Printing a manual is not the same as printing a flyer. The number of pages is greater, the binding is important, and most people will want to reprint later.
Salt Lake City has a good number of print shops. Not all of them process bound documents in-house, so be sure to know this early. Some send that work out which entails additional time and cost.
Here’s a list of five manual printing companies in Salt Lake City. It tells you what they are best suited for. It also has information on comparing rates, and what to send a printer.
What Manual Printing Actually Involves
It helps to know what you are buying before you start calling round. A manual is really three decisions put together.
The first is the printing itself. Short runs are usually printed digitally, which suits fifty or a hundred copies. Larger runs often move to offset printing, which brings the cost per copy down.
The second is the binding. Saddle stitching suits thin booklets of under about sixty pages. Spiral and wire binding let a manual lie flat on a workbench. Perfect binding gives a square spine, which looks tidy on a shelf. Three ring binders suit anything you will update often, such as a policy manual.
The third is finishing. That covers covers, tabs, laminated pages, and numbering. Safety manuals and field guides often need tougher paper than an office handbook does. Water resistant pages are worth asking about for anything used outdoors.
1. Qualimage Printing
Qualimage Printing is a Salt Lake City based printing company. It offers both offset and digital printing, and describes itself as a small family owned business.
Manuals are one of its listed services. The company mentions employee handbooks and safety manuals specifically. It also handles booklets, catalogs, book printing, and binding work, so one shop covers several needs.
The mix of offset and digital is the useful part here. It means short runs and longer runs can both be quoted by the same shop. That suits a business that prints twenty manuals now and three hundred next year. It is worth asking which method suits your page count and quantity. The answer depends on where the cost per copy crosses over.
2. AlphaGraphics Salt Lake City Downtown
AlphaGraphics has a downtown branch at 530 West 900 South. There is a second Salt Lake City location on West Temple, south of the city center.
The manuals and catalogs service covers full color and black and white printing, with booklet, spiral, wire, or perfect binding. The company also offers color, layout, and design services, which suits anybody without a print ready file.
Two extra services stand out for manual work. One is variable data printing, which personalizes each copy. The other is warehousing and distribution, so stock can be shipped to you or to your clients. There is an online ordering and reordering system as well. That matters a great deal for a manual you reorder every quarter. Larger organizations tend to value that a good deal more than small ones do.
3. Salt Lake Mailing and Printing
Salt Lake Mailing and Printing sits at 1841 South Pioneer Road. The business has been built around direct mail and printing together under one roof.
Book and manual printing is listed among its services. The shop also covers digital printing, inserting, bindery, and finishing work.
The real advantage here is what happens afterwards. The company handles addressing, sorting, poly bagging, shrink wrap, and mailing list services. If your manuals go out to a list of customers or members, that saves a separate job. Printing and posting from the same building removes a whole step. It also means one company to chase if something goes wrong.
4. Original Copy and Print
Original Copy and Print is on South Highland Drive. The shop opened in 1988 and is owner operated.
Booklet and catalog printing is one of its main services, bound with saddle stitch, coil, comb, or velo binding. Hard binding is available on request as well, which few small shops offer.
This one suits smaller, straightforward jobs. Think training booklets, course notes, and internal handbooks in modest numbers. An owner operated shop usually means you speak to the same person each time. That is genuinely helpful when a manual needs small changes between reprints. Note that the shop is closed on weekends, so plan around the weekday hours. Delivery is available, which helps if you cannot collect.
5. FedEx Office Print and Ship Center
FedEx Office has several Salt Lake City locations, including one at 10 East Broadway. Another sits at 1010 East 2100 South, which also has parking.
Presentations, manuals, and reports are listed services, with binding, covers, and specialty paper options. Same day printing is available at most locations, though rush options may cost more.
This is the option for short notice and small quantities. If somebody needs twenty bound manuals before a training session tomorrow, this is a sensible call. The trade off is cost per copy on larger runs. For a few hundred manuals, a commercial printer will usually quote better. Self service printing is also available for very simple jobs.
How Should You Choose Between Them?
Start with your quantity, because that narrows the field quickly. Under a hundred copies is digital work, and most shops here can do it. Several hundred or more is worth quoting with a commercial printer.
Then think about what happens after printing. If the manuals are posted out, a shop with mailing services saves you real effort. If they stay in your building, then that matters a good deal less.
Next, consider how often the manual changes. A document updated twice a year suits a binder or a spiral bound format. Loose pages can then be swapped rather than reprinted. A fixed manual can be perfectly bound instead.
Finally, think about turnaround. A same day shop solves an emergency. A commercial printer usually takes a few days and costs less per copy. Quoting two or three places is normal practice, and nobody minds. Send each one exactly the same specification, or the prices will not compare.
What Should You Send to the Printer?
Preparing the file properly saves time and avoids surprises on the invoice. Printers much prefer a press ready PDF.
Send a single PDF with all fonts embedded. Keep the pages in reading order, including any blank ones. Blank pages matter, because they keep chapters starting on the right side.
Check a few details before sending anything at all. Confirm the finished page size, such as eight and a half by eleven inches. Count the total pages, since saddle stitching needs a multiple of four. Add bleed if any image or color runs to the edge of the page. An eighth of an inch is the usual amount.
Then tell the printer the rest in plain words. State the quantity, the binding type, and the paper weight you want. Say whether the cover is printed on heavier stock. Mention any tabs, dividers, or numbering. Finally, give your deadline and your delivery address.
Questions Worth Asking Before You Commit
There are some questions that can reveal a great deal about a shop in just a few words. Ask them before you take a quotation.
Inquire if the binding is made in-house or outsourced. In house typically indicates quick, easy correction. Ask for a printed proof rather than a proof on screen. Paper and colour look very different in the hand.
Question the price of a reprint after six months. Inquire if the file will be saved for you. Then proceed to ask what happens when the quantity changes. A lot of prices get drastically lower after a certain number of copies. The extra cost of printing now may be less expensive than later.
Conclusion
There are plenty of options in Salt Lake City, so find the right shop for the task. Determine your quantity, your binding, and your deadline first. Now ask the above questions before taking any quote.
For most manual jobs, Qualimage Printing is the sensible first call. this is a local family owned print shop, printing in both offset and digital. This implies that a run of twenty handbooks and a run of three hundred can be mentioned in the same place. It processes employee handbooks and safety manuals routinely. The service includes binding and finishing too.
Tell Qualimage Printing your number of pages, your quantity, and what kind of binding you’re looking for. Ask how much it costs and how long does it take? A short conversation now usually saves money later.