Most people have very little idea how printing projects are priced.
Because printing is so complicated and deals with a wide variety of equipment and techniques, and because printing is such a competitive industry, it can often seem as though a price is generated a random without any connection with reality. In truth, the cost of printing does have a basis in reality, but accessing those costs is very complicated. It is very difficult to get the same quotes from two different printers because every printshop has a unique mix of equipment and is therefore more efficient on some jobs than others. For example, one printer may not have a small press capable of running high quality four-color business cards. That printer would have to run them on a larger press at a higher cost.