A Beginner’s Guide in Setting up a Business Printing Shop in St. Louis

Starting your own business printing shop in St Louis less is expensive today than it was in the past. Print shops are utilizing digital printing equipment that is much smaller. This translates to needing fewer employees to operate machinery. Most anyone with some capital can purchase and operate digital printing equipment.
It may seem to be a daunting task when you want to start your own printing business, although when the steps are broken down for you, it makes it much easier to succeed.
Educate Yourself
Familiarize yourself with the standards of a printing business to identify which products you want to make and who your target market is. Do research to learn about the better quality of printing with the higher dots per inch for clarity and professional looking results in color printing.
Determine Your Equipment Needs
Do research on the companies that will be your competition in the printing business. Find out what exact things they produce and what equipment is needed to do the same manufacturing process. Also, take note of any products your competitors don’t handle. This will help you to add services for customers that are in a specific niche.
Securing the Equipment
Search out which printing equipment is available from different manufacturers. Your printing equipment will be your largest investment for this type of business. Your type of printing will determine your needs in the printers. Basic printers are classed as laser, offset and inkjet for business printing. Screen-printing is used for printing on textiles such as shirts. Vinyl signs are printed on an extra wide sign and label printer in an inkjet style. Business cards are printing on either a laser printer or an offset press to print large quantities. You can purchase your equipment or find a manufacturer that has a lease option to get started with less capital.
Choose Your Design Software
You will need design software and a computer that will run it for you. This also depends on the type of printing you will be doing in your business. Simple desktop programs can work well for designing documents and business cards. Choose a high end specialized software for drawing graphics. Make certain that your computer of choice will run the software smoothly and ensure that you have a large variety of fonts to choose from in your designs.
Stock your Inventory
You need to have quite a variety of items in your inventory so as to have what your customers want. If you are printing business cards, documents and flyers, secure several types of cardstock and paper to allow a prospective customer to actually see and feel the product before they order it.
Secure Cutting Equipment
If you are printing business cards, you will need a cutting system, such as a hydraulic cutter or a manually operated cutter. Vinyl signs require a cutter that can cut out both graphics and letters smoothly from vinyl with an adhesive backing.
Accounting Software
You will need accounting software to keep track of your sales, inventory and expenses for your printing business in St Louis. If you will also operate over the internet, make certain the programs you get will integrate with your website so you can take printing orders online.
Obtain any Necessary Approval or Documentation
Research and secure any permits, such as a sales tax permit. You may also need fire department certifications, fire extinguishers and other safety equipment on site. You may need documentation that is approved for occupancy level, zoning and building use depending on your location of a storefront. Your local economic development agency can point you in the right direction as to what you will need.
Choose a Location
Choose a location in an area that is within your budget and is easily accessible to customers. It should be in an area that is thriving or beginning to thrive and not in an out of the way place so customers can find you. You may ask for help from a realtor to make this part much easier for you.
Testing Your Equipment
Make your own products for advertising your business that you will offer to customers. This will give you experience in the hands on operation of your business. Print samples of each type of cardstock, paper or documents you offer so the customers that come into your business can see exactly what they are ordering and how it works for them.
Consider Value Added Services
If you carry business card holders and brochure holders, a customer may decide to secure them from you after you print their materials. It saves them a step in finding display items for their products and they will likely make one purchase from you instead of searching for a display elsewhere.
Following these tips should enable you to start your own printing business in with a plan for success.
