The Print Authority - Knowledgebase

Customer Service Q&A

How do I place an order with The Print Authority?
Who will I work with when I place orders at The Print Authority?
How will my job flow through The Print Authority once the order is placed?
How long will it take to complete my project?
How much will my project cost?
How and when do I pay for my jobs?
How can I get a credit application?
Where is The Print Authority located?

How do I place an order with The Print Authority?

There are many options available to you in placing an order with The Print Authority. Before placing the order, you must decide on whether you want to place the order electronically or not.

E-mail. One of the simplest ways to place an order is to email the order to our customer service department. If you email the order to us, you will need to include detailed instructions about your project. Please reference the complete software list to see if your file will be appropriate for the project. Lastly, we need to know the due date and how you would like to receive the job. If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call at 615-468-2679 from 8am to 5pm CST.

Upload. Another way to send a job to The Print Authority is to use our convenient Upload form. You can access instructions for how to send us a file at www.theprintauthority.com/upload. Please include detailed instructions about your project. Give us a call or e-mail and let us know to be expecting your project.

Stop in anytime (from 8:00am - 5:00pm M-F). We will be glad to discuss the details of your job in person. Our address is:

The Print Authority
7103-B Crossroads Boulevard
Brentwood, Tennessee 37027

Pickup and Delivery. Since our inception in 1991, we have provided free pickup and delivery in Middle Tennessee. We will be happy to come and get your job in person. We can either send our professional driver, or we can send a salesperson if your job is particularly detailed or needs additional explanantion. Although we don’t normally extend our pickup and deliveries on a daily basis outside of Middle Tennessee, call us if there are special circumstances and we will see what we can do! We also ship by most means all over the country! Call us for details at 615-468-2679.

You can rest assured that once you place your order, we will call you should we have any questions! One of the fundamental principles on which we base our business is that we should get everything right the first time when the order is placed. Please accept our apologies if we ask a lot of questions, but we are committed to getting it right!

Who will I work with when I place orders at The Print Authority?

Typically, when you place orders at The Print Authority, you will work with a member of our customer service team. You can contact them by phone at (615) 468-2679 or you can contact them by email at customerservice@theprintauthority.com.

If you have a large number of regular orders of if you feel your orders need special attention, we will be happy to assign a salesperson to your account. Currently, there are three salespeople in the sales department plus the owner of the company. If you feel this would be a good idea for your company or organization, call (615) 468-2679 and ask for someone in the sales department or the sales manager. back to top

How will my job flow through The Print Authority once the order is placed?

Advances in digital technology have simplified the workflow at The Print Authority over the last several years. Once we have all of the details of your project, we enter a work order for the job. We also have color coded tags that travel with your project which indicate the departments it will be traveling through and the final deadline. Your project will then proceed to each department in turn which needs to complete work on the project. Usually, most projects go to the Design department first to make sure all electronic files are ready for production or that any creative work that needs to be done is completed properly. After any design or prep work is complete, you will receive a proof of your job. Proofs are typically complete within 48 hours of entering the job. Most proofs take the form of a hard copy which you can inspect for approval. (We can deliver the proof or ship it to you.) Occasionally, we will do PDF proofs in lieu of hard copy proofs, if speed or distance does not allow make a hard copy practical.

After you sign off on your proof, the job typically goes immediately into production. Production may consist of offset printing, digital reproductions, posters or a variety of other processes. After production is complete, jobs usually go to our finishing department. After finishing is complete, jobs typically face a final imspection and are packaged for pickup, delivery or shipment. Please see our Standard Turnaround Chart to know what a typical turnaround should be on your job.

The Print Authority builds numerous active quality checks into the production of your job. These take place throughout the order entry and production process. Please take a look at our list of Quality Control Procedures! back to top

How long will it take to complete my project?

Once we have your job, the turnaround will depend on the type of job it is and your needs. We view each project as a custom project, with unique specifications and a unique turnaround. The short answer is that we will do everything possible to meet your deadline if it is physically possible and we are fully informed at the beginning of the project. For more details, please take a look at the standard turnaround chart as a guideline on appropriate turnarounds for your projects. (If you have specific needs or specific concerns about a particular job, please call us.) back to top

How much will my project cost?

The printing industry in today’s day and age is a very competitive business. That being said, most progressive printing companies recognize that they must be competitive while allowing for a reasonable profit on the job after paying for all equipment, salaries and other overhead expenses.

The Print Authority has an excellent record of growth as a business. Since 2000, we have grown every year, and on average, we have grown about 13% per annum. Our philosophy is to offer competitive pricing for each project with the understanding that quality and timeliness comes first. Your project is worthless if it is wrong, or if it is late!

In addition, we excel at offering suggestions both to increase the impact of your materials and to get the best value for your money. Design and printing are complex businesses, and we will put all of our knowledge to work for you in finding the best solution for your needs. Our philosophy is to always put the customer’s needs first in advising clients.

We use professional print estimating software in generating our pricing. We are more than happy to estimate your projects prior to commencing work on them, and we will also be happy to look at placing higher volume accounts on “set” or “contract” pricing with certain limitations. Please feel free to send your next project to your salesperson or to our estimator at estimates@theprintauthority.com. back to top

How and when do I pay for my jobs?

The Print Authority offers terms of Net 30 days from the date of delivery to approved account customers only. This means that if a company has not filled out a credit application in advance of placing the order, the order must be paid for on delivery or pickup. If a client has filled out a credit application in advance, The Print Authority needs 2-5 working days to complete analysis of the credit application so that credit can be granted or denied.

Typically, The Print Authority delivers an invoice with the final product, and the payment terms begin to run from the date of delivery. However, we can make special arrangements for delivering, emailing or mailing invoices on request. Please see our credit application for a full explanation of terms for account customers.

For non-account customers, The Print Authority accepts checks, credit cards or cash. Credit cards are only accepted for payment on or before the date of delivery of the final product. The Print Authority accepts Visa, Mastercard and American Express. back to top

How can I get a credit application?

Please download and print out the attached PDF file of The Print Authority’s credit application. Please have the appropriate person fill out the credit application fully and make sure it is signed. Then, fax the credit application to (615) 468-2680, attention credit department. If you have a standard list of credit references, it is OK to send these, but we still require our actual application to be signed and submitted with the references, so we can be sure that all of our terms are agreed to. You should get a letter either approving or denying credit within 5-10 working days. If you have orders for The Print Authority before the credit is approved, they will be C.O.D. unless you received special approval from our credit department. If you have any questions, call (615) 468-2679 and ask for the Credit Manager or Accounting Manager. back to top

Where is The Print Authority located?

The Print Authority is conveniently located in Brentwood, Tennessee, near the Cool Springs Galleria Mall. We are a 1 day ground shipment from many parts of the Southeast and some parts of the Midwest, Please keep in mind that we have always offered free pickup and delivery in Middle Tennessee. If you have special needs outside of this area, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you. Click here to learn how to schedule a pickup. Please also keep in mind there are many options for sending The Print Authority jobs electronically. The Print Authority makes regular shipments all over the United States, and occasionally outside the U. S.

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Directions to The Print Authority from the North:

Take I-65 South to the Moore’s Lane Exit. Take Moore’s Lane West to the light at the intersection of Mallory Lane. Make a left onto Mallory Lane. Go to the third stoplight and make a right onto Crossroads Boulevard. We are located in the fourth building off of Mallory Lane on the left.

Directions to The Print Authority from the South:

Take I-65 North to the Moore’s Lane Exit. Take Moore’s Lane West to the light at the intersection of Mallory Lane. Make a left onto Mallory Lane. Go to the third stoplight and make a right onto Crossroads Boulevard. We are located in the fourth building off of Mallory Lane on the left. back to top