Print when correctly done is a very powerful tool in any business/organisations marketing arsenal. Having the right printer on board is essential, when they understand you, your needs and objectives they can help you achieve more.

Supporting you to get the best from graphic design, production requirements, and your distribution and usage methods. Finding the right print partner can make this easier for you.

Building a great relationship with a printer, you might want to consider the following points

Competence and Quality

Competence and quality are often the most critical factors in weighing commercial print options. Although it can be challenging to evaluate skill levels before you’ve worked with someone, there are several indicators to look for. Look at online reviews, who is talking about the work a printer has done. Look up key staff on Linkedin, this will speak volumes, how much experience have they got? What are they verified for on Linkedin? Request to see samples of jobs done for other customers. Inquire about areas of specialization and if bundled pricing or services are included. Also, ask your printer what work steps they see as critical for obtaining good results. If you know in advance how they prefer to manage projects, it helps ensure good workflow and communication along the way.

Production Capacity

This might seem an odd statement, “real or fake?” be aware of print brokers, professing to print themselves. (A good print broker will have a raft of trade suppliers to help achieve great pricing and performance for you) Does a printer’s social media /website show an actual print studio/press hall? Does their website have a Plant List on it? This will then dictate their specialities and show their potential capacity to perform.

Collaborative power

In this day and age, print companies fall into 2 categories, small artisan boutique or big internet sheds. This will show how they do customer service. The smaller sized firms you will find that the person you are dealing with is hands-on. Equally the bigger the business, you are more likely to have dedicated account handlers. This will affect the style of communication you will be engaged with. Ultimately if you want a relationship which will flex with you, the smaller establishment, once you’ve built up a rapport will reap more results for you.  

Service and performance

When dealing with any printer, they know they are a service industry. Their production capacity will be geared up to meet customer needs (providing they are realistic). However, a valid point to note, if you do require express service, expect to pay a premium, if a business is re-scheduling their work to accommodate you this is a reasonable request. A well-established print house will be able to facilitate a lot more than just print, their connections with logistics and postage services will be advantageous too. 

Environmental Responsibility

A good print house will be committed to environmentally friendly standards and procedures. A wealth of products are available to meet your expectations when it comes to eco-standards, from the specification of paper and ink, and carbon capture. A good print partner will be able to tell you a lot about their processes and their impact. We are signed up to “Printers against plastic” and offer alternatives where possible to plastic in products.

Locality and national reach

For some clients, having a print house in easy reach is essential, it helps them to perform and deliver the right solutions at the right time for their businesses. Equally, some clients do use us from a distance, distance is nothing now with video conferencing. Coupled with efficient courier networks, how you chose to work is down to you. We assist our clients from all over the UK.

The remit of a good printer isn’t just getting the image on the paper. Helping you to achieve more with your marketing or communications is at the heart of what we do. Understanding your organisations brand is key to us. We will ask questions to understand more, make suggestions to further your offering, above all ensuring you get the right results.  

Getting the partnership between you and your printer can drive results which last for years.