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Need some advice; one of my colleagues has dropped a bit of a whoopsie or so it seems and I'm interested as to how 'the industry' handles matters like this.
For background, we're a SME chemical co and have been doing some handouts that are a bit better than self produced for a show, hence they are being styled up and printed out on glossy paper, etc. But we don't have a formal marcomms division and so one of the customer service ladies has taken it on and .... well..... experience etc.
we created the draft but needed to clarify one particular description so put something like 'insert description here' in the place of the missing bit. They type set it or whatever they do nowadays and sent to us to proof which she did with a few formatting amends plus supplying the missing info.
They sent a redraft, which included the missing info but still didn't quite get the formatting quite right. So we corrected that further and sent it back, upon which they sent us a further draft which 'after checking' she approved.
Trouble is that it appears to the layman (me) that they changed the original document again rather than the redraft, because my colleague has approved the piece without rechecking the text - and so now we have a perfectly formatted document but with 'insert description here' instead of the right words. She maintains that she didn't think she needed to recheck text because she'd already checked and approved that, it was stylistic only that she looked at.
They're saying that we approved the draft.
Who's right? I suppose technically they are but what would the industry normally do because we have 800 pieces of a if not entirely useless, slightly embarrassing brochure. I'd imagine if we did loads of literature with this firm they'd suck it up for relationship but we don't particularly. I'm seeing if we can get a half price reprint but i don't know if what i'm asking is 'normal' or not?
Difficult one, technically they are at fault, they have however had an incorrect draft signed off which lays the blame squarely at your final proof reader. Have you paid in advance? (Probably it's only mugs like me that work on credit in the print game, hence why I'm no longer in it)
Yes you should be able at the very least to get a paper cost only reprint, it's perfectly normal to ask and for a completely free reprint, but it depends very much on them and their consideration for future business with you.
If however you haven't yet paid then the negotiation gets tougher for them.
Edit, just a thought did she keep a copy of the correct draft with the insert text added but the format issue not. Could strengthen your position.
They should be making changes to the latest draft, if you can demonstrate ie an old email that the new copy had been added to version 3 for instance then it shouldn’t have changed back on the next iteration.
Personally I think the ball is in your court from what it sounds like.
You did approve the proof so yes technically it's on you, however they've obviously cocked up by amending a previous version. If it were me I would be very embarrassed & re-print it without a charge. If they don't agree to meet you halfway at the very least I wouldn't use them again, printers are 10 a penny.
What about a sticker to cover over the offending paragraph? Give the work experience something to do during their lunch break!
You should never be in a position where you need to have a printer alter artwork!
If you need anends doing, do them, then send them the amended print ready PDF
basically, if you signed it off, it’s on you. That’s why the printers always ask for a sign off
It's on you.
Think of the proof you sign off as being the absolute final thing before plates get cut and the process begins. You need to check every single element, and are signing off what is essentially a simulation of the finished product.
This based on 15+ years in media from print, design studios, magazines, creative agencies.
Be nice to the design/print co and explain your proofer person has made an error, ASK (don't expect) if they can hook you up with a reduced price reprint and chalk it up to experience. And proof it yourself.
You should never be in a position where you need to have a printer alter artwork!
yeh, it's a bit more complex because the actual work went to a designer middleman that then organised the printing for us and our dealings have been with the middleman but they sent us the proof that we approved and on that basis then sent same file or whatever to the printer. I left that out as doesn't really affect the story, but technically the printer's off the hook, it's whether the designer needs to pay for another run of correct pieces, or go half way with them.
We don't have the in house expertise to do this stuff - we just wrote the copy and gave them virtually a pencil sketch of how we wanted it to look (pics here, icons here and here, etc.) and they tarted it up (that's what you designers do isn't it?)
I love the way that people view print projects as easy. Just Desktop printing innit?
You dropped the ball sadly by signing off an error laden proof. You should get be able to negotiate a deal on a reprint I would have thought as there seems to be a degree of complicity in their wrong proofing.
We had a VERY expensive error last night across 5 editions of one of our papers. Luckily we had a document trail that proved error on the printer's part. Still had brown trousers for an hour before I could get to the office and check our files this morning.
You approved it, so your fault ultimately. Though saying that, sending off a document with an insert text here comment is a fairly massive mistake on their part, i'd have expected them to at least flick through the doc and flag it up to you(thoughI'm unsure how obvious that is). Particularly if it's a large document.
How nice they are about it with ye really I guess is dependent on how much repeat business they expect from you. They could speak to the printers (if they have a good relationship with them) and ask if they can do anything for you and also to offer to send to print again with out their mark up.
ultimately thought you approved it. So legally I reckon they don't have to be nice to you, but generally they should, if they want your business again. (and if they expect some from you, otherwise I wouldn't be expecting them to bend over backwards too much.)
Make some noise about it though, they might sort ye out just to get rid of you.
cheers, just wanted to see what industry SOP was before I started making an arse of myself.
If it was direct to a printer your fault, via a designer I'd says theirs. No doubt they marked it up so it wont be full cost to them to sort out.
Hmmm, it looks more like the design house you used is most at fault, or whoever proofread the copy before plate making stage, however, when I worked in prepress, after proofs were signed off, an inkjet would be run off of the whole job, as it would appear on the plates, from the actual files, and they would be given a quick read-through, ‘topping and tailing’, basically checking the first and last words on each paragraph, because any formatting change, like a couple of words changed, would alter line-breaks through the text.
Even then things got missed; I remember one of the printers bringing a printed sheet across asking if a particular word was spelled correctly, the studio manager looked at it and groaned, it was wrong, and it was an important mistake, but the client had checked it three times, we’d checked it through, and everyone had missed it, only our eagle-eyed printer spotted it!
It’s really down to those parties directly involved in actual proof-reading and setting and layout to sort out these things, although as the primary contact it’s your responsibility to make absolutely certain it’s all correct as well, in this case you should have insisted on doing a press-proof, where you go to the printer, with a copy of the job in hand, that you know to be correct, and compare that with what actually comes off the end of the press; this is quite a common practice, and allows that final read-through, and colour check as well.