I almost hate who I have become; I turn to online shopping for many of my shopping needs. As I have mentioned before, I grew up in a small storefront business (a mom and pop mercantile, if you will) and it pains me to see the relevancy of some of these stores slowly disappear, unless they adapt and find a niche – which I am seeing and loving more and more with downtown revivals. When I was a kid, it was not the internet that stole away business. Instead, it was the big box stores. Unless you adapt and stay relevant, a small business will often lose the race. Not to mention the “always open” availability of the internet as well as having product reviews to-boot accessible on the same computer. So while I do support our neighborhood grocery stores and shop downtown to buy unique products and gifts; unfortunately, I have become the typical American Consumer who seeks out the most competitive and best reviewed products online.
I have purchased floor cleaner to sofas online and everything in between – shoes, oh the shoes! The internet is the only place I can reliably find size 11 shoes in multiple styles (don’t judge, having twins made my feet grow a full size – it was worth it). The floor cleaner doesn’t bother me as much as the sofa purchase, but after dragging my twins in and out of furniture stores for close to three weeks between Missoula, Montana and Portland, Oregon, my husband and I gave up and went online. We sifted through blogs, store reviews, and YouTube videos to find the sofa we hoped would fit our needs (which, let’s be honest, is really hard when you are as picky as my husband and I). Luckily, the store has an excellent return policy, which also helped close the deal on the purchase.
At Meetings Northwest, we do the same. We peruse online sources for most of our basic event garb, from finding the right recyclable, compostable, imprintable “SWAG-bag”, SWAG materials, and other event marketing materials to high ticket items like tradeshow panels because of……..yep, you called it, THE BUDGET! Granted, if we have a client with a large budget and high-end needs or is already contracted with or their event is being sponsored by a local print shop, we have the luxury of going LOCAL. However, more often than not, the budget does not allow for this. So, after several failed attempts to get a competitive price with local print shops for our economical events, I realized that online printing is our best bet.
How do you get the best
out of your online printer?
TEMPLATES. Make sure that the company you are planning to use prints the sizes you require. Most online printing companies have templates you can either download or get the dimensions for the best possible print. Use the TEMPLATES! Follow their bleed rules, trim constraints, document types (pdf, jpeg, png, gif), and resolution requirements. Read through their suggested font size for your size document. They don’t want to give you a bad product. They try to spell it out as much as possible so you don’t end up with text cut-off, strange borders or poor quality images. For some reason, sizes aren’t always standard. I have noticed different specifications and sizes for something as simple as a standard 4”x6” postcard.
REVIEWS. I read a ton of reviews. I will use one printer for printing postcards and posters and another to print stickers and so on and so forth – just based on reviews alone and proven experience. I also leave reviews on products to help other people out. This doesn’t have to do with printing, but in my recent sofa purchase, I saw (and this important) how the company responded to both good and bad reviews in a very respectful way. If someone had an issue with a fabric or whatever, the company addressed the problem and then gave a solution. This shows that the company is present, aware and still providing customer service even after a purchase.
CUSTOMER SERVICE. Take advantage of their customer service portals. Even if you don’t have a deep down burning question about something, use their messaging service to see how they respond, “where do I find a template for the 4×6 postcard?” or a deeper question like “which paper do you feel is the best for this client who wants quality paper that takes ink well, but is really big into sustainability?” Test them. Research their product guarantee. If their IM’s are not available or the company does not respond to emails or phone calls in a timely manner, DO NOT use them. There are a number of other resources out there.
TURN-AROUND. Make sure you know their turnaround times and fees. Sometimes, they bite you in the rear with shipping and handling fees. They show really reasonable pricing, but then shipping and handling is outrageous, or their turnaround time is a week or more out plus shipping time. Honestly, over the past three years, I have seen this be less of an issue because of competition, but it is still important to check this not only for an economy shipment, but to know what you are dealing with if you have an issue and need to re-print. Tip: check for free shipping coupons or other coupons for that matter.
ONLINE PROOFS. If they do not have online proofs, use a different source. Some companies will display them immediately and others will send you a proof link through your email. Review the online proofs. Is your image resolution high enough for this size of print? Triple check for typos. Are you outside of the cut-off line? Is it bleeding to the full bleed mark? Check for typos again. If you approve a project with any of these issues and the end result is not to your liking, you have to live with it. Screenshot the proof for your own records. I have worked with companies that keep the proof in your file, but most don’t. You can talk to customer service to see if they see any issues with quality (they will not read your text, but they may say the image quality is poor or you are past the text cut-off line or your image doesn’t reach the full bleed line).
TIMELINE. This is a hard one. We all know everything is a rush. We may try really hard to keep our clients on point and get things done ahead of time, but we are always waiting for that last sponsor to send his logo in the right format so we can send the program to final print. You always want to work a safety net into your timeline and budget. If something needs to be expedited because of printer foul-up or another re-print issue (like another really big sponsor came in!), then this is a conversation that needs to be had with the client. Knowing the typical turn-around time and fees associated and the printing company’s customer service policy and record is really important in this matter.
Savings Tip: Most online printing companies send out a lot of promotions if you get on their email list, up to 50% off. Get your design done early and save it to your account and wait a few days to see if a promotion pops into your email – it really pays off!
While these tips do not ensure the perfect print every time and may seem like common sense to most, a lot of people get wrapped up in the speed and budget of things and forget about the tips above. I, myself, have fallen prey to this and have had buyer’s remorse when the printer doesn’t stand by their quality or it takes a long time for a response while deadlines are looming. These are all issues your best local printer would work through with you during the process, that you now have to negotiate on your own. Be informed and get the best out of your online printing company.
If you have any tips of your own or have run across an amazing printing company I need to know about, please share. I am always in search of who is winning the game!
About the author:
Kasey B. Wright is a small town, small business kind of girl with nature in her heart. She grew-up working long hours at her parents general store in amazing Joseph, Oregon – Google it, oh wait, here’s a link – visit! Really- Arts, Camping, Resort on Wallowa Lake, Mountains, 52 high lakes, Gorgeous! Enough with the free advertisement, but truly it is amazing – Google it! Now days, if not twiddling away on her iMac, painting, or mentally re-designing pretty much everything, she is outside with her family enjoying all of the adventures that lay beyond her front door (which in Missoula are abundant and basically start within a five-minute radius of her house). Her family, a husband of whom she met as a freshman in college (architect – I know two designers and yes, nothing ever gets done), our dog (neurotic first child wire-haired pointing griffon), cat (shelter cat – maybe the most adjusted member of our family), and twins (girl+boy) in chronological order, keep the adventure alive! Oh yah, fish too (rarely claimed).
