The answer is many things.
Everyone wants their quote returned via superfast post (well, email) and often within the hour. And while we try our best to be as efficient as possible, through experience we've discovered that it's rare that a job can be quoted without any questions being asked. Ultimately, the more information you can share with us in your initial inquiry the more helpful it is. You might not know everything at first, and you certainly might not know some technical aspects, but whatever you can tell us will help the process. It will allow us to provide you with a quote sooner, and a more comprehensive estimate from the off.
For example. when quoting cut vinyl lettering and decals, we need to know how much material we will use. So seeing your artwork, even a first draft, will help us work this out.
There are a variety of aspects for us to consider for every job: What's the size? Where are the graphics going? How long will they be up for? What materials do we need to use for production? Do we need to organize an installation? What's the job deadline? To name a few.
Even when quoting some seemingly simple A1 posters we'll need to know if they're being used inside or outside and if you would like our standard satin paper or something different like a matte or gloss stock.
If it's a big job, please allow us some time for our team to digest the brief or spreadsheet before we start putting the quote together. Also, if it's a site-specific project, we might need to, or recommend, undertaking a site survey first to see the venue or location for ourselves. Sometimes this is to take measurements, sometimes it's to see what the wall surfaces and floors are made from, sometimes to see how the installation accessibility is.
We welcome the opportunity to quote for you and ultimately produce the work. Most importantly, we're here to help. So feel free to ask us questions too, even before you send us an email asking for an estimate. Below we've put together a shortlist of things to think about when you send us your brief. We hope to hear from you (again) soon.
Here's a helpful list of things to consider when asking for a quote. Of course, you might not need all of the below, only some, but they're worth considering before pressing send on the email –
Do you know the sizes of the graphics you require?
Do you know the quantities needed?
Do you have dimensions for any wall, window, floor, etc you are applying graphics to?
Are your graphics going on the inside or outside of a window?
Are your graphics going onto a wall? Is the wall painted? Do you know what paint has been used?
Do you have artwork (even rough artwork) we could see?
How long are the graphics going to be used for?
Do you know what material or production method you need?
When do you need the graphics for?
Do you need us to install the graphics for you?
Would you like to arrange a site visit?
Would you like us to deliver your graphics? If it's to multiple addresses, do you know how many and what the locations are?
And lastly, when do you need the quote for. Be realistic, it's helpful to us to have as much time on an estimate as possible because ultimately we want to be able to quote you as comprehensively as we can, first go.
Hopefully, this has been a helpful read. If you need to know anything else or would like to send us something over to estimate for you, send us an email to print@thegraphicaltree.com, give us a call on 020 7580 4405 or even pop-in to our W1 studio and say "hi".
