Jim Lux wrote: [snip] > > I think FedExKinkos has pricing that's kind of out of whack here. (And > it's well nigh impossible to figure out what the price is.. it's > certainly NOT on their website anywhere) > > > Jim >
What I'm trying to point out, here, is that "out of whack" is no surprise. And, it only _starts_ with per page costs. This seems to be a store-to-store kind of thing and even a person-to-person kind of thing. At my Staples, the store manager enforces slightly different (and more economical) rules than the other employees do (apparently, their interpretation of what _his_ boss says is different than his). Moreover, for small quantities of print (which is what my QSL card runs are these days), any "extras" can change everything. So, it isn't all about the per page cost anyway. Small runs are best done with local printers, so it happens that I know a lot about approaching them for either QSL cards or manuals. In QSL cards, details like whether and how much they charge for card stock matters. Paper stock charges can be surprisingly stiff. Since (in the US) locally printed QSL cards are inevitably created by printing them four to a 8 1/2 by 11 inch sheet, the question of "cutting" them into the individual four cards arises. Printers have wonderful (hydraulic?) machines that can cut through a huge stack of paper, and very neatly, but they charge for it. I've paid anything from a flat four dollars to two dollars a cut (that's six to eight dollars, depending on the machine and my print run). It's a vendor pricing difference -- the machine seems to be about the same. Similarly, for printing a manual like the SDR 1000's, we'd be using "standard" 20 or 24 pound paper. That, at least has always been free. But, you'll want a cover, won't you? Be prepared for charges that are anywhere from reasonable to tremendous for that couple of sheets. And, who knows what kinds of bindings are offered or at what prices? Especially in a small print job (say, under 100 pages, certainly under 50), such details can sometimes overwhelm the per-page costs. My advise is to check out _all_ the details ahead of time before you submit for the print, even including strange seeming differences like how they deal with e-mail versus memory cards. If it's "whacky", check alternatives or even call the next guy in the phone book. Someone will be reasonable. Larry WO0Z _______________________________________________ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archive Link: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ FlexRadio Knowledge Base: http://kb.flex-radio.com/ FlexRadio Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
