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5 Tips for Achieving Quality
Posted by Karl | Posted in General, Printing, Tips | Posted on 31-03-2009
Maintaining quality over your printed materials is essential and here you have to manage not only yourself but your printing partner so you continue to achieve the standards you are looking for.
Tip #1 – Choose a Partner Where the Quality is in Control
This may mean abandoning printers who focus on price at the expense of quality; achieving the quality you are looking for time after time requires a state-of-mind to deliver consistently. You cannot expect either yourself or your partners to deliver the standards you are looking for on the cheap or by cutting corners while if you are thinking quality, that is much more what you are likely to get with the end result time after time.
Tip #2 – Get Organized
Being organized will help you both to maintain clear communication which in turn avoids silly mistakes between initial enquiry and final product. If you are not organized it also means more work for your print partner which in turn means more cost to you or a loss of interest in your account – neither is good for you!
Tip #3 – Punctuality
Your printing partner needs you to be timely with submitting and approving drafts – they have to do their share when you have done yours and they have other clients to cater to as well as you. Being late, or leaving things to the last moment is not good for you either as you may be putting your print partner under undue pressure to get the job delivered on time when in fact you are the one holding everyone up. Rush jobs usually mean more mistakes and poorer quality – be on time!
Tip #4 – Be Clear what You Want and What You Expect
Don’t let your print partner second guess your requirements – if you want cheap and cheerful, you’ll get that but if you want top of the range quality, you must make it clear to the print partner this is what you will be demanding when the final product is delivered.
Don’t hold back – be very clear what you expect and what you will accept.
Tip #5 – You Decide What Your Quality Standard Is!
You are the one who sets the bar when it comes to quality so never let anyone tell you what constitutes quality - you set the standards and everyone will judge you by the standards produced!

