An over-run is when you order 500 plastic credit cards cases and you receive 515. An under-run occurs when you order 144 coffee mugs but receive only 140. Manufacturers would rather have a slight over-run than an under-run in case you need exactly 500 cases for a conference. As with any printing process extras are printed just in case some items did not print correctly. Call this a safety margin for your benefit. Only a few promotional items have over-run. The more expensive an item is the less likely of an over-run. Over-runs usually only occur on high speed, automatic presses.
EQP means End Quantity Pricing or End Column Pricing. Sometimes manufacturers will offer their products at EQP. This means you can buy 100 pens that usually sell for $2.00 each at the 100 pricing for $1.50 each because they are on special at EQP where $1.50 is the price at the 5000 or end column pricing.
Screen-printing places a layer of ink on the surface of your promotional item. Laser engraving uses a laser beam to burn (etch) your image into your promotional item. Items made of metal, glass, ceramic, wood and some plastics can be laser engraved.
Usually yes. We call that a PMS Color Match. PMS stands for Pantone® Matching System. Most manufacturers can match your color if you supply a PMS number(s) with your order. PMS matching costs between $25 and $35 per color. Most manufacturers have standard ink colors that are free and are usually close to the color you want to use.