If you're looking to save money on a brochure printing project, or any large printing project for that matter it pays to focus on the process. In 2006 Infotrends did a study that concluded for every $1 spent for printing there's as much as $6 spent in the process, therefore you can save a lot more by focusing on the entire process that you can by just focusing on the printing cost. See diagram below.
As you can see there are serious costs involved in the overall project that are often not looked at when asking the question how much will the brochure cost. if you really want to save money make sure you look closely at the following areas.
fulfillment and distribution - Once the brochure is complete where does it go and how do you get it there. Is it being mailed, warehoused, handed out one by one, or sent out in small boxes to numerous locations around the country?
Internal creative - how much time and resources are spent planning the project, are the right people involved, how can you make this process more efficient?
External creative - Are you using an advertising firm or graphic arts firm to do the design, are they charging by the hour or by by the project, have they consulted with the printer to understand the restrictions of the equipment used to produce the job? Have they talked to the printer to ask about possible ways to reduce the printing cost? Can the printer handle some of the layout at a much lower cost than the design firm?
Inventory obsolescence - what is the life of the finished product, should the job be produced in bulk or smaller runs to allow for changes, is traditional offset printing the best way to go or does digital make more sense?
Administrative - How much time is spent dealing with designers, gathering quotes, internal approvals, proofreading, design review, distribution instructions, Etc.
Warehousing - where are the brochures kept, do you have a proper storage facility or will it be outsourced, are you using expensive office space to store boxes of product, if the brochures are in storage do you have an electronic distribution system to easily enter requisitions, can you track where everything went so the cost can be applied properly?
Clearly there is far more cost in the process than the actual printing, according to Infotrends it's a factor of 6-1. If you really want to save money on brochure printing or any other large printing project, focus on the process and not just the printing cost.