Many manuals are online, but most products still require a printed manual. While a manual is typically not something you buy, it is part of the packaging for most products. It does not help market the product, so it is considered an expense.

Because it is an expense, most companies are looking for ways to increase profits by decreasing costs. A great way to improve your bottom line is by looking at three ways to reduce the expense of your manual.

1) Paper

Manuals tend to be black ink on white paper. Typically, designers look for a brighter paper for manuals, but this is a more expensive paper. A paper’s opacity is more critical than brightness regarding the best paper for your manual as you minimize the amount of bleed. The good thing about a high opacity paper is it is usually much cheaper than a high brightness paper. A nice groundwood or even newsprint makes an excellent solution for a manual.

2) Quantity

Most manual content is set for the year. It is best to look at an Estimated Annual Usage or EAU to determine if there are savings to be had by running a year’s worth of manuals. Most commercial printers will work with you on storage and just-in-time shipments. You can print your manuals on a web press if the quantity is large enough. A web press is very efficient and can print on high opacity papers at a higher run rate and folded signatures.

3) Size

Manuals come in all sizes—anywhere from 3x5 to 8.5x11. By being flexible on your size, there are many efficiencies you may take advantage of that will save you money. Changing the size by ¼ of an inch may allow your manual to be printed 2-up and bound 2-up, saving quite a bit of money. Having your printer involved with your manual at the design phase is a great way to ensure that something like Trim Size does not save you from saving money when printing your manual.