Commercial Printing Specification Guidelines

Every print project is unique. Whether you’re printing labels for your new product or business cards, knowing the unique details (print specs.) of your order will help us ensure the project’s quality and effectiveness.

We use your specifications to accurately quote your price and estimate your timeline.

The following is a comprehensive list of our commercial printing specifications.

1) Printing Paper Specifications

Are you going for a price effective option or a show stopping final product? Generally speaking, thicker/heavier paper will be at a higher price point than thin paper.

In addition to a more professional feel, the thicker paper will prevent content from showing through to the other side. If you need your project printed on plastic or waterproof materials (like beer and wine labels) be sure to let your sales rep know. Every door direct mail printing is a unique type of printing from the USPS that needs a very specific paper size and material.

2) Print Quantity

How many pieces do you need to be printed? It’s important to remember that part of your cost is setup time, so the more you order the more you’ll save. We recommend ordering in bulk ahead of time to save time and money. For recurring orders (like business cards) you can set a reminder on your calendar.

Unless you know exactly how many pieces you’ll need, we recommend asking for a price range so you know how quantity affects pricing.

3) Print Size

Just as important as quantity is your print size. Are you looking to make a statement or go for convenience? Does your print material need to be able to fit somewhere, like a postcard or business card?

If you have a significant amount of detail, for example, a commercial flier handout, we want to make sure that your design will be legible.

We always measure in width followed by height to avoid confusion. For example, a 4” x 6” postcard would be 4 inches wide and 6 inches tall.

4) Page Count

This applies to magazines, newsletters, books, booklets, brochures, and any other bound products. Be sure to include the front and back covers in your estimate.

5) Ink Specs

Is this a 1-color, 2-color, or 4-color job? Ink volume and quality will all affect price. If it’s a 4-color job, are you requesting CMYK (the 4 process colors) or specific PMS colors?

If you’re not sure what you’re looking for or would like to know how each option will affect pricing, don’t hesitate to ask! For example, when we make our custom water bottle labels, it’s important that we make sure they’re waterproof to stay safe in an ice chest, otherwise, the inks will merge together.

Make sure to tell your printer the type of ink to be used for the job. Is this a fully commercial solution, or for a smaller project? What is your budget? Do you need bleeds? This is all valuable information that will help our print team get the job done exactly as expected.

6) Shipping

How soon will you need your prints in hand? Make sure that your printer securely packages your goods so that nothing is damaged during transit.

All printing companies are experiencing above-average wait times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you for your patience as we create and deliver your order!

Other Commercial Printing Considerations

Delivery Date/Need By Date
Paper Stock
Job Format
Any Special Considerations

Are we missing anything? Reach out with any additional questions or considerations. Maybe you need the print to match a previous order. Maybe this is a VDP job. Does the print need to be protected from liquids or unique conditions?

As you can imagine this isn’t every single thing that could go into a printing job, but we hope this gives you some insights into how Graphics Universal can help fulfill your commercial printing needs. We hope this commercial printing specification guideline sheet will help you with your label or print decisions!