
One of my favorite things to do in this business is listen to a group of print buying professionals. Just when I’m anticipating what they’re going to say...they surprise me. It simultaneously humbles and delights me.
So it was last week during one of the sessions at PBI Boston, our one-day regional conference—or get together, or party...OK, OK, it was all three.
The last session of the day was titled, “How to Source Printing in 2012: Best Practices.” I had selected three savvy pros from different industries to share their own philosophies on the subject. They had communicated with each other a bit via email, but as far as I know, they hadn’t shared their presentations.
I certainly didn’t know what they were going to say, but considering this is 2012 and the industry is in the middle of a ginormous shake up, I figured we’d hear about new strategies for finding printers. There I sat in the front row, fingers poised over my keyboard, waiting to type every word uttered.
What they said was so shocking, it blew me away. I could barely type.
Turns out, the tried-and-true, age-old practices of print buying are still—to this day—the best and most effective ones. There were no secret apps, no “silver bullet” formulas, and no shortcutting software to turn the business of buying commercial printing into a routine, foolproof task that anyone can do.
Au contraire. You have to be mindful and detail-oriented, creative and intelligent.
Here’s what we learned about sourcing print from these pros:
1) Buyers need to know their clients.
Who are you producing/sourcing for? What matters to them? Getting to know them is half the battle. Get inside their heads and make sure you appreciate what will make them happy in terms of the results.
- Categories:
- Business Management - Marketing/Sales

Long regarded as a print buyer expert and trade writer, Margie Dana launched a new business as a marketing communications strategist with a specialty in printing and print buying. She is as comfortable working in social media as she is in traditional media, and now she’s on a mission to help clients build customer communities through carefully crafted content. Dana was the producer of the annual Print & Media Conference.
Although she has exited the event business, Dana is still publishing her Print Tips newsletter each week. For more details and to sign up for her newsletter and marketing blog, visit www.margiedana.com