#overnightprints.com

[shoomlah]

Quick update on the Overnight Prints debacle from a few weeks ago, which I'm now adapting into an Overnight Prints vs. Vistaprint notepad review just for the hell of it.  In my annoyed state I ended up ordering pads from both companies, just to compare and contrast their respective printing/binding quality, and it seems worth posting the results up here in case any of you fine people are interested in purchasing notepads of your own.

Minimum order:

Overnight Prints: 2 pads.

Vistaprint: 1 pad.

Price per pad:

Overnight Prints: $8.22.  This is technically the price with their "VIP Silver Discount," but they almost always have these sales going on.

Vistaprint: $6.74.  Also with a nigh-continuous "sale."

Bulk pricing:

Overnight Prints: $179.55 for 100 pads- the surprising winner in this category.

Vistaprint: $329.99 for 100 pads.

Service:

Overnight Prints: Royally screwed up the first order, but was easy to deal with and sent a replacement order free of charge.

Vistaprint: Misprinted the first pad pretty offensively, but- just like Overnight Prints- was easy to deal with and sent me a replacement order free of charge.  They both tied in their mediocrity for this category; yes, both companies replaced the pads, but I'd be hesitant to place a rush order with either of them.

Print Quality:

Overnight Prints: Decent four-colour printing, though less vivid and saturated than I'd like.

Vistaprint: Decent four-colour printing, definitely more vivid and closer to the source file than the Overnight Prints pad.

Paper Quality:

Overnight Prints: Exactly what I'd expect for a notepad, with slightly more tooth than with Vistaprint.  Though I prefer this paper, it's not necessarily better than Vistaprint's in any way.

Vistaprint: Slightly smoother tooth than Overnight Prints.

Binding:

Overnight Prints: Sturdy.  This might be superficial, but I do like the colour of their transparent padding glue more than Vistaprint's.

Vistaprint: Sturdy, but the yellowed colour of the padding glue is a bit off-putting.

Even though I find them totally skeevy, I feel like I have to end up naming Vistaprint as the winner in this competition- they're cheaper per pad, and their print matched my source file far better than Overnight Prints' did.  Oddly enough at a certain point Overnight Prints does come ahead from the bulk perspective (in that you save $150 ordering 100 pads from them over Vista Print), so that might be worth considering if you're looking to get actual merchandise printed- honestly, indecisive though it may be, I'd just suggest keeping an eye on both and figuring out which is the best bet for however much merch you need to order.

Hope that was helpful and not too rambly,

-C

[shoomlah]

So I get it, Overnight Prints, you're new at this notepad thing.  You heard that the cool kids over at Vista Print were making notepads and, even though you had no goddamn idea what they were, you didn't want to let on so Vista Print would think you were rad and choose you for kickball.  We've all been there.

But here's the deal.  Maybe I'm being unfair, Overnight Prints, but I would at least assume the word "pad" (and the binding it implies) would lead you to affix the sheets together in some rudimentary fashion, maybe staples or used gum or something.  I'm pretty sure you can head over to Wiktionary and it's not going to say

...So, you know.  that's a start.  Maybe try binding them.  At least shove the cardboard backing in the shipping envelope so you can have some semblance of dignity, pretend they fell apart in the mail, your customer none the wiser.  You don't have to care, it's okay, just wear the general guise of caring.

And while you're at it (the rather egregious lack of actual notepaddery aside), if someone orders two of the same product, that doesn't mean you should send them only one- poorly printed at that- and then a blank version with which they themselves can lovingly draw out their own identical copy.  It's decent paper, it really is, but I didn't trudge through the bowels of your website in order to purchase $8.23 worth of 4 x 6" printer paper.

Again, I don't...  What is that even.  How do you pack that and not think "something is wrong with this."

Yours faithfully begrudgingly because you made my business cards,

-C