Delivery day nerves

[Marian]

How do you cope when the delivery date of a large job that you have designed looms closer and closer?

I've just spoken to a printing company who said they used to work with a designer who had to take the delivery day off because he was just too nervous to come into work.

When the huge lorry turns up to deliver the job I am a nervous wreck!! :icon_hide:

Any tips for coping?

 

[Toppers]

Yes... double, tripple, quadruple check your proofs before they go to print knowing that if there are any problems that it's the printers fault to fix!

 

[DougBarned]

Just make sure you've done a good job and you'll have nothing to worry about :icon_wink:

And if something does come back a bit off, make sure you have evidence someone else told you to make it that way :icon_lol:

Good luck :icon_cheers:

 

[spottypenguin]

I hate it when deliveries come in. Despite me checking the work, my line manager and the web development lad it's when that one tiny thing is wrong; hate it, that sicky; gut churning moment as you look through the work.

 

[Minuteman Press]

Take the proofing process seriously, make sure you are not disturbed and if you can find zero errors, check again. The more jobs you do, the less the stress.

 

[Dave L]

Easy: never, ever be the person who signs off the proofs.

 

[Toppers]

Easy: never, ever be the person who signs off the proofs.

Made me LOL!

 

[spottypenguin]

Easy: never, ever be the person who signs off the proofs.

Aye right, my boss always signs the proofs off - but I have never yet heard him say an error was his fault :icon_biggrin:

 

[rgregory]

Aye right, my boss always signs the proofs off - but I have never yet heard him say an error was his fault :icon_biggrin:

LOL that's just what I was thinking

 

[bigdave]

I get nervous just incase Ive missed something stupid. I made a slight mistake once with a 64pp booklet that was ona 10k print run. for some reason I didnt put a text wrap on one image and 2 lines of text (including someones phone number) disapeared behind it... I dont think anyone ever noticed as they paid the full amount without complaint....

 

[YellowPeril]

Always get someone else to check your work after you have checked it, use but don't rely on spellcheck and get the client to sign off - a signature always brings focus to someones mind.

I put in a large fount on my sign off sheet, 'mistakes cost money and if your signature is on here, it is your money and your responsibility.

It seems to work.

 

[spottypenguin]

Always get someone else to check your work after you have checked it, use but don't rely on spellcheck and get the client to sign off - a signature always brings focus to someones mind.

I put in a large fount on my sign off sheet, 'mistakes cost money and if your signature is on here, it is your money and your responsibility.

It seems to work.

Aye you are right however the vast majority of our proofs are delivered and accepted elctronically and despite LARGE purple text staing that "errors found in print after approval has been given are not our responsibility" makes feck all difference.

 

[YellowPeril]

Yes you are right, I found that doing things by email really does distance people from resposibility, that's why this is the one thing that I still do hard copy in my presence.

 

[YellowPeril]

I had a cathartic experience not long after having set up my own practice.

My client, a confectionery business were taking their first steps into new flexible packaging print (as was I). This was going to be six colour gravure which was exceptionally expensive and the print was bought in rolls by wieght (250 kilo rolls I seem to remember) so you can imagine how many sweet bags that would be.

My client (the MD) his production guy and I toured the prospective printers and once shortlisted we visited the chosen one again. This was my first time producing artwork for flexible packaging and I (making sure that my clients were there) impressed upon the printer's rep that he knew that and that I'd need my hand holding in every step of the process.

I duly prepared the artwork and asked the printer to be extra vigilant. I got a phone call from the client saying that that they'd got the bagging machine prepared and that the print was unusable - I thought I was going to be sick, we were talking thousands of pounds here. It turned out that there should have been a clear patch left when the bags were formed into a 'tube' so the adhesive could stick. I hadn't been told about it and the printers didn't notice either at repro or print stage.

Thank goodness that the client stood by me, having heard my conversation with the printers. However the production guy at the stweet company overcame it by making the packing machine work in a different way by offering two unprinted surfaces together rather than overlapping and saving the day.

The printer wasn't very helpful, but they lost out in the long run (forgive the unintentional pun) because these first two products were listed by a major supermarket chain and my client subsequently had his entire range repackaged and we used another printer.