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A commercial printing company is the only option when you need high volume or high specification printing jobs delivered on time and at professional quality. Nevertheless, you’re still presented with a massive number of choices due to the plethora of commercial printing companies out there. Deciding between suppliers will undoubtedly come down to the old cost-quality payoff but there are a number of steps you can take to make the process easier.
Commercial Printing Companies: All In The Detail
The first thing you’ll need to do is come up with a tight brief. Trying to compare different commercial printing companies accurately is impossible if you’re comparing differently specified quotations from different suppliers. Decide on the job specs as early in the process as you possibly can – these should be determined by your preferences and the requirements of the job in any case. If you’re undecided between two different paper weights or whether your brochure needs perfect bind or not, get quotes for both options from one supplier only. This will help you to rule out blatantly prohibitive options as prices aren’t going to vary so much between different suppliers that an astronomical price is suddenly going to plunge under budget.
If this is the first time you’re getting quotes from commercial printing companies, these are the factors you need to decide on:
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Paper quality – generally determined by thickness and measured in gsm, or grams per square meter. Standard writing paper is around 80-100gsm, a glossy leaflet around 130-150gsm and the cover of a glossy mag around 300gsm.
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Paper finish – matt finishes are the cheapest; they allow ink to rub off but don’t reflect much light. Glossy finishes lock in the ink and provide a reflective sheen whereas silk/satin finishes lock in the ink without the reflectivity. A UV finish is the luxury version and provides a more noticeable gloss – this can be applied all over or in defined spots. A UV finish is the most expensive.
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Paper size – we’ll address that in the next question.
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Colours used – less important with digital printing.
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Number of distinct pages (i.e. pages with different designs) in your document.
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Binding – saddle stitch is where the pages are stapled together; perfect binding is for larger brochures/catalogues/books and involves gluing the pages together.
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Turnaround – Commercial printing companies batch together similar jobs to lower costs. When a fast turnaround is required this option is not available, so expect higher prices.
And lastly:
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Number of copies you require – a lot of the cost involved in a print job is due to the set up costs. This means that the more copies you have printed, the less you’ll be paying per copy. So you’ll want to think hard about whether you can afford to risk running out of copies and come back for a second print run.
Commercial Printing Companies: Print Management
If you anticipate ongoing printing requirements then some commercial printing companies might be able to offer you print management services. This way, rather than being charged for each job as if it was a one-off, your loyalty to one printing company is rewarded through discount rates. Ask commercial printing companies if this is something they offer.
Get Quotes from Commercial Printing Companies
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Get Quotes from Commercial Printing Companies
