Loans For Printers
According to the U.S. Commerce Department, by the end of 2015, commercial printing companies shipments increased more than 3.5 percent throughout the United States, leading to the highest growth rate in nineteen years. These shipments were up more than $2.2 billion compared to 2014. Overall, the commercial printing industry has seen the longest number of months at that level since 2010. The Great Recession of 2008 greatly impacted the commercial printing industry, but reports are showing that there will be an increase in profitability throughout the commercial printing industry well through 2021.
In 2016, the commercial printing industry has seen over 35,000 companies with $90 billion of annual revenue – a pretty large feat for an industry that is supposedly dead. This industry is highly fragmented, with the largest 50 companies holding only about 30 percent of the market. While there are many reasons for the commercial printing industry to celebrate this year, there are still many emerging trends that can make or break commercial printing businesses if they are not staying on top of the most cutting edge trends.
Commercial Printing Industry Trends
Regardless of the evolution of technology and social media, commercial printing businesses are still finding ways to grow sales and profits. Some of the major trends that commercial printing companies are shifting towards to stay competitive in this diverse industry are:
- Web-to-Print: It comes as no surprise that most businesses today have gone digital, rarely relying on physical paper documents to conduct business. However, there is still a large amount of businesses that either cannot go completely digital, or simply do not want to. This has led to the creation of ‘Web-to-Print’ technology which allows employees to upload content to cloud services and order those needed materials to be printed and shipped anywhere in the world. This has facilitated a quick and easy ordering, shipping, and receiving materials option which is a major priority to most consumers today.
- Printing on Demand: On demand printing services allow organizations and consumers to order print resources in an easy fashion, ultimately reducing the amount of paper wasted (which is a huge environmental concern for people throughout the country). On demand printing solutions are great for companies and associations that must update and send content to other locations all the time while enabling firms to order exactly what they need and have it delivered immediately.
- Brand Focus: Brand focus is directly tied to the success of many commercial printing businesses. Why? Because 45 percent of a brand’s image directly correlates with what it is able to say and how it is said, which over 64 percent of people claim is the main reason they are repeat customers.
- Customer Service, Customization, and More Services: Many commercial printing businesses are seeing an increase in profits when the owner or employee show the highest level of customer service. People today want quality experiences and will continue to be a repeat customer if the service is great. This high level of customer service includes getting involved with client’s projects, staying involved longer, offering a broader range of communication services, and creating customized programs to facilitate a more efficient and satisfying customer experience.
Some of the Reasons Print Shops Need Financing
- Technology is changing the way business is conducted, and many commercial printing businesses have reaped the rewards in the past few years by integrating more efficient technological components into their stores. However, replacing old equipment can be quite expensive today, so considering different finance options can help make this necessary transition.
- Inventory costs in the commercial printing industry are much lower than most industries, but there are always some inventory costs to cover, especially during preparation for peak seasons.
- Renovations and upgrades are not a necessity, but can benefit many commercial printing businesses looking to stay relevant and up to date. Unfortunately, people do judge books by their cover, so make sure to have a good looking establishment should be a priority. This venture can be pricey up front, there are always different loan options to help cover these costs.
- Expanding a commercial printing business to offer more services to stay ahead of the competition.
- Marketing and advertising, as every commercial printing business knows, is vital to growing a business no matter the industry. Commercial printing businesses obviously have the advantage when it comes to producing effective marketing campaigns via printed resources, but focusing on a social media presence is vital in today’s society. People value local commercial printing shops, but will do first hand research online before choosing their what business will fit their commercial printing needs.
- Mobile websites, apps, and online creation and customization tools are essential for the commercial printing industry. The top commercial printing businesses in the industry are even offering consumers the ability to create their templates and designs online from home that can then be sent via the internet to be printed.
- Compliance is also a big issue for many commercial printing companies today due to the toxins and other hazardous material emitted from printers and ink. While the amount of people, especially employees, seeing long term effects has gone down thanks to OSCHA regulations, there is still much that needs to be done. Utilizing the variety of funding options to help make the transition into more green friendly and safer products is always available.
Comparing Print Shop Loans
| Types | Rates | Terms | Funding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank | 6-10% | 3-7 years | 14-30 days |
| SBA | 6-10% | 3-7 years | 10-30 days |
| Line of Credit | 5-15% | 1 – 3 years | 7-30 days |
| Alternative | 6-25% | 1-5 years | 5-7 days |
| Cash Advance | 1.16-1.55 | 3-24 months | 1-3 days |
Print Shop Bank Loans
Bank loans offered by conventional banks and credit unions are the best financing solutions for just about any business, including local print shops. But to get approved you need good credit and established profitability.
Print Shop SBA Loans
SBA financing is the next best option after a conventional bank loan or line of credit. SBA rates are comparable to bank-rate financing because the lenders that provide SBA loans are conventional lenders. The purpose of the SBA program is to encourage conventional lenders to provide financing with the aid of a SBA enhancement – the covers much of the lenders’ losses if borrowers default.
Alternative Print Shop Lending
With conventional lenders having very strict underwriting guidelines, it can be difficult to obtain a bank loan. The next best option would be to seek an alternative loan, because the approval rates are much higher than with banks — some having approval rates as high as 70%.
Print Shop Cash Advance
While being far from the cheapest form of debt financing, a cash advance is by far the easiest type of business financing to get approved for (requiring minimal documents and low credit requirements).
