3 Ways Integra Can't Save You Marketing Money — and 6 Ways We Can

Navigating the complexities of print marketing requires a partner who not only understands the nuances of print production but also prioritizes your budget and business goals. In some situations, we know that Integra Graphics Synergy can stand out in the print management field, offering tailored solutions that stretch your dollar further without compromising on quality or impact.

In other situations, however, we know we’re not the best fit.

While we pride ourselves on our ability to reduce costs for our clients in many scenarios, there are instances where our model might not be the best fit for every budget or project type. Because we value your time as well as our own, we want to help you learn about each of these situations so you can make an informed decision that best serves your team.

The following is an honest look at where Integra’s approach may not align with your specific needs, and where we’re able to save you money along the way. When you’re done reading, you should know whether we’re a good choice for the budget of your next print project.

3 Ways Integra May Not Be Able to Help Your Print Budget

When it comes to your marketing dollars, we want to see them go toward the highest impact as much as you do. We take pride in helping prospective customers decide whether we’re the right fit, and that includes directing them to a better solution when it’s not us. To that end, here are three primary situations in which we cannot necessarily serve your needs and reduce your budget as effectively as we can under other circumstances:

1. Small, one-off projects: For businesses needing a small batch of simple items quickly, a local print shop might serve you faster. Our comprehensive setup is designed for ongoing or multifaceted print needs, where our full value becomes apparent. We can certainly handle small print jobs for our current clients at the market rate, but since establishing a relationship with us involves a bit of up-front paperwork and expectation-setting, we don’t recommend ourselves for small, one-time projects.
   
   
2. Highly specialized artistic prints: Projects requiring artisanal print techniques or specialized artistic equipment might be better served by niche providers. While we offer a wide range of printing capabilities, the unique demands of certain art prints may fall outside our usual scope. Since we don’t focus our skills within this arena, we don’t have as robust a vendor network and cannot seek discounts and low prices as effectively on a client’s behalf.
   
   
3. Infrequent projects without variation: If your print needs don’t vary and consist of repetitive, straightforward tasks, direct engagement with a single provider could be similarly cost-effective. Our most apparent strength lies in managing diverse, complex print portfolios where our expertise and network can significantly reduce costs. We can and do produce low-cost newsletters and similar repeat content for our clients, but the savings margin is not always as striking in these cases.

If these stipulations don’t describe you, take a look at the six ways we do save money for our customers. And if you’re wondering about timelines as you consider these pricing pros and cons, click below to use our turnaround calculator.

6 Ways Integra Can Help You Get More out of Your Marketing Budget

Now that you’ve seen the situations that could make your project an unideal one for our business model, let’s explore some of the ways we can and do help our customers get more bang for their buck with professional printing:

1. Consultation on your marketing infrastructure: At Integra, we dive deep into each client’s business, budget and goals before suggesting solutions. Our approach is consultative, not sales-driven. Ultimately, we want to make sure we align with your marketing strategy so that we can help you save by addressing your specific needs. We won’t try to upsell you if the upsell won’t add value to your project. In fact, we regularly suggest cost-saving solutions via creative print strategies that make little difference to a project’s appearance and a major difference to its bottom line.
   
   
2. Access to cost-effective services: As print brokers, we’ve built an extensive network of both public-facing and trade-only print vendors with a stunning array of skills and equipment. Rather than pairing you with just anyone available to take on your project, we’ll match you with print services that offer the best value — and there are many to choose from. Whether it’s finding a provider for a unique paper type or suggesting cost-effective alternatives, our goal is to deliver each vision within budget.
   
   
3. Exclusive trade-only connections: Our relationships with trade-only printers allow us to secure low prices that aren’t available to the general public. Because these professionals know that the print managers they’ve built relationships with will supply them with a steady stream of work, they’re often able to set their prices lower. They can also skip the majority of some costly overhead endeavors, such as customer acquisition and public-facing staffing. They know they can trust us, so they pass the savings along. We, in turn, will make sure these savings are passed directly to you, ensuring high-quality print materials at a fraction of the cost.
   
   
4. Gang printing opportunities: Because our network of thoroughly vetted vendors has grown so large, we’re regularly able to take advantage of gang printing opportunities on behalf of our  clients. Once we learn about your project, we’ll seek to have it printed alongside similar jobs, which will reduce setup times and materials waste. When we can apply gang printing, the direct result is a more efficient production schedule that lowers costs — often significantly — for all projects printed in tandem.
   
   
5. Local printing for lower shipping costs: Our network extends across the United States and even some Canadian regions. No matter where your business is located or where you need your final printed copies to end up, we can access extensively vetted vendors close to the region to save time and, more importantly, shipping costs. Even for last-minute projects, we’re usually successful in finding quality vendors near our clients’ distribution points.
   
   
6. Centralized print management: One of the most critical ways we save our customers money is by acting as a single point of contact for all print needs. Your marketing team can spend significantly less time and effort sourcing and coordinating printed work, apparel, promotional products and signage. We’ll become like an extra arm of your marketing department, streamlining communications on all things print and giving your team valuable hours back in the day.

If one or more of these cost-saving measures sound like they could help your bottom line, don’t hesitate to get in touch with an Integra specialist with any questions or concerns you have.

Is Integra the Right Choice for Your Print Needs?

Choosing Integra Graphics Synergy means partnering with a team dedicated to optimizing your print marketing investments. Our model is ideal for businesses looking for a strategic ally capable of navigating the complexities of print production, ensuring quality and delivering cost savings across a diverse range of print, promotional, signage, and apparel needs.

The bottom line for us is that our commitment is to your success, whether that involves direct services or expert advice on alternative solutions.

For straightforward, limited-scope or highly specialized artistic projects, we’re here to offer guidance — and that might mean recommending solutions outside of our service range. In fact, you may want to learn about some of the best same-day print services available for one-off jobs if you think your project falls more into that category.

If, after weighing the pricing yays and nays laid out above, you feel that Integra sounds like the right fit for your upcoming print project, our team will be ready and waiting to hear from you. Click below to tell us a little bit about yourself and get started on your next print marketing endeavor!