Home – New › Forums › Get productive › How To Compare Printing Quotes
- This topic is empty.
-
AuthorPosts
-
January 2, 2010 at 12:51 am #966556Up::0
I’ve just compiled a “checklist” of sorts that customers should use when comparing printing quotes. I thought some of you may be interested in reading it. The original post is on my blog at here
If you like the article, I’d love a “retweet, share on facebook for digg” The links are located on the post
It’s unfortunate to say, but within the print industry things are not always as they seem. If you get a comparable quote that is considerably cheaper than offered by your regular supplier be sure to run through this checklist to ensure your finished product will not be compromised on quality.Beware of hidden Charges
Some printing companies will include only their “base price” on a quote and not their “all inclusive price”. The difference being that an “all inclusive price” will include the cost for prepress, delivery, technical design assistance and so on. Be sure to check with the quote supplier if there will be any additional costs on the final invoice.Ask About Pre-press
Pre-press is in integral part of the printing process and the role is to ensure that there are no errors once the material starts production. If this step is left out, it can prove costly and inconvenient to have the material reprinted.Enquire about your supplier’s prepress department to ensure it exists and is functional.
Comparable Materials
There are a multitude of different finishing options available such as paper weight, folding options, perforation and die cutting to name a few.Ensure when comparing quotes, you are comparing the “like for like”. If you are unsure about a particular term or think something may be omitted from the quote, contact the supplier for clarification.
Delivery
Be sure to understand your supplier’s delivery timeframes. Be cautious when a supplier notifies you the finished material may take weeks to arrive. This may not fit in with your schedule and the order may be difficult to reverse once processed.Request a proof
If time permits, it’s good practice to request a hard copy proof. This way, you can be certain exactly how your finished product will look. If time does now allow this, request a soft copy proof instead.Ask for Clarification
Don’t assume that a particular finish, stock or delivery option will be included. If you are unsure, the best thing to do is contact the supplier to confirm.September 5, 2011 at 10:20 pm #1019342Up::0Emroy, post: 22622 wrote:I’ve just compiled a “checklist” of sorts that customers should use when comparing printing quotes. I thought some of you may be interested in reading it. The original post is on my blog at hereIf you like the article, I’d love a “retweet, share on facebook for digg” The links are located on the post
It’s unfortunate to say, but within the print industry things are not always as they seem. If you get a comparable quote that is considerably cheaper than offered by your regular supplier be sure to run through this checklist to ensure your finished product will not be compromised on quality.Beware of hidden Charges
Some printing companies will include only their “base price” on a quote and not their “all inclusive price”. The difference being that an “all inclusive price” will include the cost for prepress, delivery, technical design assistance and so on. Be sure to check with the quote supplier if there will be any additional costs on the final invoice.Ask About Pre-press
Pre-press is in integral part of the printing process and the role is to ensure that there are no errors once the material starts production. If this step is left out, it can prove costly and inconvenient to have the material reprinted.Enquire about your supplier’s prepress department to ensure it exists and is functional.
Comparable Materials
There are a multitude of different finishing options available such as paper weight, folding options, perforation and die cutting to name a few.Ensure when comparing quotes, you are comparing the “like for like”. If you are unsure about a particular term or think something may be omitted from the quote, contact the supplier for clarification.
Delivery
Be sure to understand your supplier’s delivery timeframes. Be cautious when a supplier notifies you the finished material may take weeks to arrive. This may not fit in with your schedule and the order may be difficult to reverse once processed.Request a proof
If time permits, it’s good practice to request a hard copy proof. This way, you can be certain exactly how your finished product will look. If time does now allow this, request a soft copy proof instead.Ask for Clarification
Don’t assume that a particular finish, stock or delivery option will be included. If you are unsure, the best thing to do is contact the supplier to confirm.Hey Emroy,
Good article, I think one important thing is to get quotes from a few printing companies often some printing companies really suit certain jobs and can give great prices.
always ask for a price for at least two different quantities as 1000 flyers will often cost a similar amount as getting 3000.
Prior to getting quotes make sure you estimate a distribution budget or allow a fair amount of time to deliver them yourself as this is often very time consuming!
November 7, 2011 at 3:26 am #1019343Up::0Printing Quotes
I recently printed out my first round of brochures. I have been using office works- granted they are not the cheapest service around but their customer service and turn around time is second to none. When you call a business for a quote and they say something like “it really isnt worth their time to print out such a small number” you can definitely see why office works stays in business even with the higher prices!
Has anyone else had a better experience than that? Anyone tried some of these online printing services?
Cheers
Daniel http://www.haleandfun.com.auNovember 7, 2011 at 4:03 am #1019344Up::0How many is a small job? I use worldwide printing in the city … For bus cards/ brochures etc… Great service and pre press all included… And seems reasonably priced too …No reason to change
November 7, 2011 at 11:37 am #1019345Up::0Printerboy, post: 89467 wrote:Hey Emroy,Good article, I think one important thing is to get quotes from a few printing companies often some printing companies really suit certain jobs and can give great prices.
always ask for a price for at least two different quantities as 1000 flyers will often cost a similar amount as getting 3000.
I HALF agree but don’t fully agree with the above statement about getting a few quotes for each job.
Yes, different companies are suited to different jobs due to varying equipment, however shopping around too much can lead to a few problems. Firstly, if you are regularly asking for quotes and not buying, you will burn suppliers – they won’t want to quote you any more or will not give the level of service if you are being labelled a “time waster”. Printers are people too – quoting takes time if it’s beyond basic, and they need to stay in business!
Secondly, if you are shopping around for every job, you realistically need to complete your own artwork inhouse OR purchase graphic design services separately from print. Why? Well, that cool design your printer’s art department came up with for your catelogue would look great on the mailout piece you are doing. But if you are shopping around, and want to buy the mailout printing elsewhere, you won’t have the origional files you need – you have to ask printer A for the files they created so you can send to printer B. It gets messy, and if printer A knows you are shopping around his designs then he will put less effort into your work.
Thirdly, there is the issue of consistency. The same design printed on five different presses by five different printers will not come out the same – one of the toughest jobs for a printer is if their press is really well calibrated to the proofing system, but they are trying to match a previous job completed on a press that was out of calibration and had colours wrong, it’s almost impossible, but clients don’t want what is “correct to the file” they want what they had last time …. elsewhere!
Finally, there is the cost of getting all those quotes sorted, then the conversations with the suppliers when they do their followup calls and try to win your business. It’s time consuming and uncomfortable.
My solution: Learn to understand print, and understand your printers (plural) technical capabilities in a rough sense. Who is better for small jobs vs large but simple (print and trim) jobs, vs complicated jobs with lots of die cutting etc. What are their maximum print sheet sizes – because anything bigger they will outsource. That sort of thing.
I know this for all printers I use (no more than 5), and can then narrow the job down to a couple printers to get quotes from for each job, rather than bothering a heap of people who will never win anyway, and just giving yourself a bad name. OR, find a printer you trust and who has wide capabilities, feed most of your work through them and just get second/third quotes if it’s a big job. The value of the relationships you build up will be more value than the few dollars you save here and there!
Matt
November 7, 2011 at 11:48 am #1019346Up::0Great post matt, and very true.
I have had numerous issues with customers that I have brought on board, that have wanted our printing equipment to a previous printers. It is not always necessarily linked to quality, but different press machines, plate making and inks all have their own unique variations.
I always recommend that if a customer is happy with their printers’ pricing and quality, don’t save the $10bucks to change (of course, if it is significantly different, that is altogether a separate issue)
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.