Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

This question of mine could go in about 4 different topics in the forum, so I just picked one.

I own/operate a very small (I stress small) graphic design and printing company in my small town. Just recently Adobe announced an alliance with FedEx Kinko`s, where a Kinko`s "print here" button was now available on all new downloads of Acrobat Reader. Well this infuriated most of the print industry and believe it or not, Adobe backed down and is removing the button.

And from that story I got to thinking about how printers are still stuck in the old ages of printing on old presses and doing it the way it`s been done for years and year. But then I look at a place like VistaPrint or even Kinko`s for that matter and they`re forging ahead with Web to Print (W2P) technologies.

I`m beginning to look into this because I hear stories about people doubling their sales annually. So I`m wondering how many of you might feel more compelled to use an online system for W2P that you trusted, was convenient and had a very simple interface for ease of use.

Sorry for the ramble, but I wanted you to get the full picture from the start.

I use a printing shop that is local but has online ordering. We basically can set up the account with the customer, customer pays, and then we can go in and upload / manipulate file. We love this, and the quality is excellent.

I`d never use their print her button. Why would I go to Kinko`s to pick something up? If it`s just a PDF, I have my own printer.

As a designer, this is a poison pen question.  On one level I refrain from using the W2P companies because they lack real customer service.  You don`t get to brainstorm with a sales exec about methods, paper stock or even feedback on preflight to reduce cost and improve quality. 

Then, on the other hand, many of these W2P shops sell stuff for cheap... so you get exactly what you pay for (by sacrificing quality). 

Unfortunately, there are so many web-based companies offering templates, logo packages, printing and more for such low/cheap prices that the general public and small business owner accept the degradation of professional skills and top-level customer service. Two things I hope my clients will use when making a referral.

We use online services like VistaPrint,  we print in-house and we use local printers.  Just depends on the job, quality, price and how quickly we need it.  I think the more you can offer your customers the better as long as you make money doing it.  I don`t know if you saw this article today but VistaPrint is expanding it`s reach:

http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=23307

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Bert at Harvey Software, Inc.
Multi-Carrier Shipping Software and Supply Chain Solutions for Internet Retailers

Also a provider of free shipping information and resources at Harvey Software`s Parcel Shipping Blog along with free tracking solutions at TrackingPage.com...

And that is my thing. If I can offer my customers more service, then I feel I`ve stepped ahead or at the very least caught up with some of my competition.

And yes, I saw the VP / OfficeMax alliance. I predict that one day a building of unimaginable height will stand in a metropolis somewhere (probably China) and it`s name will be One Inc. It will have one president. One owner. And own it all. *ugh*

So really you have the best of both worlds. A local printer whom you can talk to and actually see and are given the opportunity for Web based usage. Now that`s stepping up to the plate in my opinion. Mind if I ask who it is? Maybe inquire with them about what they use?

That is unless we`re competition to each other at which time they`ll probably tell me to screw off. LOL

And that`s yet another idea I`m brainstorming on. Offering a live "talk to an expert" IM chat session. I can upgrade that feature on my current ISP package.

But yea, I too am a designer so I understand the whole idea of W2P`s lack of service and brainstorming.

I think design is the key, and what JSondy and Nikole are considering. For ordinary jobs, if we can`t afford a color printer, we do the design on our own, then either bring in a disk or move it over the Web to the printer. Then pick up the final product.

But we have a need (later) for a finely designed, 4-color glossy brochure as part of a sales kit. It`s likely beyond the capabilities of our own design skills. We`ve found two local printers who are real people, and who offer design work as well. If they come up with a great design, we would also want to work with them for the printing.

What would be great would be for them to store a copy of the final design at their location. We just email them a quantity, they print it, and we go pick it up. It wouldn`t be that hard to do remotely, with a printer NOT local, but it just feels a bit more friendly to have the consultations in person during the design phase.

So I guess it comes down to the tiered-pricing idea of ages old. For low money, use our Web interface and we`ll mail you your hardcopies. For mid-money, we`ll design something or show you some of our templates. But for high-money, we`ll handle your graphic art work and design, from start to finish. 

I do a majority of our own printing in house.  I`ve used both, my biggest complaint about the online print shops is proofs. I`ve only ever had one shop actually send out a proof for review, and any designer knows this is important because sometimes the colors are off and you really need to see what the final production will look like. This is probably why I stay away from online printing. Oh and yes I do lots of inhouse printing probably 2000 mailers/flyers a month from full page to1/8th. Now I do utilize Kinko`s for cutting and folding. I think it`s a dollar a cut and .03$ a fold.

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He who gets greedy like a pig, gets slaughtered like a hog!

When you speak of "proofs" are these hard proofs or just PDF`s? I know some worry about PDF proofs because every monitor displays colors differently.