Guide to Selecting a "Quality" Printing Company.

Honesty is the Best Policy… is it Alive in The Printing Industry?

In some industries & professions it’s standard practice NOT to get involved in anything that you are not actually qualified to do.

Individuals working in these circumstances would more than likely say something along the lines of -

“I’m sorry, I’m not qualified to carry out this work however I can recommend someone who is”
 
Why do they do this?
 
Because they know that they lack the experience to do work outside of their area of expertise.
 
In the printing industry however, one needs to find out for himself if the printing company that’s doing your work is actually equipped to do it in terms of equipment & experience.

                    Click here to find out  Who NOT to Ask  for printing advice.
 
Let me give you a few examples of what I've come across over the years:

 
Example #1:
 
A brochure printed full colour that had obviously been produced on a 2 colour press that lacked the tight tolerances and registration capabilities that are required for 4 colour process printing.
 
The end result -  photos looked 'blurry' with light yellow/magenta tinged shadow around some of the graphics. Second grade quality that damaged the client's presence.
 
 
Example #2:
 
Specialist medical report forms that required pre-printing by the offset method, then personalised by a laser printer, with the recipient's name and address.
 
Although they were advised, the printing company chose not to use the specially manufactured laser friendly ink.

Probably due to the extra cost that's required to withstand the intense heat of a laser printer and as a consequence, the surface of the ink peeled off the sheets as they ran through and stuck to the printing drum.
 
The end result – the drum had to be replaced which is quite an expensive repair and the documents missed the 'due by' date and had to be reprinted.
 
 
Example #3:
 
A corporate presentation folder, with both covers printed with a solid coverage of 100% dark purple and laminated. The ink coverage was uneven and thin which resulted in varying shades of purple and was left with an opaque appearance with the grain of the stock showing through.
 
This resulted in a boxing match between the customer and the printing company, with the printing company shirking any responsibility for the problem and blaming it entirely on the laminating company.
 
The printing company agreed to reprint the folder but not cover the cost of another laminating run. The laminating company, understandably, would not cover any cost for laminating the reprint.
 
The end result -  the customer lost out and accepted the discount.  He ended up with a low quality marketing document which did not match their corporate colour.
 
 
Example #4:
 
A shareholder’s 44 Page annual report that had an extremely tight delivery time, as they all do, with a specific request that the pages were NOT to be numbered.
 
The printing company they chose to print the job did not have in-house binding or finishing equipment, so they sent it out.
 
A breakdown in communication between the sales rep and production resulted in the report being collated and bound with the pages out of sequence.
 
The total quantity had been mailed before the error was noticed.
 
The end result - the report had to be reprinted and missed the delivery date.
 
A direct result of 'chinese whispers'' and mismanagement.
 
In a manufacturing situation, such as printing, the chance of error increases dramatically when two or more people, or production units share responsibility for the one job.
 
 
So how can  you stay clear of these problems?

Well, here's a list of points to check and questions to ask any printer to see if they are REALLY qualified to take on your job, or not. 


 Question #1:
 
Does your printer ask you specifically 'what happens to the document after we print it' or does he wait until you tell him?
 
You need to know this because many documents are used in specific situations that need to be taken into account prior to or following production.
 
Situations such as specially formulated ink for laser overprinting, light fast inks for documents with high exposure to daylight, what is the life of the document and will it be constantly handled and/or abused, is heavyweight binding, varnishing or laminating required to help withstand this abuse, the list is endless.


Question #2:
 
Ask the sales rep if they have a 4 colour press - ask to see it as well as printed samples of previous jobs.
 
 
Question #3:
 
Ask the sales rep if the press or presses his company has can print a dark, solid colour with 100% coverage over an A4 sheet - ask to see printed samples of previous jobs that are similar to yours.

 
 Question #4:
 
And the most important one - ask the sales rep for the quality and service guarantees that his company offers and request them in writing.


 Question #5:
 
If your order requires any finishing, scoring, die-cutting, laminating, binding or embellishment (embossing, foiling, etc) - ask your sales rep the question 'does your company do all the required finishing for my job, in-house'
 
Beware of the pitfalls if they don't.
 
 
 So there you have it.
 
Next time you deal with a printing company, you’ll find that they'll treat you with a lot more respect when they realise that you do have some idea of what you’re talking about.
 
And that knowledge, my friend, gives you the upper hand. 
 
Download our FREE Printing Guide & you'll learn lots of insider tips from an Industry Expert that will save you substantial amounts of money, time & stress.