Printing business cards- one print to check quality?

[Fred_the_frog]

Is it possible for a printing company to print a one off so the print colours and quality can be checked?

I have done my design in CMKY, but i'm not sure how it will look when printed. Do you think I could take the design to a local printer and see if they can do a one off print (obviously not for a large fee :redface so I can check the colours?


I don't want to turn up and look like a complete idiot by asking them to print just one...

 

[Deleted member 59730]

Its called a proof print.

 

[garlex]

Is it possible for a printing company to print a one off so the print colours and quality can be checked?

I have done my design in CMKY, but i'm not sure how it will look when printed. Do you think I could take the design to a local printer and see if they can do a one off print (obviously not for a large fee :redface so I can check the colours?


I don't want to turn up and look like a complete idiot by asking them to print just one...

You may have to pay for a proof if you want an actual print on the finished substrate. Colours will look different depending on the substrate the printing is carried out on.

 

[Fred_the_frog]

You may have to pay for a proof if you want an actual print on the finished substrate. Colours will look different depending on the substrate the printing is carried out on.

If I went down to a local printing place, and asked for a proof of this business card on a certain type of paper (then paid a few £'s?), then would it be roughly the same as if another printing company printed it on the same paper, or do the printing methods differ from company to company?

 

[garlex]

If I went down to a local printing place, and asked for a proof of this business card on a certain type of paper (then paid a few £'s?), then would it be roughly the same as if another printing company printed it on the same paper, or do the printing methods differ from company to company?

It really depends on how many you want in the first place, for instance, if you want enough to warrant a litho process, well, plates have to be made, one for each colour, the machine of course is a very expensive piece of kit, so imagine the cost. I can't imagine any litho printer agreeing to giving you a proof like this.
If the number is for a couple of thousand or less, Digital printing would allow you to get the proof you want and the cost if any would be relatively small.
If we had a client in a similar situation and this has happened, we would offer to set the job up and the client to be on hand for the first sheet off. This is the beauty with Digital printing you can just print a sheet at a time. With litho the process is very long to set up and complex in comparison to DP but much cheaper of course for large volumes.

 

[Fred_the_frog]

It really depends on how many you want in the first place, for instance, if you want enough to warrant a litho process, well, plates have to be made, one for each colour, the machine of course is a very expensive piece of kit, so imagine the cost. I can't imagine any litho printer agreeing to giving you a proof like this.
If the number is for a couple of thousand or less, Digital printing would allow you to get the proof you want and the cost if any would be relatively small.
If we had a client in a similar situation and this has happened, we would offer to set the job up and the client to be on hand for the first sheet off. This is the beauty with Digital printing you can just print a sheet at a time. With litho the process is very long to set up and complex in comparison to DP but much cheaper of course for large volumes.

It would be a small amount, so digital printing is probably the best way. So would digital printing from two different companies look relatively the same?

 

[garlex]

It would be a small amount, so digital printing is probably the best way. So would digital printing from two different companies look relatively the same?

For a small amount then you have no choice Digital printing is the way to go. There could be some variation yes.

Let me know if you would like me to get someone to contacy you.

 

[Fred_the_frog]

For a small amount then you have no choice Digital printing is the way to go. There could be some variation yes.

Let me know if you would like me to get someone to contacy you.

Okay thanks.

I'm okay for the moment, but i'll contact you if I need someone to contact me

 

[garlex]

OK your welcome

 

[WJP]

I'd recommend Neil at Scubaprint (a user on here) when you need a run doing Fred. Good prices and a fast turnaround.

 

[reggiemental]

Business cards litho-printed in CMYK are generally printed alongside other card jobs (on a large sheet) to keep production costs to a minimum. Your artwork would be planned together with a number of other jobs, proceed to plate and then to press. So, to produce a 1-off card would entail producing 4 pieces of film, 4 plates plus the time involved for setting up the press, making this far too costly to consider.

Although litho quality is superb, short-run jobs do lend themselves to digital production (as mentioned earlier in the thread) and the quality, although not the same as litho, is still excellent.

 

[neildigital]

Happy to print you one sheet proof, which would have 21 business cards on. But to be honest for £12 plus vat, I would print 50 copies, including delivery.

 

[Deleted member 59730]

So, to produce a 1-off card would entail producing 4 pieces of film, .

Not CtP??????

 

[B&H Digital]

It's already been mentioned, but it does indeed happen a lot - and it's the good thing about digital print, as you can just run a sheet off and it won't be an extortionate fee. Some will even do this for free.

Good luck, and if you need anything, feel free to get in touch

 

[InternetMarketingPlatinum]

Well yes you usually get a proof print before a full run.