Managing the managers

Are you an expert on colour matching? Do you have a deep understanding of the effects of varnish or laminate on printed materials? Have you ever spent time learning about the nuances of paper stocks and the results of printing on one versus another? Chances are you said no, but would you take responsibility for printing your company stationery or brochure?

Constantly in this industry we are faced with clients who can’t see the benefit of paying a little extra to have their job print managed by our in-house team of graphic designers. They are more than happy to give us free reign over the design but when it comes to printing, many think it is just as simple as dropping off a disk at the local print shop and picking up the work a few days later. Often this isn’t so.

When you create a design, you know the design. The colours you choose work perfectly together, you have paper stocks and finishes in mind that you know will look great, plus you have an inside knowledge of what press will best suit the needs of the design. Hand it over to the client and chances are it will go disastrously wrong. Most local print shops work on either a 2 colour or 4 colour press and have access to limited paper stock. Great for running off brochures with no complex colours or printing a simple stationery set but not so great for fantastic 4 + 2 spot colour job with a spot matt laminate that you were expecting.

Then there is choosing a paper stock that will not only reproduce the colours you need but serve its purpose within the office. Colours will vary dramatically depending on whether the stock is coated or uncoated sometimes to the point where we will choose a completely different PMS colour depending on the stock we use. Getting the paper weight right is important too. A folded business card printed on a stock that is too heavy won’t score properly and a brochure printed on the wrong stock may show through images from the reverse side.

At Jack in the box, when we print manage a job we take a number of steps to ensure your job is perfect. We choose paper stocks that will work and are available within your deadline, we get competitive quotes from a number of suitable printers and we make sure we are standing by the press with our Pantone swatch book as the first run comes off the press. We expect our jobs to be perfect and we won’t accept anything less. We will also arrange delivery or pick up of your job so you can concentrate on what you are best at – running your own business.

So just as we would never attempt to wire your house, remedy your illness or fix your washing machine, clients shouldn’t attempt to print manage their job. And besides, if you are running a busy company do you really have the time to run around doing press checks and arranging delivery? Leave it to professionals and get the job as you were expecting delivered, on time and to your door.