Online Printers
A small part of creating the BK Logo was to have something to put on my business cards. As you’d imagine these things are not going to be your run of the mill cards, as I wanted to have some fun with them. So the mammoth task came down on me to actually do a bit of research on the net to see what is available and if they’re worthy of being my designated printers. I’m only half joking about the last part, I want them a certain way and am probably willing to pay the price to get them that way, so I expect to get quality for my cash.
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Print 100 So far I’m impressed by what Print 100 has offered. This firm is based in Hong Kong, so you have to go to the global site. What’s nice about this website is the information that they have on offer. That’s something I find pretty lacking in most places I’ve visited. It’s like most of these printers don’t really want to tell you the whole story, or they’re lazy and so try and get away with cheap things like ‘Contact us for a quote’. If you go over to the downloads section, there’s a massive collection of templates in Illustrator, Photoshop, CorelDraw and Freehand versions. Any printers that accepts Freehand files is OK by me. They’ve also included a really nice section that’s clear regarding how to format your files.
In terms of the kind of cards that they can produce, it seems the cards themselves have got a base rate, which is as far as I can tell the cheapest on the market, ($30 for 300 double sided, full colour cards), but they also provide additional enhancements such as die cutting, UV Spot coating, rounded corners and hot stamping. The cost for these enhancements does not provide any problems whatsoever regarding price either. So you won’t break the bank if you want UV spot coating (which I actually do).My only complaint is that I think the final thickness of the card will be too thin. 230gsm or 250gsm doesn’t seem thick enough for me. I want at least 300 dammit :). They have a sample pack which came thorough before my cards came through. To be fair, at that price I was going to be doing ordering from them for sure. They arrived a couple of days ago and I’ve got to say that it’s just good to finally have them in my hands. When I contacted them regarding getting a different cardstock, this is what they replied with:
At the stage, we ONLY can provide 2 type of papers which is 230gsm stock paper with matt lamination OR 250gsm super white card. We cannot provide a thicker paper at this time. Sorry about that.
The only other qualm is effectively with the website which has some stupid popup system going on if you want to enter your account area, rather than keeping it within the site itself, which I found slightly odd and dated. Additionally even though they have a referer’s program, the fact that it isn’t as simple as putting in a link on my site that is distinctly my link (like say for Dreamhost) it becomes fiddly and I doubt I’ll be gaining much benefit from it, so they should really sort that out. But in the meantime if I’ve introduced you to this website, do a brother a favour and put me as your referrer (brokenkode is the username).
- Face Media Group I actually was going to go with this company before I had the bright idea to actually do a little bit of research and see what the alternatives on offer where. I am very glad I didn’t jump into these things without looking around first. Face Media Group is a company is based in the UK which has a direct impact on it’s associated costs. The website is very slick and easy to navigate. It’s neither ugly or overbearing and does actually scream of a subdued quality. I’ve already received the sample pack and I can vouch for the quality, however the price point for this company is not exactly inviting. The price page is very simple to understand, £125 will get you 250 300gsm cards with UV spot coating. One additional disappointment is the fact that they don’t seem to offer die-cutting or foil stamping.
- Ezdzns I’m pointing this website out because of the fact that they offer design services as well. They seem a tab bit pricey however if you’re not all that great at doing your own designs (then your first contact should be me), failing that then give them a shot, although I’m not sure what the design entails, and how many iterations/changes you’re allowed.
- Pecal Media These guys do a range of stuff, including plastic cards, posters, flyers. They also provide design services and you can get a sample pack sent to you as well. It’s a pretty rounded website, relatively intuative.
- Graphic Disorder I thought these guys were interesting since they offer 1000 cards for $99 (you can keep the dollar). Included in the price is the design, the cards with spot UV and shipping to the continental US. That’s not a bad deal. Not as great as Print100 but it’s closer than the rest of the printers on this list.
- Overnight Prints The only way I can describe this is the Kinko of online printers. Ironic since Kinko is a printer but what I’m trying to say here is that they’re the sort of store that would look like Kinko if they opened in a store down the road. It SCREAMS generic but at least they seem to be fast and affordable.
- Advansys These guys seem slightly corporate and generic as well, but if you’re looking for that style and don’t want the extra bells and whistles that are included in the rest of the packages, just something white with the information and a logo then these guys might be what you’re looking for. Clean site, information is all there for you to get on with it.
Again, this isn’t the list to end all lists, this is just what I found on my search. I’d be seriously interested in knowning about different online printers that provide for business cards, postcards, flyers and just about any other printed media. So if you’ve got a good one up your sleeve, share and I’ll be sure to include it into the pdf. Which reminds me. This is a first pass at the pdf. I will be editing it, just slapped this together quickly because it’s a good tool I think to have the comparisons in front of you. Even though you don’t need to buy 1000 cards as a minimum, I’ve done that it’s possible to compare the prices correctly. A few of these places offer 1000 as a minimum.
Thanks Khaled, just was I was looking for, quite literally. Now I just have to whip up a wicked design in Photoshop.
↓ Quote | 15/3/2006
Khaled, great article. I’ve been thinking about getting some business cards for a while now. Your research has come in handy. Thanks again.
↓ Quote | 15/3/2006
Khaled nice article.
↓ Quote | 15/3/2006
Thank You Khaled,
I was looking for such research.
When I’ll buy some business cards a will use your name as referral for sure.
↓ Quote | 15/3/2006
Your PDF link is broken. It returns HTML of what I assume is your homepage.
↓ Quote | 15/3/2006
Martin, should be working now. Sorry about that.
↓ Quote | 16/3/2006
Thanks, man! This info is very useful for me and my clients!
↓ Quote | 18/3/2006
Khaled, you are the man!
Thanks for sharing this information. :) I’ve been looking for a slick business card printer. I’ve heard too many horror stories about shoddy print jobs, etc.
↓ Quote | 19/3/2006
Hey Khaled, I too am a research junky [aside from a link horde] and during a similar quest I found quite a few great online printers. Unlike your list, I restricted my choice companies to the US (where I’m located) to save on delivery times and shipping costs. And, instead of relying on Google for my research, I explored what other people have found by using the del.icio.us search. I hope this isn’t information overload for a comment - if it is, just drop it I don’t mind.. To cutt to the chase, here’s a couple links you should check out.
www.4by6.com -> Design centric postcard agency. Awesome quality, nice website, kind of pricey though…
www.48hourprint.com & imagemedia.com -> Both are budget gang printers, much like gotprint.com but without the terrible Better Business Bureau rating and these places speak english instead of giberish :)
www.modernpostcard.com -> GRADE A. Phenominal service, quality, and prices. this place is geared toward postcards and has full mailing services available too. Aside from postcards, they also do business cards, brochures, rack cards, gift boxes, envelopes, and more. And, much like Print 100, this company has a great FAQ and tutorial section on how to get the best out of CMYK printing, how to make your files press-ready, and more. Worth looking at!
www.printpromotion.com -> Real warm and cozy website that makes you want to explore. These guys to business cards, posters, and more, and from what I hear they have pretty good results. They don’t hide information from consumers, and they’re open about what kind of quality you can expect from their printing options.
↓ Quote | 21/3/2006
I don’t mind it at all, in fact I’m encouraging it :). Thanks for those links, I’ll definitely give them a try and see what they do. I’ve sorted it out so your comment has links :).
↓ Quote | 21/3/2006
Hi khaled
we missed you,we are preparing to go tolebanon on the 2 nd of April of a visit .we are very proud of you ,you have the talent of communication with poeple in the right direction.
Our car was broken for the 3d time ,but this time some essential belt was broken with fatal consequence on the pistons.So we are stuck for the time being ,hoping to buy another car when we will come back from lebanon inshaallah
what are the news of your book?
I wish you good health and success. xxxxxwith love
your uncle mouine
↓ Quote | 26/3/2006
Overnight prints really did poorly on my letterhead. And their customer response is awful. I sent the letterhead job to them as a black type only on a background and they sent it back as a 4color black, and worse, not in register. I literally see blurred type. Its awful and unusable. I am so upset, the business cards i ordered were pretty good which lead me to order the letterhead and envelopes.
I’ve yet to see the envelopes, 2 weeks later and i’m still waiting on them. and i have gotten zero customer service from them. Sent them two emails and got one generic we stand behind our product BS, but then no response on what they would do about it… very strange. I haven’t contacted BBB yet, don’t know if it will help. BUt i figure putting the word out will help some one else in the future. I have a feeling this not going to be pleasant….
↓ Quote | 30/3/2006
I used http://gotprint.com and happy with the results, prices for business cards and the postcard are the best and they do a good quality jobs
↓ Quote | 19/4/2006
Has anyone had any experience or know of anyone who’s used 4over printing in California? I always see their ads in graphic design magazines.
↓ Quote | 21/4/2006
Hi khaled, my name is jeff and i work at www.imagemedia.com One recomendation i could add is to ask for a free sample pack. most online companies promise a good price, but their quality usally is subpar.
thanks for the good rating.
↓ Quote | 4/5/2006
Amit Lamba said:
Oh boy have I EVER had an experience with THEM.
I am a printing broker and I got their “book” in the mail. I found their pricing to be incredible…they are a TRADE ONLY printer, btw. So, how do I make a very long story short?
I called them to ask if they could send samples of their paper stock to one of my clients in California (the same state 4Over is in.) They said fine and I gave them the information. They also agreed to my request to send the samples “blind” — i.e. without their return address.
After almost two weeks, almost a dozen telephone calls, several emails (at first their employees did NOT want to provide email contact info, btw., but finally did.) my client STILL doesn’t have the samples I requested.
So I just got off the phone with someone who said she was as high as I could go in the company (a supervisor). She basically told me that they cannot send the samples to my client…and that her employees have given her a different story than the one I told her…that they CAN’T send the samples via over night delivery, then that they can’t even send the samples directly to my client…that they would have to send them to me (in Georgia)…and on and on.
This is one for my files on the most ridiculously frustrating experiences I have had in my lifetime.
I was finally told that it is MY problem, not theirs…I hung up.
Whatever you do…don’t use this printer. My experience with them today makes me wonder if they are even a legitimate business.
↓ Quote | 15/6/2006
Robert Davis said:
I can undersrtand your frustration, but, to be honest, it doesn’t really get to the heart of the matter, which is: are they a good printer and what kind of product do you get back from your files? Can anyone provide input specifically to that end? To be honest, their prices are astounding and I can’t imagine their product being “off’enough to make it not worth it.
Anyone??
↓ Quote | 9/7/2006
Anthony DeCrescenzo said:
I can undersrtand your frustration, but, to be honest, it doesn�t really get to the heart of the matter, which is: are they a good printer and what kind of product do you get back from your files? Can anyone provide input specifically to that end? To be honest, their prices are astounding and I can�t imagine their product being �off�enough to make it not worth it.
Anyone??
I just recieved my business cards i had printed with 4Over. The color is SO FAR OFF that they are unusable. I’ve sent emails and am just waiting to hear back. Hopefully something can be done. But as of right now…i doubt i’ll be using them for anything ever again.
↓ Quote | 3/8/2006
Scott said:
I can undersrtand your frustration, but, to be honest, it doesnâ??t really get to the heart of the matter, which is: are they a good printer and what kind of product do you get back from your files? Can anyone provide input specifically to that end? To be honest, their prices are astounding and I canâ??t imagine their product being â??offâ??enough to make it not worth it. Anyone??
I just recieved my business cards i had printed with 4Over. The color is SO FAR OFF that they are unusable. Iâ��ve sent emails and am just waiting to hear back. Hopefully something can be done. But as of right now…i doubt iâ��ll be using them for anything ever again.
Anthony DeCrescenzo said:
I can undersrtand your frustration, but, to be honest, it doesn�t really get to the heart of the matter, which is: are they a good printer and what kind of product do you get back from your files? Can anyone provide input specifically to that end? To be honest, their prices are astounding and I can�t imagine their product being �off�enough to make it not worth it.
Anyone??
For what it is worth, I have used 4Over for probably 12 projects now. Everything that they have done for me has been spot on. I did however have a friend that used them and the cards were all cut wrong. Look at it this way… at $25 bucks plus shipping, I would give them a try. As far as Robert’s comments go, I think it is unrealistic to expect that a company like 4Over is going to go out of their way to do any customer service favors. They are in business to do one thingâ�¦ Gang print glossy business cards and what-not 24 hours a day and do it cheaper than anyone else. If you want stellar customer service then get quotes from a printer in your city, and forget about marking up the prices to your clients! :)
↓ Quote | 31/8/2006
Our company worked with 4Over for thousands of dollars worth of projects. The end result — we order 4000 cards (4 different cards x 1000 each) — and they haven’t made any attempt to contact us in over 3 weeks now. They claimed 5-7 day turnaround. We called the shipping department and they said they had no knowledge of our order. Called the order status department and they said they were waiting for the next batch to complete. My boss called them after me and they said there was something wrong with the order and they didn’t get it. They said they were going to process it then but — most likely a month later after our purchase, I’m sure our cards will be okay and our client will be displeased with our production time. We want to find someone else but we have no idea where to start.
↓ Quote | 5/9/2006
OK. I get that their customer service isn’t very good. My main concern is with their print quality and color accuracy. Can anyone comment on that? I have some letterhead and business cards that are illustration type colors, so if they’re off it won’t be a tragedy.
Th other pieces (of the same project) are photographic and involve children’s faces. So they have to be right.
Can anyone speak to the quality of their printing as regards photographic-quality work?
Scott: you mentioned they’ve been spot-on. What kind of work and what kinds of files are you providing? I’m looking to provide them CMYK PDF’s that have already been converted to a generic SWOP profile so that there’s nothing kooky going on. I’m trying to bullet-proof what I send them.
Any further comments to these specifics would be greatly appreciated.
↓ Quote | 7/9/2006
We’ve always sent them eps files that have been tailored to their specifications (in flash, break all apart then save as eps). I and our clients have been pleased with their work, nothing has been wrong except a few times with the wrong Spot UV on the wrong side of the card (apparently it was our error). We on one occasion had them misprint the wrong card back onto our cards (the wrong card back was actually from a previous job). We called them and they sent out corrected ones for no additional charge. They have been good for their price, in my opinion very good. Just don’t count on their production time.
↓ Quote | 8/9/2006
That’s exactly what we needed. More advertisements.
↓ Quote | 19/9/2006
Scott Clark said:
Am I missing something? Are their specs listed somewhere?
Please advise, and thanks for your helpful input.
↓ Quote | 19/9/2006
Anthony DeCrescenzo said:
I’m not sure they have specs listed anywhere. It’s just how we ended up doing things. They had gotten it when it wasn’t eps and wanted something more printable. They suggested EPS and break all apart if in Flash as well.
↓ Quote | 19/9/2006
I guess I ought to followup on my earlier post. Against my better judgement, I went ahead and used them after my initial disastrous experience. The first person I spoke with originally had tried to be helpful and things had deterioriated from there. While I was amazed at the lack of professionalism from the supervisor, “plan B” would have been far more troublesome than “plan A” so I went ahead with sending the order to them, after being assured by my original contact that he would take care of my job. Their prices were too low to resist.
Since this initial order which went fine, I have placed several orders with them without any issues, other than a few minor details in the order process, etc. One of the orders was a fairly large order — $2,000 postcard order.
Regarding the file submission… I first talked with their prepress department and went through the settings for submitting a pdf file. We saved the settings and simply print to PDF using this template for each job submitted. So far the quality has been excellent.
I am still quite concerned about the supervisors lack of knowledge and skill in terms of customer support though. I wouldn’t normally have given a printer a second chance. Customer service isn’t their forte evidently. They do appear to have a highly automated and tight process for order taking and production via the internet.
I am interested of course in hearing about other’s experiences with them as well.
↓ Quote | 19/9/2006
Scott Clark said:
I hear you, I don’t mind keeping this thread open with user’s experiences (because I think that’s all that really matters here), but I’m not up for people planting advertising here, so those comments have been deleted.
Other than that, carry on :).
↓ Quote | 19/9/2006
Khaled said:
Thanks for that. The reality at play for me here is that this particular online printer has such extremely aggressive pricing that I sorely want them to succeed in the quality of the job as well. I understand the notion well that you will trade off something for that steep price cut, and I am so far willing to do that in terms of customer service as long as the print quality is above par. It’s why I’ve been beating that dead horse for just that particular feedback for a while now.
Thanks for keeping this alive.
↓ Quote | 19/9/2006
I have been using 4over for over a year now. The majority of my work with them has been business cards with individual portraits on them. When I first started using them their work was outstanding. Yes, there are customer service issues but I have learned to work through. Earlier this year I noticed the print quality has started to drop dramatically. The problems have been everything from bad color reproduction, uneven cuts, and poor UV clear coat application. When I first started using them, everything was printed on a Komori conventional press. Again the quality was excellent.
Then late last year or earlier this year they purchased a digital press. I have yet found a printer that uses a digital press that can reproduce excellent colors. This is especially apparent on skin tones. For general printing they aren’t too bad. I spoke to them at that time and they assured me only short runs would be printed on their digital press. However, I believe more and more projects are being printed on their digital press now days. If you are out of state as I am, returning problem print jobs to them is impossible. It is easier and quicker for me to just pay for a new reprint and hope the second job is better. This does get costly though. Last month alone, I had to reprint 5 jobs out of approx 25. So back to your question - 4over is excellent depending on your printing job and which press they print it on. Myself, again since the majority of my jobs are business cards and they are printing them on their digital press I am looking for someone new.
↓ Quote | 3/11/2006
We have recently launched a new website for online printing called MyEasyPrinting.com (http://www.myeasyprinting.com). Users of our site can design their own business cards and postcards and then place an order to have their designs printed. We have worked hard to provide users with a high quality selection of background images and to make the site very easy to use.
↓ Quote | 17/11/2006
Rob Cote said:
I have used them several times and have been really happy with the reults.
↓ Quote | 5/12/2006
At IDoPrint.com you can upload your own files directly online and have printed business cards, brochures, posters, greeting cards, catalogs, rack cards and more at your door in days at low prices.
↓ Quote | 16/1/2007
I just wanted to post about Overnight Prints.
They sent me my order and the cards are horrible. The image (their image) is so blurred that you can’t see what it is. They first offered me a repring when I sent them an email telling them I was not happy.
Later they contacted me and said they would have to charge me for the reprint. I told them I wanted a full refund and I am sending the cards back.
Then Debbie in retention called and she said I can send the cards back and they will decide if they will return my money.
I have my bank involved because I paid with card - and they say they offer 100% risk free warranty.
Would not reocmmend them to any one.
Pastor KP
↓ Quote | 27/1/2007
we have used overnightprints many many times - weve also had many many reprints done too. however over the past 6 months there has been a vast improvement in quality.
rushflyers - cheap and cheerful not a single problem to date, we have been using them for at least 18months!!!
4over - first time using them, placed 4 orders with the in the last 7 days, had a slight problem with corrupt files being uploaded which lost us a day, appears we may have a major problem with the shipping of 3 orders - it appears there going to the same destination, however they should be deperate orders going to 3 seperate addresses. Will find out tomorrow if this is the case, so far havent been too impressed with customer service but will update you tomorrow when i find out for sure!
↓ Quote | 7/3/2007
HEY howz it goin, ive been using 4over for a couple years now and ive had zero problems with them great customer service, no compalins about quality or any thing, check them out what could it hurt…www.4over.com. arite thanks let me know how it goes
↓ Quote | 8/3/2007
I have also had the misfortune of dealing with the geniuses at 4over.
I have spoken to hundreds of 4overs clients and the consensus seems to be that 4over was once a great company that since has gone bad. The customer service reps at 4over simply don’t get it and are not suitable representatives to deal with any type of business owner broker or otherwise.
As the owner of a full color printing company i have used them in the past for certain jobs that i was not at the time able to produce in house however after 75 orders and over 40% of which had problems caused by 4over.
4overs take as mentioned here is to provide absolutely no customer service to their clients and its been my experience 4over deliberately does this. Upon further research i found that many other on line wholesale / retail print companies are in fact either owned by 4overs owner some of which are mentioned in this posting page by other posting parties.
It seems apparent some of the people posting here are unscrupulous promoters of 4over who might also be affiliated with 4over. The fact is 4over has created a monopoly on 14pt & 16pt stock and through and through the overall opinion seems to be that 4over does not care about anything but their next order and they will defy all logic and ethics to get there.
Just to make this clear to whom it may concern the majority of vendors on line who sell 14pt and 16pt stock are in fact fronts owned by family members of the owner of 4over and it has been said by some and i have also experienced 4over directly marketing to my customers either through 4over directly or by passing the contact information of my clients to their family owned front operations..
Many of us still use 4over by necessity alone, not me as i was cut off by the company for voicing my concerns about problem orders which continued to take place from the moment i started doing business with them.
When i explained to the manager of the quotes department also the owners wife that i have had many problems with 4over and that 40% of the orders had one problem or another, i received nothing more then a condescending response..
�why do you continue to do business with us�
When i questioned why matte finish would cost more i was being told that C2S solution is more expensive to apply to the stock. Anyone with any experience in this industry wouldn’t make such a ridiculous claim.
The stocks are C2S stocks themselves and any solution ever applied to make a C2S stock happens at the paper manufacturing plant and is purchased that way by the printing company and is not a applied solution.
When i told here i wanted a real answer not something she made up to get me off the phone.
The manager said
â�� I don’t appreciate the way your speaking to meâ�� my response â��likewiseâ��
She got mad, took it personal and cut me off from doing future business with them without notice of any kind and with total malice towards my company, I took on 4over based on the convincing lye’s i had been told by Mike the supposed GM only later to be completely let down and my business damaged by their irresponsible careless hot shop operations.
They are diluting the printing industry and eroding the value of the dollar in the printing industry tremendously with the sole intention of hurting the small business man and helping themself.
Doing business with a company like 4over is not conducive towards your success as a broker, printing company or business owner and i highly recommend that anyone considering using 4over run with their wallets in hand.
Consumers of all kinds deserve the best of both worlds and the burden of customer service no matter how low the price for a service should be a given not a privilege.
It is important to remember that a mans earnings or money is a direct extension of a mans labors and if in this world you own nothing else you will always own your labors and deserve to be paid for what you do and receive fair exchange of goods and services for the money you earn.
The dollar is not backed by gold or silver however it is backed by out perception of its value and the more consumers allow themselves to be conditioned to bend over and take it deep just to get a lower price the less and less your dollar will be worth as the economy progresses and in this cases 4overs monopoly grows giving them more leverage to further destroy your business and later consume your clients as a broker.
All i have to say is i would never in my life treat people the way I myself and thousands of 4overs customers have been and are being treated. This company has no morals is the bottom line and the owner could care less.
I’m not going to let 4over erode the value of my labors nor am i going to being laying down for them, they fucked up and they need to pay for their mistakes and take responsibility for their service and how they treat customers. Shame on 4overtrade.com.
↓ Quote | 14/3/2007
i have used 4over many times and have had no problems. even when i have had problems with my orders, their quality assuarance team explained what had gone wrong and it was actually my own fault. my cards printed upside down and it was my fault, they explained how to avoid these rotation problems and even offered to reprint it for free! i waS VERY PLEASED BY THYAT AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO WORK WITH THEM. IT SEEMS LIKE ELING ORTON HAS HAD PROBLEMS BUT I CANT IOMAGINE IT ALL BEING FORM 4OVERS END. YOU MUST HAVE BEEN DONING SOMEHTING WRONG IN ORDER FOR THEM TO CUT YOU OFF
↓ Quote | 31/3/2007