You send the same email to three printers. One comes back at £800, one at £1,400, and one at £2,600.
Nothing about that helps you decide. The cheapest might be a genuine saving or it might be a different job entirely, and there is usually no obvious way to tell from the numbers.
If print is something you buy occasionally rather than something you know inside out, here is what is actually going on underneath those figures.
They are probably not quoting the same thing
This is the answer most of the time.
A brief that says five thousand A5 leaflets, full colour, both sides leaves a surprising number of decisions open. What the paper is. Whether it is coated or not. How heavy. Whether the colour is a close match or an exact one. Whether anything is done to it after printing. How it is delivered and to how many addresses.
Each printer fills those gaps with an assumption, and their assumptions differ. One assumes a light everyday stock, another assumes something more substantial because the brief mentioned a client presentation.
So the prices are not really comparable, because the products are not the same. The cheap one is not necessarily cutting corners and the expensive one is not necessarily overcharging.
Quantity moves the price in ways that seem illogical
Print pricing is not a straight line, and this catches everyone out at some point.
There is a cost to setting a job up that happens before a single usable sheet comes off. On a short run that cost is spread across very few items, so the price per item looks high. On a longer run it spreads out and the price per item drops sharply.
The practical consequence is that doubling the quantity rarely doubles the price, and sometimes barely moves it. It also means a small increase in quantity can occasionally reduce the total, because it tips the job onto a different machine that is cheaper to run.
This is why asking for prices at two or three quantities is worth doing. The answers often change what you decide to order.
Paper is a bigger part of the cost than people expect
On a lot of jobs, the paper is the single largest line.
Heavier stock costs more, and the difference is real rather than marginal on a long run. Coated and uncoated papers are priced differently. Anything unusual, textured, coloured or specifically certified, is not held in bulk and costs more to obtain.
So a quote based on a heavier or better stock will be higher, and it will also feel noticeably different in the hand. Whether that is worth it depends on what the piece is doing, and that is a judgement about the job rather than about the printer.
If the quotes do not say what paper they are based on, that is worth asking before comparing anything else.
Anything that happens after printing adds a stage
Lamination, a special finish, folding, stapling, a shaped edge. Each of these is a separate operation, sometimes on a separate machine and occasionally at a separate company.
Every stage adds cost and time. A quote that includes lamination and one that does not will differ by a meaningful amount, and it will not always be obvious from the quotation which is which.
This is one of the most common reasons for a large gap between two prices, and it is usually resolved by one line in an email.
Delivery is rarely trivial
Print is heavy and bulky, and delivery costs accordingly.
One delivery to one address is straightforward. Twenty deliveries to twenty branches is a different exercise, and if one printer has quoted for the first and another for the second, that alone can account for the difference.
Anything needing to be stored and released over time, rather than delivered all at once, changes the picture again.
What to actually do about it
The fix is not to become an expert. It is to remove the guesswork from the brief so everyone prices the same thing.
Say what the piece is for and where it will end up. A printer who knows a leaflet is going in the post will check the weight against postage bands. One who knows it will be handled repeatedly at an event will point out that an unlaminated finish marks.
Give the quantity, and say if it is flexible. Ask for a couple of alternatives if you are not sure.
Say when you need it, honestly. A tight deadline costs more and it is better to know that upfront than to discover it late.
Then, when the quotes come back, ask each one to confirm the paper, the finish and the delivery. Nine times out of ten, that is where the difference is.
The cheapest quote is sometimes right
None of this means the low number is a trap.
Sometimes a printer has the right machine for that job, or a run of the same stock already scheduled, and the saving is genuine. Sometimes a higher price reflects work you did not ask for and do not need.
The point is not to distrust the numbers. It is to make sure you know what each one includes before choosing between them.
When it is worth asking rather than guessing
If a job matters, or the quotes are wildly apart, a five minute conversation resolves more than another round of emails.
A printer who asks you questions back is generally a good sign. It usually means they are trying to price the right job rather than the cheapest version of it.
There is more on getting a brief right in the guidance on design for print, and if you have something coming up you would rather talk through than specify, get in touch through the contact page.
