Print sourcing guides
One guide per product and country: what a producer needs in order to quote, what to ask before you compare offers, and the omissions that cost a reprint.
Before you start
- Find print jobs: how printers receive requests for quotation on PrintOfferHow printers receive matching print RfQs on PrintOffer: what a request holds, how matching works, how to quote and what follows acceptance. No commission.
- Ways to buy print compared: direct, brokers, print management and RfQ marketplacesFour ways to source a print job: going direct, a print broker, a print management company or an RfQ marketplace, and what each costs in work and control.
Italy
- Children's book printing in ItalyHow to specify children's book printing in Italy: what a producer needs to quote, what to ask about binding and safety, and the mistakes that cost a reprint.
- Folding carton printing in ItalyHow to specify folding carton printing in Italy: board grade, structural design, finishing and the compliance questions to ask before you compare offers.
- Board book printing in ItalyHow to specify board book printing in Italy: why it is a converting job, what a producer needs to quote, and where the higher minimums come from.
- Textbook printing in ItalyHow to specify textbook printing in Italy: durability, multi-component editions, annual reprints and delivery to schools.
- Catalogue printing in ItalyHow to specify catalogue printing in Italy: binding by extent, colour consistency across signatures, mailing, and the delivery date.
- Product label printing in ItalyHow to specify product label printing in Italy: substrate, adhesive, roll direction and the application details that decide whether a label stays on.
- Food packaging printing in ItalyHow to specify food packaging printing in Italy: what to tell a producer about the food, which documentation to ask for, and who decides compliance.
Germany
- Hardcover book printing in GermanyHow to specify hardcover book printing in Germany: case construction, binding, paper and finishing — the spec a producer needs before an offer means anything.
- Paperback book printing in GermanyHow to specify paperback printing in Germany: paper shade and bulk, binding adhesive, cover finish, and why you should ask for both digital and offset prices.
- Board game manufacturing in GermanyHow to specify board game manufacturing in Germany: the bill of materials, the pre-production copy, safety marking, and freight.
United States
- Postcard printing in the United StatesHow to specify postcard printing in the US: sizes in inches, card stock in points and pounds, coatings that still take ink, and the mailing questions to ask.
- Calendar printing in the United StatesHow to specify calendar printing in the US: format, binding and hanger, a grid people can write on, which holidays to mark, and the last proof approval date.