Cliffe Enterprise provides independent print management for organisations that need commercially produced print without being restricted to the equipment or capabilities of a single printing company.
Established in 1991, we manage print by first understanding the job: quantity, format, pagination, paper, binding, finishing, quality requirements, schedule, delivery and budget. We can then determine an appropriate production route and select a manufacturing partner suited to the specification.
This specification-led approach allows us to manage everything from brochures, catalogues and prospectuses to complex publications, direct mail and ongoing print requirements.
Have a print specification ready? Ask us to price it.
Not sure how your job should be produced? Talk to us before you specify it.
What Is Print Management?
Print management is the process of planning, sourcing and managing commercial print production on behalf of a client.
A print management company can review the specification, identify an appropriate printing process, source suitable manufacturing capacity, manage artwork and proofing requirements, oversee production and finishing, and coordinate delivery, mailing or fulfilment.
Good print management is therefore more than obtaining several prices for the same specification.
The specification itself may determine whether a project is economical to manufacture.
A change to finished size, pagination, paper, binding or production method can sometimes have a greater effect on cost and production efficiency than simply negotiating a lower price for an unchanged job.
That is why Cliffe starts with the specification rather than the printing press.
Why Use a Print Management Company?
Different printing companies are equipped for different types of work.
A plant designed for short-run digital production is very different from a sheetfed lithographic printer, and both are different again from a high-volume web-offset operation.
The most appropriate supplier for one project may therefore be completely unsuitable for another.
Print management allows the manufacturing route to be selected around the job rather than requiring every job to fit the same production equipment.
This can be particularly valuable when an organisation produces several types of print, has changing volumes, requires specialist finishing or distribution, or simply does not have experienced print-buying expertise internally.
Cliffe can provide a single point of responsibility while different projects are manufactured through production routes appropriate to their individual requirements.
Independent Print Management or Going Direct to a Printer?
There are many occasions when buying directly from a printer makes perfect sense.
If you know exactly what you need, have an established relationship with a printer whose equipment is well suited to the work, and are comfortable managing specification, proofing, production and delivery yourself, there may be little reason to introduce another party.
The distinction with independent print management is choice.
A printing company naturally manufactures work using the equipment available within its plant or production group.
Cliffe does not operate a fixed manufacturing plant.
We can therefore start with the requirements of the job and work outwards.
The question isn’t:
How can this job be produced on a particular press?
It is:
What is an appropriate way to manufacture this job?
That distinction becomes increasingly important as quantities, formats, pagination, paper specifications, finishing requirements and delivery schedules become more complex.
How Cliffe Determines the Production Route
Before selecting a manufacturing partner, we consider the characteristics that determine how efficiently a job can be produced.
Quantity
Run length is one of the major factors determining production method.
Very short runs may favour digital production, while increasing quantities can make sheetfed lithography or web offset more economical.
There isn’t a universal quantity at which one process becomes better than another. Format, pagination, paper, finishing and the capabilities of individual presses all influence the calculation.
Finished Size
A few millimetres can matter.
Finished size affects how pages impose onto a sheet or web and therefore how efficiently paper and press capacity are used.
Standard formats are not automatically the cheapest option, and an apparently minor size change can sometimes improve manufacturing efficiency significantly.
Pagination
Page count needs to work efficiently with the chosen printing and binding method.
Rather than treating pagination as simply a design decision, we consider how the publication will impose and be produced.
If a project is still being planned, discussing pagination before the artwork is finalised can prevent unnecessary production costs later.
Paper
Paper choice affects far more than appearance.
Grammage, bulk, opacity, coating, availability, press suitability, binding and finished weight can all influence the production decision.
A heavier paper is not necessarily a better paper, and changing stock can sometimes reduce cost or postage without materially reducing the quality of the finished publication.
Binding
Saddle stitching, perfect binding, PUR binding, thread sewing and other binding methods each have practical limitations and appropriate applications.
Pagination, paper bulk, spine width, durability, appearance and how the finished item will be used all need to be considered.
Finishing
Lamination, varnishes, foiling, die-cutting and other finishing processes can affect supplier choice as well as cost and schedule.
Where specialist finishing is required, the most efficient production route may involve more than one manufacturing operation.
Schedule
The theoretically cheapest manufacturing route is not useful if it cannot meet the required delivery date.
Available capacity, production time, finishing, transport and any mailing or fulfilment operation must therefore be considered as part of the production plan.
Distribution and Mailing
Production should not be considered in isolation from what happens afterwards.
If a publication is being mailed, packed, fulfilled to multiple destinations or distributed internationally, finished size and weight can have consequences beyond the printing cost.
Where possible, those requirements should be considered before the specification is finalised.
Choosing a Manufacturing Partner
Once we understand the specification and appropriate production route, we can identify manufacturing partners suited to the work.
Price matters, but it isn’t the only consideration.
We consider press and format suitability, experience with the product, paper and finishing capabilities, quality requirements, available capacity, turnaround, binding arrangements, logistics and overall commercial suitability.
This means the supplier that is right for a short-run brochure may not be the supplier we select for a high-volume catalogue.
The manufacturing decision follows the job.
How Our Print Management Process Works
Although every project is different, the process normally follows the same principles.
1. Understand the requirement
We establish what is being produced, how many copies are required, how the finished product will be used, when it is needed and where it needs to go.
2. Review the specification
We examine format, pagination, paper, binding, finishing and any mailing, fulfilment or delivery requirements.
3. Optimise where appropriate
If we identify a practical change that could improve production efficiency, reduce unnecessary cost or make the finished product more suitable for its intended use, we discuss it before manufacture.
4. Select the production route
We determine whether the work is better suited to digital, sheetfed lithographic, web-offset or another specialist production process.
5. Select the manufacturing partner
We source production from a supplier whose equipment, capability, capacity and commercial position suit the job.
6. Manage artwork, proofing and approval
We coordinate the pre-production process so that the approved files and specification are clear before manufacture begins.
7. Manage production and finishing
The project progresses through printing, binding and any required finishing operations.
8. Coordinate delivery, mailing or fulfilment
Finished work can be delivered in bulk, split across multiple destinations or integrated with mailing and fulfilment requirements where required.
Print Procurement and Cost Control
The lowest quoted unit price is not always the lowest-cost way of producing a job.
Cost can be built into the specification before a printer ever sees it.
An inefficient format can waste paper. An unnecessary paper weight can increase material and postage costs. A pagination change can alter production efficiency. A particular finishing requirement can restrict the available manufacturing routes.
For this reason, our approach to cost control starts with understanding why a job costs what it does.
Competitive procurement remains important, but it comes after specification and production-route analysis.
The objective is not simply to buy the same specification for less.
It is to achieve the required result through an appropriate and commercially efficient production solution.
Quality Control and Production Management
Print quality begins before ink reaches paper.
Clear artwork requirements, appropriate image resolution, colour setup, proofing and an agreed specification all reduce the opportunity for problems during manufacture.
Different projects require different levels of proofing and colour control. A straightforward repeat publication may require a different approval process from a colour-critical corporate publication.
Our role is to ensure that the production requirements are understood and that the project moves through approval, manufacture, finishing and delivery in a controlled way.
Mailing, Fulfilment and Distribution
For many projects, printing is only one part of the requirement.
Cliffe can coordinate print with services including direct mail, fulfilment, packing, storage, multi-address delivery and distribution.
Considering these requirements as part of the original production specification can be particularly important where weight, format, packing or delivery method affects the overall project cost.
What Types of Print Do We Manage?
Our print-management work includes commercially produced materials such as:
- brochures;
- catalogues;
- prospectuses;
- corporate publications;
- newsletters;
- marketing materials;
- direct-mail pieces;
- membership and customer communications;
- public-sector publications; and
- other multi-page and specialist printed products.
For magazine publishers, Cliffe Enterprise also operates Magazine Printing Company, our specialist magazine-printing service.
Who Uses Print Management?
Print management is particularly useful for organisations purchasing print regularly or managing projects where specification and production decisions materially affect cost, quality or delivery.
Clients can include marketing departments, publishers, membership organisations, educational institutions, public-sector organisations, charities, agencies and businesses producing significant quantities of printed material.
It can also help organisations that previously employed an experienced internal print buyer but no longer have that expertise in-house.
When Might You Not Need Print Management?
Not every print job needs managing.
If you require a small quantity of a straightforward product and already know the exact specification, an online or local printer may provide everything you need.
Likewise, if you have a trusted direct relationship with a manufacturer whose equipment is ideally suited to your regular work, changing that arrangement simply for the sake of using a print-management company may offer little benefit.
Print management becomes more valuable when there are meaningful decisions to make about specification, production method, supplier selection, cost, quality, schedule or distribution.
We would rather tell you when we can genuinely add value than manage a job unnecessarily.
Proven Print Management Experience
Cliffe Enterprise has provided print management since 1991, working across publishing, commercial, education, transport and public-sector print.
Our experience includes long-running client relationships as well as complex print, fulfilment and distribution projects.
Leeds Castle Enterprises, for example, recorded using Cliffe’s print-management services from October 1999 for an annual print requirement exceeding 1.2 million items. Its account of the relationship specifically refers to specification advice, tight deadlines, cost control, stock control and distribution.
Our documented transport experience includes multi-year printing and distribution contracts for organisations including Network SouthEast, South West Trains and the Go-Ahead Group. One documented timetable project involved producing more than 3.1 million timetables in eight days and distributing them to 212 stations.
Cliffe Enterprise is also listed under Print Managed Services on the NEUPC Print Solutions framework.
“I would highly recommend Cliffe Enterprise to anybody that buys a volume of print, as they meet our needs in terms of price, schedule and quality.”
D.K., Western Business Publishing
Why Cliffe Enterprise?
Printing technology has changed dramatically since Cliffe Enterprise was established in 1991.
Digital production has developed, press automation has increased, run lengths have changed, the UK manufacturing base has evolved and the economics of paper, postage and distribution have become increasingly important.
The principle behind our work, however, remains straightforward:
Understand the job first. Then determine how and where it should be produced.
Our independence allows us to select manufacturing solutions around individual projects rather than around a fixed production plant.
That combination of print knowledge, independent sourcing and production management is what we bring to our clients.
Print Management FAQs
Is print management the same as managed print services?
No.
Commercial print management concerns the specification, procurement and production of externally manufactured printed products such as brochures, catalogues, prospectuses, publications and direct mail.
“Managed print services” commonly refers to managing an organisation’s office printers, photocopiers, toner and related equipment.
Cliffe Enterprise specialises in commercial print management.
Does Cliffe Enterprise actually print the work?
Cliffe Enterprise manages production through selected manufacturing partners rather than requiring every project to be manufactured in a single Cliffe-owned printing plant.
This allows the manufacturing route to be selected around the requirements of each project.
Is using a print management company more expensive?
It should be considered in terms of the overall cost and value of the production solution rather than simply whether another company is involved.
Specification optimisation, appropriate production-route selection, procurement, production management and logistics can all affect total cost.
For some straightforward jobs, going directly to a printer may be entirely appropriate. For more complex or recurring requirements, professional print management can create efficiencies that are difficult to achieve by comparing headline print prices alone.
Can you help if we don’t know the correct print specification?
Yes.
Involving us before the specification and artwork are finalised can give us greater opportunity to suggest efficient formats, papers, pagination, binding or production methods.
Can you work with our existing specification?
Yes.
We can price and manage an established specification while highlighting any changes we believe are worth considering before production.
Do you manage delivery and fulfilment as well as printing?
Yes. Depending on the project, production can be coordinated with bulk delivery, multi-address distribution, direct mail or fulfilment.
Talk to Us About Your Print
If you already have a specification, send it to us and we can review the production requirement.
If you’re planning a project and aren’t yet certain about format, paper, pagination, binding or production method, involve us earlier.
Sometimes the best opportunity to reduce print cost or improve the finished product occurs before the artwork has even been created.
