“We uploaded the art files to the printer only a day late. Why can't the printer make up the time? Don't they want our business?”
A print brokering client of mine asked these questions recently, reminding me that their print books needed to be in the book distributor's possession on time, and not even a day late. (To be completely honest, I have exaggerated my client's actual questions a bit in order to make a point: Schedules matter.)
I spend a lot of time in thrift stores with my fiancee. She looks at the clothes; I go for the print books. In fact, I’ve collected quite a library of textbooks, which I have used since graduating from college to augment my education (and particularly my knowledge of commercial printing, art, and business).
I am a pushover when it comes to romance and swashbuckling. I must have been a pirate in a former life. So when I had the opportunity to join a Facebook group connected to a print book a client of mine was designing for a friend, I joined.
My client’s friend apparently is writing a book, a journal of sorts, describing his early life, many years ago, in the cannabis trade. Now I know this is less highly charged now, and I neither oppose nor condone its use, but this sounded like a good story.
Articles in the media touting the marriage of print and digital always make me happy. Not only because I’m a firm believer in the place of custom printing (and because I’m a printing broker) but also because these articles mirror my own experience. Print and digital amplify each other’s strengths. They don’t have to fight, and one doesn’t have to replace the other.
I received an email link to a commercial printing website this week. Being curious in matters of custom printing, I followed the link to a blog about this vendor's options for cover coatings, or, more specifically, UV coating options.
This motivated me to do some more research into cover coating options. Here are a few things you might consider when specifying cover coatings.
It could be argued that nothing is more boring to read than a contract, except perhaps an insurance policy. However, if you buy commercial printing for a living, it behooves you to at least skim the contract looking for a number of key agreements between you and the custom printing vendor. It will save you money, undue surprise, and overall stress.