General
New Video Walkthrough
Check out a video feature demo we created to showcase everything Printavo can handle.
New Features for Printavo
It’s been a while since we updated the blog but here are a few new features that have been released over the past few months:
– Shipping Label Integration. You can now easily create shipping labels for orders using FedEx, USPS, DHL or Canada Post.
– Better User Permissions. Allow more customization for each user on your account. Remember, unlimited users for each account and everyone can be logged in at the same time.
– Invoice History. View everything that has changed with an invoice including status changes, emails sent to customers, payments collected and more.
– Accept Payments via Stripe. You can now accept payments via Stripe. We added them because they have great analytics to view your income even clearer.
5 Ways to Drive More Sales to Your Print Shop
Being in business requires sales and growth. Doing both can either come naturally, or be painstakingly difficult. We at Printavo are always looking for ways to boost our user base, and have also implemented plenty of strategies over the years in screen printing shops. Here are 5 realistic ways to help drive sales to your screen printing shop.
Sales Representatives
One of the most effective ways to bring in business is through sales representatives. This is a traditional strategy that has proven the test of time. For print shops, it can be implemented in a number of different ways. One way to leverage the sales rep to boost your business is to place them in locations you may not normally have an opportunity to gain business. Shops often place them in different cities, states, or embed them on college campuses. By doing this your business can be local from wherever you are, and still provide close customer contact while placing you into previously unreachable markets.
Sponsorships
Sales is often driven by marketing. An easy way to increase the visibility of your business is to place your name directly in front of the consumer. Sponsorships can be highly valuable when placed in front of your target audience. Brand visibility is half the battle, and this is especially true for print shops. Evaluate where your customers are typically derived from, and look for opportunities to place your name in partnership with those consumers.
Newsletter
Gaining a customer base is no easy task. When acquiring customers it is vital to maintain a relationship with them. A newsletter provides a pressure-free, non-solicitation forum to keep customers abreast of the latest happenings within your company. It gives your screen printing company an opportunity to become familiar to the customer, inform them of potential deals, and any other meaningful information that shapes the image of the company and brand. Consumers like to do business with people and organizations they feel a connection to. Use the newsletter to build that connection.
Rewards Program
A rewards program is a major tool for many large coporations. Small businesses have yet to jump on the bandwagon as qucikly as their larger counterparts. While there are reasons why a smaller business is less inclined to have a rewards program, I believe it is still a powerful advantage to the average small business. By enrolling customers into the rewards program, your print shop gives its customers an incentive to return to your business routinely while building store equity. The rewards of the program can vary. The key is making it clear to the customer that in the long run they win by sticking with your screen printing shop.
Referral Program
Every print shop knows the value of gaining business from positive word of mouth. Take it to the next level by offering an incentive for those positive experiences. By turning your customer base into your sales force you are able to gain credibility at the door. Let those who know your work best tell their friends, family, and co-workers why they need to become your customers as well. Trust is hard to acquire, but easy to lose.
If you have any other tips people might find useful, post them below!
Start Invoice #’s Wherever You’d Like
You suggest features and we listen! You can now set the Invoice # you’d like to start on and also edit a current Invoice # on that specific invoice. To edit the start number, head over to My Settings and look for Invoice Seed option towards the middle.
Starting a Screen Printing Company: Building Blocks
Are you thinking about starting a screen printing company? Screen printing is one of the most sought after small business ideas. It has an inviting do-it-yourself image that appeals to individuals willing to try their hand at an activity that nearly everybody will encounter at some point in their life. Requiring a relatively small capital investment, starting a screen printing company can be achieved in a short period of time. When thinking about whether or not this is the business for you, please take these foundational building blocks into consideration.
Obtain a business license
A business license can be an asset as a screen print shop owner. A key to any business is being able to make a profit. In order to meet this objective expenses have to be less than revenues. By obtaining a business license you will become eligible to open accounts with distributors and suppliers who can offer wholesale-like prices on core products such as t-shirts. While you don’t have to buy inventory at wholesale prices to turn a profit, it will increase the ability for you to maximize your margins and scale your business.
Determine a Price Structure
Screen Printing is a competitive business. Because barriers to entry are relatively low, competition is likely to be plentiful. It is important to decide how affordable you plan to make your services, keeping in mind that expenses are constant, and larger shops are likely to have a scalability advantage that enables them to offer bargain-basement prices. While the attractive thing to do may be attempting to offer the best deals in town, evaluate the impacts this may have on your business and determine its sustainability.
Market Position
Who does your company cater to? Is your goal to attract college Students or the townspeople? Do you offer high quality products that may cost a bit more, or affordable options that may appeal to a broader base? In your mind you may be saying “all of the above”, but how does that translate to staking out a market position? How will you be identified from competitors? When a prospective customer asks what makes you different, what will your answer be? This is crucial.
These are a few building blocks of a screen printing business that you will want to work on when determining if this is the business for you. These are straight-forward yet important factors to consider as you plan your foray into the industry. Hopefully I have given you food for thought.
Printavo Welcomes Chris to the Team!
Chris Woolum
Printavo would like to welcome Chris Woolum to the team! Chris has been building web applications his whole life and worked with me earlier on in Printavo’s life. This is the first team member and we’re both extremely excited to take Printavo even farther.
Keeping your Screen Print Shop Clean – Ink Messes
New to screen printing or looking to streamline your operations? As a small shop operator, I found out the hard way that keeping a clean and organized shop was essential to being successful. By minimizing waste I found that I was able to maximize profits and productivity.
One of the most time-consuming aspects of screen printing is cleaning up ink. Let’s face it–it’s not very fun. These are a few things I have done in my shop to reduce the mess in handling ink.
Taking the time to set up a proper ink cabinet saved me loads of time and frustration. By lining the ink shelves with newspaper it prevented ink from touching the actual surface of the shelves and in the event of a drip or spill I would simply throw the newspaper away and replace it with fresh newspaper. Since old newspapers are free and easy to come by, I reaped the benefits of easy cleanup at no cost. With the shelves now protected by newspaper, I took a few minutes to ensure all ink containers were clearly labeled and wiped clean of any ink. Paying special attention to where the lid met the container as well as the bottom. I also discovered stacking ink containers directly on top of one another lead to more than a few disasters.
Before I start my print jobs and handle ink, I always put on an old XXXL tee on over my clothes. When handling ink I always make sure to wear vinyl gloves. These are available at most big box stores in bulk for a low price. In our shop, we keep vinyl gloves next to our ink storage and at our ink handling station. We also keep a stack of newspapers by the handling station and always lay a few out on the table before handling ink. In the inevitable event that ink drips or spills, clean up is quick and easy. We also place high absorption shop rags or recycled old, unusable tees at both the storage rack and handling table for easy access in case of a spill. Shop rags and tees tend to be more absorptive and soak up the ink much better than cheap paper towels that just smear the ink around.
When it comes to handling and storing of ink you can never be too vigilant. Even if you employ all the suggestions above you can still end up with a mess on your hands, whether it be knocking over a container or transferring a small spot from your arm to a couple of tees in production. However, I’ve found that taking these steps can dramatically reduce waste, increase production, and keep things around the shop as clean as it can be. Hopefully implementing these tips in your shop will help save you some time, money, and possibly your sanity.