Printing Quotation Format: Specs, Price Breaks and Sample

Two print shops quote the same 1,000 flyers. One says "$185". The other lists A5, 170gsm silk, 4/4 colour, trimmed, delivered in 3 working days, valid for 14 days, with a 2,500 price beside it. The second one usually wins, because a clear printing quotation format shows the client exactly what they are buying and lets them compare like for like.

This guide sets out what a printing quote should contain, how to calculate unit prices and quantity breaks, a filled-in sample you can copy, and the terms on proofs, colour and delivery that save a print business from expensive reprints.

What is a printing quotation?

A printing quotation is a priced offer for a specific print job, written before production begins. It turns a vague request ("can you do some brochures?") into a specification: size, paper, colour, finishing, quantity and timing. Once the client accepts, the quote becomes the job ticket for production and the basis for the invoice. If you are new to quotes in general, our standard quotation format covers the layout that every industry shares; this article focuses on what is specific to print.

Printing quotation format: the fields

Use these headings in every print quote. Missing any one of them is how jobs end up on the wrong paper or with the back left blank.

Field	Example
Quote number and date	PQ-2611-018, 12 Nov 2026 (a consistent quotation number format makes reorders easy to trace)
Job title	Spring Open Day flyer
Product	Flyer / leaflet
Finished size	A5 (148 x 210 mm, from the ISO 216 A series) or 5.5 x 8.5 in
Pages / sides	2 sides (single sheet)
Stock	170gsm silk coated (or 100 lb gloss text in US weights)
Colours	4/4 (CMYK both sides)
Finishing	Trimmed to size; optional matt lamination, folding, drilling, binding
Quantity	1,000 (with 500 and 2,500 shown as options)
Artwork	Client-supplied print-ready PDF, 3 mm bleed, fonts embedded
Proof	1 digital PDF proof included
Turnaround	3 working days from proof approval
Delivery	Collection or delivery to one address, with charge
Price lines	Unit price, setup, extras, tax, total
Validity and terms	Valid 14 days; payment terms; overs and unders policy

Quantities in print are counted in different units: pieces for flyers, books or sets for brochures, rolls or square metres for large format. State the unit clearly; the guide to units of measure on invoices applies just as much to quotes.

How to price a print job

A print price has three parts. Breaking them out makes your quote easier to defend and your price breaks easier to explain.

1. Fixed setup: plates (offset), make-ready sheets, file preparation and machine setup. These cost the same whether you print 500 or 5,000.
2. Variable costs: paper, ink or toner (click charges on digital presses), and finishing time per sheet.
3. Margin: your markup on top of cost.

Worked example for 1,000 A5 flyers printed 4/4 on 170gsm silk, imposed 4-up on SRA3 sheets:

• Sheets needed: 1,000 / 4 = 250 sheets, plus 20 make-ready and spoilage sheets = 270 sheets.
• Paper: 270 x $0.12 = $32.40.
• Printing (digital click charges, both sides): 270 sheets x 2 sides x $0.10 = $54.00.
• Guillotine trimming: $12.00.
• Setup and file check: $20.00.
• Cost: 32.40 + 54.00 + 12.00 + 20.00 = $118.40. With a 55% markup on cost, the price is 118.40 x 1.55 = $183.52, rounded to $185.

Because setup stays the same, the unit price falls as quantity rises. That is why quantity breaks belong on the quote.

Printing quotation sample

Northgate Print Studio - Quotation PQ-2611-018 | 12 Nov 2026 | Valid until 26 Nov 2026
Client: Riverside Academy, Admissions Office | Job: Spring Open Day flyer
Spec: A5 flyer, 2 sides, 170gsm silk, 4/4 CMYK, trimmed, packed in 250s. Artwork: print-ready PDF with 3 mm bleed supplied by client.
Option	Quantity	Unit price	Price
A	500	$0.230	$115.00
B (recommended)	1,000	$0.185	$185.00
C	2,500	$0.126	$315.00
Extras (optional)
Matt lamination, both sides (per 1,000)			$65.00
Additional proof round			$15.00
Delivery to one address within 20 miles			$18.00
Example total for Option B with delivery
Print (1,000)			$185.00
Delivery			$18.00
Subtotal			$203.00
Sales tax / VAT at applicable rate			As applicable
Turnaround: 3 working days after proof approval. Payment: 50% on approval, balance on collection or delivery.

The unit prices follow from the totals: 115 / 500 = 0.23; 185 / 1,000 = 0.185; 315 / 2,500 = 0.126. Showing three decimals on unit prices is normal in print, where a fraction of a cent matters on long runs. Printed products are generally treated as goods, so sales tax or VAT usually applies; rates and exemptions (for example for some books) vary by country, so state the rate that applies to your client.

Format variations by print product

Brochures and booklets

Add page count (always a multiple of 4 for saddle-stitched booklets), cover and text stock separately, and binding method: saddle stitch, perfect bound or wiro. Example spec line: "A4 portrait, 16pp self-cover, 150gsm gloss, 4/4 throughout, saddle stitched."

Business cards

Quote per box or per 250 / 500. Include corner style, stock thickness (for example 400gsm), and special finishes like spot UV or foil, each as its own line since they add setup.

Large format (banners, signs)

Price by square metre or square foot. A 3 m x 1 m vinyl banner is 3 sq m; at $18 per sq m that is $54, plus hemming and eyelets as a separate line.

Screen printing and garments

Quote per garment by colour count and print location, with a screen setup charge per colour. The screen printing invoice template shows how those same lines carry through to billing.

Terms every printing quote should state

• Artwork responsibility: the client checks spelling and content; you print what is approved on the proof.
• Proofs: how many rounds are included, and that production starts only after written approval.
• Colour: screen colours (RGB) may differ from printed colours (CMYK); exact matches need a Pantone reference or a hard proof at extra cost.
• Overs and unders: if you use a quantity tolerance, state the percentage and how it is billed.
• Turnaround: counted from proof approval and payment of any deposit, not from the quote date.
• Deposit: new clients and large runs often pay 50% upfront. Use a separate deposit invoice so the payment is properly recorded.

Setting quantity breaks that make sense

Price breaks work best when they reflect how your costs actually behave. On a digital press, cost per sheet is fairly flat, so the drop in unit price comes mostly from spreading setup over more pieces. On an offset press, plates and make-ready are expensive but running sheets is cheap, so long runs fall in price much faster. A practical approach:

1. Pick the quantity the client asked for as the middle option.
2. Add one lower quantity (often half) and one higher (often 2.5x).
3. Calculate each from setup plus variable cost, then apply the same margin, rather than inventing a discount.
4. If the higher quantity crosses the point where offset becomes cheaper than digital, note "printed litho" so the client understands the change in method.

Showing the per-unit figure next to each total is what sells the bigger run. A client who sees 18.5 cents per flyer at 1,000 and 12.6 cents at 2,500 can work out for themselves that the extra 1,500 flyers cost only $130 more.

Handling reorders and repeat jobs

Repeat work, such as monthly newsletters, menus or business cards for new staff, is where print shops make steady margin. Keep the original quotation number and spec on file and issue reorders as "PQ-2611-018-R1" with a fresh date and validity. If paper prices have changed, say so on the new quote rather than silently changing the total. For artwork changes on a reorder, add a small artwork amendment line so the time is not given away.

Common mistakes in printing quotes

• Writing "glossy paper" instead of a weight and finish. 130gsm gloss and 350gsm gloss are very different products.
• Forgetting the back. Always write 4/4, 4/0 or 1/0.
• Pricing one quantity only, which forces a second round of emails when the client asks "what about 2,500?"
• Leaving design time unpriced, then absorbing hours of artwork fixes.
• Not linking the quote to the job ticket and invoice. Use the same number stem so a reorder of "PQ-2611-018" is found in seconds.

Sending the quote

Email the quote as a PDF with the spec summary in the body so the client can approve from their phone. Our guide on how to send a quotation by email has subject lines and short templates. When the job is delivered, convert the accepted option into a printing services invoice, carrying across the spec line exactly as quoted.

To produce the quote itself, open our invoice generator, change the document title to Quotation, enter the spec and quantity options as line items and save it as a PDF. It is free and does not ask you to create an account.