Article · Brandon Warrell
Questions to ask a printer before printing (and before design starts)
Before printing, ask the printer about price at several quantities, digital or offset, paper and finishing, and file specs. Then ask how you'll approve the job, who fixes a file that fails its check, and when the production clock starts. Make the call before your designer opens a file, because several of those answers change how the file gets built.
What should you ask a printer before printing?
Use this as your call script.
- Quantity: What's the price at my quantity and at the next few steps up?
- Press: Would you run this digital or offset? Can you quote both?
- Paper: Which stocks, finishes and coatings do you offer for this piece?
- Finishing: Can you do the folding, scoring, die-cutting or grommets it needs?
- Files: Do you have a template, and what are your file specs?
- Color: Which CMYK profile and rich black do you want? Can you match my brand color?
- Approval: Do I get a PDF or a hard-copy sample, and does that cost extra?
- File problems: If my file fails your check, who fixes it, and is that billed?
- Timing: When does production time start, and is it pickup or shipping?
How many do you need, and where are the price breaks?
One price doesn't tell you much, because cost per piece can change with quantity. PsPrint explains the logic: digital has no setup fee and a flat price per piece, while offset adds an upfront fee at any quantity and a per-piece price that "diminishes with quantity."
So ask for totals at two or three quantities, and whether setup and delivery are in the quote.
Digital or offset: which suits your run?
The University of Scranton's print shop says: "Short runs belong on digital presses, and longer runs belong on offset presses." 4over4's guide says the point where offset gets cheaper is usually "a few hundred to a couple thousand pieces," so ask for both quotes at your quantity.
The press also affects the design:
- Paper: 4over4 says digital runs on house stocks, "limited to what the press can feed," while offset handles the widest range.
- Brand color: 4over4 says that on CMYK digital "a brand color is approximated, not mixed." If your logo depends on a specific ink, read Pantone vs CMYK and raise it on the call.
Which paper, finish and coating should you ask about?
Ask which stocks the shop keeps in house, which weight and finish it suggests for this piece, and which coatings it offers. The poster sizes guide explains gloss, matte, and text versus cover weight.
Does the job need folding, scoring, die-cutting or grommets?
Raise finishing before layout starts, because some of it goes into the artwork.
- Folding and scoring: Iowa State's print shop says scoring and creasing are mainly for heavier stock, and that creasing helps reduce cracking on digital pieces. Ask if your stock needs it, and how to mark score lines in the file.
- Die-cutting: A die is traditionally a steel blade formed into a fixed shape, though some shops cut digitally from a vector file. Ask which applies, and if the shop supplies a dieline, the flat template your designer works on.
- Banner grommets: Ask what spacing the shop offers, if it hems the edges, and how far in the text should stay. Spacing varies (4over4 offers corners only or every 2 feet), so match it to your mounting points.
To test folds before a shop runs them, print and fold a copy. I did that with my packaging design example, the Sour Apple Gum wrapper, which is SCF (State College of Florida) coursework: I printed it, cut it out and folded it into a working prototype.
Which file specs and template does the shop want?
Ask for the shop's template and file specs. The poster sizes guide lists what to look for, from trim size and bleed to file type and crop marks.
Then ask about three things a template may not cover:
- Which CMYK profile? U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2 is the CMYK default in Adobe's North America General Purpose 2 color setting; check Edit > Color Settings in your own app. GRACoL2013_CRPC6, from Idealliance, is a profile for premium coated commercial printing. They describe different print conditions, so ask which one your shop wants.
- PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-4? Premier Press explains the difference: X-1a flattens transparency and layers, and X-4 keeps them live. That shop prefers X-4. Yours may not.
- What's your rich black build? Printers publish different builds, so the rich black guide tells you to ask yours.
Turntable Takeover, a poster for a fictional DJ night (stock DJ photo) from my Communication Design class at SCF, is 11 × 17 in, CMYK, with U.S. Web Coated SWOP v2, packaged for print. The Habitat poster below, from my Typography class at SCF, is an 11 × 17 in print PDF with 0.125 in bleed. A different profile or bleed changes those settings, which is easier before layout starts.
How will you approve the job before it prints, and does that cost extra?
You'll usually see one of two kinds of proof. Smartpress defines them: a soft proof is a digital PDF that shows size, placement and text, and a hard proof is a physical print of how the design will look. It rates soft-proof color as a screen-based approximation and hard-proof color as closest to the final print.
4over4 says a soft proof is typically included, and a hard proof is a paid sample on the job's actual stock that adds a day or two, because it has to be printed and shipped to you.
Ask:
- Is the PDF included, and what does a hard-copy sample cost?
- Is the sample on my paper, and from the same press?
- What happens if I don't respond? Packlane gives you 3 business days, then approves the proof itself and starts production.
Read the approval copy slowly. As Packlane puts it, "anything missed there prints that way too."
Who fixes a file that fails the shop's check?
Policies vary, so don't assume. 613 Originals says an artwork concern puts your entire order on hold, which may affect the quoted shipping date.
Ask:
- If something fails, do you fix it or send it back to me or my designer?
- Is a fix billed, and do I get told before a charge?
- Does a file problem move my date?
PDF/X export and Acrobat preflight are part of my print production skills, but your job has to pass the shop's own check.
How long will the job take, and how does it reach you?
Ask when the clock starts, not only how many days it runs. Smartpress says turnaround time begins once you approve your proof, not once you submit your order, and Packlane says the same. So ask for the last day you can approve and still make your date, and ask if you can pick the job up or how long shipping adds.
Then work backward from the day you need the pieces in hand, and leave room for design. Most of my projects take 2–4 business days from the time I have your details to the first finished draft. Revisions, printing and shipping come after that, and larger jobs get a schedule with the quote.
What do you do with the answers?
Put them in your design brief, along with the printer's name and its file requirements. A print deliverable from me is a print-ready PDF in CMYK with bleed (and crop marks if your printer asks for them), set up to your printer's specs. See poster design for print work, and the FAQ for starting prices and what's included.