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.
What to take away
- A print shop quote template is a document that has to survive a dispute six weeks later. Design it for that, not for the moment it is sent.
- Every quote needs four blockswhat is being made, what it is made from, what is assumed, and what is excluded.
- The template below leaves the money as blanks, because your press rate, your sheet price and your spoilage are the numbers that decide whether the job makes money.
- Quantity breaks belong on the quote. A customer who can see the curve orders better.
- The proof approval clause is the part that earns its keep, and it is usually the part nobody wrote.
The four blocks a print quote needs
Most quote arguments are not about the price. They are about what the price included.
Four blocks of a print quote
- Specificationsize, pages, stock, colors, coating
- Buildquantities, process, imposition, delivery format
- Assumptionspress-ready file, one proof, stock, lead time
- Exclusionsprepress, extra proofs, mailing, storage, rush
The specification. Finished size flat and folded, page count, stock by name and weight, ink coverage or color count on each side, coating, and any special operation. Write it so a different estimator could produce the same job from it. Vague stock and a missing folded size are the two most common causes of a job that prints correctly and is still wrong.
The build. Quantity or quantities, run length, whether it is running digitally or on plates, imposition where the customer's size choice affects it, and delivery format: boxed, banded, shrink-wrapped, kitted, mailed.
The assumptions. Everything you have taken as true in order to produce this number. Press-ready file supplied in the correct color space with bleed and outlined or supplied fonts. One round of proof. Stock available at current terms. Delivery to one address. A stated lead time from approval, not from order.
The exclusions. What is not in the number. Prepress beyond a stated allowance, additional proofs, author's corrections, expedited stock, mailing services, storage past a stated period, and anything the customer has not specified yet.
The assumptions and exclusions blocks do the real work. A price without them is an invitation to discover, at invoicing, that the two sides were quoting different jobs.
Field by field
| Block | Field | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|
| Header | Quote number, date, validity period | Paper and outside services move; an open-ended quote is a liability |
| Specification | Flat and folded size, pages, stock, colors each side, coating | The job someone will actually make |
| Build | Quantity, quantity breaks, process, finishing operations | Where the per-piece curve becomes visible |
| Prepress | Allowance in hours or a flat item, and the rate beyond it | Supplied files are the largest unbudgeted cost in most shops |
| Proofing | Proof type, how many rounds, what approval means | The clause that settles a rejected job |
| Assumptions | File condition, stock availability, single delivery, lead time basis | Removes the argument before it starts |
| Exclusions | Author's corrections, extra proofs, mailing, storage, rush | Removes the other half of it |
| Terms | Deposit, payment terms, overrun and underrun handling, cancellation | Ordinary commercial terms, written once |
Overrun and underrun deserve a line of their own in the template. Long-run work does not stop at an exact count, and a customer expecting a precise number will treat any variance as an error unless the quote set the allowance, named the percentage, and said the invoice follows the delivered quantity.
The template itself
Print shop quote template for one job, filled in from the top.
- Header.Quote number: ____ | Date: ____ | Valid for: ____ days from the date above | Customer reference: ____ | Prepared by: ____
- Specification.Flat size: ____ | Folded size: ____ | Pages: ____ | Stock by name and weight: ____ | Colors, side one: ____ | Colors, side two: ____ | Coating: ____ | Special operations: ____
- Build.Quantities quoted: ____ | Press: digital or plates | Finished pieces per parent sheet: ____ | Delivery format: boxed, banded, shrink-wrapped, kitted or mailed | Delivery address: ____ | Lead time: ____ working days from written approval of the proof, not from order
- Assumptions.Press-ready files in the color space named here: ____, with bleed, at the resolution named here: ____ | One round of proof | Stock available at current terms when the order is placed | Delivery to one address | Anything not written under Specification, Build, Assumptions or Quantity breaks is excluded
- Exclusions.Prepress beyond ____ | Additional proofs | Author's corrections | Expedited or substituted stock | Mailing and fulfillment services | Storage beyond ____ days after delivery
- Quantity breaks.Price at each quantity, with the setup and run terms behind it
- Overrun and underrun.Delivered quantity may vary from the ordered quantity by up to ____ percent, and the invoice follows the delivered quantity
- Proof.The proof type supplied, what approval covers, what it does not, and the color tolerance clause below
Every blank is a question you would rather answer before the job starts than after it ships.
Worked example, in variables rather than money
The variables stand in for your numbers: your press cost per minute, your sheet price, your spoilage allowance. What transfers from one shop to another is the arithmetic, not the rates.
Cost build in variables
- Parent sheetsQ divided by N, rounded up, plus spoilage W
- Setupmakeready M times press cost C, plus prepress G, plates
- Runrun minutes R times C, plus consumables X
- Finishingsetup plus per-piece time at finishing rate
- Paperparent sheets times delivered sheet price
- Floorsum of all; quoted price sits above it
Take a job of quantity Q, running on stock bought by the parent sheet, at an imposition of N finished pieces per parent sheet.
- Parent sheets needed equals Q divided by N, rounded up, plus the spoilage allowance W expressed in sheets rather than as a percentage.
- Setup cost is the makeready minutes M multiplied by the loaded press cost per minute C, plus prepress time G at its own rate, plus plate cost where plates are used.
- Run cost is run minutes R multiplied by C, plus consumables X, which is ink and coating on a press with plates or the click charge on a digital press.
- Finishing cost is the finishing setup plus per-piece finishing time, at the loaded cost of the finishing department, which is usually a different figure from the press.
- Paper cost is parent sheets multiplied by the delivered sheet price under your current terms.
- The floor is the sum of those. The quoted price sits above it, and the gap is what pays for the estimating you do on jobs you do not win.
Worked example of the quantity break
Run the same arithmetic at three quantities and put all three on the quote. Setup terms M, G, and plates stay fixed, while run terms R, X, and paper vary.
The per-piece result falls steeply from first to second quantity, then much less from second to third. That shape answers why a small order costs almost as much as a larger one, and showing it beats explaining it.
Setup terms carry the small quantities and run terms carry the large ones, which is why the step from the first quantity to the second does most of the work on the per-piece price.
For the labor component inside C, published occupational wage tables give a local reference point for press, prepress and bindery roles.
The proof clause
One paragraph on the quote does more than the rest of the document combined.
What the proof clause must state
- What a proof is in your shop
- What approval covers and does not
- Screen view checks content, not color
- Color tolerance by named standard
- What happens if the run falls outside
State what a proof is in your shop: a hard copy proof, a contract proof from the press, or screen view supplied for content only. State what approval covers and what it does not.
A screen view on an uncalibrated monitor is a check on content and position, not color. Say that on the quote; it is far easier than saying it after a run.
State the color tolerance you work to, by naming the standard your measurement follows, and say what happens if a run falls outside it. Do not state a specification as a fact from memory. Standards are published by the standards body and revised, so cite the one you actually work to and check the current text.
The clause, written out
Fill the bracketed parts with your own standard, your own viewing condition and your own rates, and have your terms reviewed before you rely on them.
'Proofs are submitted for your approval before production, and production starts only when the approval comes back in writing. Approving a hard copy or contract proof approves color, image position, trim, folds and content as shown on that proof. Approving a screen view approves content, position and trim only; color and stock appearance are not represented on a screen and are not approved. You are responsible for proofreading. After approval, any change to copy, images, size, stock or quantity is an author's correction, billed at our hourly rate plus materials, and any change to the delivery date is confirmed in writing. Color is measured against [the standard named on this quote] under [the viewing condition you use], and a run that measures outside that tolerance is corrected and reprinted at our cost. Matching to a supplied sample, to another printer's sheet, or to an image on a screen is excluded unless it is quoted here. Artwork you supply remains yours, and you confirm you have the right to reproduce it.'
These are contract terms rather than legal rules, and the wording that binds you is your own. Have a qualified adviser review how your terms handle proof approval, color tolerance, overruns and the rights a customer is asserting over supplied artwork.
Keeping quotes usable afterward
A quote is only worth as much as the record beside it. Keep quoted against actual for time and sheets on every job, because that comparison is the only thing that corrects the estimate. It is also an ordinary business record, and IRS Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records, sets out the recordkeeping and retention rules a shop works inside.
Anything on the quote that also appears in your advertising has to match. A headline price implying a finished piece has to deliver one, which is the standard the FTC's advertising and marketing guidance sets, and its .com Disclosures guidance applies the same duty to prices and quotes that appear on a website or in email.
When quoted and actual keep diverging on the same job type, the problem is upstream in the cost model rather than in the document. Find it by auditing a closed month against what was quoted.
The machine assumptions behind every time estimate come from what each press and finishing line can actually do. A shop still assembling its kit should start from the equipment list needed before the first job.
Common questions
Should a quote show a breakdown or a single number?
Show the specification and the assumptions in full, and the price by quantity. A full cost breakdown invites line-by-line negotiation on numbers the customer cannot evaluate. A full specification invites the right conversation.
How long should a quote stay valid?
Long enough to be useful and short enough to survive a paper price change. Put the number of days in the header field, date the quote, and mean it, because honoring a stale quote once teaches customers that the validity period is decorative.
What if the customer changes the size after approving the quote?
Requote. A small change in finished size can change how many pieces fit on a parent sheet, which moves the paper cost in a step rather than a slope. That is worth explaining rather than absorbing.
Do I need a separate quote for a reprint?
Yes, at current terms. Paper prices move, and a reprint at last year's number is a decision to donate the difference.
