How a printing buyer compares quotations beyond the per-copy rate

A procurement person at a company, or at a publisher, has two quotations for the same brochure. One says ₹4.20 a copy and the other ₹3.80. Their manager asks why they are not taking the cheaper one. If your quotation is the dearer one and says only "₹4.20 per copy", the buyer cannot answer. If it names the paper, finish, proof and delivery, the buyer can say what the extra forty paise buys. That is what a buyer compares, and it decides the order.

What does a buyer actually compare?

A per-copy rate is the last number a buyer looks at, not the first. The printer's quote is read against a short list of questions, whether the buyer writes them down or not.

Any blank line becomes a question later, and an unanswered question becomes a reason to go to the other printer.

Same job, two quotes

For example, here is one brochure job quoted two ways. The figures are illustrative.

Quote A looks cheaper. A careful buyer sees it has left four lines blank and the paper vague. A less careful one takes it, and finds on delivery that the paper is lighter, the cover is unlaminated and the delivery to the second office is extra. If the job slips past 30 November, Quote B's rate may change, and the buyer knows that on the day. Quote B gives the buyer something to write in a note to the manager: the extra forty paise covers a heavier paper, lamination, a proof and delivery to both offices.

The mistake a printer makes, and the way out

Imagine, as an invented case, a Kolkata printer who loses three repeat jobs in a row from a publisher. The quotes go out as a single line on WhatsApp: "5000 copies 4.20". When the printer asks why, the publisher's buyer says, honestly, that she could not defend the price to her manager.

The printer writes a one-page template with the nine lines in the table above, keeps a short paper list with weights, and states the proof policy once. The next quotation reaches the same buyer with the paper named, the finish stated and a second rate for ten thousand copies. She picks it because she can forward the quote without rewriting it, though the printer still loses the next job to a cheaper bid, since the publisher's manager had set a ceiling.

Artwork corrections and a second delivery point

Two lines are easy to leave blank, and both lead to disputes. The first is artwork: say whether minor corrections are included, how many rounds, and what is charged for a redesign, since a buyer who sends a Word file expects the printer to set it. The second is delivery to more than one office. State the number of locations, who unloads, and what a further drop costs. A buyer comparing two quotes will count these as extra rupees if you leave them blank.

How to write the paper line

Write the type, the weight and the use. "130 gsm gloss art paper, inside; 300 gsm art card, cover" is enough. If you hold the paper in stock, say so, because it shortens the job. If you need to order it, say so, because the buyer then knows the date depends on the mill.

Do not hide a paper substitution in small print. If a particular paper is out of stock, offer two choices with their prices and let the buyer pick. A buyer who finds a swap on delivery stops trusting every other line.

When to quote a range and when not to

Give a single price when the specification is fixed. Give two or three options when the buyer has not decided between papers or finishes, because the options let the buyer see what each choice costs. Do not offer five, because a buyer faced with five options may ask the other printer for a recommendation.

Skip the detailed table for a few hundred visiting cards. A walk-in order needs a price and a proof. The nine lines matter once a manager, not the person at the counter, signs off.

When the buyer says the other printer is cheaper

Do not drop the rate on the spot. Ask for the other quote's specification and put the two side by side on the nine lines. The gap often shows up in paper weight, lamination or a missing proof. Then say it in two sentences: "The other quote is a lighter paper with no proof. Mine is the heavier stock you asked for, with one proof. If you want the lighter paper, I can match that price." If the specifications really are identical and you are dearer, say that too. Matching a price you cannot make money at buys a customer who will leave at the next quote.

Chasing the quote

Once the quote is out, the work is the follow-up, covered in how to follow up on a quotation.

Redo your last three quotes

Take your last three quotations and mark which of the nine lines each one left blank. Rewrite one with every line filled and compare how long it takes. The wider picture of who buys print, and why, is on our paper and printing sales and marketing page, and quotation and proposal follow-up is the related service. If you would like help with the template, tell us what you need.