Print is bought on trust more than most services, because you pay before you see the product and the product cannot be returned. A run of 10,000 brochures with your address wrong is not a refund problem, it is a waste problem. Which makes the twenty minutes spent checking a supplier before the first order the highest return activity in the whole process.
The checks below are the ones that actually predict how a job will go, in roughly the order worth doing them.
Ask for samples of work like yours
Not a portfolio, not a sample pack of the printer's own marketing. Samples of the kind of job you are placing, on the kind of stock you are considering.
A printer who produces beautiful business cards may not be set up for 96 page perfect bound catalogues, and the reverse is equally true. Different work runs on different equipment, and equipment is expensive, so most printers are genuinely better at some things than others. Asking for a relevant sample is not rude, it is the normal way this is done.
When the samples arrive, look at the things that reveal process rather than design:
- Trim. Are the edges square and clean, or slightly ragged and out of square across a stack.
- Registration. Look at small text and fine detail under good light for coloured fringing.
- Solid areas. Large flat colours show banding, mottling and streaking more than photographs do.
- Folds and creases. On heavy stock, look for cracking along the fold.
- Binding. Does the spine hold, does the booklet open without fighting you, are the pages square at the fore edge.
- Consistency. Ask for several copies of the same item rather than one, and compare them.
That last one is the most revealing and the least often requested. One good copy proves nothing about a run of 5,000.
Ask what they actually own
A large share of print is brokered: the company you order from subcontracts the work. That is not inherently a problem, and good brokers add real value in specification and quality control. It becomes a problem when you think you are buying from a printer and you are not, because it changes who controls your deadline.
Ask directly which parts of the job run in house and which go out. A straight answer is a good sign in itself. Our comparison of print brokers versus printers covers when each is the better fit.
Visit if the job is large
For a significant recurring contract, ask to see the premises. You are not inspecting the machinery, you are looking at whether the place is orderly, whether finished work is stored properly, and whether anyone can explain their quality process without improvising.
Certifications: which mean something
Certifications are worth checking but not worth over weighting.
Environmental chain of custody schemes such as FSC certify that paper can be traced to responsibly managed forests. If your organisation reports on this, the certification has to be current and the certificate number should appear on documentation. Many tenders require it outright.
Quality management standards indicate documented processes rather than good printing. Useful as a signal that there is a system, not a guarantee of a result.
Colour management standards are more directly relevant, since they speak to whether the printer works to measurable colour targets rather than by eye.
Security and data handling matters if you print anything confidential, personal or financial. Ask specifically how files are stored, who has access, and what happens to leftover printed material.
Always ask for the certificate rather than accepting a logo on a website. Certificates expire, and website footers do not.
Red flags
Patterns that reliably precede trouble:
A quote much lower than everyone else's for the same specification. Either something has been read differently or something has been left out. Ask what stock, what weight, what finish and what delivery are included before assuming you found a bargain. Our guide to comparing print quotes sets out what gets omitted.
Reluctance to put the specification in writing. A quote that says "brochures, 5000, $X" and nothing else gives you nothing to hold anyone to.
No proof stage offered. Any printer should offer at minimum a digital proof and should be willing to discuss a physical one on colour critical work.
Vagueness about turnaround. "Around a week" is not a delivery date. Ask when the clock starts and what it is contingent on.
No physical address. A website and a mobile number is enough for a small job and not enough for a large one.
Poor responsiveness before you have paid. This rarely improves afterwards.
Test with a small job first
For any supplier you intend to use repeatedly, place a small paid job before a large one. Not a free sample, a real order with a real deadline and real artwork.
What you learn is not just the print quality. You learn how they handle a file query, whether they ring or email, whether they hit the date, how the goods are packed, and what happens if something is not right. All of that is invisible in a quote and all of it matters more on the big job than the price difference you were comparing.
References worth asking for
Ask for a customer with similar work rather than a general reference, and ask them one specific question: what happened the last time something went wrong. Every supplier has a job that went badly. How they handled it is the useful information, and it is the thing a testimonial never covers.
What we would expect you to check on us
We would rather you asked all of the above before ordering than found out afterwards. We will send samples of work comparable to your job, tell you plainly which parts we run in house, put the full specification in writing on every quote, and offer a proof appropriate to the job rather than only a digital one.
If you are placing a first order, start with something small and see how it goes. Our custom printing pages set out what we produce, our comparison of print portals and local shops may help you decide what sort of supplier suits the job, and you can request samples through our contact page.
Frequently asked questions
Should samples be free?
Standard samples and stock swatches generally are. A bespoke printed sample of your own artwork is a real job and is usually chargeable, though the cost is often credited against the order.
How many quotes should I get?
Three is enough if all three are quoting the same written specification. Ten quotes on loose specifications tell you less than three on a tight one.
Is a bigger printer safer?
Not necessarily. Larger operations have more capacity and more process; smaller ones often give closer attention to a job. Match the supplier to the size of the work rather than assuming scale equals reliability.
What should be in writing before I pay?
Quantity, flat and finished size, stock and weight, number of colours or process, finishing, proof stage, delivery address and date, and what happens if the job is late or wrong.
