Last month, as part of a Print Audit I did for a high tech company that hired me to streamline their print-buying procedures, I took a look at invoices they had received from printers and designers. This review is part of my normal auditing process and allows me to see how “informed” a client is about a print vendor’s charges.

What an eyeful that was!

Not only hadn’t the client realized that they’d spent nearly a half-million dollars on printing and related expenses in 2000, but the invoices they’d received lacked detail OF ANY KIND!

I couldn’t tell if printers had done any design or typesetting, what their charges were for proofs or author's alterations (AA’s), or what they charged for shipping/delivery.

The designers’ bills were as unacceptable in their lack of detail. They hadn’t separated design from printing (and I’d been told that these designers had managed the printing process.

Buyers, you deserve to know what you’re paying for! A simple “25,000 brochures. . . .$14,300” is not enough information.

If you buy a lot of printing and/or work with several vendors, talk with your printers about what you WANT to see on your final bills. Ask about fees for things like preflighting electronic files, proofs, paper, AAs), finishing, binding/collating, delivery, and inventory. They won’t be able to give you final numbers, of course, until the job is done and you’ve made all of your last-minute changes, but you should see ITEMIZED printing bills.

The more services your vendor supplies, the more detailed your invoices need to be. This includes desktop publishing and/or design fees, and maybe proofreading fees. Not everything will be itemized, nor should it be. But printing is not a one-step process. Your job may travel through multiple departments in a printing company. While the printer deserves to be paid for his/her services, you deserve to know what will run up your bill. How much for extra proofs? How do they charge for AA’s? How about special shipping requirements? Before the job is printed, ask how these things will affect your price.

It’s not that there are “hidden costs” in a print job. But printing is complex and customized. Some things cost more.

Figure out how you want your bills itemized and ask ALL of your vendors to comply. Then you’ll be able to compare apples to apples, as it were. If nothing else, your heart won’t stop when that bill lands on your desk. You’ll be an informed buyer. It’s a powerful feeling.