The 2021 Digital Color Pricing Study, one of the printing industry’s most popular studies, has just been released by NPRC and is available in the NPRC Bookstore.
This new study features average, median and per unit pricing for products such as envelopes, 8, 16 and 32-page newsletters, envelopes and carbonless forms, rack cards and postcards, as well as dozens of other popular digital products.
If you’re a “profit leader” in this industry, or you aspire to be one, then this report is a “must-have” document. Profit leaders recognize how important it is monitor and keep-up with pricing in the industry. They know that pricing products too high can lose them jobs, while pricing jobs too low can impact their bottom line!
NPRC’s newest pricing study can be ordered now in the bookstore with most orders being processed in two hours or less!
“This year’s study is more accurate than ever,” notes John Stewart, NPRC Executive Director. “Pricing for every product has been double-checked and then checked again for outliers. The result is a study that contains extremely accurate pricing data that printers can count on as being truly representative of current national pricing,” adds Stewart. “One of the things we stress year-after-year is that the greatest variation in pricing occurs at the local level, and not at the regional or national level as many printers often believe,” cautions Stewart.
“We know, with a high degree of certainty, that pricing for many products within a small town or city can vary by as much as 30-35% and even more, and yet the national or regional average price for that same product will rarely vary by more than 4-6%.”
“We hate to hear printers claim that ‘price are different’ in their market, as compared to national pricing when we know absolutely that is not true,” explains Stewart. “We know with a high degree of certainty that pricing for many products within a small town or city can vary by as much as 30-35% and even more, and yet the national or regional average price for that same product will rarely vary by more than 4-6%.” Stewart adds.
Average Sales Per Employee among all 196 participants average $133,892 while the median SPE was $126,667. This represents an approximate drop in SPE of approximately 5% as compared to what was reported in the summer of 2019.
The 2021 Digital Pricing Study provides both average and median pricing for specific quantities as well as per unit pricing. This year’s report also features “Average/Median Deviation” data calculated as a percent to demonstrate the accuracy of the data collected.
The chart above is typical of the type of data available in NPRC’s latest study. The national average for 1M, 4/4 6×9″ Postcards is $346 with the median at $333., a pricing deviation of less than 4%.
“I always enjoy receiving the pricing studies and I learn something every time. I have been doing printing for over 45 years and still learn how to price things better. Through the Sweet Sixteen pricing study, I learned I was undercharging on envelopes (which surprised me) so this will more than pay for the cost of the membership and Pricing Study.”
“John, thank you for all your work in providing the printing industry with the “Sweet Sixteen” Digital Color Pricing Study, and the many other studies you have published for us for so many years. It always helps to know where we are at and not to leave money on the table. Keep up the good work.”
“I always look forward to receiving your reports, particularly the pricing studies. They’re my best source of data to be sure our prices are within a reasonable range, and the best confidence-builder I’ve found against buyers who say our prices are too high. Knowing our prices are reasonable means I look for better prospects, rather than caving on prices.”
“Your studies have been a big help in keeping me in business for more than 28 years. I have used the industry pricing studies over the years to make sure our prices are competitive and adjust where necessary. This gives our customer service representatives confidence that our prices are fair and reasonable. I cannot understand why many more print shop owners do not take advantage of these valuable studies, especially when they can get them for free with just a little effort.”
“I want to thank you for including my firm in your annual pricing study. Even though my company is extremely small, the study gives us information necessary to stay in business. Unlike the bigger companies, which can try random pricing strategies, we need to only use fact-based strategies which the pricing study provides each year.”
“I have been participating in your surveys for more than 20 years. As I look back over those years, I realize that I have referred to your surveys more than any other source of pricing information in the printing industry. It is concise, accurate and timely. I would have to say that this info has helped me be sharper in our pricing, win more bids and make more money. Thanks so much for your efforts.!”
“John, thank you again for a fantastic job well done. We eagerly await each of your studies, as they are crammed full of helpful insights, sage advice, and of course ‘real-world’ data and pricing information. Your studies start to pay for themselves from the first page!”
In response to dozens
The 90+ page study
Most products and services
Why? Because there is no way our pricing studies (or any pricing study for that matter) can anticipate every possible scenario. Cover or no cover? Finished size 5.5 x 8.5 or 8.5 x 11”? Bleed or no bleed? How many pages? And of course, what’s the finished quantity? Also, what kind of delivery time is the customer requesting?
Finished? Not quite! When you start looking at all the pricing information available just on these two pages it can be overwhelming. Is some of the pricing data skewed by a few high numbers in our data base? Possible but not likely, but we nonetheless offer both average and median numbers so that folks can consider modest differences in those two prices. The median price is sometimes a safer bet, but the averages are typically what we use. Sometimes (as in this example) the difference between the average and median price at the 500 quantity was less than $150 or about $0.20 cents per book.
