Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here, you can find answers to the most frequently asked questions about our products and services. If you don't find the answer you're looking for in the FAQs, please contact our team, and we'll do all we can to help.
- Order
- Artwork and Prepress
- Production
- Packaging and Shipping
- Payments and Invoicing
- After-Sales
Order
It depends on the product.
For commercial printing products, and folding carton boxes, our MOQ is 100 pcs.
For card decks, our MOQ is 200 decks.
For simpler board games, our MOQ is 200 sets. With complex board games, our MOQ is 500 sets.
500-piece and 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles have MOQs of 3000 and 5000 pcs, respectively.
You may get an online quote for all products other than packaging, here: https://www.qinprinting.com/quote/.
For packaging products, go here: https://www.qinprinting.com/packaging-quote/.
Should you experience any difficulties, please contact us and one of our experts will generate a quote for you.
After receiving an online quote from our website, click “Get Shipping Cost” and enter your delivery address, zip code, and country. One of our sales representatives will provide a shipping quote for you.
You can get an online quote for most products. If your product has specific requirements and you cannot get an instant online quote, please contact us. Our sales team will provide a quote within 24 working hours. If you need a shipping cost estimate, click “Get Shipping Cost,” and enter your delivery address, zip code, and country, we will provide the shipping quote within 24 working hours.
You can cancel your order until we start production. Once production has started, it is no longer possible to cancel an order.
If production has not started, you can change the order quantity. Once production begins, the quantity cannot be changed.
If you have agreed to mass production, we will provide you with a sample first so you can make sure everything is to your liking before we go ahead. There is a small added fee for the provision of samples.
Yes. You may place a sample order here. The samples are free, but shipping fees apply. Once we receive the shipping payment, we will send the sample manual.
Yes. We can arrange for a third-party agency to issue CE or CPC certificates. However, you will need to cover the associated costs, which vary depending on the product.
If you are crowdfunding with Kickstarter and clearly state on your project pages that you are printing with QinPrinting, we can offer you a special discount coupon.
Yes. We offer FSC-certified and recycled paper stocks at your request and use biodegradable soy-based inks wherever possible.
That's up to you. We can print in black-and-white or color or both depending on your needs. Please note that our online quoting system is based on full color printing. If you want to print in black-and-white only, please contact us and one of our experts will generate a quote for you.
Yes. If you order packaging products with us, we can assemble the packages, load them with products, and carry out quality assessments on the products we load.
No, we don't add charges for urgent orders. However, we ask that you contact us first, before placing your order, so that we can agree an acceptable timeframe for production and delivery. Once agreed, we will go ahead with your order and you will not be charged any additional fees.
Artwork and Pre-press
The 0.125" or 3 mm bleed zone provides tolerance, which allows for cutting and binding. It guarantees that your artwork is perfect on the page without unwanted white margins.
We need high-resolution PDF formatted artwork (including a 3 mm bleed zone) for printing. Photos and images should be exported as vectors or with a resolution of at least 300 dpi to guarantee professional quality results. You may also provide us with original artwork and fonts with linked images.
Offset printing uses the CMYK color space. Most design software uses the RGB color space. The most efficient solution is for you to change the color space to CMYK when you export your print-ready files. If you don't know how to do this, ask us and we'll explain. But don't worry too much. If we receive your artwork in RGB mode, we'll change it for you before we go to press. However, as the colors can change a little when moving from one color space to another, we recommend that you prepare and edit your original photos and artwork in CYMK using an application such as InDesign.
It is recommended to use CMYK: Japan Color 2001 Coated
You can send us your artwork via email, to [email protected], or send us a link to Dropbox, Google Docs, etc. You can also upload your files to file sharing sites such as Sprend or Wetransfer and share the link with us.
A piece of paper is called a sheet. A single sheet has two pages, one on the front and one on the back. If you fold a sheet in half, it then has four pages, one at the front, two in the middle, and one at the back.
Please watch this video for step-by-step instructions.
Follow the instructions provided on this page.
We are an offset printing company, so printing is the core service we provide. We do not provide a comprehensive design service. However, unlike many printers, we are committed to offering significant design support. For example, we offer free downloadable design templates for book formats, flyers, posters, and more, along with an expert artwork file checking service and, of course, one-to-one advice and assistance for all our customers via telephone, email, Skype, and the online chat.
You can use Canva but we recommend Adobe InDesign and Adobe Illustrator for better functionality and a more professional experience. If you must use Canva, please select “file” then click “view setting” and then, “show print bleed” to set up the bleed lines before you begin your design. When you download your finished design, select “PDF print”, and check “Crop marks and bleed”. Select the CMYK color profile.
You can see how to create printing-ready files on different software on this page.
Yes. You may download templates for various products here:
If you provide the original artwork, including all fonts and linked files, we can assist with modifications. However, you must finalize the design.
Production
We'll start printing as soon as we've received the agreed deposit and you've approved the PDF proofs. Here's a quick breakdown of our production speeds for different products:
- Softcover books— about 5 to 10 days
- Hardcover books— about 2 to 3 weeks
- Carddeck — about 2-3 weeks
- Leaflets and posters — about 3 to 5 days
- Cardboard paper boxes — about 7 to 10 days
- Rigid boxes — about 2 to 3 weeks
- Custom board games — about 3 to 6 weeks
There are two ways to check the final product quality before shipment:
- We can provide a video or photos of the final product for your review—free of charge.
- We can send a final product sample to your address, but FedEx shipping fees will apply.
If we haven't started production yet, you may change your designs after you've placed an order. However, we will charge you a fee for any pre-production processes we've already completed, which the changes will affect. Once production starts, it's no longer possible to change designs.
We will send you a PDF proof as standard before we begin production. At your request, and for an added fee to cover the costs of manufacture and mailing, we can provide a full range of physical samples, including hard proofs, dummies, digital printing samples, and offset printing samples.
If you are running a Kickstarter campaign or need to showcase the production process to your audience, we can provide production videos and photos at no additional cost.
If the mistake is our fault, we will reprint an entire run for you at no charge after corrections have been made. If the error was on your side, we will reprint if you agree to cover the costs — which may be less than the original print run depending on the type of mistake made. However, mistakes are very rare indeed due to our thorough design support services — including expert, manual file checking — our attentive customer service, our expertise, and our rigorous quality control protocols.
We offer two types of samples:
- Hard proof + dummy: The hard proof color is 95% similar to mass production colors.
- Physical sample: This is printed using a digital printer, while mass production uses offset printing. Due to differences in technology, there may be slight color variations between digital and offset printing.
Yes. Please contact us before placing your order so we can schedule production accordingly. We do not charge extra fees for urgent orders.
Packaging and Shipping
We offer a timeframe guarantee once all pre-production procedures have been completed on both sides. In the unlikely event that we experience a delay and are unable to fulfil your order according to the agreed turnaround time, we'll offer you a discount against further services as compensation. While we can guarantee our production timetable, delivery times are necessarily estimates as transit may occasionally be affected by circumstances and conditions beyond our control. While we have long-established relationships with our reliable and trusted shipping partners, we trust you will understand that we cannot accept responsibility for goods once they have left our facilities.
It depends on how we ship. Usually, if the total weight is more than 700 kg, we will pack your goods in sturdy cartons loaded onto pallets. If the total weight is less than 700 kg, we will pack your goods and ship them in cartons without pallet-loading.
We take multiple measures to optimize the safety of the products that we deliver. We wrap them with packaging paper and then seal them into waterproof plastic bags before loading them into the cartons. We then load the cartons onto the pallets and further secure them with impermeable plastic shrink-wrap and heavy-duty tape. These measures make sure that your products are protected from movement and moisture during transit, so that they arrive in pristine condition.
We can ship by air or sea. For air shipment, our trusted partners are FedEx and DHL. For sea shipments, there are two options.
- If shipping over two pallets, we will ship by sea, complete customs clearance in your local port, and then complete delivery of the pallet-packed goods by truck.
- If the total shipping weight is less than 1000 kg, we will ship by sea, complete customs clearance in your local port, and then complete delivery with UPS Ground, FedEx Ground, or truck depending on your country. When shipping by truck, we'll pack your products in master cartons without pallets.
Our facilities are in Shanghai in China. We ship products from the Port of Shanghai to destinations all over the world.
For practical and security reasons, we do not ship to P.O. boxes.
Yes. We can split orders for shipping to multiple addresses, no problem.
Yes! Contact us to discuss your needs.
Yes, of course!
Yes, of course!
You may change the shipping method before the order is shipped.
Payments and invoicing
We ask for a 50% deposit before printing and the remaining balance before shipping. If you choose T/T payment, and the entire sum is lower than $2000 (US), we recommend a complete upfront payment to save on transfer charges.
We accept PayPal, international wire transfers, and third-party payment services such as Wise and Mercury.
Our bank account does not accept payments made from credit cards. If you want to pay using a credit card, you may do so, but you must pay via our PayPal account. PayPal charges 5% PayPal fee. You need to pay the PayPal fees.
We accept US, Australian, and Canadian dollars, UK pounds, Euros, and Chinese RMB.
The responsibility depends on the order's pricing terms:
- EXW, FOB, CIF, and DDU prices do not include import duties, taxes, or GST in your country.
- DDP price includes all applicable import duties, so you will not need to pay additional import duty fees. If it has GST, you need to pay from your side.
It depends on the payment method:
- PayPal: Instant payment processing.
- Bank transfer: Typically takes 1–4 working days.
- Third-party payment services (e.g., Wise, Mercury): Processing time varies, usually 1–5 working days after the third party sends the payment.
If production has not started and your product materials are not customized, you are eligible for a refund.
After-Sales
For any shipment made by air, we provide you with the tracking number for our shipping partners, FedEx and DHL. You can check the logistics information on their official website using the tracking number or contact their local branch and get the requisite information. For pallet shipments via sea, we will provide you with the Telex Release and Bill of Lading (BL) once the balance clears. You can use this to check the logistics information with the freight forwarder or contact them using the information provided on the BL. For carton shipments via sea, after the vessel arrives at the Long Beach port and our forwarder finishes the customs clearance in the US, we will provide you with a UPS ground tracking number. We always keep an eye on the delivery status from our end and can contact our delivery partner on your behalf if you wish.
Multiple measures are taken from our end in order to ensure that your products are perfectly secured for shipment via both air and sea. In the case of sea shipping, if you have opted for CIF (cost, insurance, and freight) or DDU (delivered duty unpaid), we also take out insurance against any possible damage that might happen to the products. If you have received a damaged product, the insurance company will pay compensation, which is equal to the cost of the products. Once we receive the compensation, we will provide you with a complete refund or reprint the products for you as you choose.
Yes. We provide a 100% quality guarantee. If there are any quality issues caused by us, we will reprint or issue a refund.
If there are any quality issues, please contact us within one month of receiving the mass-produced products.
Please reach out to the sales representative who handled your order. If they do not respond, you may email us at [email protected], and we will resolve the issue as soon as possible.