I was surfing the web the other day - looking for ideas on how to better serve our clients - and I found a website called “2010 Online Printing Services Review Comparison – Top 10 Reviews”. See http://online-printing-services-review.toptenreviews.com/
I don’t mind telling you I was SHOCKED to see that PrintOutlet didn’t make it into the top 10…how could it be? Over the past year we’ve worked hard tweaking the website, getting FSC certification, broadening our offering to include magazines, booklets, letterhead & short run printing…and we ALWAYS kept an eye on our prices…to make sure we were offering the BEST possible value to our clients.
This needed a closer look…what REAL value are these printers delivering? So I decided to compared our top moving item – 5,000 8.5X11 tri-fold, full color brochures printed on 100lb gloss text with Aqueous Coating for $347 – to their top 10, and this is what I found.
U printing
U printing
Close but no cigar. Even after their 20% discount, their brochures cost $389, $42 MORE than our regular price. Also, it wasn’t clear whether Aqueous Coating was included in their price – a $37 value at PrintOutlet. If you want your images to “pop” you MUST have AQ.
Fed Ex Office
Their webmaster must have been having a REALLY BAD day because when I checked their website it said prices “Starting at $1.03 per piece price for 1,500 brochures”. $1.03 per PIECE!? Like 1,500 brochures cost $1,545? WOW! I took a closer look and it became apparent that the $1.03 should have been $0.13 per piece. D’OH! Now at least they’re in the same ballpark but WAY out in left field…1,500 brochures cost almost $200. You can get TRIPLE the quantity from PrintOutlet for just $150 more…less than $.07 per piece. Sorry, no sale.
Their webmaster must have been having a REALLY BAD day because when I checked their website it said prices “Starting at $1.03 per piece price for 1,500 brochures”. $1.03 per PIECE!? Like 1,500 brochures cost $1,545? WOW! I took a closer look and it became apparent that the $1.03 should have been $0.13 per piece. D’OH! Now at least they’re in the same ballpark but WAY out in left field…1,500 brochures cost almost $200. You can get TRIPLE the quantity from PrintOutlet for just $150 more…less than $.07 per piece. Sorry, no sale.
Next Day Flyers
Ahh…I need BROCHURES not FLYERS…thanks anyways.
Vista print
One of the busiest home pages I’ve ever seen…there must be 500 clickable links! After spending a while searching I managed to find their brochures link and, you guessed it, overpriced. 5,000 brochures cost $510 (a discount off their regular price of $549) plus the little “surprise” they have for you, “An additional charge of $3.74 per uploaded image and $1.49 per PDF proof requested applies”, which in all is $173 MORE than PrintOutlet. Just in case you didn’t know, uploading your file is FREE at PrintOutlet…and whatever you do, DO NOT google “vistaprint scam”…there’s some nasty comments about these good people on the web.
Mimeo
I felt like telling these people, “Look…all I want is a price, OK?” Well if that’s the case, it appears I came to the wrong place. In order to get a price you have to set up an account: give them your name, rank, serial number, phone number, job function, mothers’ maiden name, email address…undoubtedly entitling you to daily spam emails or annoying telemarketing. But all I want is a price? You do get a whopping 50% off your first order – “50% off what?” is what I’m asking - but it does sound like a good deal. Hummm…
Over night Print
Very opaque website. The brochure order page shows 5,000 “double” brochures for $360. What in the world is a “double”? If anyone knows please let me know. I ASSUME “double” means 2 side four color, in which case PrintOutlet is $13 cheaper. Good price, but the site also says “Tri-fold option available”. So is folding included in their price or extra…if not add $65. Also it doesn’t appear they AQ their brochures…if not add $37. All of a sudden, your $360 order is $462, $115 HIGHER than PrintOutlet. To get answers you have to upload your files – at which point they probably think they’ve got you hooked - way too much work just to get a price. Really folks, you could make things a little clearer to prospective clients.
I noticed these guys are a member of the BBB so I decided to check them out. Their rating is a “B” with 264 complaints over the last 36 month (see www.la.bbb.org/Business-Report/Overnight-Prints-13184602 “Complainants allege delays with receiving orders, poor quality merchandise, incorrect order deliveries, and difficulties with refunds and exchanges. Some customers complain they pay additional fees for overnight deliveries, but the company fails to deliver as agreed. Others claim that offers of free deliveries or other perks used as buyer incentives are not honored by the company. The company responds to some complaints by issuing refunds, re-printing orders, or delivering orders.”) Not my words folks…BBB’s words. N-A-S-T-Y!!
By the way PrintOutlet is also a member of the BBB. What’s OUR rating you say? A+…with ZERO complaints in the last 36 months. We hate to brag, but we work VERY hard to make sure our customers are delighted, and the results show.
Print Place
Straightforward website but the price isn’t close. 5,000 brochures cost $424, $77 MORE than PrintOutlet. NEXT!
Very opaque website. The brochure order page shows 5,000 “double” brochures for $360. What in the world is a “double”? If anyone knows please let me know. I ASSUME “double” means 2 side four color, in which case PrintOutlet is $13 cheaper. Good price, but the site also says “Tri-fold option available”. So is folding included in their price or extra…if not add $65. Also it doesn’t appear they AQ their brochures…if not add $37. All of a sudden, your $360 order is $462, $115 HIGHER than PrintOutlet. To get answers you have to upload your files – at which point they probably think they’ve got you hooked - way too much work just to get a price. Really folks, you could make things a little clearer to prospective clients.
I noticed these guys are a member of the BBB so I decided to check them out. Their rating is a “B” with 264 complaints over the last 36 month (see www.la.bbb.org/Business-Report/Overnight-Prints-13184602 “Complainants allege delays with receiving orders, poor quality merchandise, incorrect order deliveries, and difficulties with refunds and exchanges. Some customers complain they pay additional fees for overnight deliveries, but the company fails to deliver as agreed. Others claim that offers of free deliveries or other perks used as buyer incentives are not honored by the company. The company responds to some complaints by issuing refunds, re-printing orders, or delivering orders.”) Not my words folks…BBB’s words. N-A-S-T-Y!!
By the way PrintOutlet is also a member of the BBB. What’s OUR rating you say? A+…with ZERO complaints in the last 36 months. We hate to brag, but we work VERY hard to make sure our customers are delighted, and the results show.
Print Place
Straightforward website but the price isn’t close. 5,000 brochures cost $424, $77 MORE than PrintOutlet. NEXT!
Print Pelican
5,000 brochures cost $509 including GROUND delivery. So I say, “Tell me about this ground delivery”. They say “All prices…include shipping & handling to the contiguous US only. Deliveries to Hawaii, Alaska, or other countries will incur additional shipping & handling costs”. I searched their site to get more details – like how long it would take to get an order to, say, NYC – and I came up empty. You CAN get 3 day delivery but you’ll have to cough up an extra $213…OUCH!
My guess is their “ground delivery” is regular mail with order turnaround time of like 2+ weeks…fine if you can afford the wait and want to pay $57 MORE than PrintOutlet’s price which includes GUARANTEED UPS delivery, usually in 3 days or less. And our turnaround time you ask…rarely over a week from file approval to your hands.
48 Hour Print
BIG money here…5,000 brochures cost $649, $302 MORE than PrintOutlet. And its not like you get your order in 48 hours…they say “Quantities of 10,000 or fewer will be shipped from our facility in 2 business days from proof approval”, exactly what you get from PrintOutlet. They’re nothing spectacular…I say keep the 300 bucks in your jeans.
BIG money here…5,000 brochures cost $649, $302 MORE than PrintOutlet. And its not like you get your order in 48 hours…they say “Quantities of 10,000 or fewer will be shipped from our facility in 2 business days from proof approval”, exactly what you get from PrintOutlet. They’re nothing spectacular…I say keep the 300 bucks in your jeans.
P S Print
And finally these folks. 5,000 brochures cost $845 – AFTER their 60% discount – $498 MORE than PrintOutlet! And it takes them 5 days to print your order. WOW!! Too much all the way around.
And so there you have it folks, PrintOutlet is your BEST source for 5,000 8.5X11 tri-fold, full color brochures printed on 100lb gloss text with Aqueous Coating…all for the low, low price of $347. Order this month and get a coupon for 500 FREE business cards as our special thank you. ;-)
PrintOutlet is your fast and reliable source for all your cheap printing needs. Small or large quantities, local or national distribution, we print Brochures, Flyers, Leaflets, Data Sheets, Posters, Newsletters, Direct Mail, Business Cards, Post Cards, Rack Cards, Club Cards, Booklets, Magazines, Newsletters and Letterhead...all at discount prices. Visit us at http://www.printoutlet.us/ or http://www.printoutlet.ca/ to see all our great deals on full color printing or give us a call at 1-877-987-7855, we'd be happy to help you.
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Modern offices and business establishments depend a great deal on printed material for their day-to-day functioning. These form a vital part of official correspondences and advertisement or publicity campaigns of different kinds.
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