Hello! I was wondering if you could help me? My sister bought some of your (amazing) Eva prints a few months ago, and I was wondering if you could tell me who you print your art with? I'm looking to start printing my own art but I have no idea where to start đ đđź
Try Newcastle Council Printing Services! Theyâre who I used when I was first starting out. Their quality is pretty decent-- not OH MY GOD THE BEST!! but decent enough for the considerable discount you get, which is why I recommend them for people just starting out. Their pricing is the most affordable for good quality that Iâve ever found, personally, though if anyone has found cheaper please, let me know. (Weâre not counting OfficeWorks Garbage here. Theyâre disqualified.) Postage of the prints from Newcastle is usually $7, but even with the postage price theyâre still cheaper than most printers by about 40-50% since theyâre a government owned office. HOWEVER. If you go this route, know that the prints can take at least five days in the mail, so donât plan on doing them two nights before.Next: DO NOT go to OfficeWorks. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES. DO. NOT. Donât even consider them as an option. OfficeWorks is the cheapest place youâll find, and thatâs for a reason. Their quality is SHIT. Their paper is SHIT, their colours are SHIT, their cutting is SHIT-- you get the picture. I have often gotten samples from OfficeWorks that were so bad Iâve thought I wouldnât pay people to take them.Third up: If you have a bit more money to burn, and/or youâre on a very tight schedule and a five to seven day turnaround isnât an option for you, youâre better off emailing regular print shops (AGAIN, NOT OFFICEWORKS) in your local area for a quote instead--Â once you know how much youâre going to print. Thereâs no point in asking for a quote before you know how much you want to print, because most shops will charge different prices per page depending on how much you get printed on them. That is, the more you print in bulk, the cheaper it gets per page. Keep in mind that anything less than 100 pages is a small order for them, and will cost the most. (Thatâs why I donât print on demandâ I do about three large runs per year and thatâs it, to keep costs down.) This is the most expensive option, but will probably produce the best results. Also, if you can pick the prints up in person, you wonât need to pay postage, and you can check them for any defects on the spot before accepting them. (I definitely recommend doing this.)As an aside, if you donât know about printshop standards like CMYK and print&bleed margins and PDF standards, I recommend you go take thirty minutes out of your day to google and read up on it, and also check with your chosen printshop what THEIR requirements are (some of them differ), because it WILL cost you more money if you donât. Because see, if you donât do it, the person in the print shop will have to spend time converting it all for you, and then youâll get charged for that too. So make sure you have your files all print-ready exactly the way the shop wants them! If youâre not sure and their website doesnât say, ask them.Lastly, if you have the time when searching for a good print shop near you, the best thing you can do is to ask if they can print a sample for you, so you can see the quality of their work. (Some will do it for free, some will charge a dollar or so, some will refuse to do it because it interrupts their workflow of bigger clients. If the latter, donât go there anyway, they donât want your business and tbh you donât want theirs.) Compare the samples! Write on the back of each one who did which, what paper it was, and if you got any quotes from them, write down the quotes too. Also compare the quality of their customer service (some are lovely, some are snooty if youâre not a big business) and also their turnaround times as well. (Keeping in mind though that turnaround times vary GREATLY depending on the time of year and how busy the shop is that day/week.) Email and compare as many as it takes until you find one thatâs right for you!Apologies for how long it took to answer this! I donât often check my ask box, but I hope this helps.
