6 Things Your Printer Needs to Know Before a Project

6 Things Your Printer Needs to Know Before a Project | Wythken Printing

Have an event coming up that you need to promote? There’s a lot that goes into planning, including what you have printed – whether it’s invitations, programs, menus, signage, or anything else that would turn a small function into a big event. 

First, you need to make sure what you’re planning to print fits within your budget. So, you shoot an email to your friendly neighborhood printer person saying something like, “We have our Best Mustache of the Year event coming up and need programs made – how much?” But instead of getting the information you need, you get crickets. Or my personal favorite, you get a long email with a list of bullet-point questions. What gives? You need pricing – not the print-centric version of The Inquisition. 

Here’s what’s up: Printing is incredibly detail-oriented. Every single thing Wythken Printing makes is different from what came before, and what will come after. And to get the pricing right, we need to know some details. But fear not! Below are the few particulars we need so we can give you an accurate quote.

    1.  The quantity.

      You have to give your printer a starting point. If you’re not entirely sure what that might be, you can ask for a range but try to keep it simple. Asking for a price of 500, 750, or even 1000 pieces of collateral is great. Asking for pricing of 500 to 1000 pieces counting by 50s is not.

    2.  Sizes and pages.

      How big (or small) your project is important information. If it’s a multi-page item, like a book, we need to know how many pages it is. Note that if something folds, there will be two sizes: the flat size we use for printing, and the folded size of the final product.

    3.  Ink colors and sides.

      Printing something in color is a lot more expensive than printing it in just black ink. And because every piece of paper I’ve ever run across has two sides, we need to know what we’ll be doing with both sides of that sheet. It’s ok to print color on one side and black ink on the second side. In fact, that can be a great way to save some money on many projects.

    4.  Paper type.

      I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it another few million times before I retire, paper is complicated. Very complicated. If you’re a seasoned vet and you know how to spec paper, that is glorious, and you can share exactly what you want. If not (and most aren’t), you’ll have no idea where to start. There are only two simple things your printer needs to know: Do you want the paper to be thick or thin? And do you want the paper to be glossy or matte? If you can provide that, we can do the rest!

    5.  Bindery work.

      How do you want your books bound? Are the programs big cards, or are they folded? Do you want round corners on that? We need to know what we’re doing with all those sheets after they’re printed.

    6.  Any special or unusual need.

      Need them tomorrow? Shrink-wrapped in packs of 25? Flown via private jet to Moscow? Yep, we need to know that, too.

That’s it! You are on your way to being a savvy print buyer! In fact, you’re already my favorite client for taking the time to read this. Let’s look at that previous program request again. “We have our Best Mustache of the Year event coming up and need programs made. We’ll need 250, but also give me pricing for 300. They’ll be printed at 8×10, but then folded to 4×10, and printed in color on both sides. And I’d love for them to be on a really thick, glossy paper. How much?”

There’s nothing to it. This whole printing thing is easy – and even easier when you work with our printing pros at Wythken Printing. Call the shop today at (804) 353-8282 or reach out for a custom quote to get started on your next project!

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