So you’ve taken the plunge and signed your pricing quote after selecting exactly what printed pieces your business needed. You’ve discussed what you can expect to show up on your company’s doorstep, when it will arrive and how much you’ll be paying for the service from start to finish, but what’s on the agenda next?
Can you relax now that you’ve involved professional printers? Or will you need to pester and prod the individuals heading up your project to make sure you get what you expect?
Take a deep breath.
By partnering with a print management company with an established track record of delivering exactly what its customers need when they need it, you’ve reached the part of the process where you can relax and trust that your project is in the right hands. You’ve made your requirements known, reviewed the specifications and signed on the dotted line, so congrats! For you, the hard part is over.
Still, every business builds their quotes and agreements out a little differently, so what can you expect, and what happens if something goes wrong in the printing process?
Here at Integra Graphics Synergy, we’ve held true on more than 25,000 quotes since opening our doors in 2005. We’ll walk you through the phases you can expect to go through from the moment you’ve dotted those i’s and crossed those t’s to the instant a delivery truck shows up with your exact-to-spec printed copies. You’ll learn about the typical industry standard in relation to:
- Receiving your proofs
- Requesting any necessary changes
- Officially approving your samples
- Communication with your printers along the way
- Shipping and delivery as it relates to your quote
- What to expect in your final invoice
Uncertainty, be gone!
How Long Will It Take to Get a Proof of My Printed Copies?
As your print management company will have explained during your project discussion, your “number of days” timeline won’t officially start until you’ve approved your proofs. For instance, if we’re able to complete the full batch of printed copies within five business days, those five business days will begin when you give us the green light on a proof. Depending on your project, goals and design confidence, we can offer:
- Soft (digital) proofs: Chosen more frequently for their speed and convenience, soft proofs will show up in a digital format. If you have any trouble determining how the elements on the screen will appear in person, your print management team should be ready to answer your questions, show examples and provide resources to make sure you know how the printed result will look and feel. These proofs take about one to two days for completion.
- Hard (physical) proofs: Because both printing and shipping are required for a hard proof, you’ll generally receive your finished sample in about three to four business days, depending on the size of the project. Keep in mind that you’ll need to send your hard proofs back after approval. Unless you’ve already discussed alternatives with your print contact and they’ve waived the need for the print copy back, your project will be on hold until the hard copy is received by the print company. Once they have it with your approval, they’ll use it to verify each detail while your job is printing.
- A combination of the two: In rare cases, companies need both physical and digital proofs for review. Maybe you plan to send digital proofs to a few design-minded employees who work remotely and want to feel the paper with your own two hands and see the colors as they will look to your customers when the final prints arrive. In this case, you can expect to have both versions in your possession in roughly the same amount of time as hard proofs alone take.
No matter which type of sample you choose, your print company should wait for a green light from you before diving into any kind of bulk printing. Let them know early if you want changes, and remember to send your physical hard proofs back as soon as you’ve decided to approve them.
What Communication Can I Expect From My Printer After My Print Quote Has Been Signed?
When you work with a printer or print management company to prepare your quote and execute your print job, you should also be able to reach them to ask them any questions you have along the way. If you're working with Integra Graphics Synergy, we’ll get back to you within an hour to let you know we’ve received your inquiry, and we’ll ensure an answer within 24 hours max if you call or email with a question or concern.
If your print broker learns anything about the delivery services changing in price or timing in a way they can’t work around — they should exhaust all options first, typically finding alternative solutions that don’t affect your invoice — they should reach out to you immediately to discuss your options and what kinds of differences will ensue.
What If My Price Increases or Decreases?
It might raise or lower the price of your print job if you make new selections after you’ve already gotten your quote. We’ll explain price differences right away and change your quote to reflect order changes. Some factors that could impact your print project’s bottom line include:
- Increase or decrease in paper weight (thickness)
- Added or removed services like shrink wrapping
- A change in quantity for the final batch
- Added or removed pages
Will My Copies From My Print Partner Show up on Time and Within Budget?
How can you be sure you’ll be charged what you were quoted for your print project? In other words, do you need to brace yourself for any unpleasant pricing or timing surprises? You’ve set aside a specific budget for this project, and you need the results within a certain timeframe.
Any print management company with customer-first values — otherwise known as any good print management company — will do everything in their power to keep your final project parameters in line with the quoted price and timeline they’ve given you.
If and when changes arise, your printing company should notify you immediately. There are two major factors that could affect your final price or date of distribution, and you should be hearing about these long before your invoice arrives.
1. Changes Requested on Your Proofs
Once you receive your proofs, whether they’re physical or digital copies, you’ll want to communicate right away about required changes. Most print management businesses will handle small tweaks and updates without changing your timeline.
If you request major changes in design, however, it’s likely to push your receiving date back since it’ll take significant work and potentially require another round of proofs. Try to cover as many details as possible before your first round of proofs to lower the chances of running into these kinds of revisions.
2. Shipping and Delivery
When your quote is being prepared, your print company will likely present shipping and handling costs as a separate line item due to the variable nature of shipping costs. Giving your printer plenty of lead time for the project and building in extra time for proof changes will ensure your delivery or distribution date meets your expectations.
If you find yourself in a time crunch and need your print job to arrive on a specific date, let your print management company know. They should work with you to ensure the deadline is met. That said, remember that shipping rates change based on location, weight, quantity, size, distribution map and class of mailing, so your choices here may affect your invoice.
Get Ready to Receive and Approve Your Printed Proofs
With a greater understanding of the time between your quote signing and the delivery of your printed copies, we hope you can breathe a little easier. When you find the best print management company for you, you’ve really struck gold. Having the confidence that you’ll get the prints how, when, where and for exactly how much you agreed to will hopefully allow you to focus on your company’s next steps with printed materials.
No matter what direction you think you might take after receiving your printed copies, keep in mind that you’ve already done the hard part for this particular job. So at least until your proof arrives and you need to approve or modify your project, kick your feet up and enjoy that to-do checkmarking bliss.
And remember, if you’re working with Integra and have any further questions about your pricing quote, we’re just a phone call or email away!
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