Requesting a quote for printing when you don’t understand the terminology may sound difficult. You might not be sure what to ask for! Below we’ll cover some common questions your printer might ask, to help you get the best out of your print project.
HOW TO GET a quote for printing
What is it, and what size is it? E.g. 55 x 85mm business card, A5 flyer, A4 24pp booklet, DL card, A3 poster, A4 flyer folded to DL, etc. We can recommend the best specifications from this easy starting point.
How many do you need (and are there different kinds)? E.g. a quote for 250, 500, or 1,000 booklets. Or, 2 kinds of business cards x 500 each, etc. Depending on the print process, it may be more economical to produce more at once.
If it’s a booklet – how many pages, and how is it bound? This should be the number of printed pages, not the number of leaves.
For example, if your PDF document is 20 pages including the front and back cover, that would be16pp (16 printed pages) plus 4pp (4 page) cover. Not 10 pages. Unless you say that it’s 10 pages printed front and back, then we’ll know it’s really 20 pages 
When someone asks for a 10 page stapled booklet
Popular binding methods include saddle-stitch (staple), wire bind, and perfect bind. If you’re not sure what you need, check out this article about page count!
COLOUR AND STOCK
What colours are used? E.g. CMYK (or full colour), black only, colour on the front and black on the back, PMS 485 & black, black text with a full colour centre spread, etc. Let us know when requesting a quote for printing if you’re after a special Pantone colour such as fluoro, metallic, pastel, or dense black, be as specific as you can! It does make a difference.
Is there a sample we need to match? We will do our best to match a sample as long as one is provided. How closely we can match it may depend on the stock and process used. For example, matching a PMS colour out of CMYK is not always possible due to the range of colours. Matching a coated print to an uncoated print can also be interesting. Check out our FAQ for more info! Please note we cannot match a colour from a scan sent by email. It might look different on our computer screens. We need the real deal!
What type of paper do you require? E.g. gloss, textured, uncoated (sometimes also called “matte” but not to be confused with silk-matt which is coated). Just do your best to describe it – we’ll know what you mean, and can also make suggestions!
Generally for a business card you’ll need something around 300gsm or higher, for a letterhead you’ll need something uncoated between 80-100gsm. If you’re not sure, we can suggest something. Here’s an article on paper stock that might help!
REQUESTING A QUOTE FOR PRINTING CARBONLESS DOCKET BOOKS
If you’re after a carbonless / NCR book make sure to also let us know how many copies are required (eg. 2 part / duplicate) and how many sets per book.
NCR books typically have crocodile board covers on the front and back, and the spines are sealed with tape. Red, green, blue and grey are available, but blue is the standard so if you don’t specify, you’ll probably get blue! Usually the top sheets are all perforated, and the last sheet is not perforated, so it will stay in the book. If you want all the sheets to come out, consider getting a pad instead! It’s cheaper, and takes less time Make sure you let us know if you require numbering (available in black and red)!
SPECIAL FINISHES
What finishing is required? E.g. laminating, creasing, folding, round corners, die or laser cutting, any embellishments such as spot gloss UV, emboss or foil, etc. It’s best to send us artwork (or a draft) for a quote with an embellishment.
TIMEFRAME
When do you need it by? We can offer a standard turnaround time, which for most jobs would be between 2-5 working days. If your order is something that requires special set up such as envelopes or docket books, or special embellishments such as embossing, it usually will take longer.
If you let us know when you need your print job by we can take this into account.
REQUESTING A QUOTE FOR PRINTING INCLUDING ARTWORK
Will you be supplying print ready artwork? If you don’t have artwork at all, we can do it for you! Our designer has been known to work wonders. If necessary, you can even sit down with our designer to talk about your requirements. If you do have artwork but it’s not print-ready, we can help with that too.
DELIVERY
Where will the job be delivered? Standard quotes for printing are based on delivery to one Melbourne metropolitan area location unless otherwise specified. If you need delivery to multiple locations, or interstate, etc. just let us know.
Standard or common specs: There are standards for things like flyers, letterheads, docket books, and even business cards. But if you want something specific, please make sure you let us know! We take the time to understand what your end goal is, so we can help you get there.
How to get in touch? Now that you know what to ask for, you’re ready to get a quote! Just send us an email at sales@mjprinting.com.au, or call on (03) 9544 9055.