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When choosing a printer, paper supplier or production house, making friends probably isn't at the top of most mailers' minds. Cost and quality are likely a tad higher priority.

But having a good relationship with a vendor is an essential part of making your production process go smoothly, especially if longevity comes into play. The Smithsonian Catalogue, for example, has been with Quad-Graphics since 1994, says Frank DiGiovine, finance manager of Smithsonian Business Ventures' catalog division.

“The customer service team on our account has taken the time to learn our business,” says DiGiovine. “It's a welcome relief that Quad knows what we want and expect print job after print job.”

“When you hand over your page files to the printer, everything you do as a publisher stops and then they fulfill the rest of the equation — the ink on paper, the distribution, the on-time delivery,” says Steven W. Frye, head of Frye Publication Consulting. “They're truly the other half of your company, and you really need them to understand what your goal is and how to achieve it.”

Direct talked with several print industry veterans recently to get their perspectives on what goes into a good mailer/vendor relationship, as well as other ways to get the most value for your production dollar.

Mailers need to take advantage of the benefits that come from long-term relationships, says Frye.

In the past, catalogers didn't take advantage of those boons because they had a reputation for “buying around” on the spot when they had a need. The infrequent schedule many catalogs had meant they might put out one annual book. As trends changed and catalogers began creating more targeted, frequent versions of their book, they started developing the bonds that their colleagues in the magazine business had enjoyed for years.

“The only difference between a magazine and a catalog, as far as a [printing] press can tell, is nothing,” says Frye. In many cases, the paper is the same, the roll widths are the same and the equipment used is the same.

Historically, catalog print schedules were bought and sold in a manner similar to those of books. A cataloger would describe the catalog, get a bid and be done, continues Frye. As the business evolved and catalogers started to have different needs such as more personalization, different inserts, ink jetting, multiple versions and more frequency, they started to look more like magazines in their buying process.

“Generally speaking, long-term relationships bring benefits to the buyer, especially when contracts are renewed,” he notes. “Lot of my contract customers are getting great incentives to stay where they are.”

Aside from the fact that they continue to win every print request for proposal Smithsonian has put on the street, Quad has stayed in the catalog's favor for several reasons, including company stability, customer service and their investment in new technologies, says DiGiovine. And Quad's being privately held and employee owned shows in its service, he adds.

Longevity can happen only if mailers and vendors communicate, says Stephen Spenlinhauer, president/CEO of Spencer Press Inc., Wells, ME.

“Let your printer know what you anticipate next year to look like so they can schedule your work,” he says.

“And ask them for ideas on what they're doing that might be different,” he continues. “We just switched over to stochastic printing, which is a much finer printing dot. But it's not good for everybody. We found out that some pieces just don't seem to reproduce as well as we thought they would and we've gone back to the traditional 150-line screen printing process, which is nothing more than making the plates electronically with the computer-to-plate systems we have.”

“Customers want us to be proactive,” notes John Howell, vice president of sales at Horizon Paper Co. Inc. in Stamford, CT. “We're as much in the information business as we are in the paper business. Because the industry has become so global, they look to us to [sort] through supply/demand equations and help them get a better understanding of what's going to happen in this market. We educate ourselves and our customers on all the new grades available so they can have a look at them and make an objective decision.”

The key to a vendor relationship is your customer service rep, says Frye. “I know publishers who have stayed at the wrong printer because they had the right customer service rep, and publishers who have left the right printer because they had the wrong customer service rep.”

When you hire a printing company, you're going to be dealing primarily with one person: your rep. “You're going to be depending on this one person very heavily to fulfill the needs you have as a publisher,” he says. “The equipment can't tell the difference between one customer and another. The customer service rep does that.”

So it makes sense to find out who your rep is right away, says Frye. Ask for a rep with characteristics that you want, such as someone who is experienced with certain types of catalogs or files for images, experience with a start-up business, or whatever you need. “When you tour the plant,” he adds, “have a one-on-one with the rep and treat it like a job interview, almost like if you were hiring them for your business.”

A printing company can have wonderful capabilities, but if a customer service rep doesn't tap you into them it's like they don't exist, he notes. When buying on the spot market, you don't get to know your rep well. But when you're in a long-term relationship, your rep can get to know your needs and offer everything from ways to cut costs to new marketing ideas because they're part of your team.

It's important to remember that these reps are in kind of a tough spot, says Frye. They work on the mailer's behalf, but they get paid by the printer.

“They have the power to go in and literally stop the presses [for you], but they're going to have to justify that,” he says. “They probably work harder for you than half the people on your own staff and they don't get their name on the masthead. Your customer service rep doesn't necessarily get the appreciation of a job well done. Let your reps know you appreciate them in any way you feel appropriate.”

Vendors can help mailers utilize cost-saving delivery options, says Spenlinhauer. “We try to look at what customers are doing and look at the [potential] to co-mail different catalogers if they have quantities that are under 1 million.”

The goal, he says, is that everybody would be ready at the same time to print and bind so that they could all take advantage of co-mailing. If a company was putting 600,000 catalogs in the mail in a single shot, Spenlinhauer explains, they could marry up with three other catalogs and maybe post 2.5 million together, therefore qualifying that many more names for the carrier route and get more destination entry discounts at the sectional center.”

Spenlinhauer says he also tries to help clients take advantage of the piece rate, suggesting they don't mail too light of a catalog in terms of page count. “Sometimes [we'll] see a cataloger do 32 pages where they're still paying for postage as if they're doing 48 plus a cover,” he says. “But it all depends on if they can get the product, fill the orders and everything that goes along with that.”

“The best relationship you can get yourself into with your vendor is [when the vendor] makes a large profit on your job, but that profit doesn't come from your pocket — it comes from their efficiencies,” says Frye.

A vendor that can produce a quality product at a lower cost, put a big markup on it and still be competitive is the best situation a buyer can get into because now they're a valued customer, he notes. “They have value [to the vendor] but they're still getting the best buy on the marketplace. It's a true win-win for both.”

If you've squeezed all the fat and profitability out of a job for the vendor — “basically took advantage of a hard time or something and forced a square peg into a round hole, getting someone to take a lower margin,” says Frye — and then need someone to do something extra for you, chances are they won't be able to afford to do it.

It's essential to fit your needs as a buyer with the availability of the seller, he says. “And that fit is where the efficiencies, specializations and new technologies come in.”

Trying new tactics is one way to help cut costs. Spenlinhauer says he's seen some catalogs dropping bind-in order forms because the majority of their orders now come in either online or by an 800 number. Some choose to print an order form as run of press in the catalog, and customers can use their own envelope if they want to mail in the order.

Howell says he's been suggesting customers look at new paper value options, particularly if they're a consumer of something like wood-free coated paper. “There are some significant options in the overseas and domestic markets where you can get a grade that has a ground-wood content, but also has the optical characteristics of a freesheet coated grade,” he says. “The economy of putting in some ground wood can save them some money, for sure.”

Customers at Horizon aren't making significant cuts in circulation as a result of paper prices. “I'm not saying that's not going to happen, but we've got a lot of people who have 12-month programs they're committed to,” says Howell. “They're trying to look at [different paper] grades to ease the cost equation.”

“It's very difficult to stop a runaway train, which is what this pricing situation seems to be,” he adds. “[Paper] demand has been OK, but it's not been as strong as we've seen in other markets over the last 20 years where there has been a significant increase in pricing. These mills are under a lot of pressure to get back to profitability. A lot of them still aren't making money. So until we get to a point where we can show a return on capital, there's going to be a lot of pressure.”

Costs have stabilized in the last year, says Spenlinhauer, noting that for the July to December period, Spencer Press is running about 10% to 15% above last year's levels. Howell also says the holidays look good for his plant. While there was concern that people would buy paper ahead in anticipation of increases telegraphed in the short term, product seems to be moving.