Printing machines vary considerably in size and the number of colours they can print. Typically presses are 1, 2, 4 and 6 colours. Some are small; printing A4 sheets only, while larger presses can print 16 x A4 sheets at one time.
The variations come into play because a printer with an A4 single colour press can still print a 4 colour sheet by putting the paper through 4 times and changing the ink each time. A printer with a large 6 colour press can print a single colour job as well. Printers prepare their prices using the following costs - film and plates, paper, press time. Film and plate prices are fairly standard within the industry and most printers consider it a chargeable cost only rather than a profit centre. Paper prices vary considerably with quality, also a printer who might have a contract job to print hundreds of thousands of a particular brochure every month will get a very competitive price from the paper mills, he could use the same paper for your job quoting very favourably. It is not always a good idea to specify exact paper specifications to a printer but ask him what he can supply at a competitive price, ask for samples and compare the feel.
Hourly rates of printing presses vary the most, an hour printing for one man working a small single press is going to be inexpensive while an hour printing for three men working a 6 colour press is going to be much more expensive. However, a 4 colour job on a single press may take 4 hours while on a 4 colour press only one hour.
If there are big price differences try to find out more information about size of presses, paper etc to see where the difference lies.
Last of all and the most difficult to detect without trying them out is simply that some printers are better than others. Some machines are maintained better and give a sharper stronger result. Some printers are technically better and can produce a better result. A good printer who employs knowledgeable people and keeps his equipment working well will be more expensive than someone who is trying to do things on the cheap.

Tags: printing, brochures, leaflets

A printer is only making money when his presses are printing. When they aren't working he's loosing money. So he plans his jobs to print one after the other giving a continuous supply of work. You give a printer a brochure to print with a deadline of 10 working days, which he promises to keep. He knows it will only take 3 days to print and 3 days to prepare the artwork and plates. In the meantime he has other print jobs to go on the press which should be finished in time to put yours on. However, just as the first job is going on press the client calls up and has found a mistake with a phone number, so he takes that job off press while amending the artwork and making new plates. Halfway through the next job a new pack of paper is opened and is found to have a flaw going along the middle. The paper manufacturer is contacted and he couriers some more paper over but this means another half day lost. When he took your job on he knew it would fit smoothly into his schedule but after the delays on the previous jobs he is running late. So far nothing has been the printers fault, his choices now are, put overtime on the job which is going to take away his profit, try to rush the job such as fold the paper before its had time to dry and have the possibility of smudge marks on it or deliver it a day late and apologize to you as best he can. Printing is a juggling act, trying to keep the presses printing and delivery dates kept. Most printers fall down because they don't keep the client informed of what's happening. However they are only human, they don't want to be shouted at.

Buying print can be full of pitfalls. Paper weights, how many colours, what happens if it doesn’t come out right? Do I let my designer buy the print not knowing if I’m being overcharged? If you need some immediate answers, email me with your questions and I’ll try to answer them. If your having problems with your printers or designers I can work on a consultancy basis to sort out the troubles. If your just starting on a new brochure or leaflet contact me and allow the whole experience to be stress free.

Basic colour printing is produced out of 4 colours; Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, we call these process colours. As well as these 4 process colours there are thousands of Pantone colours which are made to specific colours. If your company has a coloured logo which is made out of the process colours the colour can vary for many reasons. No two printing presses will print exactly the same, each press will have it's own bias and each printer who runs the machines has control over ink flow etc. To be more consistent with the colour of a logo you should print it in a Pantone colour, this will add to the price as the project is now printing in 5 colours not 4. Another problem about consistent colours is the paper, some papers soak up the ink such as stationery paper other papers let the ink sit on top such as glossy paper, the better the paper (more expensive) the smoother it is and the better the colour stands out, so with different papers your logo will always appear slightly different. The colour of printing should always be consistent throughout a print run, if it isn't your printer is not very good. A reprint should always be the same as the first time it was printed if it is printed on the same press, again if it isn't your printer is just not very good. Like all things in life you get what you pay for, so don't always go for the cheapest print.