Becoming a commercial printer will entail a huge initial investment and you have to be prepared for it. This is what you should do if you want to have a printing business.

Here are the four main areas that will take up a big chunk, perhaps 90%, of your capitalization expense.

• Printing Equipment and Machineries - First you have to decide on whether you will go digital or offset. In the past, digital printers cost higher than offset machines because of the novelty of the technology. Now that prices are leveling off, many people found that it is better for them to go digital so that they can also open their services to the online market and they have been successful in this endeavor. You do not really need to start with a high-end printer if you cannot afford it. Some sophisticated units can cost more than a million dollars. If you want, you can purchase printing equipment starting from $12,000. You really have to be careful when choosing your printing equipment. Although these would become the lifeline of your operations, such will not be the ones you will be spending much investment on.

• Office Space Rental - Running a commercial printing business requires a huge area because of the setup, the sizes of the machines, as well as the stockroom. Calculating the expense for office space varies depending on the area you need. The location of the space also matters greatly. If you want to open your business in the main commercial district, that could get expensive. The Costar Group reveals that office space rental averages at $17.83 per square foot in 2008. You have to multiply this number to the size of the space, such as 4,025 square feet x $17.83.

• Initial Operational Cost - Your new business will require operational costs at the onset that will have to come from your pocket because you do not have income yet. Estimate your operational costs per month, such as salaries, utility bills, and supplies. You must have a budget to allocate for that for the first quarter of operations, even if you are still not earning yet.

• Budget for Marketing - Advertising your new business is very important in getting clients. Failing to tell people effectively about your new venture and services could result to failure before it can even get started. You just make the most of advertising venues in order to make media mileage but you have to get the word out. Neglecting marketing is just plain crazy because you spent so much money in your capitalization but if you fail to inform the people of your new business, nobody will come to you. Just imagine spending so much on your capitalization and still not getting enough business after six months of operation.

• Commercial printing can eat up a lot of capital because the initial investments are big. It is worth it if you market it properly and your presses are full every day starting on your second month. Of course, there would be lean months in the life of a commercial printer. There would be days when the presses will run 24 hours a day and people will have to work in shifts. That is part of running the business. The important thing is that the machines should be able to run every day just so that the business will continue to survive.