If you’re printing a project with a new, untried, printer or printing an item for the first time, it’s likely that you’ll want to be there when it’s being printed, to make sure everything’s going to plan. It gives you piece of mind, tighter control of what’s going on and you’ll be on hand to resolve problems to your satisfaction if problems arise.
This is called a Press Pass or Press Passing in the printing trade.
At Webmart, we very often do this on behalf of our customer, or alongside them. When you’re print buying, signing off on your proofs can be a very daunting prospect, so you either want to be as close to the action as possible, or have a trusted expert do it for you and make sure everything goes to plan.
We’re very much into process mapping all we can so we continually improve and don’t leave anything to chance. So here’s one of the checklists used by our Print Consultants – including things to remember when visiting non-UK printers.
Rotary trimming – edges rough and trimming out of square. Ask them to change the cutters if it’s not right.
Spine-glued products – a method of putting a thin line of glue into the spine of a section, allowing it to be held together for finishing, usually then trimmed on press for a very cost-effective product.
Stitched on line products – stitch not rounded and biting into the centre pages. The centre pages then become torn and the centre page falls out. Get them to adjust, there and then.
Stitched off line products – stitch too tight and again, like above, tearing the centre pages. (Can be difficult to pass, as it’s done late on in the process, but always worth a mention for things to watch out for before you leave).
There are plenty of other problems to look out for but this should give you enough to look out for!
Finally, a brief run through what you should check on press:
Good Luck!
Though if you’re print buying and don’t want luck to be involved – give Webmart a call and we’ll handle your print project from brief to delivery.