What the…
Since I was down to my last 25 Jayne hat business cards, I ordered more. This time, I ordered double-sided, with care info on the reverse, killing two birds with one stone.
The problem? They came back looking like hot buttered CRAP.
The old one is on the right. The new one is on the left. The exact same graphic file was used for the front of both cards. The colors are allegedly identical in all backgrounds. I thought I’d picked the same coating for the new cards as for the old ones – did I not? And why are there little whitish spots on all the new ones? There weren’t any on the old ones.
I know this is perfectionistic of me, but these are how I represent myself to the world. I want them to look the way I want them to look. Namely, professional, and not like I printed them out on my laser printer at home. Instead I paid for a thousand double-sided business cards that look WRONG! ARGH!
ETA: I heard back from customer service pretty quickly after I wrote them a polite note. The new batch was printed on a different printer than the original batch. They’ve offered to reprint them for me. I asked whether that would fix the specific issues mentioned, and they’ve printed a batch of 100 and are sending them to me for my approval. Based on what I say, we’ll decide what to do next. Good customer service from PrintsMadeEasy!
Duude. That is a severe suckage in quality. There’s such a thing as variance in colour quality from one batch of ink to another, like with wool, but I can guarantee you that I used a Pantone colour for that, an absolute colour. My advice is email them and tell them about the drop in quality, and the inconsistency. If they had any kind of quality control in effect this shouldn’t have happened. A coating doesn’t affect colour anywhere near this much.
If need be, I’d say offer to mail them one of the old and one of the new cards, and put emphasis on the fact that they used the same exact source file and that the backgorund was a Pantone spot colour. Sure, they offer a service, but if they muck it up, they have to fix their mistake just like any other service provider.
Duude. That is a severe suckage in quality. There’s such a thing as variance in colour quality from one batch of ink to another, like with wool, but I can guarantee you that I used a Pantone colour for that, an absolute colour. My advice is email them and tell them about the drop in quality, and the inconsistency. If they had any kind of quality control in effect this shouldn’t have happened. A coating doesn’t affect colour anywhere near this much.
If need be, I’d say offer to mail them one of the old and one of the new cards, and put emphasis on the fact that they used the same exact source file and that the backgorund was a Pantone spot colour. Sure, they offer a service, but if they muck it up, they have to fix their mistake just like any other service provider.
Poor ponk. Your beautiful, beautiful art.
I just dropped them a message with a link to that jpg. When they respond, I can mention it was a Pantone spot color. I’ll be glad to send them back whatever they want – I just want to get decent-looking cards!
Those little white flecks are on every card on various spots. It’s like it’s snowing, but at least Jayne’s got his booze and his hat to keep him warm!
Poor ponk. Your beautiful, beautiful art.
I just dropped them a message with a link to that jpg. When they respond, I can mention it was a Pantone spot color. I’ll be glad to send them back whatever they want – I just want to get decent-looking cards!
Those little white flecks are on every card on various spots. It’s like it’s snowing, but at least Jayne’s got his booze and his hat to keep him warm!
Dude, as a printer’s daughter, I say ask for your money back or the cards redone. That is unacceptable.
Dude, as a printer’s daughter, I say ask for your money back or the cards redone. That is unacceptable.
can you complain? demand a do-over?
can you complain? demand a do-over?
I agree with everyone else. I’d ask for a redo or my money back.
I agree with everyone else. I’d ask for a redo or my money back.
I hope they respond positively and help resolve the issue to your satisfaction!
I hope they respond positively and help resolve the issue to your satisfaction!
Don’t feel bad for calling them out on this. Yes, you can expect variations in print quality in a batch, but if it’s more than 10% of the batch (industry standard) absolutely demand a reprint or a refund.
And your card is adorable BTW!
Don’t feel bad for calling them out on this. Yes, you can expect variations in print quality in a batch, but if it’s more than 10% of the batch (industry standard) absolutely demand a reprint or a refund.
And your card is adorable BTW!
I’m glad to hear they’re redoing them. I hope the next batch is better!
I’m glad to hear they’re redoing them. I hope the next batch is better!
This is what proofs are for. Too bad you can’t really get one on this kind of job. :-\ (Though, I guess you could always ask for one.)
Something else you may not even think about at first: It could be different paper. Different paper can really wreak havoc on how something ends up looking.
But it very well could just be the printer. That can make a really big difference.
This is what proofs are for. Too bad you can’t really get one on this kind of job. :-\ (Though, I guess you could always ask for one.)
Something else you may not even think about at first: It could be different paper. Different paper can really wreak havoc on how something ends up looking.
But it very well could just be the printer. That can make a really big difference.