Practical Print Buying

"Despite its importance to most companies," explains Suzanne Morgan, "print buying is largely a process of self-education." As the president of Print Buyers Online, Morgan is aware that "training is often from the school of hard knocks, that is, by trial and error." As a result, the Web portal is a free resource designed to nurture business and technical skills related to the market. Morgan says that the e-community offers free education and solutions for print buyers interested in learning about the latest industry tools for economical purchasing, although 25 percent of the membership consists of printers themselves. "There are very limited resources for print buyers and production professionals," says Morgan. "Our goal is to educate this audience and bring people together with printers and to learn about new technologies."Morgan created the resource eight years ago based on her experience as president of Print Solutions, a consulting, research and education company. Having once navigated this same market as a novice, she brings her personal experience to the many articles and analysis she posts online. She says, "Years ago, I started in print buying as many of you did. I didn't grow up waiting to be a print buyer—the job fell into my lap! I got involved with printing when I was a marketing assistant for a publishing company. Although I was responsible for buying over one million dollars in printing services, I had no experience and very little training. So, I learned the job as many of you have—from trial by fire and from my printing sales representatives."Morgan believes there is a better way to learn.These days, she provides foundations in the art of buying via the Web site and printed guides that cover a variety of topics—everything from paper quality to press check rules and appropriate printer/print buyer dialogue. She says, "The business of buying print has changed so much in the past few years. There's more pressure to cut costs, find dependable and innovative printers and suppliers and reduce production turnaround times." She feels strongly about keeping the service free to members, which total nearly 1,800 at press time. But to encourage more traffic, she will unveil a job bank next Friday, and anticipates offering a forum in the near future in which member will be able to interact using a Web browser to post messages and chat. She's already begun posting survey results, the first came last month about the challenges of print buying. Near future topics will include paper specifications and salary status for production professionals within the current market. Under Morgan's guidance, she also covers insights into selecting the right printer and getting the best price, as well as ink, color, paper and proofing tips within concise articles and checklists. In fact, in conjunction with Print Solutions, she has trained more than 3,000 print buyers from Fortune 500 firms, corporations, publishing companies, associations and advertising agencies through seminars and customized training programs. She acknowledges that her top-rated seminars have also been beneficial for designers, print sales representatives and print management departments throughout the United States. The author of Print Buying: Doing It Right the First Time, a book which she is currently updating to re-release online that features checklists and tips, handles most of the legwork for Printbuyersonline.com independently, although does solicit advice from industry leaders in the "Ask the Experts" column online, which she says is an expanding chapter of the site.But what sets the e-community aside from other resources, explains Morgan, is the attention it pays toward teaching print buyers exactly how to work with printers from the ground up. "There are few places where buyers can go to learn how to work with their printers. People value the business end." She adds, "I met someone this week at Quebec Prints in New York who told me she values the weekly e-letter the most." Morgan says that the colleague praised the intelligence of the articles, noting, "The most frequently visited sections are the e-letter, tip of the day and Q & As." For more information about the service or to join at no cost log online, visit www.printbuyersonline.com. It's as easy as provided your name, job title and demographics that assist Morgan in better understanding how her audience is evolving for the next quarter.-Natalie Hope McDonald

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Practical Print Buying

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