Print is one of the few purchases where the product does not exist until you pay for it, cannot be returned once it is cut, and is judged by an audience who will never know what you ordered. A business card run in the wrong color profile is simply a bad business card.
Almost every costly print mistake is preventable before the job starts, and almost none of the preventions appear on an order form.
What guides our writing
- We explain the press before the price. Knowing why a file needs bleed, or why a bright blue shifts on paper, tells you what to check. A price list does not.
- We show the whole cost. Setup, proofs, shipping and rush charges often exceed the unit price at small quantities. We total them.
- We say when the cheaper method is the right one. A digital run of two hundred is often better value than offset, and screen printing is not always the best answer for apparel. We say when.
- We name the failure mode. Every process fails in a characteristic way, from banding to cracked ink. Each article says how, and how to catch it at proof.
- We revise instead of reposting. Vendor tools, minimums and turnaround times move. When they do, the article is updated and the change noted.
Our readers
Owners, office managers, marketers and event organizers at small businesses and nonprofits across the United States who order printed materials, branded apparel or promotional items a few times a year and cannot afford to learn by reprinting.
Everything here lives in one category, Commercial Printing: preparing print-ready files, choosing paper and finishes, ordering promotional products, picking a decoration method for apparel, and comparing quotes on more than the headline price.
The limits we set
Trademark and copyright. Whether you may print a logo, a character or a photograph is a legal question. We tell you it exists and send you to a qualified attorney. We do not clear designs for you.
Product safety and regulation. Children’s items, food-contact products and some textiles carry rules that vary by product and state. We point to the regulator and your vendor and do not certify any product.
Vendor disputes. We explain common terms such as overruns and proof approval. We do not interpret your contract or advise on a claim.
The person behind it
Gregory Lindqvist — Editor. Gregory spent twelve years in a commercial print shop outside Minneapolis, first running a digital press and then working the customer counter, where he reviewed thousands of files that arrived at the wrong size, in the wrong colors or one day before an event. That counter is the reason this site starts with the file and ends with the proof.
Paying the bills
Running PrintRun Brief costs money, and two things cover it: display ads selected by third-party networks, and the occasional affiliate link. We never see the ads beforehand, advertisers cannot touch our copy, and a commission has never changed a conclusion — much of our advice is to order fewer pieces and approve a proof more slowly, which is the least profitable advice a printing site can give. The details are in the Disclaimer.
Corrections
Nobody is right all the time. Vendors and specifications change, and we make our own mistakes. Use the contact form to point out a mistake; we check it against the source, correct the article and say what we changed.
Talk to us
Questions, disagreements and topic suggestions are welcome through our Contact page. We cannot review your artwork or price your job, but we can usually tell you which two questions to ask the printer before you approve the proof.