While digital marketing is extremely important for small businesses, there is still no substitute for good printed marketing materials. Typically, businesses need business cards, letterhead, brochures, and postcards, but numerous other printed materials can help you develop your brand. These include signage and promotional materials such as branded merchandise and giveaways—especially helpful if you regularly launch events as part of your marketing.
Using a local printing company is certainly an option. Many are quite excellent, especially for business owners who want to immediately touch and feel samples and paper stocks to make creative decisions. However, overall, there is little to match the convenience and wide product selection of online print companies. Most of these companies also offer their own design software to help you customize premade templates or create your materials from scratch.
We’ve rounded up nine of the best online printing services for small businesses. We’ve looked at cost, convenience, quality, features, and product selection to find the best company to help you with your printing needs.
- VistaPrint: Best for all-around printing needs
- Canva: Best direct-to-print design application
- GotPrint: Best for budget-friendly printing options
- UPrinting: Best for custom packaging
- 48Hour Print: Best for custom labels and stickers
- PsPrint: Best for business letterhead
- SmartPress: Best for marketing on demand
- Moo: Best for high-quality custom printing
- Greenerprinter: Best for sustainable printing
Best Online Printing Services At a Glance
Cost to print 500 4”x6” Postcards | Online Design Tool | Our Final Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $49.99 | ✓ | 4.07 | 4.93 |
 | $100 | ✓ | 4.38 | 4.72 |
 | $39.60 | ✓ | 3.98 | 4.65 |
 | $88.33 | ✓ | 3.90 | 4.65 |
 | $59.88 | ✓ | 3.73 | 4.37 |
 | $59.12 | ✓ | 3.85 | 4.37 |
 | $87.98 | ✓ | 4.17 | 3.94 |
 | $142 | ✓ | 4.27 | 3.89 |
 | $107.41 | ✕ | 4.08 | 3.73 |
VistaPrint: Best for All-around Printing Needs
Pros
- Offers a wide range of print and digital marketing services
- Provides good value and fast turnaround
- Wide selection of customization options
- Free logo maker
Cons
- Fewer size options for business cards than some other vendors
- Brochure costs are higher than some other providers
Quantity | Business Cards | Standard Postcard* | Trifold Brochure |
|---|---|---|---|
2”x3.5” (US standard); 2-sided color, glossy 14pt stock | Full-color, 4”x6”, standard paper weight, two-sided, gloss front only (or matte on both sides) | Full-color, standard weight, gloss finish, 8.5”x11” (flat) | |
100 | $14.99 | $25.99 | $112.99 |
250 | $22.99 | $39.99 | $183.99 |
500 | $24.99 | $49.99 | $237.99 |
1,000 | $39.99 | $74.99 | $313.99 |
5,000 | $159.99 | $197.99 | $779.99 |
Size Options in Inches |
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*Vistaprint also has postcard mailing services starting at $59.48 for 50 recipients, for a postcard size of 4.2”x5.5”. | |||
VistaPrint is the 800lb gorilla of all the online print services. Since its founding in 1995, VistaPrint has steadily grown into the leader in the printing services industry with one of the widest printing catalogs, trusted by hundreds of small businesses nationwide to print marketing materials. If you need a robust selection of printing solutions with good value, fast turnaround, and good customer service, VistaPrint is the first option to consider.
Starting with business cards, VistaPrint may have somewhat fewer size options than some of the other vendors, but they more than makeup for it with a vast range of stocks (even durable and plastic), finishes like embossing and foil, innovative shapes such as circles and “leaf,” and even eco-friendly options like bamboo and hemp paper.
All of its materials can be easily customized within its drag-and-drop design tool, whether you’re starting from scratch or from one of its attractive design templates searchable by finish, industry, or style.
For promotional products, VistaPrint gives a crazy selection of almost everything under the sun, and every product can be mocked up to show how it will look when finished. You can also design a logo with its logo maker tool. I’ve used VistaPrint with my own clients in the past and found that the vast product selection and mockup tools offer lots of inspiration to upsell new promotional materials.
Another unique feature it offers is Near Field Communications (NFC) business card technology which allows you to electronically beam your contact card or a custom business landing page directly to a smartphone by touching the card to it. While it’s an impressive technology, the quantities are highly limited (20 maximum) and expensive at around $30/card. QR Code business cards are also available, cost-effective, and readily understood by customers.
However, what NFC illustrates is VistaPrint’s continuing innovation in both print and digital to create comprehensive, connected omnichannel marketing experiences. VistaPrint offers a website builder through Wix that can integrate with your whole suite of saved marketing materials within your VistaPrint user account.
Our Expert Opinion
Unless you are looking for specialty features that VistaPrint somehow lacks, this is your go-to print and digital resource for marketing materials to build your brand presence. With a vast panoply of products to choose from, few business owners will need to go elsewhere. Unless you are a professional designer, VistaPrint offers powerful, user-friendly tools to do it all yourself, making it our overall best online printing service. Icing on the cake? All of this is offered with great pricing and excellent customer service.
Canva Print: Best Direct-to-Print Design Application
Pros
- A flexible and versatile design tool with a wide range of template options
- Competitive pricing for most products
- Great if you already use Canva for designs
Cons
- Less sizing options than other competitors
- Hard to get an overview of product pricing compared to the competition
- No eight-page booklet printing
Quantity | Business Cards | Standard Postcard | Trifold Brochure |
|---|---|---|---|
2”x3.5” (US standard); 2-sided color, glossy 14pt stock | Full-color, standard paper weight, glossy, 4.25”x5.5” | Full-color, standard glossy, 8.5”x11” (flat) | |
100 | $20 | $34 | $86 |
250 | $35 | $55 | $150 |
500 | $45 | $100 | $205 |
1,000 | $90 | $180 | $270 |
5,000 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Size Options in Inches |
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With an ample selection of beautifully designed templates, such as social media, infographics, webpages, and printed materials, Canva has defined the new paradigm for plug-and-play graphic design. Furthermore, you can customize these templates with a giant library of images and design elements, and you can even pull in and save your company’s brand elements and colors.
Once you’re done designing (or customizing) your marketing materials, such as business cards, flyers, or posters (to name a few), you can send your designs directly to Canva Print for online printing services. This feature greatly extends the value of Canva as a design application and gives you seamless on-ramps to online printing. After finishing a design, simply send it off for printing and wait for it to be delivered to your door.
Canva’s Print service allows you to take your designs directly from concept to reality and displays mockups along with product size and color options. (Source: Canva)
Canva’s pricing is quite competitive for simple products like business cards and postcards. Canva Print allows you to order various products, including promotional and gift items (e.g., t-shirts or drinkware), and even signage.
Our Expert Opinion
While almost all of the providers reviewed offer a design tool on their websites, none offer the same level of flexibility and design options as Canva. If you work extensively with Canva already (and like it), the Canva Print service is worth considering over any other printing companies reviewed here.
GotPrint: Best for Budget-friendly Printing Options
Pros
- Budget-friendly printing options—good for large-quantity orders
- Lots of standard-size options for business cards and postcards
- Organizes templates and products by industry
Cons
- Not the most imaginative templates
- Promo items are more personal gift-oriented
- Direct mail only offers postcard sends
Quantity | Business Cards | Standard Postcard | Trifold Brochure |
|---|---|---|---|
2”x3.5” (US standard); 2-sided color, glossy 14pt stock | Full-color, standard paper weight, glossy, 4”x6” | Full-color, standard glossy, 8.5”x11” (flat) | |
250 | $27.30 | $28.80 | $104.92 |
500 | $31.50 | $39.60 | $140.84 |
1,000 | $42.70 | $52.80 | $160.60 |
5,000 | $126 | $158.40 | $330.88 |
Size Options in Inches |
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GotPrint, as the name implies, is a no-frills, low-cost option for virtually any printing need. But this doesn’t mean low quality—it offers a wide selection of quality products and options and great pricing, particularly as quantities rise.
It has helpful industry-specific pages on its website to help you focus on those materials most commonly used in your business vertical. Industries presented include automotive, beverage, education, event marketing, fitness, political, real estate, and retail.
GotPrint also has a print brokerage service that allows small business owners to act as retailers for GotPrint, extending print services to their clients. These arrangements are very helpful for small marketing or design agencies who want to build their own profit center around printing for clients without owning the equipment.
If you’re looking for design help, GotPrint offers different Silver, Gold, and Platinum level design packages for each type of project. The prices vary widely by product, but for each, the amount of logos and images (one to two, three to four, or five or more) and the number of revisions (four, six, or eight rounds) are set by level. Design packages can be included with the order at checkout to make it simpler to get the ball rolling.
Our Expert Opinion
If you’re looking for good print services, especially for large quantities, GotPrint is a great option to consider. If you’re on a budget but are ready to pull the trigger on a big order, run the numbers with GotPrint before you shop around. It may just save your company big on your next job.
Digital vs Offset Printing
Digital printing is a printing method that transfers digital images and text directly onto a material using toner and ink. It’s what most modern and at-home printers use. Meanwhile, offset printing, aka analog printing, is the traditional printing method that uses a rubber blanket to transfer an image from a metal plate that in turn transfers the image from the press to paper.
By using a water-based solvent that resists ink in non-printable areas, the process lays down ink in several passes (usually four) to put down the traditional CMYK colors (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black). Additional plates or separations can be added for custom inks like Pantone colors, or even specialty colors like metallics or varnishes for a very bespoke printing product.
While digital is almost used for smaller print runs (usually for quantities less than 200 to 500), the offset is much more cost-effective for large ones because of the initial setup costs, but quickly gets cheaper as larger quantities are run.
UPrinting: Best for Custom Packaging
Pros
- Offers the best custom packaging options
- Good variety of sizes for business cards and brochures
- Vast selection of products, from business cards to packaging, to merch
Cons
- Long turnaround for eight-page booklets
- Weak template selections
Quantity | Business Cards | Standard Postcard | Trifold Brochure |
|---|---|---|---|
2”x3.5” (US standard); 2-sided color, glossy 14pt stock | Full-color, standard paper weight, glossy, 4”x6” | Full-color, standard glossy, 8.5”x11” (flat) | |
250 | $35.27 | $78.16 | $169.13 |
500 | $39.19 | $88.33 | $208.65 |
1,000 | $54.87 | $97.57 | $244.60 |
5,000 | $169.14 | $284.90 | $605.50 |
Size Options in Inches |
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UPrinting is a comprehensive printing company, not only for marketing materials but also for packaging and specialty items of all kinds. If you are in the retail or restaurant industries or even something as specialized as golf, Uprinting has off-the-shelf solutions for your printing needs—and yes, even including customized golf balls. Packaging items include things like product boxes, box sleeves, gift wrapping, pouches, and wine carriers.
If you need to design your specialty items, UPrinting provides a design tool that sets up the correct artwork sizing, but, unfortunately doesn’t provide much in the way of templates. Simpler items like postcards or brochures provide a bit more detail in the templates but no images or placeholder text to inspire—just some words of guidance, such as “Add your promotion” or “Additional details here.”
Uprinting stands out for its exceptional selection of product packaging options. (Source: UPrinting)
Luckily, UPrinting does offer custom design services. However, it requires a call to its customer service phone number to discuss, and no additional details or parameters are provided on the website. Overall, UPrinting is probably best utilized by small businesses needing packaging and with in-house design savvy or an agency on tap to get the best results.
Our Expert Opinion
If you’re in a business that requires packaging, such as retail or food and beverage, UPrinting excels in this area. Just ensure you have a good design resource to help create your packaging designs. There are some great local agencies specializing in the needs of small businesses that can help, and once they know your brand, they can help you take it in any number of directions.
48Hour Print: Best for Custom Labels & Stickers
Pros
- Great selection of labels and stickers
- Fast turnarounds
- Good direct mail options
- Wide range of standard card and brochure sizes
Cons
- Very plain design templates
- Design tool is not particularly user-friendly with small controls
Quantity | Business Cards | Standard Postcard | Trifold Brochure |
|---|---|---|---|
2”x3.5” (US standard); 2-sided color, glossy 14pt stock | Full-color, standard paper weight, glossy, 4”x6” | Full-color, standard glossy, 8.5”x11” (flat), five-day turnaround time | |
100 | $23.26 | $35.44 | $59.01 |
250 | $35.04 | $59.88 | $118.04 |
500 | $43.73 | $70.89 | $159.02 |
1,000 | $56.30 | $85.55 | $243.88 |
5,000 | $156.79 | $207.79 | $602.60 |
Size Options in Inches |
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All pricing is based on a five-day turnaround | |||
With a name like 48Hour Print, it better be fast. In fact, some of the materials on its website, such as business cards and brochures, are offered with a one-day turnaround. Still, speed is not its only strength. It also offers a great selection of products at competitive prices.
Another plus is the direct mail services. Unlike many providers here, 48Hour Print offers postcards (flat and folded) and brochure mailing rather than just standard postcard mailing. You can provide a mailing list or purchase one through 48Hour Print.
But the real standout feature? 48Hour Print has one of the companies’ best selections of custom stickers and labels here. If this is a big part of your business, you may want to look at 48Hour Print. It has several materials, including vinyl, metallic, and reflective sticker material and any kind of die-cut shape you specify.
To design your products, you can use 48Hour Print’s somewhat limited selection of design templates and its web-based design and layout software. Unfortunately, while not unfriendly, the user interface uses a single toolbar across the top, which ends up feeling too small and dainty on most monitors. Ironically, stickers and labels are one product category where templates are not offered.
Our Expert Opinion
While a company like UPrinting offers a better selection of packaging options than 48Hour Print, keep in mind that having a range of product labels and stickers gives you a flexible and low-cost option for customizing a wide range of product packages without fully committing to expensive package printing, especially for market testing. For this purpose, 48Hour Print is our top pick.
PsPrint: Best for Business Letterhead
Pros
- Offers a large template library
- Very competitive pricing for most items
- Provides a strong library of video tutorials and testimonials
Cons
- Very limited promotional items
- Some templates feel dated
- The design tool is slow to update
Quantity | Business Cards | Standard Postcard | Trifold Brochure |
|---|---|---|---|
2”x3.5” (US standard); 2-sided color, glossy 14pt stock | Full-color, two-sided, 14-pt gloss cover, no UV coating, 6”x4” five-day production time | Full-color, 100-lb gloss text, 8.5”x11” (flat), five-day production time | |
100 | $20.19 | $34.23 | $91.67 |
250 | $28.16 | $53.41 | $168.82 |
500 | $33.53 | $59.12 | $197.26 |
1,000 | $43.73 | $74.64 | $222.39 |
5,000 | $127.70 | $218.03 | $461.42 |
Size Options in Inches |
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*Prices indicated are for printing services only. Prices increase for printing and mailing services. | |||
A division of Deluxe, the well-known check printing company, PsPrint offers an exhaustive range of niche business print products like hang tags, business stationery, and yes, checks.
While it offers templates, the selection is fairly basic, and some designs seem dated (hot-air balloon background for your business cards, anyone?). The design tool is fairly user-friendly, though it is a bit slow to load and update. Ultimately, it gives a pretty nice balance between control and ease-of-use.
PsPrint offers a great selection of templates across numerous products and industries, though the designs are less inspired than those from VistaPrint. (Source: PSPrint)
If you are looking for branded merchandise, however, PsPrint is not a platform I recommend. While its range of niche printing products for business, such as roll labels, forms, and stationery, is quite excellent, it doesn’t offer marketing swag, such as apparel, drinkware, or other gifts. For this, companies like VistaPrint and Canva are better choices.
PsPrint does offer a good selection of direct mail services, including Every Door Direct Mailing (EDDM) and custom mailing services. To learn more about which printers offer direct mail, check out our article on the best direct mail services.
Our Expert Opinion
PsPrint is a solid, quality printing company with a good selection of marketing materials at good prices. If you expect to need a wide range of both internal and external printing services, PsPrint is a solid choice for your business. Just know that if you want fun swag and gifts, you must go elsewhere.
SmartPress: Best for Marketing on Demand
Pros
- Exceptional quality printing, especially for booklets, notebooks, and calendars
- Strong support section with numerous informative articles
- Reseller Program
- Marketing on Demand platform
Cons
- No templates or designer tool
Quantity | Business Cards | Standard Postcard | Trifold Brochure |
|---|---|---|---|
2”x3.5” (US standard); 2-sided color, glossy 14pt stock | Full-color, standard paper weight, glossy front paper stock, 4”x6”, three-day turnaround time | Full-color, coated matte, 80# paper stock, 8.5”x11” (tri-fold), five-day turnaround time | |
100 | $43.97 | $38.23 | $64 |
250 | $51.04 | $56.05 | $130.07 |
500 | $61.79 | $87.98 | $229.05 |
1,000 | $84.64 | $116.57 | $321.24 |
5,000 | $260.59 | $312.16 | $1,115.9 |
Size Options in Inches |
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SmartPress is a print company focused on creativity and quality. It is definitely one of the more expensive overall for basic marketing materials, but its booklet and brochure printing stand out for quality, selection of formats, materials, and finishes. It offers the usual saddle-stiched (staples on the fold), but also coil, perfect binding, and hardcover options. For annual reports, high-end product catalogs, and even coffee table-worthy portfolios.
Its promotional product apparel section is nowhere near as broad as VistaPrint, but the products are of high quality and often innovative compared with the normal range of blanks offered for printing by other providers. The printing options of most products are limited, mostly one-color imprinting on t-shirts and embroidery on high-end items, such as fleeces and polos. It offers custom woven socks that stand out for being fun and innovative.
The website is appealing with clear and easy-to-use product and print option selectors, and striking examples that showcase the breakout creativity of their projects. One pet peeve of mine is having a field instead of a drop-down menu for quantity selection, making testing quantity versus price options a bit tedious, but it’s a minor nit.
SmartPress excels at attractive high-end booklets such as annual reports and portfolios. (Source: SmartPress)
More concerning is the lack of design templates or mockups. PDF layout guides are provided for all products and size options, as well as advising layout, bleed areas, etc. SmartPress is definitely not for DIY business owners without design experience. You’ll probably need a designer with print experience who can harness the full power of SmartPress’ high-quality print capabilities. Since SmartPress doesn’t offer in-house design help, you’re on your own for a designer.
The Marketing on Demand platform gives users across an organization the ability to customize, reprint, and fulfill products from a branded library. (Source: SmartPress)
However, what potentially makes up for this issue is the white-label Marketing on Demand platform available to customers with a $50,000 or greater yearly print and marketing spend. This unique feature allows multiple users across an organization to design and print branded and pre-designed assets from a customer portal. This system saves templates and branded elements for reuse and allows specific customizations as needed, such as changing addresses for different store locations for example.
Our Expert Opinion
SmartPress impresses with the quality of its products, especially its booklet printing. If you are designing a very high-end shareholders report, or you’re a creative wanting to really impress with your catalog or portfolio, look no further. Just make sure you have your designs dialed in for production, and you may want to work with a pro for the best results. If you are a multi-location business with ongoing print needs, the unique Marketing on Demand feature is definitely worth a look.
Moo: Best for High-quality Custom Printing
Pros
- Very high-quality printing
- Unique high-end branded merchandise
- Strong customer satisfaction guarantee
- The Printfinity option allows multiple variations of a product within a single print run
Cons
- The most expensive provider in our test
- Limited merch item selection
- No direct mail services in-house
Quantity | Business Cards | Standard Postcard | Trifold Brochure |
|---|---|---|---|
2”x3.5” (US standard); 2-sided color, glossy 14pt stock | Full-color, standard paper weight, glossy, 4”x6” | Full-color, standard glossy, 8.5”x11” (flat) | |
250 | $87.50* | $95 | $175 |
500 | $147.50* | $142 | $320 |
1,000 | $250.00 | $181 | $450 |
5,000 | $1250.00 | $617 | $1,300 |
Size Options in Inches |
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*Prices for these quantities are rough estimations based on quantities of 200 and 400, according to Moo’s unique quantity pricing structure for business cards. | |||
Based out of both the UK and the US, Moo is more expensive than many of the providers on the list, but the quality of the products is considered in many consumer reviews to be quite excellent. Beyond a customer satisfaction guarantee, Moo promises you will be delighted with your order or it promises to make it right.
The branded promotional products are especially attractive and high-end though somewhat limited in selection compared to some of our other vendors in the test. Of special note are its notebooks which one might expect to see in a gift store in Soho in New York, or its sleek water bottles and thermoses.
Though they have a somewhat limited variety, Moo offers some attractive, high-end branded merchandise options. (Source: Moo)
It offers a nice variety of templates for most products, that you can then customize. For some, like brochures, you can choose from alternative page layout choices (or use them all in your print job). You can also upload your own artwork or start designing within its provided design and layout tool.
Moo offers design services as part of its business services offering. Sign up for one of three plans: Business Boost ($99/year), Business Advanced ($299/year), and Reseller ($149/year). Of these plans, the reseller plan is focused on the needs of clients you serve as a business. These plans offer design services, preferred pricing and customer service, and a specially designed customer portal for saving and reprinting your marketing materials.
Moo offers a feature called Printfinity that allows users to create multiple variations of a design within a single print job. (Source: Moo)
The most outstanding feature of Moo, in my opinion, is its Printfinity feature. With business cards, postcards, and stickers, you can combine several different designs in a single print run, giving you numerous variations of your branding to hand out to clients. For artists, such as painters, sculptures, and photographers, this could mean business cards with different pieces on each one, giving you the option of sharing just the right image with a potential client.
Our Expert Opinion
If you are looking for the lowest printing costs, Moo is not for you. It prides itself in high-end, quality printing and excellent customer service. If you have a creative business and want something innovative, such as the Printfinity feature or unusual high-end merch, Moo is a unique option to meet your printing needs.
Greenerprinter: Best for Sustainable Printing
Pros
- Most comprehensive sustainability options for papers and inks
- Strong environmental and social policies
- Full range of direct mail services
Cons
- More expensive than most other providers in this guide
Quantity | Business Cards | Standard Postcard | Trifold Brochure |
|---|---|---|---|
2”x3.5” (US standard); 2-sided color, silk 16pt stock | Full-color, standard paper weight, glossy, 4”x6” | Full-color, standard glossy, 8.5”x11” (flat) | |
100 | $41.03 | $80.92 | $86.41 |
250 | $42.63 | $86.77 | $132.40 |
500 | $50.92 | $107.41 | $204.17 |
1,000 | $101.07 | $120.32 | $282.83 |
5,000 | $231.96 | $309.06 | $918.35 |
Size Options in Inches |
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Once upon a time, buying more sustainable printing products entailed a significant financial sacrifice. With Greenerprinter, this is no longer the case. Based out of the California Bay Area, this company pioneered direct-to-press (DTP) printing and sustainable offset printing. It uses recycled paper stocks, soy or algae-based inks, and a comprehensive sustainability policy for its operations.
However, Greenerprinter doesn’t offer as many standard-size options for its printed materials, which is its biggest drawback. Except for the standard size for business cards, all other sizes are completely custom, which will likely impact overall costs.
Also, Greenerprinting does not offer any custom design and layout tools on its site. In some cases, there are downloadable templates (in PDF and Adobe InDesign formats), giving the size and printable areas but little else. Unlike a company like VistaPrint that inspires and guides you through a whole design and printing process, you’ll need to have it all designed beforehand.
However, Greenerprinter does offer a very comprehensive range of end-to-end direct mail services including EDDM postcards, booklets, and mailers. It provides list services, tabbing, and addressing as needed, and even personalization through variable data printing.
Our Expert Opinion
While it’s one of the more expensive printers on this guide, Greenerprinting is still reasonable considering its products’ quality and cutting-edge environmental features. Sustainability in particular is more important than ever for today’s consumers, who increasingly prioritize brands that follow ethical processes and share their values.
All of the companies we reviewed offer some eco options for paper stocks. Hence, unless you are really looking to support and demonstrate the deepest environmental commitment to your customers, there are less expensive and more user-friendly ways to deliver great printing that is kind to the earth. But if you’re looking for the greatest positive environmental impact with your marketing materials, look no further.
How We Evaluated Online Printers
For my evaluation, it was not feasible to run print tests on all of the listed providers, and the resulting samples may not be representative of a typical outcome for a customer. Instead, I relied on several other criteria to evaluate these printing companies to give you the best answer.
40% of Overall Score
Our pricing tables show you a representative sample of printing costs based on some of the most common marketing materials ordered: business cards, postcards, and brochures. I gathered pricing at typical quantity levels between 100 and 5,000 units for comparison.
Wherever possible, I made the print products identical not only in size, but also in the use of paper, finishes, and turnaround times. If you require specialty items not presented here, all of the providers have excellent pricing calculators for your ready comparison.
I chose to weigh pricing strongly as a highly important factor in best addressing the needs and concerns of our small and medium-sized business (SMB) readership.
40% of Overall Score
I looked at the range of services provided across all companies, including the availability of branded promotional products, signage, direct mail, design templates and applications, and design or business services. I evaluated and weighed all of these available options for the providers.
The user-friendliness of designing and ordering products with templates, design tools, and price calculators was a significant factor in considering features.
A wide range of options, products, and services was considered important for SMBs who value convenience and the ability to meet as many of their business needs as possible with a single vendor wherever possible.
20% of Overall Score
In the end, the aggregated customer experiences for these companies give an accurate picture of the print quality, speed, and overall satisfaction with these companies. For this purpose, we compiled and aggregated average customer reviews from the leading customer review sites G2, TrustRadius, and Trustpilot, adjusted to a five-point scale.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
While there are several great online printing service providers we have reviewed here, we found that VistaPrint is the best printing company overall for several reasons. First, VistaPrint offers the widest selection of products in virtually every product category. The second is its fast turnaround time and excellent pricing. Finally, VistaPrint offers a few unique and very desirable features, including its excellent design tools, a logo maker, and even a website builder through Wix.
Very little actually, but if you are specifically looking for a product or set of features that VistaPrint doesn’t offer, there are a couple of alternatives to consider. For example, if you are looking for a white-label marketing to print platform, SmartPress offers this feature uniquely. Also, while VistaPrint has a good selection of product packaging, UPrinting is known for its very extensive offerings in this area.
Depending on the print product you are looking for, different vendors may offer the cheapest pricing for that item at your desired quantity. However, in our analysis of commonly ordered products (business cards, postcards, and brochures), we found that the overall price winner was GotPrint, followed by 48Hour Print and VistaPrint. Of course, as always, the key to economical printing is finding a well-priced vendor and ordering a sufficient quantity to enjoy lower pricing.
Not exactly. While online printing companies do in fact “print on demand,” that term specifically refers to companies that offer specialty merchandise printing for entrepreneurs to resell for a profit, such as gifts or apparel. Meanwhile, online printing companies offer a wide range of printing services for business needs online, such as marketing materials, promotional products, and even tradeshow items and product packaging. This means you can order what you need printed via these companies’ websites, and they’ll print and deliver them to your door.
Bottom Line
While there are several great online printing companies to satisfy your small business printing needs, the ones that made this guide distinguished themselves with their value, features, and customer service. Of these, VistaPrint stood above all others for its great pricing, a vast range of products for all industries, excellent templates and design tools, and customer service.
