Printing Costs in Proposal?
Out of context: Reply #4
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- gramme0
For most clients, I've been learning the hard way that I can't do work beyond writing proposals without getting paid. Writing print specs for an annual report can be a complicated affair, and it can be time-consuming to gather bids from 2–3 different printers. And like you said, there's no guarantee that you've got the work.
Do the following if you really want the job. If you're friendly with any printers in town, call them up and give them as much details as you can. Ask them for a ballpark figure. Your potential client needs to at least get off his high horse for long enough to give you some quantity options. You can't just make up a number, b/c it could be anything from 500 to 50,000 or more. From there, if you really want the job, you can make assumptions... say, perfect bound, 80 pp., gatefold cover, 7"x10", #1 coated and uncoated papers mixed throughout, 6/6. Don't worry about whether you'll do any special effects yet. Again, just ask one single printer for a ballpark price. This is really just to help your client figure out the budget, even if it's as loose as $30,000–$50,000.
Then after you get the contract signed, create a thumbnail storyboard for the AR in conjunction with your writer. This will help you nail down pagination, flow, and any mixing of paper stocks. Working at this macro level for a multi-page print piece helps you avoid stupid mistakes with how forms should be set up, and you can see at a glance how things flow. At that point you can make some more educated decisions and get a few real quotes.
- It's almost akin to spec work, but every industry does something for free with the knowledge it won't always pay offAmicus