Most good quality print companies have in-house designers. They can help you realise your vision and produce results that will have a real impact. The in-house designer can produce designs from scratch or take a back seat and simply take your final high-resolution artwork, check it, and get it straight into the print room ready for Printing Services production. The key is that they offer you flexibility.
Cheap printers often don’t employ any in-house designers and expect you to have the artwork in a format ready to print. This is fine if you are comfortable producing print-ready PDF artwork. If not, an in-house designer may be a saviour! They do all the hard work ensuring that Book Printing your artwork looks right and will be produced properly with no mistakes.
Does the printers have their own print presses or do they outsource their printing?
Many cheap print companies are in-fact print brokers. They simply re-sell other companies print and add a mark-up on for the privilege. Ask what type of printing presses they have on-site. If they have none then they are a print broker and may not understand important details when it comes to producing the best results.
So where would the gap in their knowledge be?
Well knowing the best type of print for your project. Would offset lithographic or digital printing be best? It isn’t just a matter of knowing which is the most cost-effective either. They would also need to consider the technical aspects of the work to give you the best option for your specific job.
Some smaller quantities might appear to be cheaper when printed digitally but if, for example, you would like a metallic or fluorescent ink or certain types of paper or card the best result may come from printing the job using offset lithographic printing.
Can the printer produce speciality items?
Beyond printing, you also need to examine other things that the printers offer. Can they collate, fold, stitch or staple, number, punch, drill, perforate or glue your printing with precision and quality in mind? Can they die cut shapes in-house?
So if you need small packaging boxes, food wrappers, “do not disturb” signs to hang on doors, or perhaps you’d like to create your own shape and have it cut out – they have the ability to handle it in-house.
Do they get work done on time?
There is more to a printing service than putting ink on paper and cutting things out. Getting the job done on time is very important. Make sure the print company you select can meet your deadlines. Ask them to provide details of previous jobs and find out how happy previous clients were with their printing service. Any reputable printer should be willing to provide references for their work!