A story of dissatisfaction with a Staples printing department:
We received a call from a rather flustered client who (despite our recommendations) had taken their brand new business card artwork to the local Staples store to be printed. A couple of hours later, our client takes a phone call from the Staples service department - not to tell her that everything was ready for pick up - but rather, to tell her that the business cards were ‘blurry’, and that the file setups were ‘horrible’. Needless to say, our client was none too happy, figuring that our logo designers has sent her crappy files and business card setups. Sigh. As we’ve been doing since day one, we set up all our business card artwork as print ready impositions, in .eps and .pdf formats, in CMYK Four Color Process or PANTONE Spot Color formats depending on the color palette (see our logo file formats guide for more). Hasn’t ever been a problem. Shouldn’t be a problem now. I advised the client to calm down, and offered to speak with the kind people at Staples to see what’s what.
Lesson learned: bring your business printing needs to a professional print shop.
Even though Staples is equipped with millions of dollars in digital printing technology from EFI and Xerox; Staples still can't offer the a level of service required to produce business cards - one of the simplest of printed business products.
Discussion
By Cambridge print on Jan 31, 2008
Couldn't agree more. The same could be said about using a professional designer too. Desktop publishing and high-street printers have obviously brought great benefits, but it's a shame people don't always understand the difference between convenience and quality.
By Bryan Yeager on Jan 31, 2008
I heard something the other week about Kinkos (FedEx Kinkos... whatever) from a former Kinkos employee. He said that Kinkos stores on the west coast (the original ones) have excellent service because a lot of the original management still exists in those locations and knows how to hire/train good people to provide convenience AND good service (pretty magical these days, I know). I don't know how true it is but I would believe it. I also wonder how quick print chains stack up against each other. Sir Speedy vs. AlphaGraphics vs. Kinkos vs. Staples, etc. I've never really had to use these services for anything critical.
By Brian on Feb 01, 2008
Yet another example of why quality employees and training are vital to customer service.
I have a friend who works for FedEx Kinkos (worst business name ever, by the way) and he claims that they get very good training not only on the equipment at the location, but how to outsource jobs too complex for their location, how to help customers understand the pitfalls of less-than-stellar design work and best of all, print and color theory.
Something that's not addressed in the excerpt above: Staples is a COPY center. They have COPY machines. The fact that they may be networked and their source can come from a computer, rather from the glass, does not mean they are digital printers. You'll find the same problem at a UPS store, an Office Max and even poorly equiped Kinkos. Sir Speedy, AlphaGraphics, Pip, etc. would certainly fare better in the "quality" department
By Patrick Henry on Feb 01, 2008
I'll never forget the experience, a few years ago, of trying to purchase business cards and letterhead from the local FedEx Kinko's. Who'd have thought, in this day and age, that attempting to e-mail a simple Quark file and a couple of low-res graphics would throw a print shop into such consternation? When it was clear that we couldn't do it that way, I soon found that the walk-in routine was no better: lines to stand on, order forms to fill out, surly counter staff to put up with. Guess what? A quick-copy business down the boulevard--a dark and dingy little place, like Dickens's Old Curiosity Shop with Xerox machines--got the order when I could stand the rudeness and inefficiency of FedEx Kinko's no longer. That non-franchised, unpretentious little quick-print shop has been my preferred provider ever since, even though FedEx Kinko's is cheaper. I don't doubt that, as Brian points out, some of these chain locations are better than others. But when it comes to choosing between the sleek national giants and the hardscrabble independents to get my printing done, I'll take simplicity and a smile over a big name and a bad attitude every time.
By Print Goddess 1 on Feb 05, 2008
Two cents on one Sir Speedy franchise: The woman that owns it came out of the printing business. She has a stable of printers that she outsources her business to when it cannot be handled in-house. Over the last five years, I've given her more and more business to handle, including fulfillment, webprinting (prior to imprinting), fast turn printing, short runs.
This franchise is run more like a local stand-alone print shop. The reason that the shop remains a franchise is for volume pricing on equipment afforded by the master franchise. The staff is personable and helpful to the extreme. They put in long hours during our busy season and we don't get any complaints.
So, my gut tells me to stay as far away (okay, run...)from the big box stores and those franchises who tell you that they can do anything and everything as you would from a print salesperson who tells you the same thing. Have a sit down meeting with the owner and talk about what's important to you and see if there is common ground. A printed product is still a custom manufactured product, the tools are different now, but the qualities required in the human beings who handle the job remains the same.
By Barbara Stapleton on Jan 20, 2014
Staples uses the SAME software as VistaPrint and images, margins, outcome are awful as a result
By Heath Cajandig on Jan 20, 2014
"Even though Staples is equipped with millions of dollars in digital printing technology from EFI and Xerox; Staples still can't offer the a level of service required to produce business cards - one of the simplest of printed business products."
While all of this feedback does reflect the experiences of many people, don't get a false sense of security in thinking that a big box office store or franchisee can't deliver on big business or enterprise opportunities because they are.
The big box stores offer same day printing for certain products and configurations using their onsite digital equipment along with retail walk-in work. Then, they have print capacity with their centralized facilities with team of sales reps that are big game hunting and winning at the Enterprise level with special pricing and dedicated and branded online storefronts. On top of that, they have partnerships with companies for products like business cards (Corporate Identity),for example, that at the top of their game in this industry.
If your experience leads you to believe they aren't suitable for business printing, odds are you have been in the micro/small business realm and dealing with retail employees that are hit and miss.
Discussion
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