Technology gives us many choices when it comes to business printing. You can choose to print a document yourself, or you can choose one of many reputable commercial printers. Many businesses print their documents inhouse, while others with more complicated jobs outsource to professionals.

Don't be confused by the jargon that printers use; learning commercial printers basics can help you learn to understand it. Commercial printing terms you should know include:

1. Four-color is the same as full-color, because the four colors (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) combine to make any color required.

2. A proof is a representation a commercial printer gives you to show you how the finished product will look.

3. Binding is any of a number of methods that make individual pages into a book or booklet.

4. Finishing is any of several procedures done after the company prints the paper, such as folding, binding or laminating.

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Order products printed by commercial printing companies

Printing companies come in many shapes and sizes. You can order some jobs online and trust the printer to ship you the finished product. For large, expensive jobs, you may want to visit the printer's place of business and check the first copies as they come off the press.

I recommend: Take a video tour to learn more about American Litho, a quality commercial printing company equipped to print your important print documents. Choose A Printing Press for customized printing of books, catalogs, magazines, newspapers, maps and other printed products.

Reduce your carbon footprint by choosing green commercial printing services

There are several practices that indicate a printer is environmentally responsible. Using paper made from post-consumer waste and practices that don't pollute the environment are important. Several organizations oversee and certify whether companies who make these claims really follow through.

I recommend: Choose Solo Printing if you are looking for a commercial printer that cares about environmental standards. Request a quote from HubCast, which will help you find an environmentally friendly printer near you and then return competitive quotes at your request.

Buy printers from commercial printer manufacturers

If you have a high quantity of documents that you need to print, consider purchasing a commercial printing machine. Some of these machines are as simple to use as a full-featured photocopier. Manufacturers design these for the modern office, not a dirty print shop.

I recommend: Choose from many models of commercial printers for sale for various-sized offices and printshops at Oce. Canon offers several professional-sized, digital presses for you to choose from.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  The lines that divide photocopiers from printers are becoming blurry as better quality digital printing machines come on the market. Business printers often print in full-color and produce high-quality images, so you may choose to print many items yourself.

For printing projects your desktop printer can't handle, use commercial printing services. Commercial printers specialize in offset printing, also called four-color process printing, which is best for large projects, such as catalogs and brochures that require special paper, ink or bindery options. Before you hire commercial printers for your next commercial printing project, you'll need to consider a few questions.

1. What is your timeline for your commercial printing project?
2. What special features does your commercial printing project require? For example, do you need binding, special print processes or die cuts?
3. What is your budget? Small commercial printing jobs are often best printed digitally where plate charges and set-up fees don't come in to play.

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Some commercial printing services specialize in short run projects

Just because you've decided to go big with a commercial printing project like a catalog or magazine that showcases your products, you don't have to print a million copies. Shop around for short run commercial printers who can make your big project on a smaller scale.

I recommend: United Litho specializes in relatively short-run commercial printing projects (7,500-100,000) such as magazines and catalogs for small business, association and special interest publishers. PsPrint allows you to have catalogs, brochures and other projects printed in quantities as low as 125.

Use commercial printers for projects with a quick turnaround

Whether you need your business cards printed for a new employee or postcards for a mailing that needs to be in your customer's mailbox by the end of the week, quick commercial printing services are the solution to your dilemma. By offering online ordering, some quick turnaround commercial printers offer guarantees of having your job done and delivered as in 24 hours.

I recommend: 48HourPrint.com commercial printing services do just as advertised. Within 48 hours of receiving your design, they will have your business cards, postcards, brochures, sell sheets or pocket folders ready to ship to you. Prints Made Easy prints business cards, postcards, letterhead or envelopes with a 24-hour guarantee.

On-demand commercial printers come through in a pinch

When you need a project printed and don't require offset or lithographic processes, but your laser printer can't handle the quantity, on-demand commercial printers are your lifeline to getting the project done on time. They usually require you to upload documents through their website and pay in advance. Some on-demand commercial printers let you pick up your project on-site, while others offer overnight delivery.

I recommend: Look for commercial printing services like Mimeo, which offers 100 percent digital printing services, binding and collating done overnight and delivered the next day as long as the order is placed by 10 p.m. EST.

Get customized commercial printing services that make your project stand out

When you are designing a brochure, catalog, flyer or direct mail marketing piece, sometimes going the quick route with basic four-color commercial printing just isn't enough. Die-cut pieces, letterpress, spot varnishes and blind embossing transform a so-so marketing piece into a spectacular attention-getting piece.

I recommend: Dunstan Press does letterpress commercial printing services for small business including letterpress business cards, stationery and letterhead. RR Donnelly produces spot UV, hexachrome and lenticular printed materials. KoolPrint.com has die-cut options available on presentation folders and other marketing materials.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Ask the vendor what commercial printing methods they use. Some use desktop printing that is digital while others use offset multi-color presses.
• •  Some commercial printers offer mailing services on their deliverables. Taking advantage of their mailing services allows you to outsource the work while focusing on other projects.
• •  Offset printing uses a multicolor press. Specialized offset commercial printing services include hexachrome and lenticular printing. Hexachrome is Pantone's six-color printing process that allows true Pantone color matching. Lenticular printing is when an image is altered by viewing it at different angles.
• •  When getting commercial printing quotes, ask for set-up charges, plate fees, proofing charges and other fees that may not be included in the bid.
• •  Some commercial printers charge for overages and most have a 5-10 percent overage or underage clause that allows them to short the project or print more than you need and charge you for the amount of pieces they deliver. Make sure you understand their overage policies before you place a printing order.

There are lots of choices when it comes to choosing commercial printers for business printing. Almost all businesses will want some kind of business printer, but many companies will choose to outsource some of their items to a company that provides business printing services. Other companies may produce such a quantity of documents that it's worth the cost to purchase or lease a large high-speed digital printer or production printer.

When making your budget, consider the costs of maintenance, supplies, your own paper and staff time and training as well as the price of the machine. Costs of running each type of printer generally increase with the initial cost of the machine. There are several levels of pricing and costs of commercial printers:

1. Business printers and multifunction printers can cost under $100, but printers made for high-volume quantities can cost several thousand dollars.

2. Digital presses can range from $5,000 to almost $200,000.

3. Advanced copiers and production printers range from $20,000 to $200,000.

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Choose small- or medium-sized business printers for moderate usage

When it comes to business printing, a medium-sized printer is a good choice for a small business or one work group in a larger business. One of these printers will cost anywhere from $50 to $8,000. Evaluate your use of color to decide whether you need a color printer and choose a laser printer for economical printing.

I recommend: Hewlett Packard manufacturers many models of color and monochrome printers for various-sized offices in a very wide variation of functions and price range. Samsung makes several award-winning laser printers, with less variation in price than HP, running from $200 to $1,000.

Find digital presses made by commercial printer manufacturers

Digital presses are high-speed, high-quality, high-resolution digital printers, available in both color and black and white models. These are large machines with price tags varying from $5,000 to almost $200,000, so you might consider leasing as an option. Consult the commercial printer manufacturer for exact specifications on speed and resolution, as well as suggested machines for the number of pages you print in a month.

I recommend: Choose from several models of color or monochrome digital presses from Xerox. Kodak makes a small range of digital-offset presses that you can choose from.

Consider large printers made for commercial printing companies

Commercial printing firms or large companies that produce their own documents might want to use production printers. These high-speed printers have advanced functions and many choices for finishing options, such as collating and binding and job-queue management capabilities. In addition to the investment of $20,000 to $200,000, this type of printer will require its own room and at least one staff person to run it.

I recommend: Investigate the features of a wide selection of production printing systems made by Lanier. View the color or black and white products in the production print line by Konica Minolta.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When considering the cost of commercial printers for sale, keep in mind the price of supplies, especially ink and toner and also staff and staff training.

When you find your business in need of commercial printing, the decision must be made as to whether to invest in a commercial-grade printer for the office or to outsource the printing. If printing is done frequently for your business, it is probably best to invest in a business printer. First you must analyze your business's printing needs, such as what kind of documents are printed, the volume of documents printed and the frequency of printing, then use the following commercial printers key terms to lead you down the right path to the perfect commercial printer for your business.

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Digital press

A digital printer prints high resolution documents from a digital format, stored as computer files, and is usually used for photos or colorful, high-resolution documents using the four-color or full-color system.

I recommend: See some examples of the various types of digital press printers from Xerox.

Production printers

Production printers are high-quality, expensive, high-speed and highly-functioning industrial-grade printers that print documents in a large volume. They work very quickly and many have additional features like various document finishing options and binding capabilities.

I recommend: Explore the wide selection of production printers from Lanier.

Laser printer

A commercial laser printer can print a large volume of documents at a high speed and uses high-quality powder ink to produce professional documents.

I recommend: Look at various laser printer options, like full-color laser printers and monochrome laser printers, available from Samsung.

Inkjet printer

An inkjet printer sprays tiny drops of ink through a cartridge onto a print surface using the four-color or full-color system. It is the most inexpensive commercial printer available for businesses.

I recommend: Browse through professional-grade inkjet printers by Cannon to see what is possible with inexpensive inkjet printers.

Desktop printer

Commercial desktop printers use a halogen light source and drum printing technology to print composite plastic out of powder. They are used commonly by design firms and other small businesses for three-dimensional things like model-building.

I recommend: Learn more about commercial desktop printers at Commercial-Printers.Net.

Large format printer

Large format printers can print extremely large documents up to 60 inches wide and any length. They use various printing technologies, such as inkjet or laser, to print things like signs, banners, and posters.

I recommend: Find out everything there is to know about large format printers at FLAAR.