Printing Quotation: Origination, Run Cost and a Free Generator
Separate the one-off origination from the run cost, name the stock properly, and state the overs and unders tolerance before the job goes on press.
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- Instant PDF download
- Processed in your browser
- Free, with no invoice limit
Printing is quoted against a specification that the client usually cannot write. They know what they want it to look like; the price depends on stock weight, colour count, finishing and quantity, and a difference in any one of those explains most of the gap between two quotations.
Spelling out the specification on your quotation is therefore not admin — it is the thing that makes your price defensible when a cheaper one arrives quoting a lighter board.
Line items
What goes on a printing quotation
One-off costs kept out of the unit price, so your run rate is comparable.
Stock and specification
Material, weight, finish, and the size flat and finished. “Card” covers a price range of several multiples, and the client is imagining the expensive end.
Colours and sides
Process or spot colours, one side or both. Where a spot colour or a special is involved, price it separately — it changes the run, not just the ink.
Origination
Plates, setup, die formes, cutters. Paid once regardless of quantity, so it must sit outside the unit price or your per-unit figure is not comparable.
Finishing
Lamination, folding, creasing, binding, die-cutting, drilling, shrink-wrapping. Each named. Finishing is where a cheap-looking quote turns out not to be.
Quantity and breaks
The quantity asked for plus at least one higher. On print the saving at volume is often dramatic, and showing it regularly increases the order.
Proofs, delivery and tolerance
Digital or wet proof and how many rounds; delivery point and trips; and the overs and unders tolerance you work to.
Free, in your browser
Printing Quotation Format
Fill in the quotation below and download the PDF. Totals, tax and the deposit calculate as you type, and nothing you enter is sent to us.
Online Quotation Generator
Fill in the quotation below — your details, the customer, the items and the price — then download the PDF or print it. This online quote maker calculates the totals, tax and any deposit for you, and nothing you type is sent to us.
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Quotation settings
Quote on site, invoice when done?
Quotations, invoices, receipts and waybills on your phone, with your details saved.
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Avoid these
Where print quotes go wrong
- Origination inside the unit price. Your per-unit rate looks high against a competitor who listed plates separately. Pull it out.
- Stock named vaguely. Weight, finish and brand where it matters. “Gloss card” is not a specification.
- Finishing assumed. Lamination and creasing are separate operations with separate costs. If they are not quoted, they are not included — say so.
- No tolerance stated. Overs and unders are normal in the trade and shocking to a client who has not been told.
- Artwork requirements unstated. Bleed, colour space, outlined fonts. And a rate for fixing files that arrive without them.
- Long validity on volatile stock. Board prices move. Keep it short and say why.
Quote at the counter
Invoice & Quotation Generator keeps your stocks, finishing options and run rates on your phone, so a walk-in enquiry leaves with a written quotation rather than a verbal figure.
- Origination and run cost on separate lines
- Quantity breaks shown
- Quotations saved per customer
- Becomes the invoice on acceptance
- Free, unlimited quotations
Questions
Questions
How do you quote for printing work?
Separate the one-off costs from the run. Origination, plates, die-cutting formes and artwork setup are paid once whatever the quantity; the run cost scales. A quotation that blends them into a single unit price cannot be compared against a competitor and falls apart the moment the quantity changes.
What should a printing quotation include?
Stock and weight, size flat and finished, number of colours and sides, finishing (lamination, folding, binding, die-cutting), quantity with at least one alternative, origination costs shown separately, proofing, delivery, and the overs or unders tolerance.
What are overs and unders, and should they be on the quotation?
Print runs rarely land exactly on the ordered quantity, so trade terms usually allow a percentage either side, charged or credited pro rata. State the tolerance on the quotation — a customer who ordered 5,000 and receives 4,850 without warning treats it as a shortfall rather than a norm.
Should artwork be included in a print quote?
Only if you are doing it, and priced as its own line. State what you need from the client — print-ready PDF, fonts outlined, bleed and colour space — and what you charge to fix artwork that arrives wrong, because a lot of it does.
How long should a printing quotation be valid?
Short. Paper and board prices move, and origination costs you have quoted are tied to a specific specification. Fourteen to thirty days, with a line saying stock prices are subject to confirmation at order.