Are you looking for a commercial printer? There are dozens of commercial printers operating in Northeast Ohio. On top of that, you have national-level e-commerce-based printing companies that pay hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in advertising dollars. With so many options available in today’s market, how is it possible to choose which company to work with?
We’ve spent some time thinking about what we believe are the most important things to keep an eye out for when looking to do business with a printing company. Whether it’s something as simple as letterhead or a business card – or as complicated as an intricate yard sign or brochure – this list will help you narrow down your search before making a final decision so that you can choose the best commercial printer possible.
A Company That Can Deliver What You Need
Not all printing companies are created equal. Before establishing a relationship with a printer, you should consider contacting them and asking about any potential constraints on their time, size of their facility, types of printers they have available on site, and whether or not they have a Minimum Order Quantity or Maximum Order Quantity.
If you’re expecting to have more frequent one-off type printing jobs, you may want to establish an agreed-upon turnaround time for your orders to avoid any confusion. It’s also helpful to let your printer know about any upcoming projects you have with at least a week of lead time. Although we’re capable of rush jobs here at Pinnacle Press, we prefer to make sure we have ample time to check and double-check each step of the process to ensure you receive the highest quality product possible.
Excellent Customer Service
Like most industries, having excellent customer service is an absolute must in the printing industry. With so many online-only printing options available, many times customers get turned off from working with printing companies because of mishandled orders or a lack of ability to get a human representative to assist them on a call.
At Pinnacle Press, we pride ourselves on having responsive service, fast turnarounds, and affordable quality. This means that when you call us during business hours, we do everything we can to pick your call up as it comes in. We don’t just forward you to an automated chatbot or some automated phone tree list with 50 options.
A printing company should also offer proof of product without skipping a beat. It shouldn’t be any problem, if they have the right products, to get proof for you prior to purchasing the full amount.
Excellent customer service is a must-have in our book. It just makes everything so much more efficient and less stressful for both the customer and the printer. There is no such thing as a business that doesn’t run into problems, and when they come up you’ll be grateful that you spent time searching for a printer with excellent customer service.
They Give You the BOTD
What is the BOTD you may ask? By our definition, it stands for the Benefit of the Doubt. We’ve all had times during relationships or at jobs that we’ve needed someone to help us look for mistakes, even if our intentions were to not make any.
Having a printing company that is willing to give you the BOTD, can save you a lot of time and money over the years. Especially if you’re a chronic misspeller or if you’re not the best with grammar.
A good printer will be willing to proofread your work prior to printing the order so that they can be absolutely sure that there won’t be any mistakes on the 5,000 business cards that you just ordered. Some printing companies through neglect this courtesy (which really falls under customer service) and will print your business cards with the mistakes in them. All the while expecting you to pay for a reprint.
If your company doesn’t seem like the type to have integrity and attention to detail, it may be time to find a new partnership that is capable of more personalized service.
Hopefully, this blog shed some light on you when it comes to working with a commercial printer in Stark County. Making sure that the company of your choice has the capability, capacity, and customer service to back up its services is a critical part of the vetting process.