A lot of prep work is needed to properly reproduce an image, whether for conventional printing, screen printing or sign making. The scope of this work entails the following: Opening and checking your file to see if the resolution is high enough for reproduction, that all support files are present (fonts/pictures/special profiles), editing file for color output (conventional/sign making) or breaking out spot colors for screen printing. Once we have done this, we have to send you a proof (electronic is free, but no guarantee on the colors, a hard proof is an actual representation of the job to be printed, it has a separate charge in itself)
Once all that is done, films are output and put together. In screen printing we also include in this price the coating of the screen, burning and preparation of the screen, and reclaiming the screen to start the process anew.
Set up and prep charges are pretty much based on time and materials used, and since we have a lot of experience, we are able to do this process quickly, which saves you money.