Questions to ask before you sign a print contract

Print contracts are long, and the expensive parts are rarely the parts anyone reads out to you. This is what to ask before signing — of any supplier, including us. Print it, take it to the meeting, and write the answers down.

Use this on us too

We supply print, so we're one of the suppliers this checklist is aimed at. That's deliberate. If we can't answer these as readily as we're suggesting you demand them, you've learned something useful about us for the price of asking.

1. What am I actually signing?

  • How many agreements is this? Usually two — finance for the machine, service for everything else.
  • Who is each agreement with? The finance one is often with a leasing company you've never dealt with, not the supplier in front of you.
  • What is the term of each, and do they end on the same date? Mismatched end dates are how people end up paying for service on a machine that has gone.
  • What notice do I have to give on each, and how? Get the method as well as the period — in writing, to which address.
  • What happens if I miss that window? Month-to-month, or a further fixed term?

2. The money

  • What is the total across the full term? Payments plus expected click charges. Not the monthly figure — the total.
  • What is the cost per page, mono and colour?
  • Is there a minimum volume, and is it assessed monthly, quarterly or annually? Annual assessment absorbs a seasonal business far better. This matters more than the headline rate for a lot of organisations.
  • Can the rates rise during the term? By how much, how often, tied to what, and is it capped? “In line with RPI” and “up to 12% annually” are very different promises.
  • What is inside the click charge and what is not? Toner, drums, fuser, parts, labour, call-outs, staples. Ask for the list of what is excluded, which is the more revealing question.
  • What will be billed separately, ever? Delivery, installation, training, network configuration, relocation.

3. If something is being replaced

  • What is the settlement figure on my existing agreement? As a number, in writing.
  • Is that being rolled into the new agreement, and where does it appear? It should be visible somewhere, not just absorbed into a monthly figure.
  • How does the total of the new term compare with simply running the current agreement to its end? This is the question that decides whether an early upgrade is a good idea.

4. Service, when it actually goes wrong

  • Response time to what? A phone call, a remote session, or an engineer physically on site. These get quoted interchangeably and they are not the same.
  • Measured from where, during which hours? Four hours from a depot twenty minutes away is not four hours from the other side of the country, and neither applies at 9pm if cover is business hours only.
  • What happens if the response time is missed? A target with no remedy attached is not a commitment.
  • Who actually attends? Your own engineers or a subcontractor.
  • Is there a loan machine if mine is down for days?
  • How is toner triggered? Automatically on meter readings, or do we have to notice and ask?

5. The equipment itself

  • Is it new or refurbished? Both can be fine. You should know which.
  • Is it sized for my real volume, or for the volume that makes this quote work?
  • Can it handle the media we actually use? Heavier stock, envelopes, labels, long sheets — if any of that matters, say so before rather than after.
  • What are the finishing options and what do they cost? Stapling, folding, booklet-making. Cheap next to the staff time they save.

6. Data and security

  • Does the device store images of what it prints and scans? Most multifunction devices do.
  • What happens to that storage when the machine goes back? Ask for the process in writing. This matters a great deal if you handle patient, pupil, client or financial records.
  • Can jobs be held until the sender is at the device? Secure release. Worth having wherever devices sit in shared space.
  • Where do scans go, and who can reach them?

7. Getting out at the end

  • What exactly do I have to do to end this?
  • Does anything renew automatically if I do nothing?
  • Who pays to collect the machine?
  • What condition does it have to be in, and what is chargeable if it is not?
  • How is the final meter reading taken and billed?

8. The supplier

  • How long have you been an accredited dealer for this manufacturer?
  • Can I speak to a customer of about my size, in about my sector?
  • What is your commercial interest here? Anyone reviewing your existing contract while also quoting to replace it should say so without being asked.

The three that catch most people

  1. Total across the full term, not the monthly figure.
  2. How the minimum volume is assessed, and what happens in a quiet period.
  3. The notice period, and the date it has to be served by.

If you only write down three answers, write those. Our cost check gives you the first one for your current contract in about a minute, which is a useful number to walk in holding.

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