Questions to Ask Printing Company
Questions for choosing a commercial printer, covering how your job would actually be produced, what the quote includes, who checks your files, and what happens if the finished piece is wrong.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What kind of work runs through your shop most often?
Why ask it
Shops specialize more than their websites suggest. A printer whose presses run packaging all week will quote your booklet, but it will be squeezed between the jobs that pay their bills.
Would my job print digitally or on press, and why?
Why ask it
The answer drives cost, color consistency, and what happens if you reorder. A printer who explains the tradeoff at your quantity is thinking about your job rather than filling their schedule.
Which paper stocks do you keep in house, and what would have to be ordered?
Why ask it
House stock is cheaper and faster. Anything ordered in adds days and exposes you to a mill backorder, which is a common cause of a missed date that has nothing to do with printing.
How do you handle color, and can you match a specific brand color?
Why ask it
Ask whether they would hit it with a spot ink or approximate it in process color, and what tolerance they will commit to. A shop that says color always matches exactly is overselling.
Do I get a hard proof or a PDF proof, and who signs off before it runs?
Why ask it
A PDF cannot show you paper, ink density, or a fold. For anything color critical, a physical proof is the only thing that makes an error the printer's responsibility rather than yours.
What exactly do you need in my file: bleed, resolution, fonts, color space?
Why ask it
Get this in writing before you design. Most reprints trace back to a file supplied in RGB, without bleed, or with fonts that were not embedded.
Will someone check my file before it prints, and will you tell me what you changed?
Why ask it
Preflight varies from a full review with a call to an automated check that silently converts things. The second kind produces surprises you only see on delivery.
What is a realistic delivery date, counting proof approval and shipping?
Why ask it
Ask for the date in your hands, not the date it comes off the press. Turnaround quoted in production days often excludes proofing, finishing, and transit.
What does a rush cost, and what can actually be rushed?
Why ask it
Presswork can sometimes be moved up; ink drying, coating, and bindery time usually cannot. A printer who says everything can be rushed is likely to miss the date.
Is the quote all in, or do setup, plates, shipping, and tax get added later?
Why ask it
Ask for a single delivered price. Comparing quotes is impossible when one includes freight and diecutting and another lists them as extras discovered at invoicing.
What is the minimum order, and where does the price per piece drop?
Why ask it
There is usually a break point where a slightly larger run costs almost nothing more. Knowing where it sits often means more pieces for the same money.
What variance is acceptable on quantity and on color?
Why ask it
Many contracts allow the printer to deliver within a few percent of the ordered quantity and still bill in full. If you need an exact count, that has to be agreed now, not at delivery.
If the finished job is wrong, who decides whether it gets reprinted, and who pays?
Why ask it
Ask for the policy in writing before you order. "We stand behind our work" is not a remedy, and the useful version names a window for reporting problems and who arbitrates.
What finishing can you do in house: folding, diecutting, foil, binding?
Why ask it
Work sent to a trade finisher adds transit time and a second point of failure. It is not disqualifying, but it explains schedule risk and who you can call when something is wrong.
Who is my contact once the order is placed, and how do I reach them on a Friday afternoon?
Why ask it
Ask for a named person and a direct line. Jobs go wrong at inconvenient times, and a general sales inbox is not a plan.
Have you printed something like this before, and can I see and handle a sample?
Why ask it
Holding a comparable piece answers questions about paper weight, coating, and fold quality that no conversation will. A shop with nothing to show has not done your kind of work recently.
How do you package and ship, and can you split delivery to several addresses?
Why ask it
Cartons, pallet counts, and split shipments all carry costs that appear late if not raised early. Ask how the pieces are protected, since edge damage in transit is common on coated stock.
Do you keep my files and press settings for a reprint, and for how long?
Why ask it
Retained files and recorded settings make the second run match the first. A shop that discards everything after 90 days means every reorder is effectively a new job.
What are your payment terms, and is a deposit required for a first order?
Why ask it
Deposits on new accounts are normal. What matters is whether the balance is due before or after you have inspected the delivery, which is your only real leverage if something is wrong.
What goes wrong most often on jobs like mine, and how do we avoid it?
Why ask it
Experienced printers answer this immediately: a fold that cracks on heavy stock, small type in reverse, a bleed that was not built in. A shop with no answer has not been paying attention.
Choosing a Commercial Printer
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Getting quotes you can actually compare
Write one spec and send it to everyone
Flat and finished size, page count, quantity, ink, paper name and weight, coating, folding or binding, packing, and delivery address. Without an identical spec, three quotes are three different jobs.
Ask for the delivered price and a second quantity
Request the price at your quantity and at the next step up. The comparison exposes each shop's setup cost and often shows that a larger run is barely more expensive.
Get samples of a comparable job, not a portfolio
Ask for a printed piece on similar stock with similar finishing so you can feel the fold and check the ink coverage. A folder of glossy showpieces tells you what their best day looks like.
Before you approve the proof
- Check the things a PDF cannot show: fold placement, page order on a booklet, panel sizes on anything that folds, and trim on full-bleed images.
- Read every piece of type once more against the source. Signed-off typos are billable, and the proof is the moment responsibility transfers to you.
- For color-critical work, look at a physical proof under the light the piece will actually be seen in.
- Confirm quantity, ship-to addresses, and the in-hands date on the proof approval itself, so all of it sits in one dated document.
- Ask what will change between the proof and the press run. Digital proofs of offset jobs shift, and the printer should tell you how much.
Where these projects go wrong
Choosing on the quoted number alone
The lowest quote often excludes freight, setup, or a finishing step. Reprice each bid as a delivered total before deciding anything.
Designing before you have the specs
Bleed, safety margins, minimum type size in reverse, and required color space differ by shop and press. Getting them after the file is built means rebuilding it.
Leaving no room in the schedule
Build in time for one round of corrections and a shipping delay. A date with no slack turns every small problem into a rush charge or a missed deadline.