5 replies to this topic

[Dennis McClendon]

Lots of booklet printers now have price lists or calculators online, which give some hint of what kind of pricing to expect for standard products such as 8.5 x 11 booklets, letting me talk to clients intelligently about printing costs. Has anyone found one with maps or two-sided posters?

[Geographic Techniques]

One place that comes to mind is Inkchaser.com

Doug

[Adam Wilbert]

although they don't quote 2 sided posters, www.printpelican.com has a quick quoting system online which does include 18x24 and 24x36 4/0 printing.

[Jimbo]

After seeing some of the prices I'm concerned that once you include the print cost in your quote the client may look for somone else who may be willing to lose a profit.

[François Goulet]

After seeing some of the prices I'm concerned that once you include the print cost in your quote the client may look for somone else who may be willing to lose a profit.

Maybe you could quote in two parts... First, for the cartography job and second, an option on the printing. The client can then decide whether he wants you to print it or do it himself...

[natcase]

After seeing some of the prices I'm concerned that once you include the print cost in your quote the client may look for somone else who may be willing to lose a profit.

Maybe you could quote in two parts... First, for the cartography job and second, an option on the printing. The client can then decide whether he wants you to print it or do it himself...

This is a good idea to keep in mind, especially if you aren't really into the print-quoting business. It takes time and energy to develop relationships with printers (and yes you can almost certainly get better pricing than what you get online, but that does provide a good benchmark). Your handling the printing (especially if a press check is involved), and taking the financial risk of carrying the printer's bill are all worth something, so if you're in a situation where you can't mark up printing to compensate you fairly, you should separate the two pieces in the client quote. There is always a good chance that they have a relationship with a printer who can get them good pricing. I've found this is especially true of business membership groups like chambers of commerce and visitors bureaux.

If they're sane, they won't get mad at quoting a print price that's high to them. When we get printer quotes for a new job, it is not uncommon for us to get quotes that are twice as much as other quotes. Seriously. So they should just say they can do it cheaper if they can and leave it at that. Heck, if you have a friendly relationship with the client, maybe you can get a lead on good printing!

One caveat: You need to be clear what exactly you are delivering, so the client doesn't get a quote with bad information. Are you delivering a PDF or an EPS? Bleed or no bleed? Heavy or light coverage? Vector or raster artwork (how many of you have delivered illustrator PDFs only to discover them rasterized and blurry in the final print?)? Tight registration or newspaper-style registration? And you need to be clear that files you send are delivered as is, and if the printer hangs up on a file you deliver because they're used to printing two-color newsletters, you will bill in addition to walk them through it.