One printer quotes 10,000 brochures for $1,380. Another comes back at $1,520. Before forwarding the lower price to purchasing, check whether both quotes include folding, delivery and enough finished copies to supply every location. A difference of $140 can disappear with one freight charge. It can also be a genuine saving. You won’t know until you put the two bids on the same footing.
A bulk printing RFQ, or request for quotation, is how you establish that footing. You don’t need to know which press to specify. You do need to tell the printer what the finished piece has to do, what counts as a complete order, and when someone must be able to use it. This guide gives you a brief to send and a way to compare the replies.
Table of Contents
1. Describe the finished piece in your bulk printing RFQ
Start with a plain sentence: “A folded brochure that fits a standard holder at our branch counters.” Then put numbers to it. Give the open and finished sizes, what prints on each side, the fold, and whether there is any coating or other finishing. For a multipage piece, state the page count and whether it includes the cover. A printer quoting a 24-page booklet plus cover is pricing a different job from one quoting 24 pages including cover.
If a previous run was right, send a sample or reference the previous order. A picture of a sheet doesn’t tell the printer how it feels, whether it accepts pen ink, or how stiff it needs to be. If you’re changing stock, describe the problem with the old one: “It sags in the rack,” “writing smears,” or “we need it to fold without the dark cover looking scuffed.” Ask for a comparable sample before accepting a substitution. Avoid specifying a brand or weight purely because it’s the one you recognize.
Use the bulk printing RFQ to say which dimensions are fixed and which are flexible. A piece that must fit an envelope, a sleeve or existing hardware has less room to change than a handout distributed loose. If the size is flexible, ask for an alternate trim size the printer can produce efficiently and have them identify the tradeoff. Approve that alternate before the designer adjusts artwork. If both vendors propose a different stock or size, have them also price the original or label their proposals as alternatives, not direct replacements.
2. Count usable copies by version and destination
A bulk printing RFQ with one total and no breakdown can be misleading. Suppose six stores need 1,500 brochures each and the sales team needs 1,000. That’s 10,000 delivered copies. If each store has a different address printed on its brochure, it’s seven versions, not one job with seven shipping labels. Give a count for each artwork version, delivery address and package size. State whether sales copies use the corporate design or one of the store designs.
Ask about quantity tolerance rather than assuming that the ordered number is the guaranteed good-copy count. If a team needs exactly 300 pieces for 300 training kits, say that the order cannot arrive short, and ask what it costs to guarantee the minimum. If several extra cartons would create a storage problem, ask the vendor to explain its overrun policy before the purchase order is issued. Write any agreed limits into the order acknowledgement.
Quantity breaks are most useful when you can act on them. Request the smallest run that will cover your known need and one or two sensible alternatives. Don’t price a year’s worth of an offer that changes next month. If pricing 10,000 and 15,000, ask whether the difference buys more of the same design, or whether quantities can be redistributed between versions without changing the price. When comparing alternatives, use copies you can actually distribute as the denominator, not the largest number on the invoice.
3. Put approvals and delivery on the same calendar
State an in-hand date and location, not simply “ship by Friday.” A carrier pickup on Friday doesn’t get cartons into a Monday morning meeting if the receiving dock is closed over the weekend. Give the printer the receiving hours, any appointment requirement, and the name or role that can accept the shipment. For a split delivery, identify which location has the least slack. Ask for an option that delivers the first usable quantity separately if that is worth paying for.
Ask each vendor to use the timing assumptions in your bulk printing RFQ: when files arrive, when the proof is expected, how long you have to review it and when a revised file would reset the schedule. For a repeat job, ask whether the old approved file can be reused and who will verify that the phone number, offer and legal copy are still current. Choose a proof that answers the risk. An on-screen check is good for wording and layout; if a fold, substrate feel or color match will determine approval, ask what physical sample or proof is available and what it can actually represent.
List one approver and a backup in the bulk printing RFQ. Keep the proof version and the approval together. If one person approves the copy and another signs off on the stock, the vendor still needs a clear release to print. Ask when a revision becomes a billable change, and whether it can affect paper, finishing or delivery. That conversation costs less before the order is placed.
4. Compare the price you will actually pay
Use the bulk printing RFQ to reconcile the two illustrative brochure bids. Bid A is $1,380 for print and trim, with folding at $120, one proof at $35 and split delivery at $140. Its comparable total is $1,675 before applicable taxes. Bid B is $1,520 with those items included. That’s a $155 difference in B’s favor, or about 1.55 cents per planned copy if both deliver all 10,000. These are example numbers, not SM Printing prices.
Now make the comparison fair in the other direction. If A is quoting a sturdier stock, a different finishing process, or a tighter delivery commitment, B’s lower total might be paying for a different outcome. Ask about those differences before declaring a winner. Compare approved specifications, totals, exclusions, expected delivery, and remedies if an agreed requirement is missed. Make separate rows for nonrefundable setup, proof revisions, freight, packaging by version, and anything a branch will have to do after receipt. Don’t add a line twice if it’s already included.
For a repeat program, ask what can be reused next time and what triggers a fresh setup. A quote based on an unchanged file is not a promise that a corrected artwork version will cost the same. A supplier’s ability to identify the last approved version is often more useful than a vague assurance that reorders will be easy. This print procurement guide covers how to capture those details once the order is placed.
One last check before comparing totals: ask every bidder to label its quote with the date and revision of the bulk printing RFQ. Imagine that you corrected the delivery plan on Tuesday, changing one central shipment to four branches. A Monday quote might still be valid for its original scope, but its freight and packing allowances are no longer comparable. Send the revised breakdown to both vendors and ask them to confirm what has changed. If there’s no price change, ask them to acknowledge the revision anyway.
If the art is still in design, mark the file as a quoting reference, not a press release. The printer may need a new estimate if the final artwork changes the number of pages or a finishing requirement. Ask the designer to follow the vendor’s file instructions; Adobe’s print-ready PDF checklist is a useful preflight reference. If the alternatives differ by number of versions or release dates, our offset and digital printing comparison can help you ask for a fair second price.
5. Copy this bulk printing RFQ template
- Job and purpose: What the piece is, how it will be used, and whether there is an approved sample or past order reference.
- Specifications: Open and finished size, page count and cover definition where applicable, stock or desired physical properties, printing sides and colors, and finishing. Mark required features separately from preferences.
- Quantities: Base quantity, alternate breaks, counts per artwork version, usable-copy minimums, and acceptable overrun if any.
- Files and approvals: What is supplied, proposed file delivery date, proof type, included revision rounds, and the name or role of the final approver.
- Packing and delivery: Bundles per carton if relevant, version labels, delivery quantities by address, receiving restrictions, and the actual in-hand deadline.
- Reply requested: Itemized total and exclusions, equivalent stock or size alternatives, proof and production schedule, and any assumptions that could change the price.
Once you choose a bid, send back one written recap that references the final bulk printing RFQ. Include the accepted option, proof method and delivery breakdown. Ask the vendor to acknowledge any deviation before production, rather than expecting your buyer to reconstruct the agreement from six emails. For a New Jersey order, bring the brief and a previous sample to a Stone Mountain Printing consultation. Even if some details are undecided, marking the open questions makes the first estimate more useful.
