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At Morgan Printing we spend a stack of time quoting work, and when I say a stack of time I mean hours each day. It is an excellent situation to be in as it means people dig our work and want a little bit of our magic in their lives.

Over the past decade or more printers have gotten around the arduous task of quoting by creating a price list (a generic list of pricing for printed products). Some companies moved to web-to-print services that allow you to whack some information into a website; upload your file and WHALA! Some of these developments have changed the print game for the better – imagine being the printer responsible for producing the business cards one of Australia’s largest businesses, that’s a lot of names and a hell of a lot of job titles – this is where web to print is genius.

Whilst there is value in these ways of printing there are some downfalls and a bunch of reasons why we don’t use them. One size DOES NOT fit all. We do not use web-to-print systems, we do not have a standard price list even for the simplest of jobs, and we never will…. you can quote me on that. Pun intended.

Below are a few reasons why we steer away from these processes along with our top tips to get the best printing quote.

1. Print works best with collaboration
We do a whole bunch of printing for some incredibly talented designers. These people are creative geniuses, the ever-flowing river of brilliant branding concepts, and the makers of all things beautiful. They will attest that an open collaborative relationship with their printer turns the design game up a notch. We can give imperative print input about how that design will translate in printed form and what things may need to be reconsidered to avoid a printing disaster.
Collaboration is also pivotal when it comes to budget, you may have a pool of great ideas but if you don’t have the money to execute you could be wasting your time. That doesn’t mean you should throw your hands in the air and accept to be stuck with sub-standard printing, it means it’s time to collaborate with folks like us! We can work with what you have in your budget has allocated to the project and make sure you get a high-quality product that you are proud of.

2. Not all papers are the same
In order to do a generic price list you need to simplify your paper offering, that to us would be like someone saying we were only allowed to eat one type of food for the rest of our lives. Cue massive tantrums and exaggerated breathing. We have hundreds, if not thousands of different types of paper and we like to think we are the best at picking an appropriate stock. Paper has the power to turn a very simple design into a beautiful finished product. There are coated, uncoated, smooth and varying degrees of textured stock alone that need to be considered, with the design and the desired outcome in mind. Rather than a client looking at generic prices and having to choose a stock that they think may work for their job, we prefer to make stock suggestions that will work, thus taking the guessing game away from the client. Paper, whilst a clever little thing, can be a little cheeky at times and that beautiful colour you have in the design can be greatly affected by the texture, colour and shade of the stock it gets printed on. The last thing you want is for that beautiful red you have chosen to come out patchy because you opted for a heavy textured stock.

3. We aren’t that type of printer.
We love dealing with our customers, we like making life easier for them, we like human contact. We feel so fortunate to have clients that have been with us for 20+ years and we relish producing their work week in week out. We are trade qualified printers that operate not only letterpress and offset presses, we also work with the latest technology in digital printing. We are set up to service a broad range of clients which gives us the variety that drives us, and allows us to service our clients complete needs. Web to print would smother that vibe.

4. We are not robots
We are living breathing human beings! We thrive on contact and communication. We like talking to our clients, we love knowing that your kid is doing great in soccer, that you just won a new client or that you finally finished the reno on your house without losing it at the builder. The history of Morgan Printing is based on quality print, excellent customer service and strong relationships. There is a lot of automation in life, some of it is bringing society further, some not. This doesn’t mean we are going to bail you up for a five minute conversation every time you need a quote, it just means you have options that don’t involve talking to a pre-recorded message or a hotline that knows nothing about printing. Most of our clients choose email, we are fast and effective at getting quotes in your hands but their is a human behind that quote that has the opportunity to ensure you haven’t missed anything and all consideration to getting the right outcome have been taken.

5. One size does not fit all
There is no one size fits all approach to printing, it needs careful consideration which can only be done with a personalised quote.

 

How to get the best quote

1. Pick a knowledgable, personal, qualified printer.

2. Ensure your business values align with the printer you are choosing.

3. Talk about how you want the job to feel – you don’t need to know all the lingo, just lay all your descriptive words on us.

4. Be upfront about what sucked with your last job – colour, stock or quality.

5. Understand that quality, service and experience has immense value.

6. If you know what you want, follow step 1 and 2 then send the spec!