Select Printing & Copying

The world of printing is a mystery to me. Yes, I own several seasons of The Office on DVD and at one point had the show’s theme song set as my ring tone, so paper I get. But they never really did cover their confusing and costly sister industry. Last week I needed to print a memorial program for a friend who had passed suddenly. I needed it done right and done well, because I couldn’t emotionally handle incompetence.
My initial thought was to go to an Office Depot/​Staples and do it myself. But then I had flashbacks to the last time I tried to scan and print something at one of those stores and it took me 30 minutes to get the attention of someone who works there, and after an hour I didn’t quite get the product I wanted. I knew I needed a pro, and I needed someone who could do it the same day.
So of course, Unilocal came to the rescue! As other reviewers have said, Select Printing & Copying caters mainly to big print jobs, but they are happy to help with smaller ones. Here is my detailed account of working with them, for anyone as intimated with the world of printing as I was…
— They opened at 10 am on Friday and I had meetings all morning. Their website instructs people to upload the file they want printed on there, but you need to call them with a login code first.
— I provided those directions to my better half and he talked to them right when they opened. They said they would print a sample, that he could come check out, and then they’d print the rest.
— We needed 75, 2-​sided color copies, folded. Cost would be $ 110. Yes, so expensive — but my understanding is that for what we needed, and as fast as we did, that was a normal price.
— I got off work earlier than expected and called them at 2:30 asking when I could pick it up, they said it was ready!
— Their office/​space is on the basement level of an office building by the restaurant Lincoln. You’ll have to give your ID to the security at the desk, they’ll give you visitor sticker and you can go on in. I was in and out under 5 mins and the product was perfect.
So long story short, if you have a rush print job (see, I even got the lingo down now), go here and have no worries! I promise it will be painless.

Great experience with Select Printing! I just needed some books printed and bound — a small job compared to what they’re set up for — but the team here was very helpful and friendly. The turnaround was super quick and their estimate beat most of the others I got in town. The finished products look great and I’m glad I chose Select Printing to take care of my project!

Quick fyi: this is not really for walk-​in print jobs, like the setup you’d find at a Kinko’s. It is a full-​scale professional print studio that handles large and complex projects regularly.
That said, I didn’t know that when I wandered in, and Bill handled my very simple small job expertly. He even made my presentation look better than I was aiming for. I will therefore continue to use them anytime I have something I need to print or copy, but I’ll do so with a little advanced warning.
If you are also thinking about doing a small job here, some tips:
— email your files to them in advance (there are no self-​service computers you can use to log into your email or plug in a thumb drive to access files)
— specify what kind of print job you want done for each file (number of copies, color vs. black/​white, size, binding, etc) and they will take care of the rest

Did not know this place existed till someone told me about it. Great friendly staff, and professional results.

These guys are very kind and helpful. I had a large poster for a conference and both quality and price are very reasonable. Jk The only point is finding it, it is located in the basement of the building, find them and enjoy it.

I’ve used Select Printing for our holiday cards for the past two years; they do an outstanding job — high quality, on time and at an extremely economical price. Frank and his team are reliable and customer service-​oriented. You don’t get this level of reliability, quality and service very often in DC — Select Printing is truly a pleasure to work with. THANK YOU !

I had Select do a rather large job for me in which I needed a variety of signs and flyers printed. Frank quickly found the cheapest and most professional way to get the job done and saved me literally hundreds of dollars! You get the attention and quality of a small business with a great price. I was recommended to Select by a colleague, and would definitely use them again and recommend them as well.

I found Select Printing & Copying on Unilocal after a previous vendor fell through at the last minute before my wedding. I sent the job to them on a Tuesday afternoon and it was ready for pick up the VERY NEXT day by COB. The quality was fantastic and the service was even better. Thank you Select Printing & Copying! I highly recommend this company!

Frank and the Select Printing team is awesome. We recently had a few bounded toolkits printed. They do great work at a great price and make working with them super easy! They accomplish this by emailing with clients and providing delivery, which is so convenient! Soo much better than FedEx! We will use them again!

Better, cheaper, more personal
We needed a 42×42 poster printed on short notice for a conference and these guys really came through. Being from out of town and in a hurry, our first thought was of course to call Kinko’s/FedEx, but that plan was a no-​starter when they quoted 2 ½ times what we had gotten the same thing printed for in Seattle the week before. (Apparently Kinko’s was either unclear on the concept or exorbitant, neither of which sounded good!) So, Unilocal to the rescue: we called these guys based on the two reviews, and they did not disappoint. It appears to be a locally-​owned business, and Frank (the owner?) picked up the phone even after their official closing time. Long story short, they did a nice job, we saved $ 90, and they even delivered it (the conference was nearby) without even accepting our offer of a delivery fee.
I’d recommend these guys for anyone who wants clear, reliable, responsive communication (we were able to e-​mail in the document and call in the credit card number so we never even had to go in), is sick of impersonal service from a rotating cast of characters at the big guys, and wants to support a local business to boot. Just say no to corporate hegemony and impersonal service — go local.

I found Select Printing online after needing to find a printer in D.C. to do a rush job for my California-​based organization. They were super responsive, very helpful, reasonably priced, and most importantly got the job done on time! We have a D.C. office, and will definitely be using them again.

I’ve been working with Select Printing for almost a year now and they have never disappointed me. They’re customer service is superb and they have majorly saved me on more than one occasion with their quick service! Great prices and quality products