4 Printing Projects You Don’t Want to Try at Home

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If you compare the average home printer of today to the best professional equipment that existed 20 or 30 years ago, the home printer would probably come out on top. The print quality is better than ever, and advanced capabilities like scanning and wireless printing are industry standards. Complete desktop printing packages are widely available for less than $100, and people can achieve very good results for themselves.

Very good results, that is, for certain projects and not others! Because no matter how advanced home printers become, there’s still a wide gap between DIY and professional printing. That gap includes quality, efficiency, and cost…and if you’ve ever tried to handle a sophisticated or important printing project at home, you probably agree.

So what projects are we talking about, specifically? When should leave that home printer off and seek the services of a qualified print professional? Here are five projects you don’t want to try at home — that is, if you need the very best results.

1. Invitations

The right printer has expertise that translates onto the finished product, in everything from the card stock to the design itself to flawless execution. When your event really matters and you want to class up your invitation, DIY can fall quite far behind the results achieved by experienced printers with professional equipment and a wealth of knowledge to enhance your invitation designs and ideas.

2. Corporate flyers

Commerce is an area where companies want to perform and look their best. Whether it’s a direct mail project or any other type of business mailing, leaving it to the professionals is both a luxury and a no-brainer. In-house printing gets expensive quickly, and for what little cash you might save, the loss in quality will effect your project one way or another.

3. Promotional items

Most people don’t have the proper materials or know-how to print on mugs, pens and countless other objects, which highlights the need for professional printing in general. DIY printers can do a lot, but there’s still a big difference between professional and non-professional work. Experience and expertise, in addition to the right machinery, come together to make documents clearer, brighter, and more vivid. The quality of the stock or promotional items themselves should also be taken into account.

So where do you find a printer that will take your next project to the next level?

Most businesses are surprised when they find out what’s possible with professional printing, and how it can actually save on business costs in the long run, while resulting in brighter and more impactful projects, whether for business or personal reasons.

But that doesn’t mean all professional printers are the same. Researching the options in your area and paying close attention to client testimonials and review scores will give you a very good idea of the value people are getting from a professional printer, direct mail specialist, or graphic design company. The speed of turnaround and the overall efficiency of the project are other things to consider.