How To Be A Great Commercial Printing Customer
For many businesses, commercial printing services are critical to their advertising and operations. A good relationship with your printer can make a huge difference. To achieve that goal, you need to know how to be a great commercial printing customer.
Here are three tips for being the best possible customer so you can achieve top-notch results.
Project Goals
It's tempting as a customer to come into projects with the view that you'll know what you need when you see it. However, that's a formula for back-and-forth interactions where you go through lots of proofs and get little done. While some of this process is necessary, it generally will go better if you have clear project goals.
Suppose you need some label printing work for product boxes. The labels have to be readable, and there's a good chance you'll also want them to be scannable. You might use clear labels if the box is plain, but it could create scanning issues if the box is more visually complex. Similarly, someone exporting products may need codes and written texts for different regulatory regimes and cultures. Establish these project goals early to limit the amount of tinkering.
Files
If you're sending digital files to a commercial printing company, you need to be on the same page as they are. Ask the printer for their color profiles to improve the odds what you see in editing will match the results. Similarly, try to send them file formats they can use right away. If you use the same editing software, avoid sending files in PDF or a similar format that may force unnecessary conversions and alter the print in any way from what you intend.
Likewise, you'll also want to send your files in as prepared of a format as possible. If you need color separations, use the software to prep those before sending the files. The same goes for pagination issues. Whenever possible, try to lay everything out as straight as possible for the recipient.
Communication
Be able to respond to questions as quickly as possible. If you're not going to be available, make sure the commercial printing team has contact information for someone at your organization authorized to make decisions. Keep your email addresses and phone numbers up-to-date, and forward new contact information as soon as it changes. You want to be able to get proofs and approve production runs as fast as possible without sacrificing attention and quality.
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