Commercial print is a $94 billion industry in the U.S. that grew 3.7% and employs 320,000 workers. And yet, most people don’t know about this giant industry.

“I say it’s the best-kept secret,” said Denise Gustavson, “because nobody really understands what’s involved with print.”

She would know. Gustavson, the editorial director of PRINTING United Alliance (a strategic partner with ASI), has been covering and working in the print industry for 27 years. During her ASI Show Fort Worth educational session, “Sell Print With Confidence: Debunking Myths & Growing Your Client Base,” Gustavson decoded the print industry with easy, actionable steps and demystified several prevailing misconceptions. Print can be technical and daunting, but to succeed selling it, you don’t have to know everything about it.

“You don’t need to know how surgery works. You just know that it does work,” Gustavson remarked. “That’s the same thing with print.”

Here are the top myths, and how to go about solving them.

Myth #1: Selling Print Is Intimidating & Risky

“By understanding a few basics, you can remove a lot of the risk,” Gustavson said. The simplest and biggest step is partnering with a printer instead of doing it yourself. Distributors can employ spec sheets and templates to give them a leg up. Starting with low-risk projects also eases the initial uncertainty. As Gustavson put it, print is predictable, just like baking. When you bake a cake, if you have all the ingredients and follow all the steps, you get something perfectly delicious. On the other hand, “when you miss something,” she said, “that’s when the problems occur.” To sell print, use checklists and make sure every component is in place to ensure amazing results.

Myth #2: Clients Only Care About Price

Stop fixating on price and start focusing on value, advocated Gustavson. Show good-better-best options and present overall campaign ROI to drive home the results that can be achieved with higher-end goods. Tell prospects and clients, “even though this option costs more, the reason it does is because it lasts longer and represents your brand better,” she said. “That’s a different conversation to have versus just this is cheap, this is more expensive.”

Myth #3: Color Matching Is Impossible

“This is a hard one because color is very subjective,” Gustavson said, noting that colors will appear differently depending on the type of printing and the material used. Using Pantone colors and guides takes the guesswork out of it, and printed samples give a sneak preview of what a piece will look like. Working with printers who are certified as color-managed partners helps ensure that what the client sees is really what they get.

Myth #4: Print Processes Are Too Confusing

There are lots of print methods, and the average distributor isn’t going to know what each one does. If distributors know what they want to accomplish or how the client wants the printed piece to look, a print partner can figure out the “how.” “Each print method serves a purpose,” said Gustavson. “There’s a reason behind why every print method is suggested through your print provider. The right partner is going to fill in those gaps for you.”

Myth #5: Clients Don’t Notice Quality Differences

“People may not describe quality, but they absolutely feel it,” she said. Bring samples to highlight the differences in quality and emphasize how the right printed item reinforces the client’s brand.

In wrapping up, Gustavson presented case studies and emphasized how being a one-stop shop creates value and print expertise builds trust with buyers. “Print isn’t complicated,” she concluded, “it’s an opportunity.”