Getting a Fair Price: Print Buyers’ Misunderstandings About Pricing

Many print buyers become frustrated with new printers and suppliers when the price on the final invoice of a job has increased drastically from the initial quote. Some print buyers, after having experienced this with several new suppliers, may suspect that printers are unscrupulous and are attempting to gouge them. Certainly, printers who charge excessively for unwanted overs only add to this perception.

However, a huge increase over the quoted price is often due to poor communication about the specifications of a print project. It’s likely that the customer is not communicating the job specifications accurately or completely. Moreover, most customers bid sheets or Request for Quotations (RFQ) fail to capture the total expectations of a print project, including the sometimes difficult task of communicating quality expectations.

In addition, the workflow between customers and their print solution providers is expected to have become more streamlined with the print supplier understanding the customer’s workflow for proofing and approval, for instance. The problem is that it takes time to learn the nuances of a new customers’ workflow and quality expectations. Often a print providers’ success relies on how open the customer is to providing information beyond basic specifications.

To be more successful with new customers, you have to become more adept at asking questions about the goals of a project, quality expectations and the customers’ workflow. Also consider giving your customers feedback on whether or not they are providing accurate and complete specifications and instructions for their jobs. Provide some suggestions on how to do it better.

What’s been your experience in working with new customers? Please use the “Post a Comment” feature below to share your thoughts on pricing.

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