I find it very helpful to have potential clients fill out this series of questions before offering an estimate for print design work. Items with an asterisk (*) are required. There are four pages to the form and you will need to complete all the required questions before you can submit your form.. NEVER SEND PASSWORDS VIA THIS FORM.
This first page is simply how I reach you. Print projects tend to involve a few more back-and-forth questions than web projects do, so a phone number helps even if we never use it.
Let’s start with the basic contact information. (Please be sure to use an email address you know is functioning.)
What are we actually making?
Tell me what you have in mind, even loosely. “A trifold brochure for a trade show” and “something I can hand people that explains what we do” are both perfectly useful answers.
Two things move print pricing more than anything else: how many you need, and how big it is. A ballpark on each gets you a much better estimate. If you do not know yet, write “not sure” and I will walk you through the options.
- Paper Sizes – standard dimensions if you want a reference point
Do not worry if this page is unfamiliar.
Folding, paper stock, finishes – these are the questions that make print different from web, and most people have never had to answer them. “Not sure” is a legitimate answer to every single one, and choosing well is part of what you are hiring me for.
What genuinely helps me here is knowing whether you already have a printer you work with, and whether the piece is going in the mail. Mailing brings postal rules that shape the design from the start, so it is much cheaper to know now than to discover later.
- USPS postcard size rules – the dimensions that decide postcard rate vs letter rate
The deadline question matters more than you would think.
Print has a hard back end that web does not. Files go to a printer, the printer needs days, and then the finished piece has to physically get to you. Tell me when you need it in hand and what is driving that date, and I can work backwards honestly about what fits.
Be candid on the readiness scales too. Content that is still being written is the most common reason a print project slips past its date.
Have a website project in mind? I also have a Website Project Questionnaire!
