Greetings, and thank you for your interest in Whiplash Design & Print Services.
My name is Michael A. Marks and I am the president, creative director and website administrator of Whiplash DPS, Inc.
I founded Whiplash in 2003 with the express purpose of offering quality graphic design and printing to the small business community at affordable rates. (You can learn a little more about me here.)
I initially started with a few small but steady clients and an optimistic view of the future. Over time, while business grew (primarily by word-of-mouth) I began to seek out and establish important relationships with only top quality print and promotional product vendors in order to offer my customers even more products. Soon after I began offering website design and hosting.
Today, I am proud to say I offer a wide catalog of products built on solid relationships with print and promotional product vendors from California, Nevada, Kansas, Ohio, Miami, Orlando, New Jersey and a few in between.
Because of my low overhead, and established network of partners-in-printing, I am able to provide my customers quality, selection and pricing that is hard to beat.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call. Office hours are Monday – Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.
I thank you for taking the time to visit the site and I look forward to working with you on your next project.
Michael A. Marks
President / Creative Director
F.A.Q. (Frequently Asked Questions)
Q: Are you an in-house printer?
A: No – And we don’t pretend that we are. We could point you to a countless number of web sites (including a few Jacksonville, FL “printers”) pretending to be in-house printers which actually aren’t. Frankly, we don’t know why they do this but we do question the integrity of those that do because there is no reason for it. There is nothing new or unusual in being a print/promotional product retailer. Graphic design and advertising agencies have been providing this service for as long as they have been around.
Additionally, most print companies outsource some of the products they provide simply as a matter of business. Most printers have the machinery and resources to provide some print products. However, very few have the capabilities to provide every product or simply lack the ability to be compete with the those printers who specialize in one or two particular products so they outsource in order to remain competitive.
As a design and print service provider, Whiplash Design and Print Services has an established network of printers and promotional product manufacturers who sell wholesale within the industry. Most promotional products can only be purchased from authorized dealers – like us. It is this established network which allows us to offer the vast range of products at the great prices as we do.
Q: Where are the prices?
A: We seek out the best prices for our product catalog from multiple vendors. One vendor may have the best prices on car magnets but not post cards. Another vendor might have the best prices on post cards but not brochures. We check our product prices monthly and are in the process of getting easier pricing tables on the web site as time allows. Currently, we have pricing tables available for business cards, and are working on the brochures, post cards and flyer prices.
Q: What is gang-run printing and do you use it?
A: Gang-run printing is the process of running multiple print jobs on a single sheet of paper rather than running single jobs individually. This process maximizes resources and time, thereby reducing cost all around.
Gang-run printing is run to “pleasing color” which means the pressman checks ink densities for set standards for black, grays and whites (or a PMS color) to ensure color consistency. Since most inks and colors have known standards in the print industry, maintaining consistent quality prints is not an issue, except for those printers who don’t want to be around for long.
Most wholesale print providers utilize gang-run printing and therefore, in most cases, so do we. In cases where a project has specific, color matching needs, we work with one of our local print vendors in order to be able to monitor the work and personally view printed press proofs before approval to begin production. If your job has specific color or bindery needs, we will work with you to get the job done right.
Q: What is your hourly rate for design?
A: Current rates for design are $45.00 per hour for 1 to 4 day turnaround. The full rate schedule can be found here.
Q: Do you provide just the printing or do I have to get design?
A: We provide “print only” service all the time. We also provide free pre-press file checks to ensure your files will print OK before they go to print.
Q: When is payment due?
A: All print and promotional products require payment in full after final proof approval in order to begin production.
All design projects require a 50% deposit and payment in full after final proof approval in order to receive finalized design project file.
Web site designs require a 50% deposit; further payments are made on a pre-approved “milestone” basis; full payment is required for a web site to “go live”.
Web hosting fees are separate from web design fees and are charged separately.
Q: What kind of payment do you accept.
A: We currently accept credit card payment via PayPal and send email invoices to initiate payment. We accept checks for customers with established credit.