This really is a question that's surfaced many times over the duration of my livelihood. Honestly,
Eurocalco bottom have hated to hear it because I knew that the publisher asking it'd be skeptical in my own answer. I believe its pretty safe to say that most every one knows that printers generate income if they supply paper with their clients. The amount varies by printer as a few perspective paper for a source of further profits and others only want to pay their associated costs of handling and acquisition. Does it matter how much a printer will be making on the newspaper they are supplying to you? No! , it willn't; but that is only given that their prices are market competitive and you're getting what you're spending money on. The enormous AND is because I've worked with a magazine writer recently where the paper that they were actually getting was 2 inches lower than what they were paying for. They'd no idea before I brought it to their attention and it have been happening for quite some time. To make things worse, these were overpaying by something similar to $10.00/cwt (assuming they were obtaining the grade they were paying , which they weren't).
Any way, as a consequence of the fiasco, this publisher asked me that my thoughts about buying their paper. Again, I have been asked this questions numerous times on the duration of my career, mostly throughout very soft markets when newspaper merchants are out actively trying to get rid of extra paper. Regardless of if this question was asked 20 Years Back or has been asked now, my answer remains the same:
If you're a small trade and special interest magazine publisher together with 1-5 titles (and without knowing that the precise circumstances) the overall answer is no, you should not.
vanguard papers is my service with this response:
A user of paper has 3 potential possibilities for buying paper - a) throughout the printer b) in the newspaper broker or c) mill guide. When it comes to most commerce and special interest magazine publishers, you're going to be too small to get mill guide so I won't include the advantages and disadvantages of this alternative. So lets check the other two:
Printer Supplied Paper
First, there is really just one perceived"con" to buying your newspaper during your printer and that is that typically you're paying a mark-up. Again, the percent varies from printer-to-printer. This gets somewhat complicated because, even though you might be paying a mark-up, it generally does not necessarily mean that you're paying more for your paper. Its like other things, it just depends on what you are comparing it too! Just don't assume when there's a mark up being applied that you are over paying. The bottomline on pricing is that you simply have to compare the quoted price into some thing of similar specs to make a determination on a fair price.
Let us consider what it is you might be receiving for your own mark-up that's applied to paper supplied by your printer because, I am suggesting, in the long run, it's well worth every cent!

1) Administration. Trust in me, government is a hassle. Keep in mind, when you supply your paper it's your obligation to be certain that there was enough paper on to the ground to complete your job. This requires coordination involving you, your printer and your own broker. It might appear simple enough but it's time that most don't have those days. Also it's equally essential that you manage your inventory so that you do not need an excessive amount of paper sitting on your floor costing you money as it isn't used. When your printer supplies the newspaper, this becomes their problem and so they know how to manage it efficiently!
2) Flexibility. Like a magazine publisher the odds are that you never make many major last minute fluctuations in page count or amounts. However if you do, is your broker get ready and can respond? And, if they could, at what cost? Again, printer supplied paper make this their problem, none.
Buying paper throughout your printer guarantees caliber. At a soft paper market, brokers are on average able to furnish premium quality, A-grade paper because it is easily available. But when an industry tightens, often times what agents have open for these are"moments" or mill/printer rejected newspaper. I recall an episode when a writer supplied their particular newspaper into your printing company and also we found it had been newspaper we had previously received directly from the mill and had rejected it for quality reasons. The teenager - it did not run! The cost to the publication, for this one problem, was a lot more than the projected joint annual savings which would have been attained by supplying their paper to us. We functioned to deliver a relief to this customer nevertheless they instantly went back to"printer supplied" paper.
4) Availability. Again, even once the market is soft, availability is generally not an issue. However, when the market pops up quickly, it can unexpectedly become one. I had a customer who insisted on supplying his own newspaper. There came an problem, for reasons that I don't remember, where these were suddenly unable to acquire their paper to us punctually. As a result, they were pleading with us to help them out and see them the paper that they required. The situation was that people simply didn't have it to give them. We were ultimately able to see them the paper that they wanted nevertheless it came at an expense so excellent it surpassed the joint yearly savings that they had intended to comprehend by providing their newspaper to us.
5) Reaching Costs. Whenever you purchase paper out of the broker, you may typically have 30 days from time of delivery to generate payment (although there are a few brokers who will charge up on use instead of delivery). With printer supplied paper you may have an average of have 30 days (or all of your credits provisions could be) after shipping of this magazine to pay for your printing bill, which includes newspaper. Obviously, in the event that you're not dealing with a broker that will charge up on usage as opposed to shipping, then this ties up your hard earned money prematurely.
Almost all printers charge a handling fee to clients who supply their own newspaper. Regardless of which end of the range you believe, the percentage that the quantity represents of one's overall savings per CWT for buying through a broker is very important. Builders who would like to dissuade customer supplied paper will probably be at the higher end of this spectrum whereas printers who don't mind customer supplied paper will probably soon be at the end.
This constitutes yet another point worth mentioning:
There are some smaller printers who only do not have the quantity to obtain paper cost effectively and economically because they must purchase paper from brokers instead of mill guide. I worked for a printer in my own past which simply could not guarantee my client that their newspaper would be consistently of the identical mill, brand and quality unless the client used a weight and grade of newspaper that they (the printer) specified. These types of printers (an average of not magazine certain printers) have no issue with their clients supplying their very own paper. It is rather important that you utilize a printer that can, and will, get you the paper that YOU want instead of what they can get. Again, when you have to supply your own paper because your printer cannot allow you to get exactly what you want/need, you then are with the incorrect printer.
Broker/Merchant Supplied Paper
Unfortunately there are only a few advantages for a tiny trade and special interest magazine publisher, in my opinion, to purchasing paper from a broker/merchant. There can become a price advantage under certain circumstances but again, don't simply assume this.
In all honesty, I only have never been a fan of younger publishers purchasing their particular paper. While there can be several slight savings to be accomplished, the risks involved are far to great. I've seen too many publishers experience disasters and also the associated costs are almost lethal with their own businesses.
Do your assignments! Speak with someone who knows both sides of the equation. Maintain the services of an expert that can supply you with unbiased advice.
There are a number of unique methods by which it's possible to understand the best of the worlds. Again, the help of a professional adviser who knows magazines and that knows magazines as related to paper, distribution and print can provide you with an overall picture and make certain you are receiving the very best price available and are distributing and producing your book as efficiently and cost-effectively as you possibly can.