Yesterday I met with a new client who was so pleased with the first print job we did for him that he is handing all his work to us. Up to now, he has purchased all his printing through online print companies. Why? It’s cheap. Or so he thought. Over the past 15 months he has purchased flyers, business cards, brochures and more flyers. He liked the price and felt the quality was fine. After reviewing his expenses for 2011, he discovered that while the cost of the printing was inexpensive, the cost for shipping actually made most of the jobs much more expensive than he thought!
Even more important was his realization that they would print whatever he sent without any review of the file. When we showed him a couple proofs of these jobs and compared it to what he received from the online companies, the difference in color quality was shocking (to him, not me). Why? The files he submitted were in the RGB color space, fine for viewing on a computer screen, but not for full color printing, which is CMYK. The colors shifted considerably as RGB cannot be fully represented in the CMYK color space. If he had been working with us (now I can only speak on my company’s behalf, not other shops), we would have first checked the file for color issues such as being in the RGB color space and would offer to correct these issues for him (which we did on the color proofs mentioned above). When you use online printers, think of them as WYSIWYG – what you see is what you get – they are responsible for printing, not for proofing (and most tell you that in the fine print).
Now, I’m all for saving a buck here and there, but not at the cost of quality. Also, I like to support my local companies whenever possible. How can we survive these turbulent economic times? By providing over-the-top service and VALUE!!! Looking out for issues, helping clients understand how to prevent problems with files and providing solutions for them, even if that means they go somewhere else for the work they need done. If I can help someone to be successful, even I don’t get their business, I am being successful and that will come back to me in bigger and better ways. How can you help someone today?