A lot of graphic design students are often told that a good relationship with a printer is a necessary aspect to having a thriving graphic design business, but unfortunately many of these one day designers let that wise knowledge go in one ear and out the other. It’s easy to understand why it wouldn’t seem that important because all a designer needs to do is just save the proper file and send it on its way... right? Well, not really. Even simple things like fonts, bleeds, and visual styles can go awry after the file is sent, and it’s important that the relationship you have with your local Chicago printer helps to take care of some of these issues.
Here are a few of the ways we suggest you maintain a great relationship with our printers!
1. Communication is Key: It’s tempting to just nod your head and assume everything is going to be alright when your printer is using a lot of technical sounding terms. It can be confusing. Don’t be afraid to stop and ask for a better explanation when you don’t understand something.
2. Try to Print Most Jobs with One Printer Only: Spend more time with one printer rather than finding the cheapest one for every job. Sure, you could save yourselves a couple bucks by finding a cheaper printer each time you do a print job, but this just means you have that much more explaining to do each time. Becoming familiar with one printer means you have someone that can catch small mistakes and knows all of your preferences.
3. Learn the Basics of Prepress and File Preparation: This one’s especially crucial for things like product packaging and more complex design projects. Even though you won’t have to participate in this process, learning about this step that your printer takes helps you understand the type of work that goes into taking your file and making it print ready.
4. Learn the Lingo: When your printer says 100# Cover or 4/4 or
saddle stitching, do you know what they are talking about? Basic print terminology is pretty important to knowing your options and communicating what you would like.
At AlphaGraphics Chicago North, we like to say that the more time you put into the relationship with us as your printer the smoother your print job will actually be. Working together as a team means you have an ally in the print production process and someone who you desire to work alongside with to ensure the best end results in your print project. We love helping our clients understand the printing process and are exciting to get started on having a better relationship with you. Give us a call or stop by our shop on Michigan Avenue to get started today!