Opening a printing house: how much does a printing business cost and how to organize it. Your own business: how to open a printing house

The demand for printing services is constantly growing. This applies to both large and small runs.

The main share of small circulations falls on small printing houses and operational printing shops. According to Sergei Pautov, general director and owner of Peter Polygraph LLC (employed by four people), to open a mini-printing house it is not necessary to seek large investments, but initially it is necessary to have an experienced specialist on staff who knows the entire printing process well. You can start with a single-color offset machine; from its operation you can earn approximately $700 in net profit per month.

As experts note, now the growth rate in this sector of the economy is decreasing, but the volume of printed products is growing. A small printing house can grow by focusing its work on a specific customer, creating the appropriate equipment and work for him.

1 step Registration

To open a mini-printing house, it is enough to register a state of emergency.
Licensing of this type of business activity is not
provided.

Step 2 Customer

Opening a printing house must begin with finding regular customers and
formation of a portfolio of orders.

At the first stages of work, orders can be transferred to existing printing houses.

Before purchasing equipment and searching for premises, it is necessary to create an active sales system. It is important to build a clear marketing strategy: what to print and for whom.

"At first, the owner of the printing house is forced to independently look for his first
orders. Through personal sales, calling, connecting friends, etc. ", -
advises the manager of the Kopi R LLC branch, Lyudmila Korykhalova. Currently, there are four main segments of printing production: book and magazine production, packaging and label production, advertising printing and newspaper production.

The most saturated sector of the market is considered to be advertising products. Leaflets,
Almost all printing houses print booklets and calendars. Technological
the manufacturing chain can be complete - from design development to
post-press preparation - or partial, when processes are distributed over
contractors.

The complete technological chain consists of: design studio, pre-press
preparation with output of photographic films, production of forms (prepress takes on
himself as a designer), printing process, post-press preparation (cutting,
folding, embossing, collating, etc.).

The organization of the technological process is followed by the selection of equipment.
It is worth considering that clients prefer to use the services of those
printing houses where they can be offered a full range of services: from
design development to finished packaged products.

“An important element of the work of a small printing house,” says Lyudmila Korykhalova, “is constant monitoring and optimization of printing processes. A mistake can result in the order being remade at your own expense or the loss of a regular customer.” In addition, the mini-printing house that will ensure the quality and speed of order fulfillment will stand out. You can attract clientele by introducing additional services. For example, by producing a small batch of pocket calendars in addition to the main order.

Step 3 Equipment and consumables

When choosing equipment, you must follow the principle of “the right machine in
the right time in the right place."

And also remember what products are in demand on the market and in what
equipment to print it.

"A novice entrepreneur should think about buying the simplest
used monochromatic machine type Romayor, A3 format, copy frame for making molds, cutter. This equipment is suitable for printing brochures, documents, leaflets, etc. To get started, it’s enough to have $6-7 thousand,” says Sergey Pautov. The supplier company
It is recommended to select equipment based on the availability of a service center.

Common brands of equipment in Russia are Romayor,
Heidelberg, Roland and others.

Step 4 Room

It is worth deciding in advance where the printing shop will be located.

If the printing shop is focused on performing operational
printing, then the ideal option would be to place it indoors
business centers, educational institutions and other public places.
Orders will also be accepted there. To accommodate printing equipment, a warehouse for consumables of finished products and equipment, 20 m2 of space for the designer is enough.

The room must be selected with suitable climatic conditions, and
also with ventilation and exhaust.

According to experts, locating production in residential buildings is not
recommended. This will definitely cause complaints from the residents of the house and force
look for a new location for production.

Step 5 Staff

An important person on whom the work of any printing house depends is
printer.

The staff of a mini-printing house may consist of a printer, a printer's assistant, a cutter, a pre-press specialist, and an order collection manager.

According to market participants, the biggest problem is finding a printer,
despite the fact that this profession is considered one of the highest paid in the city. The work of a printer is hard and harmful. "Printers
are always needed by everyone. There is no printing house that did not need
printers,” admits Konstantin Kovalev, RA sales manager
"Zebra". Personnel are trained by the printing houses themselves, the North-Western Institute of Printing and
educational and methodological retraining centers. Often the printing houses themselves
are engaged in personnel training or lure employees from other
enterprises. Search through advertisements or recruiting agencies
practically does not work, experts admit.

In small companies, a pre-press specialist and designer,
usually the same person. Order collection managers must
have an idea of ​​what printing is.

6 step Specifics

The harvest period for a small printing house is considered to be autumn and
winter period until New Year.

“During this period, printing houses work in three shifts,” says Konstantin
Kovalev. A large number of exhibitions, advertising campaigns are held,
preparation for the New Year's Eve. These activities require a lot
consumption of advertising products.

Reference

Average cost of main types of printed products
Name -- Circulation -- Cost -- Final cost
Leaflet A4, -- 5000 copies, full color, double-sided printing, glossy --$250 -- $350
Magazine 48 pages, - black and white, color cover A4, 1000 copies. --$700 --$1000
Booklet A3, -- 1000 copies. -- $240 -- $380...

The initial investment amount is 1 687 186 rubles

Break-even point is reached in the eighth month of work.

The payback period is from 21 months.

2. Description of the business, product or service

3. Description of the sales market

We will conduct a SWOT analysis of your project’s activities.

4. Sales and marketing

5. Production plan

Let us outline the main stages of launching a printing house.

1. Registration with government agencies

Opening a printing house does not require special permits and licenses, so before opening it is enough to register yourself as an individual entrepreneur with a simplified taxation system (6% of income), and also open a current account.

2. Search for premises and repairs

As for the placement of the printing house, there are certain requirements for it:

• Square area from 40 m2;
• Exhaust / ventilation of the room;
• Possibility of expansion in the future into a warehouse for finished products.

An area of ​​40 square meters or more is suitable for a small printing house. m. Too small areas will not be suitable due to the fact that they will not allow placing all the equipment (which is at least 5-6 cars). Plus, it is necessary to give space to operators and allocate storage space for storing materials and finished products. Finally, you need to allocate an area for visitors, place a soft sofa and chairs. Rental payments for an area of ​​40 sq. m., depending on the location, will be about 28 - 40 thousand rubles per month.

3. Purchase of necessary equipment and inventory

To open a printing house you need the following equipment:

• Digital printing machine with a raster processor for offset printing (a device that transfers an image from a plate to the surface of a material using a rubber sheet; used for printing leaflets, forms, business documents, brochures, posters, business cards, postcards, booklets, coupons, photographs, in general, the vast majority of printing house products);
• Cutting plotter (this is a device for accurately cutting out any stencils or images from various materials);
• Booklet maker (a device designed for binding documents (fastening sheets with a staple);
• Laser MFP;
• Multifunctional heat press (specialized modern equipment that allows high-quality transfer of all kinds of images to different surfaces, used for applying the desired images to caps, mugs, T-shirts);
• Cutter (used to cut paper into even pieces and straighten the edges);
• Laminator;
• Computer;
• Consumables: paper, thermal film, oracal, magnetic vinyl, paint.

Due to the high cost of new equipment, you can look for supported options, then the price will be approximately 2 times lower. This business plan contains equipment that has been in production for no more than three years.

*Consumable inventory includes: paper, anti-set-off material for offset printing machines, printer cartridge, cardboard, metal/plastic springs, calendar loops, magnetic vinyl, oracal.

4. Personnel search

The most difficult thing will be to find professional printers, since quality work will require experience and specialized education. It is better to search for such specialists on the hh.ru portal; access to a resume will cost 15,000 rubles. You will also need an experienced sales manager and administrative managers who will be responsible for meeting clients, calculating costs and transferring finished products. It is also more advisable to look for them on the above site or search through friends or social networks. networks.

5. Marketing policy

6. Organizational structure

The main employee of your printing house is the printer, who prepares materials and the printing machine for production, adjusts and prints all types of printed products, preventive maintenance and repair of the printing machine, and monitors compliance with speed limits and printing schedules. The printer's work schedule is 2/2 to 12 hours a day, the salary is the highest in the enterprise (45,000 rubles), since candidates with work experience and specialized education are required. It is ideal that these employees are general specialists and can work with a plotter, booklet maker, and heat press. But even in this case, it is necessary to hire assistants who will carry out the work under the supervision of printers. In the first months, when the customer base has not yet been developed and there are few orders, two printers are enough, then without assistants with a salary of 15,000 rubles. not enough.

The next employee who needs to be involved is a sales manager who makes calls to potential clients and offers printing services. The manager can work remotely, payment for his work depends on the number of services sold (15%). The candidate must also have experience in sales, develop sales scripts for conversations, and submit monthly reports to the director on the number of contacts processed and conversions.

It is also necessary to hire a designer on staff who develops layouts of leaflets, booklets, business cards, postcards, calendars, and also prepares files for printing. The designer's salary is 18,000 rubles, working hours are 5/2.

Clients are received and consulted by a manager. He also calculates the cost of orders, receives incoming calls, answers customer messages, etc. Since the printing house works daily, there is a need to hire two managers who work in shifts, their salary is 15,000 rubles/month.

Let us briefly describe how to open a printing house from scratch. Where to start a business for an inexperienced entrepreneur? To do this, you will need to draw up a competent business plan, study the market and think through many issues, take care of paperwork, etc. With the right approach, you can achieve full payback within a year.

Today printing occupies an important place in people's lives. Such services are used by students, office workers, advertising agencies, various companies, tourism and political organizations. And even in the presence of high competition, you can count on the fact that the mini-printing house will always have customers.

Advantages

Opening a printing house will turn out to be a profitable project. After all, its modern capabilities provide certain prospects for development:

1. Both in large metropolitan areas and in small towns, printing services are used by many institutions - public and political organizations, schools and institutes, magazines and newspapers, advertising agencies, travel agencies, various private enterprises, office companies, etc. The demand for printed products increases with every year.
2. To open a mini-printing house you will need little equipment, which implies a minimum or medium investment.
3. You will not need to seek operating licenses or obtain any special certificates. The registration process will be short and simple, and regulatory authorities will rarely visit such an institution for inspections.
4. If you have a good customer base, you can count on high recurring profits.
5. To get started, it is enough to use used equipment to reduce initial costs and only purchase expensive and new equipment over time.
6. The high profitability of this type of business promises payback for the project in a short time.
7. It is possible to combine several service options at once, thereby significantly increasing the company’s income.
8. To accommodate a minimum amount of equipment and furniture, you do not need a lot of space, which will significantly save the cost of renting premises.

Among the disadvantages of starting a printing industry from scratch, only the high level of competition in some cities is noted. But since their capabilities do not exceed the limited volume of products, with constantly growing demand you have every chance to get your share of customers and make money on it.

Business format

Where to start implementing an idea? Before opening your own printing house, you need to decide on the volume and direction of activity. It could be:

• Mini-printing company offering printing services to private clients or various companies through the production of small products such as booklets, flyers, business cards, posters, etc.
• A more serious workshop with professional and powerful equipment, which can be used to print newspapers, magazines, textbooks, manuals, etc.

The first option makes it possible to start your own business with a small investment, while the second offers scope for large volumes of activity with constant cooperation with various enterprises and institutions.

What documents are needed?

One of the important advantages of opening a printing house is that this type of activity does not require special licenses or permits. It is enough to register as an individual entrepreneur or LLC. The first option is suitable for printing with a minimum number of employees and small volumes of products.

A legal entity should be registered in cases where you want to engage in large projects, bulk orders and cooperate with companies and organizations. In each of the options, it is advisable to choose a suitable taxation system, such as a simplified scheme, so as not to pay high deductions.

You also need to submit documents to the following authorities:

1. Sanitary and Epidemiological Service.
2. Fire inspection.
3. Pension Fund.
4. Statistical bodies.
5. Employment Service.

Services offered

Having studied the market in this area of ​​business, it is advisable to decide what exactly you will do. The most popular queries among the population are:

• creation of product mockups;
• production of advertising booklets;
• lamination;
• printing of documents;
• photocopies;
• scanning papers;
• binding;
• production of menus, forms, leaflets, brochures, business cards, calendars and other small items;
• release of postcards;
• creating notepads and envelopes;
• pre-press and post-press processing;
• publishing newspapers, magazines, etc.;
• preparation of manuals and other educational materials;
• printing on clothes, dishes, etc.;
• packaging products.

Carefully analyze your competitors and the demand for different activities in this segment. Then you can create a unique offer that will help you win potential customers in a short time.

Selecting a room

It is worth taking a responsible approach to finding a suitable building. There are two main points to consider here:

1. Location – the ideal location for the printing house is in the central areas of the city, where there is a high level of foot traffic. But even if, in order to save money, you decide to choose a place remote from the center, then it is enough to focus on the proximity of educational institutions, political organizations, advertising or other agencies, which will become your main clients.
2. The dimensions of the room should not be too large. For mini-printing, an area of ​​30-40 square meters is sufficient. m. But it needs to be divided into separate zones - a warehouse, a reception area, a work area, a staff bathroom. It is also important to connect communications - a ventilation system, electricity with a power of 380 W and compliance with all norms and standards of the SES and GPI.

Remember that placing a printing house in a residential building is highly undesirable. Even having received the necessary permits for this and having arranged everything according to the rules, you can provoke conflicts with the residents of the house, who will be disturbed by the noise of operating equipment.

Keep in mind that renting offices in the city center, especially in big cities, is expensive and such expenses will significantly reduce your profits. To save money, try to choose a building in non-commercial areas. For example, various communal institutions are suitable for this.

Let's list what you need to open a mini-printing house:

• Risograph - for completing complex design projects with the ability to scale up to 200% and print speed of at least 60-130 copies per minute.
• Copier – designed for A3 and A4 formats and makes about 15 documents per minute. It is advisable to select a technique where the toner is capable of making up to 3000 copies, and the photo drum itself has a productivity of 100 thousand copies.
• Laser printer – capable of working with the most popular formats (A3 and A4).
• Scanner – with the ability to zoom 59-200%. It is important that there is access here to directly transfer the captured image to the printer.
• A computer for each employee who will accept and fulfill orders. They must have good video cards installed for working with images and graphic editors.
• Copy frame.
• Cutter.
• Laminator.
• Binding machine.
• Various devices and tools for working with paper and equipment.

You will also need to periodically purchase consumables and monitor the operation of the devices. To set up a printing house, you will need to purchase office furniture, and for warehouses - shelving and racks.

To save money, many novice entrepreneurs buy cheap used equipment. But this is not always justified. For example, if you decide to receive a large order from a large client, then such equipment will not withstand the load and will be defective, or even fail at the wrong time. Therefore, sometimes it is more expedient to purchase expensive professional new equipment, but not to risk missing deadlines for completing tasks.

Staff

A printing house as a business cannot operate without a certain number of people. You won't be able to handle the entire load on your own. Therefore, take care to find qualified employees. At least one of them must have extensive experience and skills in the printing industry. Everyone else can learn the intricacies of the business from the main master.

The staff must have:

1. Cutter – responsible for post-printing processing of products (packing, embossing, cutting, etc.
2. The printer or operator controls the equipment.
3. Assistants.
4. Designer – engaged in pre-press processing of images.
5. Manager – forms a client base, draws up assignments and ensures the agency’s advertising campaign.
6. Accountant - can work part-time, part-time or perform functions under a contract.
7. Cleaning woman.

Experienced entrepreneurs in this area of ​​business note that the largest influx occurs in September and the New Year holidays. Therefore, make sure that your employees have time to fulfill all orders during this time. Additional help may need to be hired for selected tasks for short periods.

Where to find clients?

The main target audience for a mini-printing house are media editors, students, teachers, private entrepreneurs, political parties, etc. It is important to quickly convey your capabilities and advantages to potential customers. If competition in this area of ​​business is quite high in your region, then formulate a unique and profitable offer that will set you apart from the rest.

Otherwise, it is enough to simply indicate on a business card and other advertising materials the list of services offered. Print informational brochures and leaflets and distribute them in places where your potential clients often visit - universities, libraries, newspaper offices, etc.

To find regular and large customers, it is worth making phone calls to organizations where printing services may be of interest to management. Conduct personal meetings, make mutually beneficial offers, show product samples and create a flexible system of discounts to attract customers.

In cooperation with educational institutions, you can start producing teaching aids and visual materials. This will not only ensure a profitable order, but will also create a certain reputation for the printing industry.

In order for clients to return to you in the future, and also to recommend the printing house to friends, you need to focus on high-quality and fast completion of the work. Employees must be polite and friendly, help make difficult choices and offer interesting design solutions.

You can download it here for free as a sample.

Profitability of mini-printing house

When drawing up a business plan, you need to take into account all expected expenses.

If you purchase used equipment, you can significantly reduce the indicated amount. The exact numbers will depend on how much the particular device you choose costs, since it is the equipment that constitutes the main expense item. The constant maintenance of printing and maintaining the workflow also requires finance.

You should not expect that there will be the same number of orders all year round. This business has its own seasonality. Typically, the greatest profits are observed during the holidays and autumn. But even with this, they manage to earn an average of about 3,600,000 rubles per year. It turns out that after just ten months we can talk about the full return on investment of the business.

But this is provided that you quickly form a main customer base or successfully locate your office near educational institutions. Otherwise, you will have to wait a little longer for high profits. This is influenced by many factors - established prices, level of demand, competition, etc.

To promote a mini-printing house from scratch, you will need experience and competent business management. Experts recommend doing the following:

• Make sure you have good quality working equipment. This is the only way to expect quick fulfillment of all orders.
• Set reasonable prices for services.
• Develop a system of discounts and bonuses for regular customers or wholesale production of printed products.
• Ensure that urgent tasks can be completed at any time of the day.
• Offer free delivery to customers on finished orders.
• Hire only professional employees who can communicate politely and affably with clients.
• Consider a good office location close to your potential customers, but away from a competing company.
• Create a unique offer, standing out among similar printing houses in the city.
• When completing a large amount of work, be sure to draw up a contract.
• Small tasks can be performed directly in front of the client.
• If you don’t know how to start a business from scratch, you should purchase a franchise and organize a business according to a ready-made scheme.

Video: how to open a printing house?

Today, the demand for printed products is becoming higher and higher, which means the need for printing houses is constantly growing. The success of a printing house largely depends not only on what volumes of products it can produce, but also on how quickly and efficiently the order is completed. If properly organized, this type of business can generate considerable income, even if the company provides a very narrow range of services. The equipment will fit well in a small office.

Choosing a printing house type

Before you open your own printing house, you need to decide on its format. Will it be a full-fledged printing shop, focused on the production of books, newspapers and other large paper products, or will it be a mini-printing house, the main activity of which is aimed at providing printing services for smaller products - business cards, booklets, posters, calendars and other things.

In most cases, opening a mini-printing house will be the most correct decision. There are several reasons for this:

• Opening a small printing house does not require significant investments - the minimum amount is 500,000 rubles.
• At the beginning of your work, you are unlikely to be able to provide the printing house with large volumes of orders for printing books and magazines, but small ones are quite possible.
• If the business is run correctly, a mini-printing house can always grow into a more serious company.
• It can be a great addition to your main business. Quite often they open their own printing houses, magazines and newspapers.

Registration of a printing house

Like any other type of business, opening a printing house requires registration with the tax office. To register a mini-printing house, it is enough to obtain the status of an individual entrepreneur. In this case, you don’t even need a business permit. If you plan to open several branches, you need to think about registering an LLC.

Before opening you will need to obtain permission from:

• fire inspection;
• supervision services for compliance with labor safety rules.

Naturally, sooner or later you will have to hire staff to work in your company, and it follows that you also need to register with the pension fund and employment service.

Selection of premises

An important step when opening is the choice of premises. On average, for a mini-printing house, a room of 40-50 square meters, equipped with ventilation and electrical wiring with a power of more than 280 W, is sufficient. It is also important to have a toilet and a room for workers where they can rest during breaks between work.

Also, the room should be divided into several zones:

• to accept an order;
• working;
• stock.

It is advisable to have a separate room for each room.

It is better to rent a room not in a residential building, but in the building of business centers or educational institutions. This way, the operation of the equipment will not disturb neighbors, especially if the order is carried out at night. The building must also have convenient access for loading finished products.

It doesn’t matter where your printing house will be located - in the city center or on the outskirts, the main thing is that enough people pass nearby. The ideal option is to open near universities and business centers. That is, in those places where there will be a high demand for printing services.