In fact, one of the fastest-growing companies in the world is Vistaprint, a printing company who supplies free business cards as a lead generator.  (The free cards are actually a pretty good deal, so you can get them by clicking on a link on my home page at http://www.dmgraphics.ca).

One of the biggest printing markets is in direct mail, so it’s no wonder that many printers are creating online printing sites, and at the same time offering direct mail services through them.

And while I recommend Vistaprint for select printing services, would I recommend them or any of the other online printers for a direct mail project?

Yes, under certain conditions… but mostly NO!

Let’s look at the “Yes, under certain conditions…” first.

This is very limited yes. If you are sending out simple mailers like a postcard to a small, clean list, say less than 1,000, you will probably be fine. Even if it gets screwed up, you will probably not go bankrupt (hopefully).

However, for larger mailings, especially with multiple lists, or packages that require envelopes, letters and other inserts, I would never recommend online services.  I would even send you to an offline competitor before recommending online services.

Why?

Many reasons.

Probably most importantly is the hands-on customer support that is required for most mailings. Each step of the direct mail process – data, printing, personalization and lettershop – can easily become complicated with minor hurdles becoming major stumbling blocks when handled by an online automated service.

An offline direct mail shop with a reasonable amount of experience under their belt is going to be your best bet. If it’s someone in your area, even better. You can always make a trip to their plant to check on things, meet your account manger, get a free lunch, etc.

A bricks-and-mortar business is still going to be your safest route for this type of service.

Don’t get me wrong – I love the automation culture of the web and its 24/7 availability, but NOT for direct mail. Don’t say I didn’t warn you – price and the latest whiz-bang online technology is not always best.

Rainer