Boston Print Buyers - Ready for a Print Audit?

Ready for a Print Audit?

If your printing projects are feeling like frogs, there are things you can do.

When picking up your newly printed materials, do you often find yourself expecting a prince but getting handed a frog instead? Do you suspect you’re wasting money on your printing projects but can’t seem to identify how? Do you switch printers faster than Washington makes cuts in Medicare?

If such questions hit all too close to home, you should know there are usually many things you can do differently to optimize your printing success. By conducting a “Print Audit,” for example, you can accurately diagnose your problems and generate relatively easy-to-implement solutions.

Below I’ve listed four typical “symptoms” your audit might uncover. Take a look as well at my audit-inspired cures. With a little bit of practice, you can incorporate a print audit process into your normal business practices and vastly improve printing outcomes:

Symptom: Printed materials don’t look as good as you’d hoped.

Explanation: Some printers actually do not have the experience you need for particular jobs. Also, they may have heard you one way while you thought they heard you another.

Solution: Make sure you’ve selected a printer with the right experience for the job. You can do this by looking for a printer who’s actually done lots of jobs like yours. Ask to see relevant samples. Check references with current/past customers who’ve placed similar jobs with the printer. Then, once the job begins, ask to see mock-ups of the piece early on. By carefully checking your printer out beforehand, then keeping tabs on the process all the way along, you’ll best ensure you get what you want.
Symptom: Printed materials don’t look as good as you’d hoped.

Explanation: Some printers actually do not have the experience you need for particular jobs. Also, they may have heard you one way while you thought they heard you another.

Solution: Make sure you’ve selected a printer with the right experience for the job. You can do this by looking for a printer who’s actually done lots of jobs like yours. Ask to see relevant samples. Check references with current/past customers who’ve placed similar jobs with the printer. Then, once the job begins, ask to see mock-ups of the piece early on. By carefully checking your printer out beforehand, then keeping tabs on the process all the way along, you’ll best ensure you get what you want.
Symptom: The honeymoon with your current printer is apparently off—again.

Explanation: Perhaps you haven’t found a printing salesperson who can give you the service you need.

Solution: When interviewing potential printers (a salesperson, normally), discuss the type of service you expect. Find out to what extent he or she will be involved in your projects, whether you’ll be assigned to a dedicated customer service rep, and if you’ll be allowed on press to OK jobs. Ask yourself whether you’ll be comfortable working with this person. If not, contact the sales manager to find someone more suited to your personal working style. Your goal should be to develop a long-term business relationship with a printer, so you can finally settle down with one or two trusted vendors.
Symptom: Embarrassing mistakes continually mar your finished materials.

Explanation: Probably, no one was in charge of proofreading, and digital files went back and forth between you and your designer and printer, everyone assuming the other was proofreading the copy.

Solution: Take proofreading seriously! Establish a procedure for the entire production process, whereby a person other than your designer is designated to read and check every word to be printed. Supply your “Designated Proofer” with a checklist for names, dates, locations, prices, and all other key information. Hire a freelancer if necessary, but DO NOT SKIMP on this step! Someone of authority should also physically sign off on final proofs, indicating the job is truly ready to print. Getting anything printed well requires the concentrated effort of a team of true professionals and your own watchful eye. The quality of communication must be high between you and your printer, or between your printer and your print team (writer, designer, production manager), if you’re using one. But careful scrutiny must also be employed to be certain that all your objectives and specifications are ultimately met. By implementing Print Audits on a routine basis, you will maximize your chances that will happen and that your printing costs no longer touch the sky.