The new year is right around the corner and it’s time to think about updating your parking control for the next year. Custom parking permits are a tried and true way for property managers to control who is and who isn’t supposed to be on the premises.
Having expiration dates on your parking permits helps keep counterfeiting and borrowing down, but does require you to update the parking tags more frequently. So, I thought I would give you a few money saving tips when you go to make your new year custom parking tag order.
Buy as Many Custom Parking Permits as you can Justify
Most of the time the minimum order for just about custom anything is 100 to 125 pieces. So ordering parking permits is no different.
A lot of the cost is in setting up the printing equipment used to print the parking tags. For this reason the price usually gets significantly cheaper at the next quantity pricing tier.
Sometimes by doubling the minimum quantity you can cut your per piece price by close to half. Consider ordering a large amount with a small copy change every 125 pieces like the expiration date. The copy change will cost some, but you still come out ahead in the long run.
Buy a Screen Printed Parking Permit
Screen printed parking hang tags and stickers are always going to be the least expensive option when you need a larger number of permits.
This is where that economies of scale really comes into play and deals can be had compared to other printing methods such as digital color printing.
Stock Ink Colors are the Cheapest for Screen Printing
Since we are steering towards screen printed tags and parking permit stickers the ink should be taken into consideration. There will usually always be stock ink colors that can be chosen from for your new permits.
If you have to use a special color like a particular Pantone Matching System (PMS) color there will always be an extra fee. Extra time has to be taken to formulate the color and of course time is money.
A color matching fee is usually not terribly large, but every bit counts when your on a budget.
Using a Single Ink Color can Make a Big Impact
Multiple colors cost more. With screen printing you are charged for every color you use. The good news is that you can make a highly visible and high quality parking tag with one ink color.
Not only can you have positive images and letters printed on the parking permit, but you can also have negative images and lettering that show the white background of the material.
The white background on decals and hang tags is usually not considered a chargeable color. So get creative and make the most of the contrast between your stock color and the white underneath.
Start with Vector Artwork if You Can
If you don’t know what vector artwork is, don’t worry. Usually you can ask whomever designed your logo or a marketing department for the vector artwork you need.
If you don’t have those resources, sometimes a high resolution graphic like a jpg or tiff can be used. If you don’t have that, then you will need to have what artwork you do have altered for the printing process. This is usually called an “artwork fee” and sometimes just can’t be avoided.
So there you have it, my top tips for saving money on ordering your custom parking permits for the new year. Hope this helps you out and if you have any questions contact All Things Identification 1-800-560-8158.