a deal on combined services, which can be a great way to save money on the finished product. This is particularly true for manuals, PODD books, or anything else that needs binding or specialty finishes.
Printer Capabilities
How delicately detailed is the work you need to be printed? Modern technology means that the typical at-home printer can create some impressively fine print that is still legible. However, depending on the level of detail and complexity, and sometimes even the materials you want to print on, you may need a professional printing service simply to get the high-quality results you envision. For instance, printing out scientific data in which every pixel matters, a printer from 1998 isn’t exactly going to cut it. Choosing between DIY and a printing service in this case depends on how often you will print things that are complex, but you may find that using a printing service is more cost-effective than purchasing a top of the line printer that would let you handle printing everything yourself.
Saving Money
Unless you churn out hundreds upon hundreds of copies a day, or you frequently print specialty products like manuals, it will generally be more cost-effective to handle printing needs on your own as much as possible for small print runs. Budget is a primary concern for businesses large and small, so printing your own materials can help alleviate that burden. However, you shouldn’t need to sacrifice quality in order to save money. Even a one-time expense for a larger, more detail-capable printer can help you save on expenses in the long-run if it means you don’t need to head to your local printing service every other week.
This is where TerraSlate provides the biggest benefits. Our waterproof paper products include poster-sized sheets, waterproof printer paper, colored waterproof paper, and even waterproof adhesives. The result is that you can easily print the same high-quality printed materials without the help of a printing service. All of our waterproof paper products are made to be used with the typical at-home laser printer, without any additional finishes or processes. Use our waterproof paper products with a printer or copy machine and enjoy detailed, waterproof, durable goods straight from the printer.
Printing Service vs DIY: Getting Better Results
Ultimately, there is no simple answer to printing materials yourself or heading to a printing service. While it’s not the simplest answer, you may need to run a cost-benefit analysis to determine which option is best based on your needs. What we can tell you is that you don’t need to head to a printing service just to get better-quality materials. Explore TerraSlate online to see the full range of products we offer, and connect with us if you have questions about custom sizing or colors.
Don’t want to DIY? No problem! We also offer top of the line in-house design and printing services at industry leading costs. We pride ourselves on a quick turnaround time with ultra-high resolution prints. Talk to our design team about logo design, menu design, and more! We’ll work with you to create the right designs for your brand story, give you the files, and print materials as needed. Connect with the TerraSlate team today to learn more!