Being a Designer-Friendly Printer Jacksonville FL

Last month, I wrote about being a designer-friendly printer who caters to the unique needs and preferences of graphic designers. This might seem like an odd topic for a column, because printers are supposed to be customer-oriented, and designers are customers. Why wouldn't printers be designer-oriented?

The fact is, however, many printers see designers as unrealistic and unfriendly in their own right—print-unfriendly. They see them as disinterested in print, caught up in electronic media, and more focused on design than production realities. Printers also see designers as not getting today's value-added applications, and being more interested in getting the cheapest price on what has increasingly become commodity work. For these reasons, many of today's printers would rather work directly with the end customer.

According to the latest The Industry Measure data (IM Printing 24, Fall 2006), only 9 percent of commercial printers see "calling on/selling to agencies and designers" as a top sales opportunity. That number has not increased notably over the history of IM Printing surveys, even as print volumes have struggled and competition has increased.

From a Designer's Perspective

I invited designers to contact me with their thoughts. One took me up on the offer and the letter was so interesting that I thought I would share it here:

"As a designer, I had to respond to your article in Printing News. Let me start off with things printers have said or done that have shown they don't 'get it' when it comes to designers.

Let's start with the printer sales rep who said he'd send me a PDF for a color proof. That's what I send my clients, not what I want to see. I want to see if you can print the job and match the colors. My immediate thought was, I don't have a color-calibrated monitor.

The printer that I had been dealing with a lot, we had one job that was multiple inserts for a pocket folder. I didn't press check the whole run—I don't always with two-color jobs—and one of the inserts was of unacceptable quality. When I went to pick up the job to deliver it to the client, the printer said, 'Deliver it to your client and see if they object.' No, I'm objecting and telling you that you need to rerun that insert. I'm not going to embarrass myself in front of my client.

I look for printers that are flexible, both with timelines and price. Printers that understand a designer's expectations. Don't take the job if you can't meet the quality.

Discuss quality outcomes and expectations at the time you deliver a quote. Some printers are overeager and should turn some jobs away.

I've learned when I first talk with a printer to ask what quantity runs they are most competitive on, and on what types of jobs. This way, I know which printers to quote on which jobs. I have on several occasions had a salesman say, 'We're competitive on all quantities.' Needless to say, I never called on them to quote on any jobs.

I've been in the business for more than 20 years and have yet to meet a printer that is competitive on super small runs, medium runs, and large runs. It's just not doable. The printer should know their strengths and weaknesses and tell me.

Lately, I've been working a lot with a print broker. There have been times where the client has thrown around their 800-pound gorilla status and asked for the printer to make up on their lack of sticking to the schedule. This broker has come through time and again with a quality product, on deadline, and at a reasonable price."

A Counter Viewpoint

I am sure that some readers' blood is boiling, while others are trying to keep themselves from jumping out of their seats and shouting, 'Hooray!' Both viewpoints are justified. Here are some preliminary thoughts of my own:

While I sympathize with this designer's complaint, acceptance of soft proofs, even for final job approvals, is an adjustment that designers are increasingly having to make. Soft proofing is far more reliable than it used to be, and the speed and cost reduction associated with this workflow are pushing soft proofing into the mainstream.

In Winter 2005-2006, when The Industry Measure Design & Production #20 asked creatives about their use of online proofing for final approval, only 26 percent indicated that they were not using online proofs this way; 47 percent said their use of online proofs for final approval was increasing.

Of course, as this designer pointed out, this requires monitor calibration. While no one wants additional work, this is a transition that designers need to make. Just as printers are being forced to adapt to the fast turnaround, short-run, Internet-driven world, so are designers. The ability to accept soft proofs is one of those realities.

Regarding insert reruns: If the designer is choosing the printer and handling the job, the designer is the printer's customer, not the designer's client. If the printer does not want to accept the designer's judgment, he or she should not accept the job. Trying to go around a designer to the end customer is a surefire way to lose the designer as a customer—and all of the clients for which that designer buys print, as well.

Timing Is Everything

Some time back, I wrote a column in which I discussed printers' complaints that many designers do not understand the issue of production scheduling. Prices on static printing have been slashed to the bone, so in order to stay in business, printers have to do everything they can to remove cost from their production workflow. In part, this is handled through smart production scheduling.

Printers schedule runs with similar formats, color needs, either back to back or, in some cases, even in the same run, to minimize the costs of additional downtime and makeready. This allows printers to keep prices down without going broke. Once the schedule is set, it becomes very expensive to change.

If printers have two jobs with the same spot color scheduled to run together, and a designer wants to make last-minute changes, the delay becomes expensive. Printers are dealing with presses costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, and running at a cost of hundreds of dollars per hour. They cannot leave the press open, nor can they delay one of the spot color jobs by inserting a different one without taking a hit to the bottom line. If the printer's profitability depends on its production scheduling, the designer's delay could cost big bucks. I talked to a printer who has run additional shifts to accommodate changes in production schedules, and lost all profitability on those jobs.

In addition to production scheduling, another way printers reduce costs and maintain profitability is by investing in automation, but these are not inexpensive investments. In fact, they are expensive investments printers cannot recoup by offering rock-bottom prices. It is not unusual for mid-sized shops to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars of workflow automation just to stay in business. It is no wonder they get a little testy when designers want them to be flexible in their prices.

Keep in mind that, often, printers can offer production flexibility or low prices, but not both. If they are going to offer the kind of flexibility designers often want, designers have to be willing to pay, because their requests cost the printer something, too.

While it is true that not all printers can realistically be equally competitive at all run lengths, an increasing number can be. It would be a mistake to automatically disqualify a printer simply because it claims to do so. If a printer offers toner-based, digital color printing, as well as sheetfed (especially large-format sheetfed) or even heatset, there is no reason it cannot be competitive at all run lengths.

While the numbers vary, it would not be unreasonable to say that 20 percent of commercial printers operate full-color digital production presses. Whether printers can be competitive in the pricing, as well as the quality, depends on equipment and the staff skill level. Before dismissing claims as unrealistic, ask for samples and quotes.

Talk It Out

Designers need to ask more questions and get more involved in the production realities printers are facing. If a printer is hesitant to change deadline, for example, ask why. Do not assume they are being difficult. Ask why making the change is not doable. Approach the printer with a genuine desire to learn. This will help you weed out printers whose hesitance is legitimate and those who are just being uncooperative. In the long run, it is beneficial to understand the difference.

Likewise, if a designer wants to change a deadline, do not just say no. Take time to explain. Help him or her understand what production scheduling means in your shop so you gain an ally rather than a disgruntled customer. These kinds of dialogues can go a long way toward helping both sides—creative and production—move forward in this increasingly competitive and challenging business environment.

Heidi Tolliver-Nigro is an industry writer specializing in digital workflow and technologies. E-mail her at htollvr@aol.com.