Every industry has been hit with Supply Chain issues, the printing industry is no exception. The most important commodity for printers is the paper materials. The mills have been down in production due to labor shortages for over 2 years. The paper mills have been informing us that this will not change for the rest of 2022. The national demand for printed products has gone way up since we have all been back to business as somewhat normal. The supply of paper materials is at an all time low. Some materials are 2-3 months out especially in the medical lab forms industry which have barcode applied or integrated labels . This supply issue is unheard of in the print industry, never before have we as a whole had problems with buying paper inventory . Mills have all printers on allocations so this has been a real challenge.
Rush deliveries are not available due to supplies and even on time deliveries can be a challenge. Companies are asking their customers to order early. You can do a few things to keep your supplies from running out.
- Watch inventory closely
- Implement a reorder policy within your company
- When you have new projects/events plan for your printing and other items such as banner, table cover and promotional item early in the process.
- Know where your high resolution logo artwork is stored and make sure the department ordering has access.
Lets all work together to keep you in stock with your forms and supplies. Unisource Printing and Promotions is ready to help you navigate your printing and promotional needs.