Kinko's and color copies

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Kinko's and color copies

posted @ Saturday, November 05, 2005 3:31 PM | 42 Comments

i was putting together a flyer promoting community user groups and i had some color in it — nothing fancy, just red and blue (note: the flyer was ALL text, no photography or anything — picture word doc with some text in color).

so i waited to the last minute and kinko’s would be the only one able to get it done in time (aside from another place about an hour from my house that i wasn’t willing to drive).

color copies: $.89/each — are you friggin kidding me? for the 1500 copies i needed, that is $1335 for paper. okay, so they’d give me a bulk discount — $.59 = $885. i asked for the company discount and it wasn’t much less. point being that i could have bought 2 color printers for less than it would be to print out these copies (sure paper and toner in the long run, blah blah, but i’m trying to make a point here). i decided i couldn’t justify it and opted for the b&w copies — how much you ask? = $45. that’s right, color copies were going to cost me at best 16X more than standard copies (same paper mind you). unbelievable in this day and age. i remember when kinko’s first started offering color copies and they were roughly $1 — now probably 10 years later, that price has only dropped 11 cents. unbelievable.

[UPDATE (27 JAN 2009): Since this post has caused some discussion, etc. I thought I'd do a check up on Kinko's pricing. I called my local store with the same specifications as my original job 3 years ago. Updated pricing: $.59/sheet standard color copy and $.39 for a bulk discount of 1500 copies. So that is still $585 or 13 times the cost of B&W copies.]

i also used their “print online” capability for a different one (that i would get color — there were only 4 of them) — convenient seeing how i live in the boonies and wouldn’t have to drive just to drop it off and have them tell me to wait 45 minutes for 4 copies. i hate consumer companies that take the cable company appointment approach (you know, “we can be there between 8–12 or 1–5). i know other customers are waiting — but it seems to me, you’d be able to get the small 4 copy guys out of the way and make them happy so you can get on to the 3000 copy, fold, binding, box jobs that those customers know are going to take a while — needless to say, i put my order in at 8am and as of 3:30pm it still isn’t done — 4 color copies people.

that color printer is making more sense by the minute.

Comments

Felicity

7/9/2008 5:29 AM | # re: kinko's and color copies

That's real, you could just buy an inkjet printer and let it take its time. It still probably would have been much faster than taking it to kinkos
Louie Campbell

7/10/2008 1:47 PM | # re: kinko's and color copies

I can print and ship your color copies to you at a much lower price.
Get ahold of me next time and we can work something out.
I own a small digital print shop and have a highspeed color copier.
Roke

7/24/2008 10:48 AM | # need color copies

I need 300 color copies mailed to Oakland CA. How much would it cost?
TBriggs

10/5/2008 8:44 PM | # re: kinko's and color copies

I didn't know that anyone still went to Kinkos for copies. try mycolorcopies.com
Robert Walker

11/15/2008 1:08 PM | # re: kinko's and color copies

I can print color copies for under 30 cents call us next time
Sir Speedy 954-584-2850 we can also ship them
Michael J

11/22/2008 3:33 PM | # re: kinko's and color copies

Here is a company that starts out at .12 per color copy with no minimums. Shipping Extra
http://www.355copy.com
Kathy

12/2/2008 4:50 AM | # re: kinko's and color copies

89 cents....that's a great price. I own 4 color laser printers...One toner cartridge is $100...each has 4...not counting the paper...buy your OWN and see how much it costs you.Those people are in BUSINESS, so get a LIFE! A toner cartridge does not go as far as you think. Its NOT buying the printer, the printers are cheap its the TONER. Thats how the printer manufacturers make their money on the ink and toner.Stop whinning and pay the price. I am, a professional photographer and KNOW all about the cost of printing!
Matthew Born

12/4/2008 6:10 PM | # re: kinko's and color copies

I'll have to say, Kathy, your response is much too emphatic. If you actually read and understood the context of what he is saying, you would know that he's referring to the ridiculously unreasonable markup on a simple document that has a little color, not a full-color photo print of the same size. The "toner" requirements and, therefore, overhead cost is quite different in each case.

I worked for a print shop that also had a few color laser printers and replaced $500 toner cartridges on a regular basis. If you play your cards right, ink for color copies generally costs less than 20 cents on that type of setup. And since Kinko's obviously has a larger amount of resources, it's safe to assume their overhead cost is similar or less. So the real problem here is an insane amount of markup that protects them from losing money on prints that require a lot of ink, but doesn't cater to people in Tim's position.

So, no Kathy, I don't care how professional you claim to be, but 89 cents is not a great price; it's a terrible price. In fact, I know several people who run into these same types of problems and end up wasting a ton of money on feeding corporate greed.

I am a student and KNOW a little bit about how to socialize.
Roe

12/5/2008 1:10 PM | # re: kinko's and color copies

Kathy, are you insane? Do you have any idea what you're talking about?

How can you say you know all about the cost of printing if you think 89 cents is a good price? And then you tell him to Get a Life??

I work for Docucopies.com and we have the cheapest prices on the Internet. We also have excellent customer service support, unlike Kinko's, and free shipping. Anyone who thinks 89 cents is a good price for regular color copies (not photo prints, whic are obviously more) has probably not done any research on it. That seems steep even for Kinko's prices.
Russ Jones

1/9/2009 5:21 PM | # re: kinko's and color copies

Anyone who thinks .89 is too high doesn't own there own business. The expense to provide the service for you involves a building loan, employees, workman's comp., insurance, equipment service agreements, attorneys to handle the person who feel down in the store and tore their shirt, signage, electricity, taxes, etc., etc., etc. Talk all you want about "corporate greed." I own a shop on Main Street USA and out of .89 I might put .10 in pocket.

Cheers
Charlie Scott

1/13/2009 7:54 PM | # re: kinko's and color copies

You don't need to pay 59¢ or anything close to that. A friend of mine recommended a site, http://www.bestvaluecopy.com/ to me, and not only was the price the lowest that I could find but the quality was great and it was shipped fast. I don't need to go to Kinkos anymore.

Good luck
Chris

1/14/2009 2:45 PM | # re: kinko's and color copies

Don't waste your money at Kinkos. I own a UPS Store in New York and will do them for you at .29 each with free ground shipping. Most UPS Stores are .39 with a walk in price...and the machines are faster than Kinkos and there isn't gum stuck to the bottom of the counters. www.theupsstore.com/5012.htm.
Rick

1/14/2009 2:57 PM | # re: kinko's and color copies

Well, being a printer in New Jersey, I can tell you, Printers are dropping like flies around here. I figure in the next ten years you won't really be able to walk into a print shop and actually talk to a person to do your printing. I do all the graphic design work here and I can tell you 99% of the people think they are designers, unfortunately they are so wrong.

If you think it looks great . . . great, BUT IS IT RIGHT? Probably NOT, but you saved a couple of bucks and it shows.

We had a carpenter come in and order bumper stickers, which I though was really cute, "Just because you have the same tools as a professional, doesn't make you one."

I believe this also applies to Kinko's, Staples and all the other places that offer printing...it's not printing.
So, if it cost cutting, you want, the don't complain when somebody does the same to you...i.e. plumbing, electrical, auto repair, etc, etc, etc...
Chip

1/15/2009 12:43 PM | # re: kinko's and color copies

The thing to remember about digital printing (copies) is that there are no economies of scale. A copy is a copy is copy. Whether it's $.89 or not, you don't get a break the more you print. With 1500 pieces, I recommend finding an offset lithographer (commerical printer). In offset printing, once the set up is complete, you only pay for paper, and paper is cheap. 1500 pieces is a great quantity for a printer that specializes in short to medium runs. At my company, PrintingForLess.com, for instance, we could have gotten those printed and shipped for you for $.25 each. On top of that, given you all the support you needed from professional who want your project to succeed. Check more on the differences between offset and digital printing here: http://tinyurl.com/9mdrcl
Louise Gillis

1/18/2009 1:33 PM | # re: kinko's and color copies

I concur with many of the comments. You don't need to go to Kinkos, Staples or UPS to get a good deal on color copies, black and white copies or digital printing nowadays. The internet has lots of companies offering better deals. I found this website, http://www.bestvaluecopy.com/ where I bought great quality color copies for 8 cents on one job and just 2 cents on a black and white copy job. I saved a lot of money and it was easy. I would have paid much more at a retail store and it was much easier to order.

Louise
Kenny

1/24/2009 12:16 PM | # re: kinko's and color copies

I work for Kinkos, and by the way color copies went down almost half the price of what is being discussed on this page over two years ago. Color copies start at .49 cents. We have no way of pricing it cheaper if it only has three lines of text in color. Are we to charge by the square inch of color? If you say yes then you would be in a even longer line and be dealing with even unhappier customers. Concerning UPS stores , I have just recently seen color copies from them . They looked terrible , not glossy , very flat and undefined. Also we offer price matching at Kinkos. Stop bitching and get a quote from a competitor , bring it in and get the same if not better price and a better product. All of our machines are serviced on a regular basis. Machines are not left in unorking condition for more then 24hrs. Our machines are up to date and changed out with newer models every two years. The UPS store close to me has to purchase his own equipment because he is franchised, and thus is using a outdated machine with bad quality. Many team members at kinkos get bogged down with projects and do roll their eyes or ask you to do it your self if you come to the full service counter asking for four copies. IT IS A FULL SERVICE COUNTER FOR A REASON. Come to the counter , give print instructions , get a turn around time, and leave your project to be completed. If it is a small job why not take care of things yourself ? As for the lady that brought in the script she had written herself, I would think you would be pleased that since the guy at the counter noticed a copyright he was protecting your document. You offered your license for proof, but upon first observation he surmised that you were like many other customers that show up at that counter with copyrighted work that don't know or don't care if a document is copyrighted.
Roe

1/27/2009 4:20 PM | # re: kinko's and color copies

First I must say, I find it hilarious that we are all on here commenting on a blog post from four years ago, trying to drive more traffic to our respective color copying and digital printing companies, each of us insisting that our company is better than Kinko's (and I don't think any of us have been wrong in that respect).

Why do we do this? It's obvious: we're all jealous that for some reason this completely irrelevant blog post always comes up number one or two for our most coveted keyword, "color copies." Like the old saying goes, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em -- so we're all on here posting links to our websites, trying to create more "link juice," thereby raising our respective positions in the search results.

The irony of course is that in posting here we are keeping this blog post fresh with new content, thereby perpetuating its position at the top of the search results! This is not good for any of us. Well, maybe for Tim, but not us in the business.

I urge Tim to turn comments off on this entry so that we all stop this bogus charade. I'm sure when he originally wrote this post and lambasted Kinko's for their terrible pricing and services, he didn't expect his blog to become a battlefield for search engine placement among Kinko's competitors. Perhaps he didn't even realize the significance of it until reading this comment.

Regardless, I think I speak for all of us when I say (with a touch of ol' Ron Reagan in my voice), "Mr. Heuer, tear down this comments section!" Let it expire and turn to dust. We need your totalitarian intervention here, because we will not, cannot, stop on our own -- it would be bad for business! But without a doubt it will be better for all of us in the long run.

Thanks,
Roe
Docucopies.com - color copies and digital printing
Roe

1/27/2009 4:27 PM | # re: kinko's and color copies

Oh yeah... for the record, we still have better prices than anyone mentioned in this comments section...

Ha! Zing!
timheuer

1/27/2009 4:34 PM | # re: kinko's and color copies

Roe - I find it amusing that people think this is irrelevant :-) -- it's only irrelevant because the companies that write me monthly, comment here with their URI's, etc. are not showing up on search results and their trying to find ways to change that. I get requests at least every other month for paid advertisements, or people offering to pay me to remove this post. Why? It's totally relevant. It's a blog. It's my opinion and rant about my experience with color copies and Kinko's pricing model at the time. So should I take something down and break search results? No, as an Internet professional, I value the concept of permalinks and ensuring that history is preserved when people link.

So you can rant all you want. People who are searching are searching for opinions, etc. Frankly I *want* people to share their experiences with Kinkos, et. Al. It is that type of citizen feedback that changes things. I had for a long time a post about a homebuilder and issues they caused me. Guess what, the homebuilder didn't get many sales for a while, had to change the way they serviced customers (as a result of my blog post), etc. Eventually there was some legal intervention that took place and it isn't here anymore. So if someone wants to provide some basis for that here, send your attorneys my way ;-).

Until then let me explain some search engine optimization 101 to some folks. The more you visit this post, the more people add comments, the MORE relevant it becomes to the search engines. Why? Because you just logged a click-through indicating that the result was relevant. Then you just added a RECENT comment indicating the information was still good (again, to a computer), etc., etc.

If color copier people want to comment here, then please feel free. I do, however, delete comments that are SHEER advertisements. I appreciate, at least, your note about the post and you actually read it :-)...oh and the Zing!
Roe

1/27/2009 4:46 PM | # re: kinko's and color copies

Interesting points, Tim, and I certainly respect your position. Nobody wants less hits on their blog, website, or whatever. And you're right -- all these posts do make it more relevant. Not just to search engines, but to consumers and readers as well.

I will however make a strong effort to avoid commenting again... the point's been made, and it only hurts us more to keep doing it... so good luck to you and your blog! (Ironically, I know one of our tech guys here is a frequent reader of yours so keep up the good work)
Richard Martin

2/1/2009 11:45 AM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

I agree that it is insane to pay more than $0.15 cents per color copy depending on paper weight, Our company sells color copies for $.08 cents each, and shipped the same day, we even offer free saddle stitch booklet making.
RIck
Paul

2/3/2009 1:19 PM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

I have a Kodak Nexpress 2100 plus and a Heidelberg DI Pro Digital press...

1000 pieces printed 4/0 with bleeds on coated - $227.00
Color copies as low as .09 on 60# offset.
Mailing service, full inhouse bindery...

Oh and did I say customer service? You are dealing with the owners, not some kid who could give a rats ass.

201-843-6556
pip683@pip.com
www.pip.com/paramusnj
Paul

2/3/2009 1:29 PM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

Oh, and by the way.... .89 cents? .50 cents? Ridiculous.

This has become a commodity. The only thing you can do to differentiate yourself is to provide excellent customer service. The value is in the finishing. Anyone that can push button can sell you a color print on a old color copier. They key is can they sell you a superior print on 120# coated cover, color dead on, three scores, no cracking,with variable information, direct imprinted for mailing, wafer sealed in 4 hours at a competitive price, then delivered to the post office and still make money.

We can.

If you haven't invested in your business, you will be out of business.

Kinko's sucks. If you want to put your livelihood in the hands of someone who doesn't care. Go ahead. I think you need to support your local small business. There are plenty of people that still care and are more competitive that the local chain variety or online whore we have come to know. Walmart, Kinko's and the like have destroyed small business and America as we know it...
Brent Alverson

2/4/2009 4:42 PM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

Yes! .89 is way to much! Check out this site they only charge .09 per color copy.
It's called www.justcolorcopies.com. Thanks for the post! B~
Matt Matterson

2/16/2009 10:56 PM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

Hell I am glad I stumbled upon this site! I couldn't dream up a better price comparison/color copy review site. Thanks Tim!
Dan Barton

2/17/2009 12:29 PM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

Tim, I have really enjoyed reading this blog and getting a snapshot view of the color copy business. We love Kinko's (now FedEx Office) and all the other national chains. They keep their prices on the high end of the scale and we can beat them all day long on price, service and turnaround. Next time you have a similar situation come up check us out. wwww.mycolorcopies.com
Marcia Shearer

2/17/2009 6:21 PM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

Hello, I am not in the printing business. I am a customer in need of a small copy job. 100 color 2 sided 28# white needed Friday, this is Tuesday. This information has been very interesting but not very helpful.

First, I won't even look at the site where the owner refers to a rats backside.

Next none of your sites will provide a price that includes shipping and add-ons so all of your quotes of .09 or .12 or whatever are worthless. In running estimates, bestvaluecopies was 150%cheaper than many others but want to charge $10 per pdf upload. I have 2 to upload for front and back so that doubles the cost for my small order. And I had to register to find that out.

The first one of your sites who is willing to give consumers a COMPLETE price and will give an estimate of when it will ship and how long it will take to get to me without making me register and upload will be WAY ahead of the game. I'm happy to enter my zip code for shipping estimates.

I'll risk paying a little more and not shopping around just to work with a company that is transparent. If you point out that the other guys aren't being transparent, that just helps me get-er-done all the faster with you.

At this point, I'm going to surf for a coupon and call Office Max down the street and see what they can do for me before I fill out 5 registrations to get a correct estimate from all you guys.

If this is because the technology to do all this is really expensive that is one thing, but I have a feeling you want me to go to all the trouble so when I find the extra fees I'll feel too invested and go ahead and submit the order. Is that what is going on? I can't stand feeling like I'm being played.
Ms Grid

2/24/2009 3:01 PM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

I just stumbled upon this site because I needed a cost comparison for a job I did. I have a color printer and printed 17K pages for a non-profit org. I am charging for the ink, but wanted to be sure they understood what a deal they are getting. With the best prices listed here (no shipping, taxes or other fees considered) my charge to them is at least half of what it would cost. Given, I am not charging for my time, electricity, etc.

But I wanted to point out that my printer gives me a reoprt about the amount of ink used for a job, so I can charge less for a text document with a few color lines than for a full page photograph. YES, I believe the technology is in place for us to be charged according to the cost. All of you copy/print companies need to get with the program! And Paul, that language was not necessary.
K. Hoyumpa

3/2/2009 9:02 AM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

For being a blog that is over 3 years old, the topic is highly relevant. It's no wonder why it is in top listings for color copies.

Anyway, Tim, if you haven't had enough pitches on color copy prices, let me put my two cents in. You can definitely find color copy prices well under $0.89 per copy, but there are few options for competitive prices and great customer service. Color copy prices at Color Copies USA range from $0.14 to under $0.05 per copy. They have very friendly service and always looking out for their customers. http://www.ColorCopiesUSA.com

Thanks for the blog post, Tim.
Paul Ivanushka

3/11/2009 10:31 PM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

I had a calander printed by A&I in Hollywood on an Indigo Digital press, four colors and it turned out great. This same press offers 4/0 for .50 each on the basic order of 50, it gets cheaper as it goes up. The print quality was far superior to any of the Laser copiers at Kinkos, UPS etc.
By the way, I have my advertising banners and signs done at Kinkos on Vine and Sunset in Hollywood, this is the only Kinko's shop in Southern California that knows what they are doing...seriously....I was in the print trade for 30 years. But eveyone needs to bear in mind that each reproduction technology has its limitations and capabilities. And Marcia...heres a rats ass to your politcally correct rats ass....Holy Moly!!! Good luck in the business world.
Nikki

3/12/2009 10:41 AM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

Kinkos is way over priced. My company sells 19 cents color copies with no minimums and resonable shipping. www.FreestateCopier.com
Blake

3/20/2009 11:26 PM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

I went to Kinko’s for Copies today in San Antonio they wanted .69 each color I laugh and said are you kidding me, the minimum wage worker just shrugged. SO yeah Kinko’s Copies are a Joke. I'm actually considering getting the INK refills for my little HP all in one and 2 reams of paper this should actually be a little cheaper than even the online offering .12 a copy.

Now a days with everyone having a printer and if you don’t know YES u can refill your cartridge JUST DO IT YOUR SELF.

-Blake
Blake Lemoi Computer Services
SaPcFix.com

IF ANYONE IN SA needs computer repair and references this Blog 25% of the Ridiculous-less-ness of Kinkos and Large Corperations Stealing our MONEY aka Geek Squad is my sworn Nemesis kids and computers dont mix
Kathy

3/25/2009 9:20 AM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

Kinkos here in Houston is promoting .49 color. Copy Doctor will do it for .29 on 28/70# paper. They have all new Xerox equipment too. No service issues there and great customer service! I have also seen that they ship. Check them out! www.copydr.com
Alex Krupinsky

3/31/2009 7:44 AM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

I don't think one needs to add any more comments about Kinkos, Staples or the local copy shops concerning their high prices. I thought some readers of this blog might be interested in our experience on the internet. We are publishers of financial documents and tried a couple of different online printers/copiers. Some of the online companies we used seemed inexpensive at first glance but were not and some did not have good quality or timely deliveries. We discovered this site, www.bestvaluecopy.com. We gave them a first test job which was small and it was shipped right away, was inexpensive and top quality. We tried them again with a big job and got the same excellent results. The internet is full of companies that are not providing what they promise, this company so far has done so.

Alex
Don

4/4/2009 5:38 PM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

That is amazing how high in the Google rankings this blog is :)

Anyway, I do wonder why:

A) Color printing at places like FedEx is so much higher than B&W, at this day and age of printing technology.

B) *IF* printing colors other than black (and mixing them to create photo-quality images) are so much more complex and expensive, then surely printing machines could calculate, to the smallest spec of ink or toner, just how much is needed for each print job, and price it accordingly. E.g., enter a digital file into the machine, and then it calculates the cost.

Printers do indeed need to make a profit, otherwise they go out of business and cease to exist. And most people who've never run a business have no idea about the real-world costs involved, and the difficulty of staying in black each month. But by the same measure, if a huge company like FedEx is sticking it to customers big-time on some particular type of print job, customers too have to watch their wallets and look to competitors for more reasonable pricing. That's the good thing about capitalism, competition, and the free flow of information (as can be found on internet blogs :) )
Mauricia Scott

4/20/2009 3:05 PM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

I cant tell you how helpful (and often hilarious) this blog has been! Thnak you everyone for your comments and suggestions. As a resulted of spirited discussion I was able to get a great price on the color copy job I need to have done and wonderful customer support. And to think I was actually on my way to Kinko's. BTW, I went with bestvaluecopy.com. Thanks Tim!
Nick Spence

4/21/2009 12:57 PM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

I’ve looked at other sites too and one thing that I’ve noticed is that most of these sites offer color copies on cheap copier paper which in my humble opinion doesn’t look very good. I tried these guys and their standard paper is that good laser paper that you get from kinkos’ and those other guys at great prices. With no minimums orders and no hidden fees they make it really easy to order as well, you might want to try them out. WWW.Colorprintsonline.com
Sue

4/22/2009 11:07 AM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

Forget the other guys. www.copydr.com is the way to go!
Mary Jo

5/1/2009 6:46 AM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

I would like to say that kinkos color copy prices have gone down to .49 cents a piece for 8.5x11,But I found a print shop/copy shop in west st.paul,mn that offers .25 color copies that are of excellent quality and .04 cent black & white copies with Free shipping of orders of $70.00 or more, check them out you want be dissapointed. www.newvisionprinting.tc
od_slave

5/14/2009 2:28 PM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

Well I can tell you as an Office Depot employee that our color copy cost is about 20.6¢ a copy. Black and white costs us about 2 cents. So even though OD/Staples/Kinko's charge 49-59 cents a copy, we are still making a good amount of money on our copies.

"Anyway, I do wonder why:

A) Color printing at places like FedEx is so much higher than B&W, at this day and age of printing technology."

Well speaking just from Office Depot we make a lot of IMU (initial markup, or in layman's terms, profit) out of the copy center. Most of the stuff back there has a huge markup to make up for other areas of the store (like technology and furniture items on sale) where we make little to no money, or even lose money when we can't get attachments on the sale. I can probably assume that Staples copy centers are the same way. There is a cost involved though, as I stated before. I do not know what factors go into the 20.6 cents a copy. I can assume that part of it is the cost of the rental of the machine, in addition to the toner cartridges, fuser modules, drums etc which are all very expensive parts. Hope this helps a little.
michelle

6/3/2009 9:18 AM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

Just wanted to say, please don't take this blog down, I'm doing research to find out the best solutions re: color copies for my company and this really helped out a lot. I just found out about 5 options (other than kinkos) that I can now go research. Huge help and these are 5 options I have never heard about before. For me it was the Kinkos $25.00 courier fee to deliver approximately 5 miles that sent me on a search. Each copy was approximately .60. Thanks for the great info.
Derrick

6/9/2009 6:57 AM | # re: Kinko's and color copies

Ditto, Michelle. I googled cheap color copies and up this popped. Thanks for the info.