Between the quotes from Print Industry and the other quotes I requested, I received 8 to 10 quotes. I looked through them, primarily checking:
Goto Heao Printing to know more.
if the printer understood our project
how the printer&#;s price compared to the others&#; prices.
I tried not to take into account the less-professional face of the Asian companies (their logos, websites, URLs and graphic design don't usually convey the Western idea of quality), but if their English was difficult to understand, I took that as a red flag.
If there was a printer that I felt didn't understand what we were asking for, but I wanted to give another chance for them to provide a quote, I wrote back with a request for adjustments to the quote.
In communication with my client, I eventually picked a printer who seemed to have understood our request and whose price was competitive, and started to communicate with them by about the project.
It was important to me that this company on the other side of the world be able to communicate clearly in English. Some overseas suppliers I&#;ve worked with can&#;t really understand and reply to specific questions and are not able to describe a problem or what they need. But we realized that we had found a professional guy with good English, who responded within a day or so to emails, and answered questions specifically. Green light!
Next, we wanted some proof that the company was real and that they were capable of doing the kind of work we needed. They offered to print a sample for us of the full-colour book file, and to send it to us with some other samples of their work and paper samples. The printing company requested $100 to send us two full-colour samples of our book, other book samples, and paper samples to two addresses (one in the USA, and one to me in Germany). The packages arrived quickly on our doorsteps and the quality of the printed samples was excellent. The cover paper samples they sent us matched the texture of our cover from the last printing.
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We always had good communication with the printer. Over the months that we worked together, we had to change some deadlines and request new quotes, but our rep was always good to deal with. If at any point he had become difficult to deal with or hard to get an answer from, we would have taken that as a definite red light and looked for a new printer, but there were no such warning signs.
When the project was finally ready, we pulled the trigger. The client paid the first lump sum to the printer in China. I think the printer asked for an $800 downpayment to order the paper for the project, and then 50% of the balance before the printing began, and 50% before the books were shipped.
The project experienced various delays on the client&#;s end, and when the files were finally print-ready, it was Chinese New Year and the factory was shutting down for two weeks for the country&#;s biggest celebration. This was a significant delay at the end of the project, but it was not the printer's problem, because we had expected to have the book done months before. This was the first time my client spoke on the with the rep in China (previous communication had always been by ), and he spoke great English, was apologetic about the delay, and did his best to push the book through as quickly as he could once the factory was running again.
We had 500 books sent by air to the USA (about a week for delivery) and the final 4,500 books sent by sea to a port in the USA (about five weeks for delivery). The client had to handle getting the books from the port to the company warehouse, but there may have also been a way to have the books delivered to the client&#;s doorstep. All in all, we were extremely satisfied with the final product and with the price, which was about &#; of what the project would have cost at the printer we used the year before.
I hope this play-by-play is helpful to you if you're looking for a reliable overseas printer. If you use a bit of caution and common sense, you may find that an overseas printer that fits exactly what you're needing for a particular project.
At QinPrinting, we help self-published photographers print photo books of striking quality every day. But we appreciate that not everyone has the budget of a Bailey or a Leibovitz. That&#;s why we work hard to deliver exceptional quality books at the most competitive prices you&#;ll find anywhere in the industry. Whether you&#;re a professional who wants to print a world-class portfolio or an everyday enthusiast collecting your memories for posterity, we put our expertise at your disposal at a price you can afford.
But don&#;t take our word for it. Look for yourself! You can get a snap-shot of how much it will cost to print your custom photo book by checking out our at-a-glance pricing charts. Unlike most offset book printing services&#;&#;&#;which have a minimum print order of 500 or even 1,000 books&#;we offer a minimum order quantity (MOQ) of just 100 copies and still with a competitive price tag. But as you&#;ll see from the charts, the more photo book copies you order in a single run, the less you pay per unit.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of Printed Kid Books with Illustrated Cardboard Narratives. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.