There is a myth in the print world that saving money means compromising on quality. It doesn’t. What it actually means is making smarter decisions earlier in the process, and that is where Print Lord earns its keep.

Over 20 years at the coalface of the print trade, Jim Cunliffe has watched businesses overspend on the wrong things and underspend on the right ones. The result is always the same: rushed reprints, wrong stocks, and the creeping realisation that the cheapest quote was never actually cheap. Print Lord’s job is to help clients avoid all of that, and to make every pound of their print budget work harder.

Here are seven specification changes that quietly reduce cost without touching quality.

1. Order in Larger Volumes

This is the single most reliable way to bring unit cost down. Print is a setup-heavy process. Whether you are printing 250 flyers or 2,500, the machine still has to be set up, calibrated, and run. Once it’s running, the cost of each additional unit drops significantly.

If you know you will need more printed materials across the coming months, it almost always makes sense to print more in one run rather than going back to press repeatedly. Not for the sake of it, but with a sensible plan. Print Lord can help you work out the right quantity for your situation, factoring in shelf life, storage, and whether the content is likely to change.

2. Choose Standard Sizes Over Bespoke Trims

Custom sizes look impressive on a brief. On an invoice, they look rather different. Bespoke trims mean bespoke cutting, and bespoke cutting adds time, waste, and cost. Standard sizes, A5, A4, DL, A6, sit neatly within standard sheet sizes, which means less material wasted and less labour involved.

For most print jobs, a standard format is perfectly suited and in many cases more practical for distribution, posting, and display. If a bespoke size is genuinely necessary, Print Lord will say so. If it isn’t, we’ll tell you that too. Honest guidance is part of the service.

3. Swap Soft-Touch Lamination for Matt Lamination

Soft-touch lamination has a wonderful tactile quality. It also carries a premium price. For jobs where the velvety feel is central to the brand experience, it can absolutely be worth it. But for many applications, a high-quality matt laminate delivers a smart, professional finish at a meaningfully lower cost.

Matt lamination still protects the print, still looks polished, and still gives that satisfying solidity. It’s a sensible specification swap that many clients make once they see the difference on their invoice rather than their materials.

4. Consider Uncoated Stocks for the Right Jobs

Coated paper has a bright, sharp finish that works brilliantly for photography-heavy brochures, menus, and promotional print. But not every job needs a coated stock. For internal documents, letterheads, certain kinds of leaflets, and anything that will be written on, an uncoated stock is often entirely appropriate and noticeably more cost-effective.

Uncoated papers also have a natural, tactile quality that suits certain brand identities well. The key is knowing when to specify coated and when uncoated delivers everything the job needs. That is exactly the kind of specification advice Print Lord provides as standard.

5. Think Carefully About Single vs Double Sided

Double-sided printing costs more than single-sided. That sounds obvious, but it is surprising how often clients specify double-sided out of habit rather than necessity. If the reverse of a flyer is going to carry nothing more than a logo and a website address, it is worth asking whether a single-sided print with a stronger front design might serve the job just as well, or better.

Conversely, if a job genuinely calls for both sides and the alternative would mean printing two separate pieces, double-sided is clearly the right call. The point is to make the decision consciously, with cost and purpose both in view.

6. Combine Multiple Jobs in One Order

If you need business cards, compliment slips, and a run of DL flyers, ordering them together is almost always more cost-effective than placing three separate orders at three separate times. Setup costs are spread more efficiently, delivery is consolidated, and in some cases Print Lord can gang multiple items onto the same sheet run, bringing unit costs down further.

Planning ahead is the enabler here. When clients come to Print Lord with a clear picture of what they need over the coming weeks, there is far more room to find smart, cost-saving solutions. Last-minute, fragmented ordering is one of the most reliable ways to overspend on print.

7. Plan Ahead and Avoid Rush Charges

This is perhaps the most straightforward tip on the list, and the one most often ignored. Rush jobs cost more. Not because printers enjoy charging a premium for urgency, but because urgent work genuinely displaces other jobs in the queue, requires overtime or expedited courier bookings, and leaves no room for the careful checks that keep quality consistent.

Print Lord handles rush jobs, and handles them well. But the clients who get the best value consistently are the ones who plan their print needs in advance. A campaign that is briefed four weeks out costs less and looks better than one briefed four days out. It really is that simple.

The Real Cost-Saver: Expert Guidance

None of these tips require a design degree or a production management qualification. They require someone who knows print well enough to ask the right questions and make the right calls. That is what Print Lord does.

Cheaper competitors will give you a basket and a guess. Print Lord gives you a result. The specification advice, the volume planning, the finish recommendations, the honest conversation about what your budget can and cannot achieve: all of it is part of the service, not an extra.

If you would like to make your print budget work harder this summer, without cutting corners and without the drama of reprints and missed deadlines, get in touch.

Email: hello@printlord.co.uk
Phone: 01273 526679
Shop: shop.printlord.co.uk

Print Lord. At your service. On brand. On time.