Guides
Moving a Used Press Across the US-Canada Border: Broker, Bond and Paperwork
Step-by-step guide to moving a used press across the US-Canada border: Incoterms, AES filing, CBSA B3-3, customs bond, rigging, and the paperwork sequence.
Archive
September 2026
Guides
Paper Folder Maintenance Log: What US Print Shops Should Record Weekly
Weekly paper folder maintenance log for US print shops: roller and belt checks, humidity readings, service history and the records buyers and inspectors ask for.
Guides
Simple print shop bookkeeping: accounts, WIP and cash
Print shop bookkeeping built around the work: a chart of accounts split by input, work in progress on open jobs, cash timing and the monthly reconciliations.
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Print shop trends: test demand shifts in your market
Seven print shop trends to test locally: job quantities, lead times, prepress hours, reorders, bundled work, paper deliveries and environmental inquiries.
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California Print Shop Solvent Ink Rules: AQMD Compliance for Small Shops
California print shop solvent ink rules come from CARB and local districts; South Coast AQMD Rules 1130 and 1171 set ink, fountain and cleaner limits.
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Canadian Print Shop Chemical Inventory Reporting: Scope
Canadian print shop chemical inventory reporting separates WHMIS product records from provincial waste manifests in Ontario, BC and Quebec.
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Cutting and Creasing Machine Maintenance Schedule for Print Shops
A cutting and creasing machine maintenance schedule built on daily, weekly and yearly intervals, plus the checks that catch a worn die before it ruins a run.
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Foil Stamping Machine Cost: What a Small Shop Should Budget
Foil stamping machine cost runs about $3,500 used to $45,000 new for a small US shop, plus setup, freight and tax. Here is what to buy first and what to skip.
Guides
GST HST on Printed Materials: Zero-Rated vs Taxable in Canada
GST HST on printed materials varies by supply type. Canadian print shops must know which goods are zero-rated, which are taxable, and invoice rules.
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Print shop quality control: four gates and a reprint log
Print shop quality control starts at file arrival and continues through finishing, with four checkpoints, a reprint log, and measures owners can act on.
Guides
How to Build a Print Shop Referral Program
Build a print shop referral program with a clear customer ask, dependable trade partners, designer-ready file guidance, and a one-page handoff sheet.
Guides
Letterpress vs Foil Stamping: Which Imprint Method Suits Short Runs?
Letterpress vs foil stamping comes down to setup charges and per-piece pricing on short runs. Here is what US trade printers charge for wedding and stationery work.
Guides
Ontario Print Shop Safety Inspections: What Officers Check on a Walk-Through
Ontario print shop safety inspections turn on OHSA, machine guarding and WHMIS labels. This guide names what officers check on a walk-through.
Guides
Paper Weight lb to GSM: A Print Shop Reference for Customers
Paper weight lb to gsm conversion is the first step in any paper spec. Here is how US print shops convert basis weight to GSM and catch the errors that follow.
Guides
How to Store Paper Rolls Without Curl or Moisture Damage
Store paper rolls without curl by matching your warehouse to the local humidity swing, stacking rolls on dunnage, and letting cold rolls temper before unwinding.
Guides
Used Paper Folder Prices: What to Inspect Before You Buy
Used paper folder prices in the US range from $1,200 for a tabletop unit to $18,000 for a floor-model 16-page machine. Check rollers and belts.
Guides
Used Imprint Machinery Inspection: Checks Before Bidding
A used imprint machinery inspection guide to auction listings, press, folder and imprinter checks, machine guarding, and move planning before you bid.
Guides
Buying a printing press in Canada: CBSA duty and GST/HST
Buying a printing press in Canada from the US means CBSA duty assessment, GST/HST at the border and brokerage fees all land on your invoice.
Guides
California screen printing waste rules for Los Angeles print shops
California screen printing waste rules: how Los Angeles shops handle ink and solvent waste, air district permits, manifests, and CalRecycle duties.
Guides
How California, Texas and New York tax imprint and finishing work
Imprint and finishing tax differs across California, Texas and New York, and the ship-to address decides which state rate your print shop collects.
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Chicago–Milwaukee paper imprint machinery: 8 checks before you buy
Before buying paper imprint machinery in the Chicago–Milwaukee corridor, run eight checks on mills, dealers, parts, rigging, freight, permits and service.
Guides
What Dallas-Fort Worth packaging means for paper imprint machinery
What Dallas-Fort Worth packaging work means for paper imprint machinery: which machines to add first, what to verify before signing, and how to finance it.
Guides
Print Shop Business Operations for New York Buyer Jobs
Print shop business operations for New York buyer jobs: proofing, confidentiality, rush schedules, trade handoffs and contract terms.
Guides
OSHA and EPA compliance for small US print shops, explained plainly
Two federal agencies set the safety and environmental rules for a small US print shop. Here is what each one inspects and how to stay ready.
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How paper storage and humidity control differ in Phoenix and Seattle
Phoenix shops fight static in dry air while Seattle shops fight mold in damp air, so each city needs its own humidity targets and conditioning times.
Guides
Print shop quote template: blocks, fields and proof clause
A print shop quote template, block by block: specification, build, assumptions and exclusions, the proof clause that prevents disputes.
Guides
Print shop stock control checks by cadence: daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly
A print shop stock control checklist by cadence: what to check at the end of each day, week, month and quarter, and who owns each cadence in the stock room.
Guides
Section 179 and bonus depreciation for American print shop equipment buyers
Section 179 and bonus depreciation both cut the cost of imprint machinery, but income caps, phase-outs and Form 4562 decide which one you claim.
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Serving US franchise and corporate print buyers, contracts and W-9s
Franchise and corporate print accounts are won on paperwork: a clean W-9, insurance certificates, portal records and contract terms buyers audit.
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How USPS mailing rules decide which imprint machinery a US print shop buys
USPS rules on thickness, barcodes and tray fill decide which imprint machinery a print shop can run at automation rates. Here is what to check.
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Print shop equipment: brands and what they are known for
Heidelberg, Komori, HP Indigo, Bobst and Duplo lead the shortlist, and each brand is known for specific strengths in presses, bindery gear and finishing.
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Print shop service packages: 17 shapes and the specification each one needs
Seventeen print shop service package shapes, each with the specification to fix and the hidden requirement that decides whether it earns anything.
Guides
Print shop startup costs by payment stage
Print shop startup costs are organized by when cash leaves, with illustrative press, paper, lease, fit-out and installation figures, plus a reserve method.
Guides
Markets for print shop beyond the obvious
Fifteen location types compared for a print shop: the demand each one produces, what it asks of the shop, and the failure mode particular to it.
Guides
Running a print shop by the numbers: monthly KPIs
Print shop KPIs for a one-hour monthly review: six numbers, how to compute each from your own job tickets, and the decision each one should trigger.
Guides
Local SEO checklist for print shop owners owners for new owners
Local search for a print shop: what buyers actually type, why the listing does most of the work, and the pages worth writing for a printing business.
Guides
Daily operating checklist for a print shop
The five standard operating procedures a print shop actually needs, what each one must contain, and how to write them so an operator uses them mid-shift.
Guides
Break-even for a print shop, worked through
Print shop margins and break-even, worked on the constrained machine: contribution per press hour, the four places margin leaks, and how to audit a month.
Guides
Getting print shop suppliers right the first time
Print shop suppliers assessed on terms rather than reputation: fifteen questions to settle before an account opens, and what each answer changes in the shop.
Guides
Twelve Real Print Shops: What Each Does, Who It Suits and Where It Breaks
Profiles of twelve named print shops, from Cimpress and MOO to Hatch Show Print, with what each does, who it suits and where the model breaks.
Guides
The best print shop software and how each was judged
Print shop software ranked by what each does best, from estimating to scheduling, with the judging criteria that put each option on the list.
Guides
Print shop inventory planning: stock rules and lead times
Print shop inventory planning by stock category: house stock, job stock and consumables, with lead-time ranges, parent-sheet counting and storage rules.
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Packaging print shop services for four buyer types: the 8 elements to fix
Four buyer types, what stops each one, the eight specification elements a package must fix, how to write the boundaries and price it without giving away margin.
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Sequence print shop orders to protect makeready
Schedule print shop orders without delays by sequencing around makeready: group by stock and color, batch finishing, count back from the dock, price the rush.
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Start a print shop in order: one proof before each spend
How to start a print shop in six gates: the proof to hold before each spend, from the buyer count to the process, premises and first customers.
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Scoring print shop services from your job tickets: six factors
Read six factors off your own job tickets to score each print shop service, then settle it as push, narrow, reprice or keep on purpose.
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The cost of print shop equipment, new and second-hand
New against used print equipment costed properly: the ownership items that outlive the purchase price, and an inspection protocol before any machine is bought.
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6 things to understand about print shop equipment
Print shop equipment as a set of commitments: what each press obliges you to run, why finishing is the constraint that bites, and how to lay out the floor.
Guides
Print Shop Equipment Checklist: Questions to Settle
Use this print shop equipment checklist to frame space, power, prepress, press, finishing, safety, chemical, and stock questions to settle before ordering.
Guides
Print shop expansion: four routes and when each fits
Print shop expansion starts with the production constraint, then four routes: change the sales mix, partner, add hours, or add machines, space or a site.
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Print shop insurance: press breakdown, reprint liability and the exposures that matter
Print shop insurance built from real exposures: work in progress, customer property, press breakdown and the reprint nobody agreed to pay for.
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Print shop licensing explained, with the compliance calendar
A print shop compliance calendar: which body sets each duty, what to ask them, and when the answers expire as machines and chemistry change.
Guides
Print Shop Marketing Built on Quotes and Retention
Print shop marketing built around clear quotes, reliable turnaround, customer retention, referrals, local search, and email to past accounts.
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Print shop operations and workflow: what the experienced already know
Print shop workflow from order to dock: the eight handoffs a job passes through, the two constraints that set delivery dates, and where work actually waits.
Guides
Print Shop Plan: Seven Sections to Get Right
A print shop plan can cover the shop, demand, service menu, production, money, compliance and risk, and first-year gates in seven practical sections.
Guides
Print shop price list and profit model for 2027
A 2027 print shop price list with real figures, the profit model behind each line, and the cost drivers like paper and ink that decide which jobs earn.
Guides
Print shop services: what to offer and when to say no
A practical way to decide which print shop services to offer: the four commitments each one makes, how to package repeat work, and when to decline or send out.
Guides
Tools and KPIs for running a print shop for 2027
The software a print shop runs on in 2027, the numbers each tool produces, and the four production KPIs that change a hiring decision for press operators.
Guides
8 parts of print shop startup, explained
Reading a print market before committing: who still buys print locally, how to count them, and the four demand patterns that decide what shop to build.
Guides
Print shop license requirements for first-year owners
Print shop license requirements are mostly local: check zoning, occupancy, business registration, sales tax, and air and waste rules before the presses arrive.