Conference Material Tips

Don't abandon your conference materials because of budget cuts! Small changes can lead to big savings.

If there ever was a time to make a radical change to your conference materials, this is it. Ditching your conference materials altogether sends the message to your attendees that they're not worth it. The Omnipress team has gathered our best ideas to help you alter your offerings while still providing value.

1. Change Your Bindings

• Convert 3-ring binders to spiral-bound Conference Learning Journals - The purpose of a binder is to add or remove contents (e.g., handouts) as needed, but those big, bulky binders are far from convenient, and they're not green or easily recycled. Try a Conference Learning Journal. It's a full size, spiral-bound book with essential conference facts and agendas, plus blank pages for notes.Don't want to completely abandon the conference handouts? Include session abstracts in the journal and offer the handouts online. Conference Learning Journals have pockets on the inside back cover to store info the attendee collects. The journals cost much less to produce and weighs less, thus shipping fees are lower. Attendees love the portability.

2. Remove the Tabs

• Change from index tabs to color divider sheets - Depending on quantity, this switch can easily save you hundreds of dollars.

3. Reduce Page Count

• Stop printing handouts for everyone - Print just enough handouts for each room. Print more slides per page for handouts - Shift from 2-up slides to 3-up or even 4-up slides. For example, switching from 1-up slides to 3-up takes 75 pages to just 25 pages. Fewer pages equal less cost.
• Limit the page count (or slides) authors can submit - Shift from printing the full set of slides to printing a 1-2-page synopsis. A speaker with 40 slides can easily run you 10 to 20 pages. Instead, limit the speaker to two pages of handouts or an extended abstract with learning objectives, a summary of their talk, details on their three key points and a list of resources. There is great savings in the number pages printed and the speakers provide more useful handouts.
• Eliminate title sheets - Save a few hundred dollars (depending on your materials) by not having title sheets. Include page number references from the agenda of sessions to each presentation, or only include dividers to separate each day. Also, combine speaker bios into an author index, and avoid dedicating one page for each author.
• Change your margins and font sizes - Moving from a 1" margin to 3/4" or 1/2" can save paper and printing costs. Add a reduction of font from 12pt to 11pt, and you can reduce page count up to 10% to 15%.
• Cut out unnecessary slides - Presentations that use transitions can easily add extra slides (extra pages) to your book. Eliminating these slides (and the "questions" slide) could reduce a page or two on each presentation, which adds up quickly if you have a lot of speakers. Sometimes your speakers need a reminder that their handouts and presentation slides are two separate communication tools.

4. Simplify Packaging

• Drop the jewel cases - Plastic jewel cases normally require printed paper inserts, increasing printing expense. And mailing those jewel cases requires additional packaging which in turn increases your postage rates. Mail-friendly romvelopes are an excellent choice to save money on mailing and keep a professional appearance (if your quantity is 1,000 or more). Paper sleeves (with window and flap) are cost effective for 2,000 units or less and require no printing of inserts.

5. Stay the Norm

• Use "house" stocks for your printing needs - Unique paper requirements usually doubles the cost of paper.
• Move from a coated (glossy) stock to uncoated stock - You'll save nearly 15% on just the paper charges.

6. Produce Only What You Need

• Delay providing your final quantity until the latest possible moment - or consider producing a limited quantity and ordering more copies on-demand as needed. This reduces cost for unused books or CDs and lowers the cost of having to ship leftover books or CDs from your event to your office.

7. Combine Materials

• Combine a Final Program with another printed piece - Try including your exhibitor directory, educational abstracts and silent auction lists in the same program. You'll save on binding, printing and covers, and it's less to stuff in tote bags.

8. Go Bagless

• Soft tote bags cost money - Most attendees probably bring a bag or briefcase with them to your event. Try adding a pocket to a spiral-bound Conference Learning Journal so attendees can organize their loose material. If you must provide tote bags, look for the new, affordable biodegradable plastic bags for a green touch that doesn't cost a lot. And since it's more affordable, perhaps your hard-to find sponsor dollars can go elsewhere!

9. Take Color to Black Ink

• On shorter print runs, stick with black ink - Color printing is generally more expensive on shorter runs than printing with black ink/toner. This switch can easily save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars. If you must have color, consider only printing the color-coded agenda of sessions, advertising or important graphics in color, and leaving the rest of the book in black.
• Offer less expensive advertising in black ink - Sponsors are looking for ways to make their dollars go further. Given the choice to continue advertising at a lower cost affords them this opportunity. Switching to black ink (and offering half or quarter page ads) might increase the number of advertisers in your book. You save by printing in black and potentially can increase revenues to offset costs - A win/win situation.

10. Go Digital

• Move appropriate materials to online or digital media when possible - Digital media is perfect for content that needs to be accessed while on site (or during travel when access is limited). Handouts online are easy to distribute, easy to archive and can be organized to help your attendees find the information they want fast.

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