Five reasons to choose a medium sized commercial printer

Why print with a medium sized family owned print shop? 

1. Scheduling - Let me ask you this. When does your publication need to be in the hands of readers? Crucial isn't it. Presses should run when you need them to run. Not squeezed between other clients on the third shift of the third Thursday of every month, given its not November and only if the files uploaded correctly. Otherwise you get squeezed in when the pressman finds the time. TIMELY SERVICE is very important.
2. Prepress - Next question. Who will be your interface for prepress questions, technical support, troubleshooting and that final proof before the presses run? If it were my publication, I'd want a direct line to the production manager. Yep! I want a straight shooter here. The manager who knows everything from software compatibility, the quirks of graphics, the upload process to an ftp site, the proofing/plating equipment, registration, color corrections and finally the expected outcome on the press. I'd want only the EXPERT SERVICE available from a seasoned production manager.
3. Press & Bindery- What presses will give me the best bang for my print buck? Full color, full bleed, gloss, matte, heat-set, black & white coldset, combinations of the aforementioned. Do you want perfect binding, saddle stitching, inserts, polybagging, over wraps, etc. Can it all happen within one facility or is your schedule drawn out to accommodate multiple SERVICES in multiple facilities or by multiple vendors. Hmmm...Can your current printer coordinate, manage, and deliver multiple SERVICES?
4. Mailing - How does your publication get delivered? Direct mailing, drop ship to events or newsstands, and how time sensitive is the content of your publication? Who takes care of the logistics? Wow! More SERVICE. Do you maintain the mail lists with updates, NCOA, Cass certification and periodic cleaning? Or would you like your printer to provide these SERVICES?
5. Follow-up - Once your publication has left the print facility, where does it go and are you sure it got there? Do you track, spot check or follow-up with the Post Office or bulk shipper? Or do you simply wait for the complaints to roll in and then mail out extra copies at premium rates to disgruntled readers. Guess the follow-up SERVICE is important too!