I was recently asked by a colleague about marking up the cost of printing, and what is “fair”.

“I’ve been in the design industry for a few years now and I’ve recently started building up freelancing. The one thing I’m having issues with is trying to figure out is how much to markup print costs. I’ve seen anywhere from 15% to 100% from people. My past company I worked for did 100-200+ % markup on printing cost. I’m trying to figure out what is an ethical amount to markup since I’d be doing all prep work, checking proofs, talking with printer and press checks.”

For those who don’t know, “Markups” are fees (separate from the creative or design fees) that a designer or agency will add to costs for outside services – printing, copy writers, photography, delivery charges, materials, etc. – bought for a specific project. This markup is considered compensation for the experience, research, quality checking and other such time that is required to complete the project, as well as administrative time for coordinating everything. Markup is also compensation for the risks associated with the responsibility for paying those outside service providers regardless of when, or even IF you are reimbursed by your client.

My response to the question was this:

“This is a tricky area for anyone in the industry. It can be a touchy subject for clients who do not see the value in the work and time that you will provide in this production and quality control stage of the project.

There is a wonderful guide that I often refer to called “Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines” – you can get it at most book stores. They offer a lot of advice about such matters, based on industry standards. That said, however, I do not follow their recommendation for marking up my print costs. I have found that what they recommend is too high for what my clients are willing to pay.

Just like with setting your rates for design, you will want to consider all of the same factors (i.e. your experience level, what the market will bear, the complexity of the project, etc.) It may require some experimentation to find the sweet-spot that works for you and your clients. Larger companies can demand a higher markup just because they have that name, experience and size behind them. It is much harder for a freelancer to get a high markup approved by a client. But what ever percentage of markup you settle on, make it global for ALL of your clients. You don’t want to upset one client, whom you charged 50%, who finds out that another of your clients was only charged 25%. Also, make sure your client knows about the markup from the very beginning. Surprising your client with this add-on cost midway through a project can be a relationship killer.

I generally follow the 30% rule. I have determined that my clients are OK with a 30% markup – any more and they start looking for ways to “trim the fat” elsewhere in the project. I make sure that they know what the markup is for and why it’s an important service to them. Having the designer handle the project from concept to finished, delivered product is always a value add to the client. Some clients may not catch on at first and will chose to handle it themselves, but after they do it once, they realize it’s more economical and a lot less frustrating just to pay you to do it. Another thing to consider is that this markup also provides a buffer for you to negotiate the cost of the project. If you feel that a client may be wavering, you can reduce or “100% discount” the markup, thus providing a price break for a good client without eating away at your design fees (which are never enough to cover how much work ACTUALLY goes in to a project, anyway).”

Something to also consider as a freelancer is to not leverage yourself with the burden of handling the cost of printing at all. You can introduce your client to a printer that you trust will do the job to your standards, and you can even negotiate a fee to press-check the job to guarantee the client will get a quality piece, all without the need to be on the hook for the actual printing costs. Let the service provider invoice the client directly. If the client doesn’t pay, you are not left holding the bag. That said, brokering the printing, or coordinating other outside services does make for an attractive “package-deal” for a client who may not want to deal with the hassle and will see an economical advantage to pay you extra to handle it… just be certain that you will be covered. Contracts work well for this.