Pixelated images. Faded signage. Folders that have been glued shut.
When you’re printing in bulk, any one of these is an absolute nightmare.
Printing mistakes happen due to any number of factors, but they almost always stem from the same core reason: whoever was in charge of printing didn’t have the specific knowledge required to do the job properly.
These individuals who lack printing knowledge are often found at three common sources:
- Agencies who claim to have expert print knowledge — they’re great at what they do, but printing isn’t their field of expertise!
- Businesses who attempt to manage printing themselves
- Scattered third-party providers who each handle different parts of the printing process.
But why should you really care about printing quality?
Because quality printing is about brand consistency — and ultimately, your own reputation.
One financial advisory firm learnt this the hard way:
As part of their growth and expansion, this firm wanted to employ the right people to take care of their printing needs. The only problem was that different departments went to different printers to take care of their collateral.
This led to a lot of confusion between departments and, more importantly, all of the different printers used different stock.
What does printing something on different stock mean?
It means that when the firm ordered business cards — with a company logo and design that consisted of two very different and specific shades of blue — they were printed on different types of paper, depending on the printer each department did business with.
So, in a firm of roughly 50 advisors, almost every single one ended up with a business card in different shades of blue. Not only that, but all the business cards had slightly different designs.
It wasn’t a great look for a corporate firm — especially because this inconsistency had a reflection on their brand reputation and level of professionalism.
Brand consistency is vital to the perception of your reputation, professionalism, and trustworthiness
So, what’s the takeaway from this?
That truly understanding print is vital.
And key to understanding print is to know the maximum potential that can be achieved by it — something that a vast majority of businesses simply don’t understand.
5 ways to ensure you’re getting better quality prints
- Consider every factor.
Do you need a binding that’s optimised for price, sturdiness, or somewhere in between? What kind of glue is best for your product? What kind of stock?
There are many minute factors that go into creating the perfect final product, and you need to consider all of them.
Key to mastering all factors is to keep in mind the purpose and application of your product. That should be the driving force behind all your decisions.
- Do mock-ups and constructions.
Doing a mock-up of your final product will allow you to catch any aspects that won’t look right, such as cut off margins, colour accuracy, or pixilation, construction. This is the best way to check any mistakes and ensure your product is fit for purpose before to print production.
- Make sure you’re cost-optimised.
Quite often, businesses will spend a lot of money because they’re led to believe that they need specialised, custom-printed collateral — when there’s already a generic order that would be just as effective.
Key to being cost-optimised is utilising the systems you already have and understanding the manufacture of your printing — that way you can get the best cost results.
- Stay on top of the tech.
Innovations in printing are happening all the time. For example, one of the most recent is the development of digital foil — an application that allows a stunning printed finish at a fraction of the cost of the traditional foil printing methods.
Almost anything is possible in printing, as long as you’ve got someone around who knows what they’re doing.
- Know what you’re talking about.
There’s a lot of seemingly minor pitfalls in printing that can lead to greater issues, including:
- Trying to print in RGB — causing pixelated, low-res images
- The wrong glue flap placement
- The wrong structure to boxes and folders
- Using the wrong grain direction on the stocks — causing the pages to curl, crack or droop
All of these will result in poor quality prints, but you need to know what pitfalls are possible before you can anticipate them.
That’s why sometimes, the best option for your business is to call in an expert. Someone who specifically knows printing and how it works — not design, not advertising. Printing.
Get the right result the first time
In printing, getting a high-quality result means understanding and acknowledging a level of complexity that many just don’t anticipate.
Technology is advancing every day — providing new and potentially complex possibilities for printing.
How about we take that complexity out of your life?
At Inkifingus, we have a dedicated team of printing specialists, all with their own areas of expertise, to help businesses achieve the best possible print outcome through our co-sourced printing model.
Not only do we ensure the most robust structure and maximum sturdiness to your printing, but we also have digital and offset machinery that offers true depth of colour and accuracy.
As part of our service we also do a full printed final product mock-up — to make sure every single component is correct.
Just ask the advisory firm:
After realising the effect that poor quality printing was having on their business, they decided to call us. Now they have consistent, colour-perfect business cards that are printed on the right stock. Not to mention an easy, cost-effective, centralised ordering system that means every single new employee can get their business cards straight away — at a set cost.
Using our depth of knowledge and passion for printing, we don’t seek to give you a customised, expensive solution to printing — just a simple, cost-effective solution that we know works for you.
Contact Inkifingus today if you would like to know more about the benefits that outsourced printing can offer your business.
