Two printing quotes in Dubai can differ by 300% for the same job and both be honest. The gap almost never sits in the headline price — it sits in GSM, lamination, how many sides are printed, whether the price is for group or dedicated printing, how many working days it takes, and whether the number includes VAT and delivery. Before you compare quotes, reduce every one of them to the same eleven line items. This guide gives you that checklist, plus real prices from our catalogue so you can see exactly how much each line item is worth in dirhams.
Why the same job gets wildly different prices
Here is the clearest example in our own catalogue. All of these are 1,000 business cards, 9 × 5.5 cm, full colour both sides:
- Art paper, no lamination — AED 89
- Matt laminated, 400 GSM — AED 139
- Matt laminated, round corners — AED 159
- Matt laminated with spot UV — AED 229
- Matt laminated with gold foil — AED 299
- Round corners, gold foil and spot UV — AED 379
- 760 micron, PET glossy, gold foil, round corners — AED 499
From AED 89 to AED 499 — a 5.6× spread, and every one of them is "1,000 business cards". If a supplier quotes you AED 110 and another quotes AED 340, you are not looking at a cheap printer and an expensive printer. You are almost certainly looking at two different products.
The eleven line items to normalise before you compare
1. Material and GSM
Business cards at 350 GSM versus 400 GSM versus 760 micron are three different objects. Flyers at 135 GSM versus 170 GSM are too: 1,000 A5 flyers at 135 GSM are AED 120, while 1,000 A5 flyers at 170 GSM are AED 270. That is a 125% difference caused by paper weight alone. Always ask for the GSM in writing — our paper GSM guide explains which weight suits which job.
2. Lamination and finish
No lamination, matt, glossy, velvet or soft-touch, PET: each is a separate process with its own cost. On business cards the step from no lamination to matt is AED 50 per 1,000 in our pricing. Read the lamination comparison before you decide what you actually need.
3. Number of printed sides
"Full colour printing" can mean one side or two. On flyers and brochures this is one of the biggest silent variables. Specify 4/4 (both sides) or 4/0 (one side) and the ambiguity disappears.
4. Special finishes, itemised
Spot UV, gold foil, round corners, embossing and die-cutting are each separate set-ups with their own plates or dies. Note from the list above what each one costs on 1,000 cards: round corners roughly AED 20, spot UV roughly AED 90, gold foil roughly AED 160. A custom shape pushes the same card from AED 139 to AED 225. We cover what each finish does in our guide to spot UV, foiling and embossing.
5. Group printing versus dedicated printing
Group ("gang") printing places your job on a shared sheet with other customers' jobs. It is dramatically cheaper and perfectly good for most work — but it means a fixed colour profile and a fixed schedule, so you cannot chase an exact Pantone. Dedicated printing gives you the press to yourself and costs more. A quote that does not say which one you are buying is incomplete, and it is the usual reason a cheap quote turns into a colour complaint. Our note on Pantone versus CMYK covers when it matters.
6. Quantity and the real break points
Unit cost falls fast but not linearly. On A6 flyers: 500 pieces is AED 180 (AED 0.36 each), 2,000 is AED 420 (AED 0.21), 5,000 is AED 590 (AED 0.12) and 10,000 is AED 850 (AED 0.085). Ordering 5,000 instead of 2,000 costs 40% more money for 150% more flyers. Before accepting any quote, ask for the next quantity break — it is often the cheapest upgrade available. Minimums work the same way, as explained in our guide to printing MOQs in Dubai.
7. Turnaround, in working days
Speed is a priced feature, not a favour. Standard business cards run 3–5 working days after artwork approval. Express next-day cards are AED 149 for 500 and AED 179 for 1,000, and a 100-piece digital run is AED 140 when you need a handful tomorrow. Compare the whole Express Printing range against standard pricing and you can see the premium you are paying for time. A quote without a stated working-day count is not comparable to one that has it — see what same-day and next-day printing can really do.
8. Artwork, design and proofing
Ask three questions: is a design fee included, how many revisions, and do I get a digital proof before production? Print-ready files supplied by you should carry no design charge. Files that need rebuilding do, and it is better to know up front. Use our print-ready artwork checklist to see whether your file qualifies.
9. VAT
Prices on our store are VAT inclusive. Many quotes in the market are not. A quote at AED 1,000 "plus VAT" is AED 1,050 — enough to flip a comparison between two suppliers. Make every quote inclusive before you line them up.
10. Delivery
Dubai delivery, delivery to Sharjah or Abu Dhabi, and delivery to Al Ain or Fujairah are not the same cost. For heavy jobs — 10,000 A4 flyers, boxes, roll-up stands — freight is a real line. Ask whether it is included and whether it is to a single address or several.
11. Reprint and defect policy
What happens if 3% of the cards are mis-cut, or the colour drifts on a group-printed job? A supplier who answers this clearly before the order is worth paying slightly more for.
Real price table: what each line item is worth
| Job | Specification | Price (AED, VAT incl.) | Unit cost | What the difference buys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 business cards | Art paper, no lamination | 89 | 0.089 | Baseline |
| 1,000 business cards | Matt laminated, 400 GSM | 139 | 0.139 | +AED 50 for lamination |
| 1,000 business cards | Matt + round corners | 159 | 0.159 | +AED 20 for die-cutting |
| 1,000 business cards | Matt + spot UV | 229 | 0.229 | +AED 90 for spot UV |
| 1,000 business cards | Matt + gold foil | 299 | 0.299 | +AED 160 for foil block |
| 1,000 business cards | 760 mic, PET glossy, foil, round corners | 499 | 0.499 | Premium stock + 3 finishes |
| 500 business cards | Express, next business day | 149 | 0.298 | Speed premium |
| 1,000 A5 flyers | 135 GSM glossy, 2 sides | 120 | 0.12 | Lighter stock |
| 1,000 A5 flyers | 170 GSM glossy | 270 | 0.27 | +AED 150 for paper weight |
| 5,000 A5 flyers | 170 GSM glossy | 840 | 0.168 | Quantity break |
| 10,000 A5 flyers | 170 GSM glossy | 1,360 | 0.136 | Quantity break |
| 1,000 A4 brochures | 170 GSM glossy | 610 | 0.61 | Larger format |
| 1 roll-up banner | 85 × 200 cm, stand included | 190 | 190 | Baseline display |
| 1 roll-up banner | 150 × 200 cm, stand included | 950 | 950 | Wide-format mechanism |
A quote-comparison template you can reuse
Put every quote into the same seven columns and the winner becomes obvious in a minute:
- Quantity and the next quantity break
- Size in millimetres, with bleed noted
- Material and GSM (or micron)
- Printed sides — 4/4 or 4/0
- Finishes, listed one per line with cost
- Working days from artwork approval, not from PO
- All-in total — VAT and delivery included
Then compare unit cost, not totals. Unit cost is the only figure that survives a change of quantity.
How to order without surprises
- Send the specification, not the question. "1,000 business cards, 9 × 5.5 cm, 400 GSM matt laminated both sides, round corners, delivered to Business Bay" gets a firm price the same day.
- Pick the product page where you can. Everything in Print & Marketing is listed with the specification and the price visible, so there is nothing to negotiate or discover later.
- Ask for the digital proof and check bleed, margins and spelling on screen before approving.
- Approve in writing and note the date. Working days count from approval.
- Confirm the delivery address and contact at the time of ordering, not on the delivery day.
FAQ
Why is one Dubai printing quote half the price of another?
Usually three reasons stacked: lighter paper, no lamination, and group printing instead of dedicated. Sometimes a fourth — the cheaper quote excludes VAT or delivery. Normalise all four and the quotes typically land within 10–15% of each other.
Is group printing worse quality than dedicated printing?
Not worse, but less controllable. Group printing uses a shared standard colour profile, which is excellent for flyers, cards and general marketing. If you need an exact brand Pantone or a precise match to an existing print run, ask for dedicated printing and expect to pay for the press time.
Should I always take the bigger quantity for the lower unit price?
Only if you will use it within the life of the design. 10,000 A5 flyers at AED 0.136 each is excellent value — unless your phone number changes in three months and 7,000 go in the bin. Match the quantity to the shelf life of the information on the page.
Are your prices VAT inclusive, and is delivery included?
Prices on our store are VAT inclusive. Delivery within Dubai is arranged with the order; Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates are confirmed per job depending on weight and address.
How many working days should I allow for a standard print job?
Business cards 3–5 working days, flyers and brochures 4–6, large format and roll-ups 3–5, and anything with foiling, die-cutting or binding 6–8 — all counted from artwork approval. Express routes exist for most of these; see our Express Printing range.
What do you need from me to give a firm price?
Quantity, flat size, material or GSM if you have a preference, number of printed sides, finish, delivery emirate and the date you need it. Six lines on WhatsApp is enough.
Send us the specification and compare properly
Message the spec on WhatsApp at +971 52 210 0909 or call 0522100909 and we will send a quote with every line item itemised — paper, finish, sides, working days, VAT and delivery — so you can line it up against anyone else's. Or skip the quote entirely and order at a listed price from Print & Marketing.
