Graphic Design, Marketing, Portal, Print

The Battle of the Print Shops: The Personal Print Portal vs. Vistaprint

0 minute read

Wave image

As a key player in your business, you know how important it is to have high-quality printed materials that showcase your brand in the best light possible.

However, with so many options available, deciding which printing company to use can be challenging. In this blog post, we will compare print management company, The Personal Print Portal and Vistaprint, one of the UK's biggest online printers.

While both companies offer printing services, some significant differences make one a better option for the likes of franchise and multi-branch businesses that require lots of print regularly, and the other more appropriate for those who order odd bits of low quantity print infrequently.


Round 1: Printing Services

The Personal Print Portal (TPPP) offers a comprehensive print management service that handles every aspect of your printing needs. This includes design, production, and delivery. They also have a wide range of printing products, including business cards, brochures, flyers, and signage.

There's a host of complementary services, too, and it's all available through your personalised print portal. In addition, every TPPP client benefits from a dedicated Account Manager who's there to help you every step of the way.

On the other hand, Vistaprint is an online print shop that offers a wide variety of printing services, including business cards, postcards, and marketing materials.

However, while they offer a wide range of products, they do not provide the same level of customisation and personalisation as The Personal Print Portal, nor do they offer more products than what's available online.


Round 2: Print Product Range

The Personal Print Portal provides an unlimited range of products! How? As a print management company, if the unique product you request is outside the existing product catalogue, we will actively go out and find the product for you.

For example, a client needed brass engraved plaques for a European Parliament building. We utilised our extensive print supplier relationships to find the plaques at the right price with a quick enough turnaround.

Further, as TPPP is part of The Flow Group, it now offers several complementary services, including:

  • Graphic design

  • Leaflet distribution

  • Direct mail

  • Contract packing

  • Pick & pack

Moreover, TPPP is now an accredited World Land Trust Carbon-Balanced Printer, meaning we can provide you with fully carbon-balanced printing (see round 8).

Vistaprint certainly has an extensive range of products, likely one of the best available from any major online printer. In addition, the print range has recently diversified into digital, such as websites, social media marketing, and design service.

A key difference in the product ranges is that Vistaprint caters extensively for consumers and businesses. In contrast, TPPP is exclusively positioned to help businesses.

One point of frustration on the Vistaprint website is that they hide the specific paperweights for their products.

For example, you're looking for 10,000 A5 double sided flyers printed on 170gsm silk - on Vistaprint you have no idea what paper weight you will receive. They state the 'weight' as: budget, standard, premium or premium plus.

However, with no reference point, this is very frustrating for a print buyer. It's not until the point of payment they reveal the paper specs.


Round 3: Print Customisation

The Personal Print Portal is the clear winner if you're looking for fully customised printing. They offer a wide range of options for customising your prints to match your brand, including paper type, finishes, sizes, and artwork. However, as artwork customisation is produced by our in-house team, it is charged for.

On the other hand, if you've just launched a business and cash flow is extremely tight, there's a lot of DIY functionality on Vistaprint, which will undoubtedly save you on professional graphic design costs.

However, the DIY approach will never look as professional, so always consider whether what you produce will build your brand or damage it!


Round 4: Ordering Process

The ordering process at The Personal Print Portal is simple and streamlined, with all your products pre-uploaded on your bespoke portal - a user-friendly interface.

Plus, if you're ordering prints for multiple branches or franchises, you can save your designs and reorder them anytime.

Vistaprint's ordering process, conversely, is complex. The disadvantage of a vast product range all accessible from their website is that there's an overwhelming amount of options.

On top of this, it's challenging to find a way to add your artwork rather than adapting one of their many templates.


Round 5: Print Quality

Regarding print quality, both The Personal Print Portal and Vistaprint deliver high-quality prints. Therefore, you will likely be very happy with the quality from both printers.

A key purpose of TPPP is to ensure print consistency for businesses with multiple offices, branches or franchisees. With everyone from the organisation ordering all their items from one central place, this greatly benefits ensuring price and print quality remain strong.


Round 6: Price

If price is your sole criterion, Vistaprint may appear as the better option at first glance. This is undoubtedly the case for very low-quantity print - Vistaprint is positioned well to deal with digital print jobs on demand.

However, as the volume increases, their price becomes less and less competitive.

The Personal Print Portal sets out to be simpler, faster and cheaper than ordering all your print from various suppliers - both cheaper in your labour time and the actual products. The odd product may be narrowly cheaper elsewhere, but the overall price when combining all products works out less.

Further, as mentioned in the quality round, to ensure all your franchisees or branches pay the same for their print, TPPP perfectly suits this as prices are set equal for everyone in your organisation.

Square Posts Artboard 3 copy-100.jpg Read More: Print Management...and so many complementary services.


Round 7: Customer Service

Vistaprint has a comprehensive contact page but chooses to omit their phone number. With multiple videos, a search bar to ask common questions, a call-back feature and email, a lot is available.

Yet, communication is usually steered via live chat or finding answers on the FAQs page rather than a quick call to your dedicated account manager.

In contrast, The Personal Print Portal chooses to provide a personal Account Manager for each client. As such, a relationship can be built, and help is just a quick call or email away.

If you prefer searching for your own answers, then you'll prefer Vistaprint. Still, if you like to make a quick call for an immediate resolution/solution, then TPPP is likely more favourable for you.


Round 8: Green Credentials

Considering our environment, printing as green as possible and carbon balancing what we use is vital for all businesses, and those not taking positive action will surely be left behind.

The good news is both printers are taking their environmental responsibilities seriously.

Vistaprint has a sustainability page which covers its green credentials effectively. The three key highlights are:

  • 95% of their paper products are printed on paper certified to the highest standard of responsible forestry.
  • 49,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases have been eliminated from our operations since FY17.
  • They are committed to becoming carbon neutral in 2040 following a 1.5ºC decarbonisation pathway, exceeding the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The Personal Print Portal has a sister company called Greener Mail, which is the forerunner for everything green within the group. TPPP plays a significant part in the greener pledge.

The key drive for TPPP is to provide carbon balanced print, and as such are now an accredited Carbon Balanced Printer with The World Land Trust.

Therefore, you can now have your print carbon balanced, and even receive certificates demonstrating how many kg of CO2 you have balanced and how many m2 of threatened tropical habitat you have protected.

In addition, TPPP is a member of or accredited by the following, all of which form a major part of the greener pledge:

  • SME Climate Pledge
  • ISO14001
  • Two Sides
  • Love Paper


Conclusion

If you're looking for customised, high-quality prints for your franchise or multi-branch business, The Personal Print Portal is the way to go.

On the other hand, if you're looking for affordable prints for odd bits of low quantity print infrequently, Vistaprint and other similar online print companies are more appropriate. Choose the option that best fits your business's needs and budget.


And the Winner Is...

It's a close call, but for franchise or multi-branch businesses that require frequent printing, The Personal Print Portal is the clear winner.

Their commitment to customisation, quality, and eco-friendly printing practices, combined with their excellent customer service and user-friendly platform, make them the best choice for large printing orders.

However, for those who only require occasional printing or low quantities of prints, Vistaprint and other similar online print companies may be more appropriate. They offer competitive pricing and quick turnaround times for small print jobs.

So, which print shop will you choose for your business's printing needs?