Why Do You Want To See My File Before Giving Me An Estimate?

A Mr. Bill from Baltimore, Maryland, writes in and asks:

Q: When I requested an estimate on your website, why did you email me back asking if I could send my file?

A: Oh, no! Thanks for asking this very common question, Mr. Bill. At Curry Printing, every high-quailty job we manufacture at our print shop is custom, produced to your exact specifications. We don’t have any cookie-cutter jobs here, we make only what you want. In the printing industry, we also have all sorts of jargon and terminology trying to describe what we will be producing for you, and often that language can be confusing and inconsistently used. As with many things in life, communicating clearly and precisely is absolutely essential to give and receive accurate information. With terminology not always identical, however, there is one failsafe way for us to give you an accurate estimate with very little risk of misunderstanding…letting us see the actual file for which you are requesting a quote!

If you send us your file, we will be in a far better position to ask you appropriate questions about usage, paper selection and deadlines, as well as offer some cost-savings suggestions. For instance, you might send in a request for a 64 page booklet; but what you are calling a “page” might be what we are calling a “leaf,” and our estimate might end up being off by a factor of 4, higher or lower! That isn’t doing anyone any favors.

Your file is not complete, you say, so you can’t send it? That is understandable! You can send us your current unfinished version, or a previous version of a similar piece. If you haven’t even designed the piece yet, then any estimate we give you will be subject to possible and major changes once we see the final file; therefore, the information we provide may be of limited value.

We are very accommodating here at Baltimore’s favorite print shop, and want to give you only the best and most accurate estimates for your important printed pieces. Help us help you by sending your files along with your quote requests!

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