How to Choose a Brochure Printer

Online printing has made it economical for even the smallest of businesses to have professional brochures printed that match the high quality of even the largest corporations. The abundance of online printing companies, however, has made it difficult for graphic designers and small business owners who need to have brochures printed choose which company is best for them. The following is a brief overview of what you should look for when choosing an online brochure printer:

Customer service

First and foremost, you need to choose a company that is responsive to your inquiries, helpful when you're asking advice and easy to contact. Make sure your online printer publishes a real telephone number and that someone actually answers the phone when you call it. Many printers such as PsPrint offer free product template downloads to save graphic designers time in preparing artwork, which helps you both streamline your time and ensures that your artwork is properly prepared for printing. Also, make sure you check their terms of service for anything that throws up a red flag such as excessive or hidden fees not listed in the actual printing quote. The last thing you want to do is go over budget; or worse, spend money on brochure printing and never have the printed brochures show up.

Free printed samples

The best printers offer free samples of their work, period. If your printing company does not advertise free samples, ask them if they'll send you a sample pack so you can check the quality of their work. Reliable printers are proud of what they can do and will be happy to send samples. If they refuse, you should refuse to do business with them. Remember that every print job has a slight overrun for this very reason, so that the printer has a hard copy record of what was printed and in some cases so they can include the pieces in sample packs.

Good printing and finishing equipment

Make sure your printer is using state-of-the-art offset and digital presses so the quality of your finished brochures isn't compromised. You don't necessarily have to know anything about the presses yourself so long as you ask what the printer has and why they use it. Then, you can look the names of the presses up to see if they're revolutionary or old-school second-hand throwbacks. Some of the leading equipment manufacturers include Komori, Heidelberg and Hewlett Packard. Presses aren't the only equipment that printers use, either, so make sure your printer has the proper finishing equipment for your job. Brochures, greeting cards and booklets all need to be folded, for instance, so your printer must have folding equipment to handle this. Booklets,calendars and newsletters will need bound by bindery equipment, which can saddle-stitch staples into the seams or add a Wire-O to hold the pages together.

Price and turnaround time

Price should be a determining factor in who you choose to print your brochures, but only once the aforementioned criteria are met. Once you find a group of printers who satisfy these brochure printing guidelines, you can set to work finding the one that offers the best price. Don't forget to add shipping costs in with the quote for the most accurate figure, and always be cognizant of turnaround times. Saving $100 on a brochure printing job typically is not worth it if you'll have to wait six weeks to receive your brochures. Some printers such as PsPrint, offer lightning-fast same-day turnaround times for many products with guaranteed on-time delivery; which is good to know if you're up against a tight deadline and need quality work completed fast.

Satisfaction guarantee

Your printer should offer a customer satisfaction guarantee, so you don't have to worry about whether or not the finished product will be completed correctly. It's important to remember that even the best printers aren't perfect, and mistakes occasionally occur. Check out your printer's guarantee to make sure it provides a safety net for you in the event issues arise. Make sure your brochure printer satisfies the above requirements and you'll have found a great company that isn't likely to let you down with your brochure printing — or any other printing, for that matter. Finding reliable printers is difficult in the world of online printing, so once you find a reliable company such as PsPrint your best bet is to stick with them to ensure proper order fulfillment.