Fun with Lithography Ink
Yes, the minimum order size at The Folder Store is 100 folders. We often receive requests for a single folder or maybe a handful of folders. Unfortunately, we cannot accept these print jobs because all of our folders are made to order. We do not carry any pre-made folders. We have made the conscious decision to serve those small businesses looking to differentiate themselves from their competitors with remarkable folders. Local office supply stores such as Office Max and Office Depot buy such tremendous quantities of pre-made folders that they can afford to charge very little per piece. We accept that we cannot compete on price and we don’t want to because it is a poor business decision to do so.
In addition, our quality standards would not allow us to sell a product we would not feed confident using ourselves to market our company. The kind of cheap folders you find at your local office supply stores are great if you only require the utility of being able to carry a bunch of papers together for organization purposes. However, if you need to make an impression and leave behind materials that will keep your customers thinking about you; these are not going to cut it. In a perfect world, we would be all things to all people but if you attempt such a strategy, you end up being all things to nobody.
The reason we have chosen the minimum order size of 100 is because each print job requires us to select the proper colors, get the image placement correct, set up the plates, and prepare the printer for the chosen paper size and weight. We refer to this as “make-ready” which means everything done on a press to prepare for the final print job. Getting everything right during make-ready helps to ensure a quality print run. This step is considered finished when we are satisfied with a print and can therefore begin the actual run.
There are real costs involved with all of these steps and so it is worth noting that there is very little additional cost to get 250 folders instead of only 100 folders. If you can use the extra folders, it would be wise to go with 250 as your per piece price will drop significantly. See our folder quick pricing for more information. It always pains us to turn potential clients away. We wish we could help everyone but it is simply not realistic. Even if we are unable to help with the printing of your folders, we are more than happy to help you find the right source for your needs.
If you would like to see how we compare, we would be happy to provide you with a folder quote.
Image Credit: willsfca
