Duane Roberts 
A hallmark of professional printing companies is their staying power in the industry. Look for a printer that has been consistently operating for several years or more. Longevity indicates they understand how to meet customers’ needs, adapt to technological shifts, and deliver quality results to keep clients coming back. Don’t let newcomers tempt you solely with cheap pricing their inexperience likely shows in their work.
Strong portfolio
Experienced printers will have an impressive portfolio highlighting their capabilities across products, industries, finishes, and more. Scrutinize their past work for factors like print quality, color accuracy, attention to detail, and design sensibilities. A robust portfolio showcases a true grasp of their craft to handle whatever your printing needs may be. It also provides tangible examples over claims alone. Quality printing outfits have accumulated plenty of glowing references over the years. Professional printers prominently promote positive client testimonials on their website or other materials. Don’t take a company’s word about great service go right to the source with authentic feedback. Strong testimonials clue you into working with a respected, referral-worthy provider.
Certified staff
From prepress to pressmen, binding operators, customer service reps, and more, exceptional printing relies on exceptional staff expertise. Seek out employee bios boasting relevant credentials like G7 certification for press calibration or Adobe Certified Expert status in design programs. These signify mastery by international standards – not just institutional knowledge. Ongoing education demonstrates a commitment to cutting-edge techniques.
True printing professionals hone in on a niche like books, promotional postcards staten island items, and variable data printing, rather than claiming expertise across too many disjointed offerings. Companies yielding the best outputs recognize the nuances of materials and applications to master them. They tailor equipment investments and workflows specifically for those specializations. Jacks-of-all-trades tend to dilution of talent.
Integrated services
Beyond printing alone, professional providers have end-to-end in-house services allowing your one point of contact for strategy, design, pre-production, ancillary offerings like mailing and fulfillment, and more. An integrated partner invests in the technologies and teams to shepherd your job seamlessly from concept to delivery. Siloed work between separate entities leads to higher customer effort and mistakes.
Speed and agility differentiate leading printing services attuned to just-in-time business landscapes. Savvy providers equip themselves with the latest equipment and staffing to turn projects rapidly without quality sacrifices. Ask about both their press capacities and real turnaround times. Odds are that generic “3-5 day” claims mask sluggishness, while professionals regularly beat aggressive deadlines.
Printing vendors genuinely invested in win-win relationships to avoid inflexible policies, hassles, or hidden fees. Carefully weigh pricing models, support real people over automated bots, examine satisfaction guarantees, and assess how easily you can adjust orders if needed. Professionals structure agreements for simplicity from approval to reprints should you need changes.
