Every company has printing needs – from business cards to marketing campaign material. A good relationship with your printer is essential. That means:
- Prompt confirmation of artwork received
- Quick turnaround of proofs
- Accurate records of revisions
- Acknowledgement of approval
- Great quality results on time.
With the best will in the world, when several people in your organisation are involved in the approval process for a project, things can start to unravel as Joe approves the proof he received, but Amanda wants a minor change-making to the wording, and then Perry’s manager asks if something can be added to the document, which means an amended layout will be required to get that in.
No wonder printers everywhere get frustrated as they get conflicting approvals. Someone has approved V1, but then there is a V2 and V3. And it may even be that, when Joe sees V3, he withdraws his approval!
The email paperchase can be confusing and is incredibly time-consuming to keep track of. In fact, that could require someone in full-time administration at the printers’ end, just to stay on top of it. While that may not be your problem – it will almost certainly impact on your costs long-term.
Whose responsibility is it?
Of course, it’s the printers’ responsibility to print the right materials, as approved by your organisation. But with different people involved, it can be easy for a critical email to get lost. Let’s be honest, some spam filters can be a bit random – and one essential email disappearing into the junk folder can make a critical difference to what finally gets printed.
What’s the point of all this?
Check out if your printer uses an online portal that has the tools to manage all these challenges – and cuts out the email trail altogether. The right software will manage versions, create a clear approval process that everyone can see and ensure you get exactly the printed material that you want, when you want it.
If your printer doesn’t have something like this – they can get Approval Pipeline free of charge right now. Check it out now and give your printer a gift they’ll thank you for forever!
