How Online Document Printing Outperforms Traditional Print Shops

For companies that depend on printed materials to run their business — from brochures and flyers at marketing events to client-requested hard copies of RFP responses — using an online document printing service is imperative to their success. 

Traditional print shops don’t have the same capabilities to print and deliver as many projects as an online print company can, nor can their pricing keep up with document printing services that have an international network of on demand printers. 

When you need to have physical copies of marketing materials, promotional products, or business documents, printing documents online will save you time, money, and resources. Here are some of the biggest ways online document printing outperforms traditional print shops.

Flexibility and Capability 

On demand print and ship options are hard to come across when using a traditional printing service. But by choosing to partner with an online print company, you can print documents on demand and then have those printed documents delivered to almost any address. 

Mimeo is one of those online document printing services with a global network of printers, giving companies an incredible amount of flexibility when it comes to choosing one of the best document printing services online. You can upload any document or choose from an existing document in your Mimeo library, immediately see a digital proof, then send it to print. 

So long as you finish your order by 10 pm EST, you can have your document printed and delivered to up to 500 addresses — almost anywhere in the world — by 8:30 am the next morning. Traditional printing companies don’t have last-minute flexibility like that, nor do they have the capability to print and ship to that many places. 

Simple, Lower Pricing 

When working with an online document printing and delivery service, costs are never a surprise. Due to the large amount of printing they conduct on a daily basis, online document printing companies are able to standardize their pricing so there’s no sticker shock when you reach checkout. 

In addition to set pricing, no matter how small your print job is, costs are typically lower than if you were to use a traditional printer for your document printing. This is due to bulk sales — meaning online printing services for documents can keep their customers’ costs down across the board. 

Online Payment 

Regarding costs, online document print services always utilize online payment systems to streamline the user experience. Traditional printing companies may require an in-person payment or at least need your credit card information over the phone to process a payment. 

Online document printing services like Mimeo allow you to complete the entire process, including the final payment, entirely online and allow you to store billing information for easy checkout next time. Even if you need an invoice for your billing department, those are automated and easy to find within your online account. 

Product Continuity and Availability 

Local, traditional printing services usually specialize in a handful of printed products because that’s what their smaller staff can handle. A mom-and-pop shop might only be able to print and bind documents with a handful of options — and if you need promotional products as well, you’ll have to find a different service to produce and ship them. Maintaining continuity among colors, sizing, etc. for all of your documents, banners, and SWAG can be really difficult this way. 

Choosing an online printing service that can print everything from booklets to banners to bottles will ensure all of your printed documents and other materials match your brand guidelines. When you search for the best online printing services for documents, make sure you choose one that also has the capabilities to print a wide variety of marketing materials and promotional products like Mimeo. 

File Storage 

When working with a traditional print shop to print your documents, you’ll likely be working with someone in their store to select and print your files. If you want to reprint something, you’ll need to resend your file, wait for another proof, and sit around until it’s ready to print and pick up. 

But if you were to use an online document printing service like Mimeo, you can store your files in the Mimeo library and print on demand whichever documents you need. No need to wait for an account manager to get into the office and check their email — with Mimeo, you’ll automatically see your digital proof after selecting a document from your file library and can send it straight to our 24/7 printing facility. 

Sustainability 

Finally, the unfortunate reality is that being a sustainable company doesn’t always come cheap. In order to keep their costs down traditional printing companies need to print on lower-priced materials, whatever they may be, and manage their business within a super tight budget. 

Online print platform Mimeo is able to put sustainability at the forefront of its business and ensure its global network of printers do too. On demand digital printing reduces your carbon footprint, so you can print exactly what you need without any waste. 

Additionally, because Mimeo offers both print and digital options, it can help your organization transition some of your content online, further reducing your footprint and encouraging sustainability within your company. 

Are you ready to switch to an easier-to-use and lower-cost online document printing partner? Sign up for a free account with Mimeo and start printing on demand today. 

Download PDF