Seattle Bindery Newsletter: Issue No. 43. We welcome your comments.

1. Re: Apples to Tomatoes Conundrum. Don’t ask if you don’t want to get. Boy did I get, and I really appreciate the feedback. I sent out coffee coupons to those who responded--next time don’t miss out on yours.

Just to refresh your memory, the question I asked was: What do you do when you lose a job to a competitor based on price--but only because they left out certain job specs that the customer hadn’t, but should’ve, asked for? I might’ve been whining at the time, but now we’re talkin’ turkey--it looks like the “send out the quote and hope for the best” approach is more common than it should be. One person replied, “smart print buyers [should know to] toss out the low and high bids.” Others sent me horror stories that were worse than mine.

But, some readers did have solutions to offer and the common theme I heard was: “go meet with the customer and ‘splain it.” Present not only the “bare bones” quote that buyers think they need, but offer additional quotes with the “options” that are actually required. This way, it gives you a chance to compete on the same level as competitors, without compromising your integrity and your desire to perform the job fully. It’s also the diplomatic way for you to be the “expert” and provide the “training” that some customers need. That can help build a future relationship with the customer, too, at which point you don't even have to be the low bidder.

Thanks for the education, and enjoy those lattes!

2. Tip of the Week. If your customers have tab jobs that also need to be punched, make sure their designs allow for a 1/2” space above the top tab and below the bottom tab. That’s where the equipment grips the paper to push it into the punching dies. Allowing a minimum 1/2” allowance is your insurance that the equipment won’t bend or damage the tabs.

3. “I Didn't Know You Did...” Plain tabs for use in copiers and laser printers. We call them our Copy Right tabs, and they come on 90lb. and 110lb. index stock. You can order standard configurations like 4th and 5th cuts, or we can cut your tabs at whatever bank you need.

4. OOPS! Quebecor World recently caused a huge uproar in New Brunswick, Canada, after it printed 50,000--instead of just 3--winning coupons worth $1,500 in free gas. Looks like someone forgot to change the plates on the press after the winning coupons were printed. And no, client Ultramar (a gasoline retailer in Canada) is not going to honor all 50,000 “winning” coupons. To appease irate customers, the company is offering other smaller prizes instead.

 
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