The recurring cost in this trade is unusable artwork and unclear specifications. A site that explains file requirements, publishes standard product pricing, and takes a proper brief removes most of the back and forth.

The problem the site can actually solve

Most enquiries in this trade require a conversation before they can be quoted, and most of that conversation is the same every time.

What size. What material. How many. What is it for. And, repeatedly, the file they have sent is a low-resolution image pulled from a website and cannot be used at the size they want.

Every one of those is answerable in advance, and a site that does so converts an exchange of six messages into one.

File requirements, explained for people who do not know

The most valuable page a print or signage business can publish.

Customers do not know the difference between a vector file and an image, why a logo from a website will not scale, what resolution means for a given size, or why colours look different printed than on screen.

A page explaining those in plain terms, with what you can accept and what you cannot, saves the conversation and positions you as helpful rather than obstructive.

What it should cover: acceptable file formats, the difference between vector and raster in one paragraph, resolution requirements by output size, colour mode, bleed and safe margins, whether fonts need converting, and what happens if their file is unusable.

That last point matters. Saying you can recreate a logo, and what that costs, turns a rejection into a service.

Pricing what can be priced

Standard products in this trade have standard costs and should be published.

Business cards, flyers, and common signage sizes at standard quantities. What the quantity breaks are, since customers do not know that doubling the order rarely doubles the price.

What moves the number: material, single or double sided, finishing, and turnaround. Rush charges in particular should be stated, since a customer discovering one after committing is a complaint.

For custom work, publishing standard products anyway establishes your position, which is what a customer needs to decide whether to enquire at all.

The two audiences

Businesses with artwork ready, who want a price, a turnaround, and a way to upload a file. They are comparing suppliers and want as little friction as possible.

Customers with no artwork, who need design as well as production and frequently do not know they do.

The second group is more profitable and less well served. Stating that you design as well as print, and what that costs, captures work that would otherwise go elsewhere or not happen.

Signage specifically

A different business from print and deserving its own section.

What it involves beyond producing the sign: site measurement, whether you install, whether a permit is required, and electrical connection for anything illuminated.

Permits for exterior and illuminated signage are set by municipalities and vary considerably, so the useful framing is that requirements apply, that you can advise, and whether you handle the application, with the municipality named as the authority rather than the rules restated.

Vehicle wrapping, where offered, is another distinct service with its own considerations: how long the vehicle is needed, surface preparation, and what happens at removal.

Turnaround, stated honestly

The second most common question and frequently vague.

Standard turnaround per product type, what rush options exist and what they cost, and crucially when the clock starts, which is on approved artwork rather than on the order.

That distinction causes most of the disputes in this trade. A customer who ordered on Monday and approved a proof on Thursday counts four days you do not.

Saying it plainly at the outset prevents it entirely.

Proofs and approval

Worth explaining because it protects both parties.

Whether a proof is provided, in what form, how many revisions are included, and that production begins on approval and errors after that point are chargeable.

Colour is the specific caution worth stating: that screen colours differ from printed output, and that a physical proof is the only accurate representation where colour is critical.

The rest

Photographs of actual work installed, since a sign in a photograph on a real building is the argument. Equipment and capability, which trade customers assess. Local delivery and installation area. And a straightforward upload route, since asking somebody to email a large file is where enquiries stall, and the file formats they will need are the same ones described in what a logo needs to do.

Frequently asked questions

What problem should the site solve?

The repeated conversation. Size, material, quantity, purpose, and the fact that the file they sent is a low-resolution image that will not scale.

What is the most valuable page?

File requirements explained plainly: acceptable formats, vector versus raster, resolution by output size, colour mode, bleed, and what happens if their file is unusable.

Should print prices be published?

Standard products should be. Business cards, flyers, and common signage sizes at standard quantities, plus quantity breaks, which customers do not understand.

What is the under-served audience?

Customers with no artwork who need design as well as production and frequently do not know it. Stating that you design, and what it costs, captures work that goes elsewhere.

What causes most turnaround disputes?

When the clock starts. It runs from approved artwork rather than from the order, and a customer who ordered Monday and approved Thursday counts days you do not.

How should signage permits be handled?

State that requirements apply, that you can advise, and whether you handle the application, naming the municipality as the authority rather than restating rules that vary.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

Same six messages on every enquiry?

We publish the file requirements and the standard pricing, which turns most of those exchanges into a single upload.

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