These are just some of the many thoughts flying through my head at this moment as I try to articulate in just 10 brief points all the years of experience I have had in the print industry dealing with customers.

I am sure that many printers and customers out there will be able to identify with many of the points raised, and I would welcome comments and possibly will publish them along with this article at a later stage.

1.  Give as much contact information as possible.
It can be so frustrating for a printer to receive a request to quote a complex job, work on it for an hour and then the email bounces back because the customer made a typing mistake and the email address is not valid. 

If no phone number has been supplied - the printer has no further way of contacting you.  Don't forget area codes - this will save the printer trying 02, 03 before finally getting through to 08! and a location will help on quoting delivery as well!

2.  State the final product that you are after. 
Help the printer quote your job accurately and using the most economical method for the product you need.  For example, if you need 12,000 single sided DL flyers on 130gsm gloss + 500 A3 posters, do not assume the printer will run the 2 jobs together and ask for a quote on 2000 A2 sheets.

Rather state the final products and quantities you need, and let the printer work out how to do it. 

Also, if you don't mind digital, offset or screen printing - always give the options to the printer as you may not have chosen the cheapest method for your specific job or timeframe.

3. Talk it through. 
If you really want the best product at the best price, lift up the phone after you have emailed a request for quote, and discuss what are trying to achieve and the options that are available to you. 

This is not suitable for every job, but many times by discussing things on the phone one can work out a far better option that suits your needs more accurately and is more cost-effective.

4.  Be specific if you need to be, but advise when you are flexible. 
Many jobs can be produced faster and more economically using a method or material different to the exact one you ask for.  Only be specific about details that are crucial - so if you don't mind if the stock is 115, 130 or 150gsm just state "approx. 130gsm" etc. or if a 3 colour job can be run as CMYK write "3 spot colours or CMYK" etc. or even ask the printer to suggest a stock to suit your budget or your artwork.

5. Put yourself in the Printer's shoes. 
If a printer gets a request for quote like "Booklets, 2 colour or full colour, A4 or A5, 130 or 150 or 170gsm gloss stock, 12 or 16 or 24 or 28 pages, saddle-stitched or wired or perfect bound, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000, or 20000 copies" chances are they will look at the request and say "jump in the lake!".  That request involves 1440 options if every option was quoted.  I know I have exaggerated a bit, but these types of requests come way too often. 

If you have no idea whether you want to spend $1000 or $50000 on your project there is something wrong.  Obviously you can ask for several options, but do not give the printer 2 hours work to quote 1 job.

6. Don't bulk email. 
Others may disagree with me here, but if I get an email where the "TO" line contains the email addresses of 38 other printers, I am very unlikely to want to spend time quoting the job.

7. Always add a day or 2 to your ETA. 
When ordering a job, if you need in Wednesday, say you need it Monday, so that if anything happens at the last minute you have a day or 2 to spare.

Don't expect a printer to drop all other jobs and get yours done within 1 day.  If you need a job very urgently do not email a request for quote until you have called to see if they can handle the job within the timeframe you need.

8. Send a mockup or proof. 
If you email or fax a proof of the artwork you want printed, very often this assists the printer in making sure you have requested the quote properly.  e.g. I had a quote request for an 8 page DL brochure, but when I got the artwork it was 16 pages (8 pages on each side!)

9. Call or email for artwork specs. 
A quick email or phone call to the printer will save you allot of time redoing your artwork.  I have had numerous business card files send as 72dpi jpegs. The files were created in Photoshop or similar, but at the wrong resolution, so they had to be recreated from scratch at 300dpi.

10. Expect a confirmation. 
If you don't get an phone call or email (auto-replies don't count!) confirming that your job is in production - it just may not be!

Good luck with your next printing project!