The correct answer comes from the English expression that translates to: you get exactly what you pay for, no more, no less.
This means printing services not only have different prices but also different end results. There are print service providers who focus on producing prints at the lowest possible price, and on the opposite end, there are print service providers who offer possibilities that essentially have no limit, bounded only by the client's and their designer's or design agency's imagination. Roughly speaking, 50-70% of both cheap and expensive print costs come from the base material being printed on.
For cheap prints, this is predominantly regular white paper or cardboard, while for more expensive prints, one can choose from an enormous selection (several hundreds) of different colors, surface finishes, thick and extra-thick design papers, cardboards, recycled papers, seed papers, handmade papers, plastic, etc. And this is just the beginning, as printing can be done with very different printing methods, of which screen printing is the most expensive, yet 80% of printing effects in the printing effects world are achievable through screen printing. For example, most spot varnishes - matte, embossed, glow-in-the-dark, money UV lamp visible, bubble and sand textured, plus gloss varnishes with an enormous color range of glitters and pearl powder.
The next most expensive are UV printing solutions and effects, such as 3D varnish and I-foil. Further costs depend on the print's purpose - its die-cutting, cutting, folding into special shapes, etc.
Returning to affordable prints, up to 500 pieces are produced using mid-level digital printing machines, while quantities over 500 go to offset printing. Then comes cutting, and depending on the purpose, whether producing flyers, folders, or inexpensive books, brochures, notebooks.
Due to recent green circular economy pressure, so-called recycled printing materials have appeared in the higher price range, both in paper, cardboard, and plastic sectors, and these are not at all cheap solutions. Also, many clients increasingly demand printing with eco-friendly inks, and here too we're definitely not talking about discount prices, as cheap petroleum-based chemicals have been replaced with much more expensive environmentally friendly chemicals, which yes, unfortunately, are often produced at the expense of food products or their by-products.
Therefore, instead of talking about cheap or expensive printing methods/services, we should rather discuss the best price-quality ratio in the printing world based on needs. Sometimes it's necessary to mass-produce the cheapest possible promotional materials for widespread distribution at trade shows and in people's mailboxes to achieve goals, while when wanting to sell a higher-than-usual priced service or product, exclusive materials with printing effects on packaging are appropriate. Also, don't forget that both business and gift cards are service providers' (such as cosmetics, hairdressers, plastic surgeons, masseurs, etc.) "packaging" for their own resale.
