Hi Carol,

Don't be discouraged by Neil's comment. If you have experience in the printing business, you can get away with anything. What Neil names Minimum quality (1) and (2), is the basic method. You cannot do without it. The rest are additions to that.

Depending on your market, you can get away with laser or inkjet prints, as Neil says. But don't put your hopes on the print quality to get jobs.

For now, get a good inkjet or laser printer for proofs, and outsource the printing. If you can find a good printer and establish a good relationship with them, they will provide you with samples of their work and paper stock catalogs. Of course it will cost a bit more, but you will benefit from their experience.