I recently sat down with the founders of Pitch Black Printing Co. for an episode of my podcast. They operate out of Reno’s historic brewery district – a gritty, artisan-heavy neighbourhood where they’ve spent a decade carving out a niche that blends fine art reproduction with commercial print. During our conversation, one of the owners described a specific project that perfectly illustrates the power of tactile sales: their own wedding stationery. Instead of standard cardstock, they used cork paper embedded with gold foil. When they showed the application to paper converters, the response was telling: “That is not an application we typically see used.”
This is the essence of tactile-first selling. It is about using the physical nature of our medium to do the heavy lifting that a standard CMYK file cannot do on its own. It is an efficient way to elevate a project without adding significant labour on press.
Lead with Creative Problem Solving Over Price
Commercial B2B clients often do not know what they want until you show them what is possible. Most printers wait for a specification to arrive and then quote the lowest price to win the work. This is the commodity trap, and it is a race to the bottom that leaves no room for profit or growth. To escape it, you must pivot from being a vendor to being a creative problem solver.
The owners explained that their background in fine art reproduction gives them a unique advantage with commercial clients. When a B2B customer comes in for something as mundane as a business card, they do not just talk about paper weight or quantity. They look for ways to elevate the piece. It was noted during our chat that many businesses have a vision but no roadmap to reach it. By introducing textures and unique substrates early in the conversation, you provide that roadmap. You aren’t just selling print; you are providing a creative solution that makes the client feel their end product is superior to their competitors’.
Read this full article on Printing Impressions, a publication of PRINTING United Alliance, ASI’s strategic partner.
