Frequently Asked Questions
Placing Your Order
You should receive an email with a link to your proof within 2-8 business hours after uploading your file. Be sure that you checked the box telling us that uploading is complete!
Most jobs ship 5 to 7 business days after proof approval. You have the ability to request Rush production on some print jobs, which reduces production time by 1-2 business days. Shipping can take anywhere from 1 to 5 days depending on your location and the shipping option you select. Please refer to our Turnaround Time calculator for more details.
In most cases, we will ship you a slightly higher quantity than you ordered, at no additional charge. Sometimes, we may ship a slightly smaller quantity than you ordered. Printing industry trade standards allow for overages and underages of up to 5%. If you will be sending your print order to a mailing processor or need a guaranteed quantity, we suggest that you order at least 5% over the minimum quantity you need. We digitally weigh all orders that leave our facilities to ensure that the correct number of pieces are delivered to our customers, or to outside mail processors. We are not responsible for errors, waste, or spoilage that occurs at outside operations like mail processors.
Mailing and Postal
Yes, absolutely! Please refer to our Mailing Services page for more details. You can include your mailing list as part of the file upload process available after ordering.
At a minimum, your list needs to have fields for Name, Address, City, State, and ZIP. Addresses that are printed on your mailed pieces are limited to 5 lines. Your list may contain other fields, such as Business Name, Title, Address2, Address3, etc., but we will only use the fields that we need for mailing purposes, plus any others you specify within the 5 line limit.
When you are entering your selections in the Product Options calculator, you can choose your desired service (Standard, First Class Presort, or First Class Non-Presort), and quantity to mail. The resulting price for mailing includes postage and a small handing fee for basic list processing, sorting, and taking your mailing to the Post Office.
For First Class Non-Presort, there is no minimum quantity. For First Class Presort, the minimum quantity is 500 pieces. For Standard, the minimum quantity is 200 pieces.
The USPS requires that all discounted mail - any mail not stamped with a first class stamp or metered with full price postage - comply with the National Change of Address (NCOA) requirements. Please refer to our Mailing Services page for more details.
Starting Monday, November 23rd, 2008, the USPS mandated that all discounted mail (any mail that isn’t first class stamp, or metered with full price postage) comply with the National Change of Address (NCOA) requirements. Each year, millions of individuals and businesses move or relocate. Mailing lists that are not updated with change of address information may contain invalid addresses in excess of 15% or greater.
The bottom line is that the USPS is cracking down on undeliverable mail. In order to comply with the new NCOA postal regulations, all mailing lists that are supplied to Conquest Graphics by our customers must be processed against the updated USPS change of address database. Customers who use our mailing services will have two choices:
- Customers who supply mailing lists that are already updated must supply a completed USPS Form 6014, which certifies that the list has been updated. A copy of your completed Form 6014 will be submitted to the local Post Office along with the other required postal paperwork when we drop your mail.
- Customers who supply mailing lists that are not updated against the USPS NCOA database will need to have their lists processed. We will provide NCOA list processing as a fee-based service. Please note that we can also add the field "Or Current Resident" at no additional charge. Please call 1-800-707-9903, or contact us at customerservice@conquestgraphics.com for NCOA pricing information for your project.
NCOA processed lists are valid for 95 days. Any lists that have not been validated in 95 days will require re-processing. Again, this is a USPS rule, and is not specific to Conquest Graphics. We strongly suggest that customers contact us with their NCOA questions.
As a general rule, we will CASS certify and sort your mailing lists(s) prior to mailing your project. CASS certification adds ZIP+4 ZIP codes to your mailing data where possible, and ensures that the addresses in your list meet USPS formatting standards. It also allows us to use postal barcodes, which enhances deliverability, and allows your mailing to qualify for postal discounts.
Yes. Just contact us at customerservice@conquestgraphics.com, or call us at 1-800-707-9903 to request that your processed list be returned to you.
Your mailing pieces need certain clear spaces to allow for bar coding, addressing, and permit information. This helps ensure that the mailing piece meets regulations for your selected mail service and that important information isn't covered up in the addressing process. Read more about mail design standards.
Yes, we do accept and ship international orders, however we adhere strictly to custom requirements and do not accept international orders online. Please call 1-800-707-9903, or customerservice@conquestgraphics.com for pricing.
Yes, we do offer inserting services (inserting items into envelopes). Please call us at 1-800-707-9903 for more information.
Postal permits are specific to certain post office locations. If you have a postal permit that is assigned to a main postal processing location in Richmond, VA or Eudora, KS we may be able to use your permit. Otherwise, all mailing services that we provide will be mailed under our postal permit.
Yes, you can select a mailed quantity that is less than the total printed quantity in our RapidPricing calculator. The remaining pieces can be shipped to the shipping address that you specify when placing your print order.
We use coatings and ink-jetting equipment that enable address information to be printed on your pieces without any problems. If you are going to have us aqueous coat your pieces, and then ship them to another location to be mailed, we will include information about the correct inks to use so that the mailing pieces can be addressed correctly. However, we cannot guarantee that another mailing service will be able to successfully address your aqueous coated pieces, even when we recommend the inks which we think will work best.
If your piece requires UV (ultra-violet) coating, we cannot inkjet on the UV coating. You must either UV coat on the front side (non-addressed side) only, or your piece must be printed and addressed using an all-digital printing workflow which we do provide.
Additional Tips:
- The mailing panel needs to be a blank white box with a minimum size of 4 x 2.25"
- The mailing indicia and any endorsements must be properly worded
- For Non-Profit mail, the mailing panel of your piece must have both the name and address that exactly match the address on the paperwork issued from USPS for your original non-profit postal permit. It doesn't have to be in the return address area, but must be somewhere on the mailing panel of the piece.
Preparing Artwork and Files for Upload
Please refer to the Art File Prep for more details.
We accept the following file formats for mailing lists:
- Comma Separated Values (.csv)
- Delimited Text File (.txt)
- Microsoft Access (.mdb)
- Microsoft Excel (.xls)
Microsoft Excel is our preferred file format. If you don’t know what you have, or you need help, call 1-800-707-9903, or contact us at customerservice@conquestgraphics.com.
Printing Your Projects
In many cases you can select a specific paper weight or finish as part of the ordering process. General information regarding paper weights, finishes and grades is available in the help link next to the paper option – just click the question mark in the small blue circle. You may also refer to the Paper Selection Information section in the Help Center for additional paper selection details. If you are interested in a paper not listed on our website, call 1-800-707-9903, or contact us at customerservice@conquestgraphics.com.
We print on coated paper as a standard selection for all of our products except business cards, where we offer a choice of coated and uncoated paper stocks. If you want your project to print on an uncoated paper, please call us at 1-800-707-9903, or contact us at customerservice@conquestgraphics.com. Please note that when printing on uncoated paper, we cannot guarantee color match due to the tendency of uncoated papers to absorb more ink than our coated papers. Coated papers will generally yield a superior result for projects that require moderate or heavy ink coverage. Some projects can be printed on C1S (Coated 1 Side) paper stocks. The same issues apply to the uncoated side of a C1S that apply to any uncoated paper. Also, C1S stocks tend to be more prone to paper curl than stocks that are coated on both sides. We are not responsible for paper curl that occurs when printing on C1S papers.
Although this isn't listed as a standard binding option online, we do provide this. Please contact us at customerservice@conquestgraphics.com or call us at 1-800-707-9903 if you have a perfect bound project or have questions about perfect binding. Please note that although perfect binding is a durable, high-quality binding method, we have no control over how perfect bound products are used or handled after they are delivered, and we are not responsible for page pull out or cracking of perfect bound products.
Probably not. Monitors display colors in the RGB (additive) color space, and printing is based on the CMYK (subtractive) color space. Colors can shift dramatically when transformed from one space to another. Monitors are not well-suited for making critical color judgments or evaluations, but they are perfectly acceptable for making basic color and layout decisions. Color inkjet or desktop laser printers are generally poor predictors of offset printed colors. They have little to no ability to be calibrated, and color consistency is highly variable. If your color requirements are extra particular, we recommend that you pay a little extra for a physical (contract) proof.
You can purchase a Pantone Swatch book
We ask that you please do not set traps, or attempt to impose your files. Our prepress system automatically calculates optimum trapping settings and imposition. Please refer to the Art File Prep for more details.
General Information
Please visit our Contact Us page for more information.
Our business hours are from 8 am - 7 pm (EST), Monday – Friday (excluding Holidays); however you may send an email, or place an online order at anytime.
Virginia residents who ship their product to a Virginia address will be charged sales tax, as will Utah residents who ship products to a Utah address. If you have a valid Virginia or Utah Tax Exempt Certificate, please send certificate information to customerservice@conquestgraphics.com or fax to 1-804-644-3502 and we will arrange to credit your sales tax amount.
Yes, we do accept and ship international orders, however we adhere strictly to custom requirements and do not accept international orders online. Please call 1-800-707-9903, or contact us at customerservice@conquestgraphics.com for pricing.
Please refer to our Privacy Policy page for more information.
Conquest Graphics employs Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology when transmitting your personal information. This can be confirmed by looking at the website address which should start with "https". The "s" lets you know you are on a secure site. Many browsers also add a closed padlock to the browser window. This can be found in recent versions of Internet Explorer. As an added precaution, Conquest Graphics does not save your credit card information on our servers, so there is no need to fear a security breech within our company. If you believe that your credit card has been used fraudulently as a result of a business transaction with Conquest Graphics, please contact us immediately at 1-800-707-9903, or at support@conquestgraphics.com.