Is $500.00 too much for 2000 cards?

Does the job require film (fine detail, screens, gradients etc. do)? How many up in your layout? Or are you expecting the printer to figure that out? (Extra production dollars.) Does it bleed? What do you mean by "standard card stock"? (I assume you mean not coated, which isn't a good idea for four-color work, in my opinion, but it depends on the design.) Offhand for offset (ha ha), I think the quote is reasonable, but this printer may not be your best option. Most "gang shops" in the US (no need to go to China) can do the job for much less. If you're a reseller, you'll typically pay half their published retail price. Shop around. If you need a couple of good sources that I do business with, e-mail me and I'll be happy to send you the contact info.

the card stock is pacesetter matte cover, white, 100#, job does bleed, no gradients or anything out of the ordinary.

oh yeah, this is Canadian dollars so I guess right now it's about £250, and uhm...$400 US right now?

How much value do you place on having a good print house you can count on to really care about your job ? Does that counter the extra expense?

Sometimes I just feel like -- I don't want to get my dish-soap from Wal Mart any more than my printing..you know?

Thanks your feedback folks :)

Try www.tasteofinkstudios.com for affordable custom printing. All printing is full-color (4/4), and printed on an offset press.

Silk Business Cards
Die-Cut Business Cards
Plastic Business Cards
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Silk Stickers
and More!

Upgrades Include: spot gloss (uv) highlights, decorative colored foil, rounded corners, custom die-cut, custom punch outs, and more...!

There are a ton of these quick & cheap printers that can print 1,000 biz cards for $49, and they do a fantastic job. The reason is that they're printing 250 different cards at once on the same stock.

$500 for 2,000 cards is pretty high when compared to the above mentioned printers. But you have to consider that your local printer isn't gang-running your cards with 250 other people's cards. You have the ability to choose the paper you want, and the pressman is optimizing the color settings on the press for YOUR card, not a "happy medium" for everyone.

All that being said, unless you have some VERY specific needs for paper stock, pantone colors, diecuts, etc. you are absolutely crazy for paying more than $100 for business cards anymore.

I have to agree with Jim. Someone would have to be absolutely crazy to pay over $100 for standard, full-color business cards. A similar case. I was talking to a designer the other day that was paying $875 to print qty 1,000 die cut business cards. I couldn't believe my ears. Almost nine hundred dollars, for business cards!? Well, similar to Jim's previous statement, when custom business cards are printed for just one customer at a time, it is very EXPENSIVE. Companies like taste of ink studios offers a great selection of card stocks. More importantly, they die cut, punch out, score, perf, foil stamp, and spot uv pretty much anything.

Also, I wanted to point out. Jim was correct when he mentioned, "gang runs". Gang runs are when a large quantity of printed material is printed together, on the same print run. This process is only possible if a printer is printing tens of thousands of business cards daily. Please be informed that gang runs do not compromise the quality of the printed piece. It is important for printers to do quality inspections daily.

--
Arthur J. Peterson
Designer: Company Identity
Senior Marketing Consultant
Tasteofinkstudios.com
1.877.98.TASTE

I generally have two levels of clients when it comes to business cards. The first are folks who use a lot of cards and want to get them as cheap as possible. For these folks I use an online printer that does two sided cards on the cheap (I use PSPrint because they've been the best quality).

The second set of clients want higher quality and don't mind spending a little more. For these I also use an online printer, 4by6.com because I'm truly in love with their 'satin' finished card (I use it for my own cards). For 2000 cards they charge $390.

The reason I don't use a local printer for business cards is for the same issue you are running into. They aren't really set up to do small runs in an inexpensive way, and 2000 business cards are definitely a small run. Your local printer isn't trying to gouge you, that's what it costs them to get the press warmed up and for the wasted paper. It's simply not cost effective for anyone.

That makes sense when thinking of 'the bottom line' but do you know or care about where/how 4by6.com is operating? Should designers try to encourage clients to support local printers and bussiness that's better for our environments and economies?

I'm not trying to preach, I guess I'm personally struggling with this dillemma and am wondering how others are dealing...