1.How can I get FERR samples?

We offer free samples which we printed for our clients before.

If samples based on your printing file, we will require samples cost, but it could be deducted from the total order amount if order amount is big.

What is the lead time for China production?

Working overseas has its advantages, but also does require a bit of planning when it comes to lead time. Typical turn times for China printing projects are 6-8 weeks including shipping, depending on your location. Of course larger or more complex projects will require more time. In this month's newsletter we offer some tips for managing China production lead time

China Production Timing?

1. PRE-PRODUCTION: 

Dummy (white sample) preparation time: While Express Courier each way is normally only 2-3 days, in all this may add a week or so to preparation time. For special paper and cloth materials that require additional order times or complex produ

Preflight and file ready time: For suppliers with professional preflight software, it takes as little as one hour to check hundreds of pages. Since the software is only capable of finding general problems such as low-dpi photos, pages without bleed or color space problems, a manual check is required as well to detect other innacuracies such as incorrect spelling or missing page numbers.

2. PRODUCTION:

Production itself requires about the same amount of time in China as anywhere else. If the item requires a lot of hand labor, less time is generally needed due to the possibility of adding many laborers to the job. However it is wise to make sure that all requirements are clearly stated and all production conditions clearly understood before the job begins, as any confusion will cause unnecessary delay.

3. SHIPPING: 

While production time in China may be the same or less than that of your local printer, shipping time indeed makes the difference. The below chart provides some rules of thumb you can use to plan your shipping time: 

North America: 25-30 days for East Coast 
               15-20 days for West Coast 
South America: 25-32 days 
Australia: 13-15 days 
Europe: 25-30 days 
Japan: 3-7 days 

In addition to the actual shipping time, you must take into account the time for customs clearance (usually 2-3 days), GST Settlement (Australia) and potential delays due to additional customs inspections, poor weather conditions or other unforeseeable events. 

Tips for speeding things up?

Communicate clearly what you want in writing, preferably with samples and/or photos, so that preproduction and production results will be more accurate. 

If the product is simple and you trust your supplier, forego some lesser sample stages and accept photos and reports instead. China Printing Solutions International provides a "Preflight report," “Prepress Proof”, “Firstbound Production Samples” and a "Final Inspection Report with Photos" to enable your inspection and feedback at each critical step. This will save you time compared to sending the real sample to you directly. But this method has its risks, better to allow needed time. 

Partial air shipment is the fastest way to get the final samples on hand for urgent use, but it’s usually very expensive to do so. The rough FedEx fees are around $20/kg to Australia, $28/kg to US/UK and $45/kg to South America or South Africa. 

Look for ways to speed up shipping. For instance, sailing to the East Coast of the United States via the Panama Canal is cheaper but takes longer. Full containers will clear customs faster. If using multiple containers, you should plan to ship them one by one. 

What NOT to do....fail to leave enough time and then push your supplier excessively to finish faster. While something can usually be done, “Haste makes Waste” and nothing slows a job down like a rework. If you can’t leave enough time, perhaps the job is not suitable for China or your planning is not realistic. 

 What file types do we accept?

We prefer PDF, but we accept ALL file types from ANY platform. While there are some preferred file types since modern print production primarily uses these in its workflow. We happily accept Corel, Publisher and other files types created on a Macintosh or PC.