Excerpt from Ed's "Hey Ed?" Book

Don’t be shy...
Bug your production guy

They may look a little stressed, but secretly, they actually kind of like being asked about stuff. If they give you a frown when they look at your piece and say that it’s too expensive and it’s budget busting – don’t let them kill your idea. Challenge them, ask them lots of questions. Believe me, they want to work on cool stuff just as much as you do, they may just need a little time to gather their thoughts and do a little research. Who knows... they may even come back with something that makes everyone smile.

Request Samples
Don’t feel the need to second guess

There is nothing wrong in this day and age to still ask for paper samples, paper dummies or draw downs for your project. While you may not always get the time, your vendor will be more than happy to work with you on getting these samples. If time is an issue and you need to see paper samples without interacting with your printer, you can contact your local paper merchant or the paper mill directly. Although they won’t cut the paper down to size, they will ship you full sized sheets. If your even more pressed for time, places like Xpedx or Hudson City even have local stores where you can walk in and purchase a ream or two of one of the papers they represent. While they may not have everything in stock, it’s great for picking up a box or two of envelopes or matching blank sheets of your stationary stock.

Website address for Paper Merchants:

Xpedx

Hudson City Paper

Fred Parsons

Lindenmeyr Monroe