Tags |
|
|
Links |
|
|
Casual Articles - How to Save Thousands of Dollars on Printing: Step #1 - Submit Accurate Specifications to Your Print
Your customers are wonderful. Without them, your business wouldn't exist. From time to time, shouldn't you thank the people that keep your business running? By doing just a few small things, you can impress your clients, and extend their business relationship with you.Be a Face with a Name (or Voice) Depending on what type of business you run, your customers may not ever see or hear from you. You may be just a series of emails. There is nothing to create a real relationship with in an email. Reach out to your clients by calling them just to check in on an order, or stop by their office, if you live locally. By showing that you care enough to make time to speak with them, your clients feel important. And clients who feel important keep buying from you.Add a Special Touch to Every Order You don't have to have a big budget to show you care about your customers. Add a little something extra to an order, anything from adding a simple handwritten "Thanks for your order" note from you to throwing in a lollipop to get a smile out of the recipient. Little actions like these can keep you at the front of your customers' minds for their next order.If you have a conversation or interview with a potential client, always follow up immediately with a notecard. Thank the individual for taking the time to meet with you
1. Create and complete a specification form that is used to submit all specifications to your printer.
2. Your "Print Specification Form" should contain the following information:
A. Description
B. Quantity
C. Number of Colors
D. Flat Size and Finish Size
E. Number of Pages
F. Bleeds
G. Paper Type - indicate cover weight or text weight.
H. Type of digital file supplied and indicate if the platform is Mac or PC.
I. Indicate the type of proof required.
J. Indicate if the
What do most companies do when one of their major brands is hit by a price attack?The classic response is “wait and see.” Wait and see if it affects our sales. Wait and see if the competitor can hang in there financially for the long haul. Wait and see if our customers come back after trying the low-priced alternative.What would your company do if a major competitor suddenly cut its price substantially? Be prepared. The leader should be emotionally ready to strike back.What would you do? Are you sure?As the battle for Migraine Mountain proved, there would have been plenty of business for both Johnson & Johnson’s high-priced Tylenol and Bristol-Myer’s low-priced Datril. But it would not have been good strategy for Johnson & Johnson to share the market.A live-and-let-live philosophy has no place in warfare. Companies like Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble take no prisoners. Competition is always in your face. You are Defending too much. But that could be counter productive. Be prepare to attack also. Competition is always in your face. You are Defending too much.But that could be counter productive. Be prepare to attack also.As the battle for Migraine Mountain proved, there would have been plenty of business for both Johnson & Johnson’s high-priced Tylenol and Bristol-My
This article is not here to completely take the side of the printing company. However, this article is provided to help educate and promote consistency throughout the industry. Let's look at an example. Let's just say you would like to have 10,000 color brochures printed. You email your specs to your three favorite printers. Within your specifications you ask for 10,000 four color brochures printing on both sides on a "glossy paper". Believe it or not I have seen this specification many times over the years. The printer has several choices with this example. The printer could call and ask for clarity or they could assume that you want a 100# Gloss text when in reality you really wanted a cover weight paper and not text weight paper. Your printer may or may not take the time to call and review the inaccuracy of the specifications. So they generate the quote based upon what they "think" and submit the bid. Now lets also assume that you are soliciting three bids for this project and let's also assume that the other two printers quoted on a cover weight paper which is more expensive, therefore, you award the brochure to the other printer and have yet to notice the difference in paper.
You have probably spent countless hours writing copy and incurred the expense of graphic design on your brochure and it is now ready to send to the printer, with one exception, the specifications are incorrect. While this scenario is merely a hypothetical example, circumstances like this one exist every day in the printing industry. Within this real life example you now have two options. One, you all of a sudden realize that your brochure was quoted on the wrong stock and you notify your printer right away or your printer prints the job on the wrong paper and it is delivered. In either scenario a costly mistake has been made. Your brochure was either delivered on the wrong paper or your printer had the privilege to increase their price due to the fact that inaccurate specifications were provided.
How does the print buyer avoid costly mistakes on their specifications? Below I have put together some easy steps that will always help you provide accurate specifications to your printer.
1. Create and complete a specification form that is used to submit all specifications to your printer.
2. Your "Print Specification Form" should contain the following information:
A. Description
B. Quantity
C. Number of Colors
D. Flat Size and Finish Size
E. Number of Pages
F. Bleeds
G. Paper Type - indicate cover weight or text weight.
H. Type of digital file supplied and indicate if the platform is Mac or PC.
I. Indicate the type of proof required.
J. Indicate if ther
If you run a mobile auto detailing business or a mobile car wash business you may wish to consider doing business with regional car rental agencies. You see, typically the larger corporate rent-a-car type corporations may not be so easy for you to get as customers if you're a small independent mobile car wash firm.However, many regional Rent-A-Car companies and agencies do in fact make sense as clients. Also normally they do not require as much paperwork or insurance liability limits and this makes them excellent target customers. Now then, let's take a look at one regional car rental company to understand the dynamics and how these companies operate; Doing Business with ACE Rent-A-CarACE Rent-A-Car is relatively new compared to the others discussed in this report. They currently operate in 15 states in the US and also in Athens Greece. Most of their lots have between 30-50 cars there at any one time and rotate about 300 cars. They occasionally sell cars at the rental lots with a giant sticker on the window, but sometimes they ship them to the nearest auto auction. ACE needs washing services on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Typically you will wash anywhere from 10-15 cars. Their largest office is in Las Vegas.To find locations nearest you go to:
You have probably spent countless hours writing copy and incurred the expense of graphic design on your brochure and it is now ready to send to the printer, with one exception, the specifications are incorrect. While this scenario is merely a hypothetical example, circumstances like this one exist every day in the printing industry. Within this real life example you now have two options. One, you all of a sudden realize that your brochure was quoted on the wrong stock and you notify your printer right away or your printer prints the job on the wrong paper and it is delivered. In either scenario a costly mistake has been made. Your brochure was either delivered on the wrong paper or your printer had the privilege to increase their price due to the fact that inaccurate specifications were provided.
How does the print buyer avoid costly mistakes on their specifications? Below I have put together some easy steps that will always help you provide accurate specifications to your printer.
1. Create and complete a specification form that is used to submit all specifications to your printer.
2. Your "Print Specification Form" should contain the following information:
A. Description
B. Quantity
C. Number of Colors
D. Flat Size and Finish Size
E. Number of Pages
F. Bleeds
G. Paper Type - indicate cover weight or text weight.
H. Type of digital file supplied and indicate if the platform is Mac or PC.
I. Indicate the type of proof required.
J. Indicate if the
“ Every failure is a blessing in disguise, providing it teaches some needed lesson one could not have learned without it. Most so-called Failures are only temporary defeats.” Napoleon HillWith fierce global competition, organizations need to change. Global values (GV) may be the key term for the millennium. Building on similar values will be crucial for multi-national organizations. Let’s explore this thought closer. Twenty-first century organizations can no longer create values independent of others without any market input. Why should today’s leaders be concerned with organizational values? Conflicts in values between leaders and followers can have a dramatic impact on the bottom-line of an organization. Hamel, author of ,i>Leading the Revolution, maintains that these turbulent times are forcing organizations to adapt.Creating shared valued with the customer is a remarkable concept in today’s competitive climate. Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2004) argue that an individual-centered co-creation of value between the customer and company is being generated. Clearly, a check and balance system is needed because powerful people don’t always do what is right. Thieme explains, “The future is a social construction of reality.…Those possibilities will be defined by our horizons and our horizons are
You have probably spent countless hours writing copy and incurred the expense of graphic design on your brochure and it is now ready to send to the printer, with one exception, the specifications are incorrect. While this scenario is merely a hypothetical example, circumstances like this one exist every day in the printing industry. Within this real life example you now have two options. One, you all of a sudden realize that your brochure was quoted on the wrong stock and you notify your printer right away or your printer prints the job on the wrong paper and it is delivered. In either scenario a costly mistake has been made. Your brochure was either delivered on the wrong paper or your printer had the privilege to increase their price due to the fact that inaccurate specifications were provided.
How does the print buyer avoid costly mistakes on their specifications? Below I have put together some easy steps that will always help you provide accurate specifications to your printer.
1. Create and complete a specification form that is used to submit all specifications to your printer.
2. Your "Print Specification Form" should contain the following information:
A. Description
B. Quantity
C. Number of Colors
D. Flat Size and Finish Size
E. Number of Pages
F. Bleeds
G. Paper Type - indicate cover weight or text weight.
H. Type of digital file supplied and indicate if the platform is Mac or PC.
I. Indicate the type of proof required.
J. Indicate if the
Do you want to give good customer service and do you want to make sure that the message you send out to your target market and potential customers is a simple message and one they can understand. Many people believe and I believe also that customer service surveys can help you in finding out if your customers are satisfied and if you are actually giving good customer service.But in order to achieve good customer service you first need to make sure that your marketing is sending out the right message. So I suggest that you Survey your marketing first. In other words find out if those who are reading your advertising and your marketing are in fact getting the right message that you are intending to send them.You should attempt to get feedback of your marketing message from your friends, vendors, contractors, employees and your target market customers. You need to find out how people are receiving your message and who is receiving it; this needs to be your target market and target customers.If your target customers and target market are not receiving your message you need to adjust the way that your sending it out and adjust what you are saying it. This may mean changing your market mix, firing your advertising agency and completely reviewing your marketing strategy.Please consider this in 2006
How does the print buyer avoid costly mistakes on their specifications? Below I have put together some easy steps that will always help you provide accurate specifications to your printer.
1. Create and complete a specification form that is used to submit all specifications to your printer.
2. Your "Print Specification Form" should contain the following information:
A. Description
B. Quantity
C. Number of Colors
D. Flat Size and Finish Size
E. Number of Pages
F. Bleeds
G. Paper Type - indicate cover weight or text weight.
H. Type of digital file supplied and indicate if the platform is Mac or PC.
I. Indicate the type of proof required.
J. Indicate if the
It is difficult to find the best jobs by using the conventional way of job hunting because they are hardly ever advertised. In reality, people are recommended for the positions by someone within their professional network who would also provide tips on how to ace the job interviews. Dr. Obi Igbokwe, CEO of Biohealthmatics.com (http://www.biohealthmatics.com), a biotechnology career website, agrees that to get the best jobs, it is important to have a solid network of contacts. He also mentions it is now easier to have those contacts by networking online. Online networking, which involves the mutual exchange of information and knowledge between people through online forums and websites, has moved the art of networking from conferences, industry breakfasts and power lunches to the comfort and privacy of one’s home. “Online networking not only provides the freedom of participants to get to know thousands of people from any part of the world at their own schedule, it also removes social barriers like shyness and financial barriers which include the cost of travelling and staying in hotels for conferences and industry events.” added Dr. Obi Igbokwe, speaking on the launch of the career networking service on Biohealthmatics.com. Another advantage of online networking according to Dakotta J.K. Ale
1. Create and complete a specification form that is used to submit all specifications to your printer.
2. Your "Print Specification Form" should contain the following information:
A. Description
B. Quantity
C. Number of Colors
D. Flat Size and Finish Size
E. Number of Pages
F. Bleeds
G. Paper Type - indicate cover weight or text weight.
H. Type of digital file supplied and indicate if the platform is Mac or PC.
I. Indicate the type of proof required.
J. Indicate if there are any unique bindary instructions such as die cut, foil stamp, emboss, etc.
K. When providing the specifications indicate if there are any unique shipping instructions.
L. When a quote is submitted by the printer, compare the quote to your specifications and notify your printer via email of any questions or discrepancies.
M. Insure that you allow your printer at least 24 hours to complete a quote on any custom print quote.
While the above steps will not eliminate errors, they will be greatly reduced if they are followed correctly.
Now we will examine the above steps and examine the details of your requirements.:
Description - This will be your item identification. You may have a numbering system or use a unique name. For example: "July Open House Brochure". Ok, you are probably asking how will this one step save me money on my printing costs? So often you may decide to get several different quotes on a particular piece before you decide. If your project is called "Event Brochure" and you ask for an option in sizes for "8-1/2" x 11" vs. 11" x 17" then indicate those options within your description. Always reference your exact quote when placing the order. Therefore, you are not running the risk of your printer working from the wrong quote in the event you choose to place an order.
Quantity- certainly this goes without saying. However, I highly encourage you to carefully examine usage over the coming months and order more then you need right now. It is much cheaper for you to avoid setups when the job is printed than to pay for a reprint. So ask your printer for five quantity options so that you can accurately determine the cost differences between the quantities and make an informed decision.
Number of Colors - on your form, clearly indicate the number of colors that you want on the printed piece. Typically you can accomplish just about anything that you want to accomplish with four color process. However, there are many factors to consider when setting up your piece and we will discuss this in future articles. If you are the least bit unsure of the cost differences between 2 colors and 4 colors just ask your printer for a comparative price between the two and you examine your own options. Finally does your piece require a varnish or a coating. The need for coatings vary and is dependent upon the application of the printing piece. Do you want protection and shine with your printed piece or does it really matter. Of course there are hundreds of other factors, bu
HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.casualarticles.com/article/32824/casualarticles-How-to-Save-Thousands-of-Dollars-on-Printing-Step-1--Submit-Accurate-Specifications-to-Your-Print.html">How to Save Thousands of Dollars on Printing: Step #1 - Submit Accurate Specifications to Your Print</a>
BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.casualarticles.com/article/32824/casualarticles-How-to-Save-Thousands-of-Dollars-on-Printing-Step-1--Submit-Accurate-Specifications-to-Your-Print.html]How to Save Thousands of Dollars on Printing: Step #1 - Submit Accurate Specifications to Your Print[/url]
Related Articles:
Dot Net Interview Questions - Smart Navigation
Top Speaker Says: 1960's Rhetoric Prevents Us From Really Satisfying Customers
Bookmark it:
|