Go ahead, scan it. This one works.
A design process isn’t finished when a file is sent to the client. It’s finished when the piece lands in someone’s hands looking the way it was intended. Between my computer screen and that moment often sits a printer. I’ve learned that for the best results, the right printer is a partner, not a vendor.
Two years ago, I learned that lesson the hard way. I designed the save-the-date cards for my son’s wedding, and I printed them with a printer I had never worked with before. My project manager was nice enough, but no one on their team took the time to notice that the QR code was cropped funny and didn’t work. A dead QR code may look perfectly fine; trouble arises when someone actually scans it. Thankfully, we caught the error and reprinted the cards with plenty of time to mail them. I looked unprofessional, and I should have tested the QR code myself; that was an unnecessary, rookie mistake.
A Chance Meeting
A few weeks later, I was at a networking event and met Ashley of Consolidated Printing in Mt. Prospect; it felt like the stars had aligned. Consolidated is a third-generation, women-owned business, and we immediately hit it off. Through a variety of projects, I’ve learned that they operate with integrity and truly care about the work they produce. Their creativity and craftsmanship showed up in every piece of the suite I designed for my son’s wedding, especially the six-foot, temporarily dry-erase crossword puzzle. Looking back, I cannot imagine printing everything for the wedding without the Consolidated team. I will always be grateful for their candor, craftsmanship, and willingness to collaborate.
A Collaborative Partnership
Fast forward to this week. I’m printing five different menus on expensive paper. I approved the proofs. Once the press started, the Consolidated team noticed a faint box behind the placed images that wasn’t visible on the proofs. They stopped the run and sent me a photo. Then we spent the next hour working through possible solutions together.
Consider what happened there. I had already signed off; they could’ve kept printing and pointed to my approval. Instead, they stopped, showed me the problem, and communicated with me until we had a plan. That is what care looks like when a family business puts its name on every job.
Who’s Your Print Partner?
If you design for a living or print for your business, or you hire someone who does, here is what I’d look for in a print partner:
A printer who looks at your file instead of simply running it. A printer who speaks up before the job is done, not after. A printer who treats a problem as something to solve with you, not something to hand back to you.
Great design starts with knowing yourself, and great results come from knowing who you trust to carry the work across the finish line. For me, that’s Ashley and the whole team at Consolidated Printing. When you find a good printer, treat them like the gift that they are, and let them know how much you appreciate what they do with and for you.
Have a project headed to print? Reach out before the file goes anywhere. I’ll check the details that cost money later, from bleeds to QR codes to stray boxes behind images, so the finished piece looks the way you pictured it. And if you’re looking for a print partner, start with Consolidated. Tell Ashley I sent you.
Aurelie Gallagher is the designer behind Irish Eyes Design, a boutique graphic design studio serving small businesses and entrepreneurs. She specializes in brand identity and print design as well as Squarespace websites, and she believes that great design starts with knowing yourself first.
