If you have ever printed with one of the big Financial Printers, please try to find your last invoice. Chances are the invoice includes as many as 15 line items for each document. Many of these line items are purposefully abstruse, and some are simply absurd. Below you will find a translation from Invoice-ese into Real-talk. If you see any of the following line items on your print invoice, they should raise a red-flag.
Let’s start with a simple one:
- LINE ITEM: “Page(s) duplicated from a previous file and processed into new document”
- TRANSLATION: “We’ve already created this part of the document in the past so no new work was necessary. However, we are taking this opportunity to bill you for the work once again.”
Here’s are two related doozies:
- LINE ITEM: “File(s) converted to PDF”
- TRANSLATION: “Although it takes only 1-2 seconds to create a PDF, that won’t stop us from charging you for it.”
- LINE ITEM: “Electronic Digital Book Proof”
- TRANSLATION: “We already charged for creating a PDF proof of your document, but we also want to charge for sending a fancy proof too. It only required a moment of time, but nonetheless… ka-ching.”
I saved my absolute favorite for last:
- LINE ITEM: “Email(s), per address”
- TRANSLATION: “We think we can get away with charging to send you an email, as if there was another way for us to send you your proofs.”
We here at RDG Filings have typeset & printed many thousands of Annual Reports, Proxies, and Transactional Documents, and we find it neither necessary nor reasonable to charge for processes that only require a few clicks of the mouse. We provide both print quotes and print invoices that are simple & transparent.
RDG Filings offers fast turnaround, high-quality printed material, and quick delivery to transfer agents from our NYC area press facilities.
We will be happy to get a No-Obligation Quote for you. Please contact us anytime!
Stewart Walker
415.643.6017
