Printer recommendations: online or London-based

[Andrij]

I have a 28 page A4 document (.pdf) which I need printed as an A5 booklet, in colour, 100 copies.  Ideally completed and collected/delivered by close of business this Wednesday (at a stretch early Thursday).  I also prefer not to have to take out a mortgage to get this done.

Share your wisdom and experience, please.  Where do I go?

[citoyen]

I've used Omicron in Canterbury before for stuff like this. They do same-day service and online quotes, so might be worth looking at, but no idea if they deliver: http://www.omicronrepro.co.uk/

I'm sure you must have something similar closer to you.

[ian]

I suspect I live in the wrong part of the capital to give actual advice on who to use but print shops are still very common and any will manage this kind of job, it's straightforward if you're providing the digital files. Any should be able to give you an upfront quote on this basis.

[Andrij]

Even where I live, copy shops abound.  But the prices they charge are eye-watering.

[citoyen]

Printing has never been cheap.

[ian]

Yes, not cheap, it's a capital intensive business (high-end reprographics equipment has a significant price tag that hasn't really come down over the years as it's a small volume market, unlike cheap desktop colour printers). Plus, I assume you'll want everything cropping and put together which still takes some old fashioned labour.

[Andrij]

This project is ready to print.  If I had access to a colour printer/copier it could be done that way.  The only potential 'old fashioned labour' would be folding and stapling if the machine didn't have that option.

I've taken a punt with an online printing service.  Fingers crossed.

[citoyen]

If I had access to a colour printer/copier it could be done that way.

At a rough guess, doing it yourself with a home inkjet printer would cost at least £200 in toner and paper alone - and that's not allowing for inevitable wastage. How does that compare with the quotes you've been given by print shops for the complete job including collating and binding?

Anyway, hope the online service works out!

[Andrij]

I'd never considering doing this on a home machine.  But your estimate comes in a below most of the quotes I've had - shops and online.  But I did find two online sites quoting roughly half that.

What I had in mind was an office machine, like the one in the last place I worked.  Oh, it was lovely (and handy, along with the laminator and binding machine).

[citoyen]

What I had in mind was an office machine, like the one in the last place I worked.  Oh, it was lovely (and handy, along with the laminator and binding machine).

An office-quality laser printer would be both cheaper and give better quality results than a domestic inkjet - and even better if you have access to a binding machine.

Very unlucky if you no longer have access to those facilities!

[ian]

In my experience, properly printed, trimmed, collated, and put together stuff looks a lot better than DIY even with modern colour lasers. Of course, depends on what you doing and how professional you need it to appear.

About £300-350 sounds about right for a full service digital files to booklets.

Goes without saying proof it and proof it again. Mistakes have a habit of making themselves very prominent when you have a hundred copies sitting in front of you. Even more so when there's 30,000 of them. Don't ask.

[Andrij]

Thankfully this project doesn't need to look 'professional', just 'good'. 

I've found the only thing more difficult than finding a fresh set of eyes to proof read a document is finding someone who can actually knows how to do it.

[citoyen]

finding someone who can actually knows how to do it.

I charge very reasonable rates...

[Andrij]

finding someone who can actually knows how to do it.

I charge very reasonable rates...

 

Unlike the above post, the document I am printing has been reviewed a number of times, and by a few people.

[Andrij]

fx: sigh of relief

Booklets arrived a few minutes ago, and they look good.      Proprs to helloprint.co.uk

I've not yet mustered up the courage to take a close look for typos

[ian]

Actually if there's one worse mistake than printing 30,000 copies of something with a prominent mistake on the cover, it's printing 30,000 of them when there should have only been 3,000.

(not me your honour!)

[citoyen]

Try putting a prominent picture of a car on the cover of a weekly periodical with a six-figure circulation when the feature inside is about an entirely different car...

(Again, not me, your honour.)

[Valiant]

For future reference I can recommend UrbanPrinting.co.uk 100 copies would have been around £130. I use them all the time and have been for over a decade