Marketing material printing: the specification, the print methods, and how to brief a printer

Marketing material printing goes well when the specification is written before anybody gets a quote. A print specification is six lines: the item and its flat and finished size, the number of pages, the paper stock and weight, the colour process, the finishing, and the quantity. With those six lines any printer can quote the same job and you can compare the prices properly. Without them you get five quotes for five different products. This page covers how to write that specification, which print process suits which item, how to supply artwork correctly, and what to check on the proof.

This page covers specifying and buying print. For what goes inside the piece before it reaches a printer, see brochure structure and layout.

The six lines of a print specification

• Item, flat size and finished size. A folded leaflet has both. State the fold as well, because a roll fold and a gate fold are different jobs on the finishing line.
• Extent. The page count, including the cover. Stitched booklets work in multiples of four, so an extent of eighteen pages turns into twenty.
• Stock. Paper by name if you have one, otherwise by type and weight in gsm, and whether it is silk, gloss or uncoated. Say whether recycled or certified stock is required.
• Colour. Full colour process is CMYK. Add a spot colour by its reference if a brand colour has to be exact, and say whether the reverse prints in colour or in black only.
• Finishing. Lamination, spot UV, foil, die cutting, creasing, drilling, saddle stitching, perfect binding, wire binding. Each one is a separate pass and a separate cost.
• Quantity and delivery. The run length, whether you want a price break at a higher quantity, how many delivery addresses, and the date you need it in the room.

Write all six down and send the same text to every printer. That single habit removes most of the disputes that happen later.

Which print process suits which item

Process	How it works	Suits	Watch
Digital	Toner or inkjet, no plates	Short runs, versioned pieces, personalised mailers, fast turnarounds	Unit cost stays flat as quantity rises, so it loses to litho on long runs
Litho offset	Plates and ink on press	Long runs, brochures, large catalogues, exact spot colours	Setup cost sits at the front, so short runs are poor value
Large format	Wide inkjet on board, vinyl or fabric	Banners, roller banners, exhibition graphics, posters	Ask for the viewing distance, because it sets the resolution needed
Screen printing	Ink pushed through a mesh per colour	Garments, bags, rigid promotional items, bold flat colour	Each colour is a screen, so limit the palette
Pad printing and engraving	Transfer or cut into a surface	Pens, mugs, hardware, awards	Small print area, so artwork needs a simplified version of the logo

The crossover point between digital and litho moves with the item and the market. Ask for both prices at your quantity and at double it. The answer tells you whether a slightly longer run is nearly free.

Paper, in the terms a printer uses

• Weight in gsm is grams per square metre. Flyers and leaflets are commonly specified in the one hundred and thirty to one hundred and seventy gsm range, brochure covers heavier than the inside pages, and business cards at three hundred gsm and up.
• Coated silk gives accurate colour with a low sheen and takes text well. Gloss lifts photography and shows fingerprints. Uncoated reads as considered and absorbs ink, so solid dark areas look softer.
• Bulk and opacity matter on thin stocks, because text showing through from the next page is the fastest way to make a brochure feel cheap.
• Get a sample pack and handle it. Paper is the part of the decision that cannot be judged on a screen, and printers send samples free.

Supplying artwork that does not come back

1. Build the document at final size, in CMYK, with images at three hundred dpi at the size they appear.
2. Add three millimetres of bleed on every edge where ink runs off, and extend the background into it.
3. Keep text and logos a safe distance inside the trim, commonly five millimetres, so the guillotine tolerance never clips them.
4. Export a print ready PDF to the standard your printer asks for, usually PDF X 1a or PDF X 4, with fonts embedded and crop marks on.
5. Name spot colours exactly as specified, and delete any unused swatches so nothing unexpected appears on a plate.
6. Set rich black for large solid areas rather than one hundred percent key alone, and ask your printer for their preferred build.
7. Supply a separate single page PDF for proofing and a printer spread version only if they ask for it.

Proofing and sign off

There are three kinds of proof and it is worth knowing which one you are approving. A PDF proof checks content and position only, because a monitor is not calibrated to the press. A hard copy proof is printed on a calibrated device and is the right place to check colour. A press pass means standing at the machine on a litho run, which is reserved for jobs where exact colour carries the brand.

Before you approve anything, read the piece out loud once for copy, check every phone number and email by using them, check the URL by typing it, and confirm the spine width if the job is bound. Then put the approval in writing, because an approved proof is the reference point if a dispute follows.

Choosing and briefing the printer

• Send the six line specification and ask for a quote at two quantities and a stated lead time in working days.
• Ask what is done in house and what is sent out. Finishing that moves between sites adds days.
• Ask for a sample of a comparable job, in your hand, not in a portfolio image.
• Confirm who carries the cost if the run is wrong, and what the tolerance is on quantity delivered.
• Confirm storage and fulfilment if you are printing for an event, and who signs for delivery.
• Order a small reprint buffer on anything handed out at a fixed date event. Running short on the second day is the expensive mistake.

Keep the fixed assets consistent across every printed item by working from one source, which is what a brand guidelines document is for, and plan the set of pieces together using a marketing kit outline.

How far ahead should I order print for an event?

Get the specification agreed and artwork supplied two weeks before you need delivery for standard litho work with finishing, and keep a digital option in reserve for anything you decide late. Confirm the lead time in working days in writing when you place the order.

Digital or litho for five hundred brochures?

Ask for both. At that quantity the two processes are often close, and the tie breaker is usually the stock and finishing you want rather than the price.

What file format do printers want?

A print ready PDF with embedded fonts, CMYK images at three hundred dpi, three millimetres of bleed and crop marks. Ask which PDF standard they prefer and export to that one.

Why does the printed colour look different from my screen?

Screens emit light and mix red, green and blue, while presses lay down cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink on paper. Judge colour on a calibrated hard copy proof, and specify a spot colour for any brand shade that has to be exact.

Is printed marketing material still worth doing?

Wherever something is handed over, left behind or posted, yes. A printed piece stays in the room after the meeting ends. Match the production quality to the value of what you sell.

The question your printed piece has already answered

A printed piece answers a question the reader had: what do you make, what does it cost, how do I reach you. Many readers already asked an assistant first, and the printed piece is where they check what they were told.

If the two disagree on price, range or address, the printed run is the one that cannot be corrected tomorrow. Ask before you approve proofs. AI Knows Us saves the assistant answers so you can check the proof against them.