Printing Vendor Questionnaire
The questionnaire below seeks to begin a dialogue with printing vendors regarding their processes, staff, capabilities, and limitations.
1) Overall Capabilities
a) In general, what printing capabilities does your organization have?
i) What is your annual printing volume for offset and digital?
ii) Provide a list of services, equipment, and/or processes.
b) How large is your staff, and how many shifts are in operation?
c) What are your hours of operation?
d) Do you offer free delivery, or limit deliveries to a certain area or price range per job?
e) Do you have online ordering and proofing capabilities?
f) What is the general timeline you give people for your turnaround?
2) Customer Service
a) Describe your organization’s philosophy regarding customer service.
b) How do you determine which customer service representative (CSR) is assigned to a job?
c) Do you dedicate a specific CSR to handle all the jobs from one particular client?
d) At what point in the process will we need to interface with a person other than a CSR?
e) Are your CSRs certified by GATF or any para-professional printing organizations?
f) What kind of information do CSRs require for job initiation?
g) What is your job initiation process? Please provide samples of order forms, if applicable.
h) What kind of client education do you offer?
i) How does your prepress department handle communication regarding preflight issues?
j) Please describe the types and amounts of costs incurred for changes to artwork and/or proofs throughout the production process.
3) Offset Printing
a) Describe your pre-press department’s staff, equipment, and capabilities.
b) Describe your method of outputting and approving proofs.
c) Describe the steps your organization has taken to ensure quality control and color consistency from prepress to press.
d) Do you have gang run capabilities?
e) Do you warehouse particular offset papers and offer at a discount?
f) Are your prepress staff and pressmen certified through any GATF or other para-professional programs?
g) What is your typical turnaround on offset jobs?
h) Please provide a list of presses, minimum and maximum sheet sizes, and press capabilities.
i) Do you offer soy-based inks, and if so, is it an extra cost?
j) Are you chain-of-custody certified?
4) Digital Printing
a) Describe your digital printing staff, equipment, and capabilities.
b) Describe your method of outputting and approving proofs.
c) Describe the steps your organization has taken to ensure quality control and color consistency from prepress to press.
d) Do you warehouse particular digital papers and offer at a discount?
e) Is your digital printing staff certified through any GATF or other para-professional programs?
f) What is your typical turnaround on digital jobs?
g) Please provide a list of presses, minimum and maximum sheet sizes, and press capabilities.
h) Describe your Variable Data Printing capabilities.
i) Are you chain-of-custody certified?
5) Finishing
a) Describe your finishing capabilities, equipment, size of staff, and number of shifts.
b) If you do not offer perfect binding or use sub-contractors for other services, please describe.
6) Warehousing
a) Are you able to warehouse printed material for later usage? If so, at what cost?
b) Do you offer climate-controlled storage?
7) Mailing
a) Do you have mail sorting and metering equipment on site?
b) Are you able to cleanse and process mailing lists against the NCOA database?
c) What is your typical fee for labeling/addressing?
d) How would your organization ensure that LSU’s indicia were not abused?
e) Do you offer fulfillment services? Please describe.
f) Please detail the amount of working days required for all steps in the mailing process, including data cleansing, labeling, sorting, and delivery to USPS or bulk mail vendor.
8) Quality Control
a) Describe in full detail how job quality and accuracy is ensured from job initiation to final delivery.
b) How does your organization handle complaints or requests for reprints?
c) How would your organization ensure that the LSU logo is used according to standards set forth by the Office of Communications & University Relations?
9) Pricing
a) Provide specifications to the vendor for a courtesy quote, then compare with quotes on the same specifications from other vendors.
Referenced from: LSU Procurement Services.