At the start of the year, we had three printers we were comfortable working with. We added a fourth in May (our sales rep left Printer #1 above and brought us along... right before Printer #1 went out of business... hmmmmmm... I need to ask him about that...), which means we're back to three.
We've gotten quotes from dozens of printers over the years. We hear from printer reps every few months who offer to quote for our business, so there are definitely lots of opportunities to try someone else.
So why don't we switch in a heartbeat? Because for print runs of 500 to 1000 copies, the retail price would go up at least 30%.
We definitely have tried other printers over the years. We're rarely satisfied with the combination of service, cost, and production quality.
If we were a lot smaller, it would actually be easier in some ways. OR if we were a lot bigger. We're in a weird middle ground.
Best,
Brian