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make sure, for instance, that all images are CMYK and 300 dpi," he says. "They can control those things for customers in a remote control fashion." Who Designs? Reiher doesn't feel printers should suggest more effective design ideas. More to the point is the need to communicate several options to the designer, conveying that you may not be able to do what she wants, but if her budget is X and her time frame Y, she should consider these three different options. "For printers, customer retention is essential," he says. "They're no longer competing with the guy down the street; they're competing with someone across the country. Make it easy for your customer to get a piece that's on time and on budget, and is easy for them, and they'll come back." Along the same lines, it's not as important for printers to have creative designers on staff to work with customers as it is to have creative problem solvers on staff, Reiher believes. That problem solver must be someone who can help the customer look at her options, and creatively examine what issues to address and how to solve them. "That means having someone who is good on the technical These books commemorating the tragedy of 9/11 were produced by Bindtech. side and has a good eye for design," he reports. "It's someone who can think on both sides of the brain. "Would having a good designer [on staff] be a good thing? It couldn't hurt, but having a good problem solver is the way to go. It comes back to the whole thing about making sure your customers have options and that they feel they're being taken care of. If they have that, they will come back." Making Clients Comfortable At New York City-based Ideas on Pur- pose, a brand communications firm specializing in corporate reporting, brand systems, and interactive media, principal and creative director John Connolly reports his firm does a lot of image-based work, so image translation to print is crucial. "There's a lot of work on the part of the printer and designer to get that to work well," he says. "It requires a lot of collaboration, because the printer has to take our files and do retouching work to make the files appear the way we envisioned them to appear, and then have the capacity to run a lot of ink and have beautiful color saturation." As for effective communication, Connolly says he and his colleagues rely on printers to be able to show examples of technique, papers, and certain inks. All of that is required to make clients of Ideas on Purpose comfortable, especially if a sizable financial investment is being considered. In addition, his company has to build in a budget for press proof and testing. "Clients are not comfortable with a big leap of faith," Connolly says. "They need to be made comfortable." Ideas on Purpose begins with verbal concepts, addressing a client's problem long before the design stage ever com- www.rolanddga.com/wideformat FREE WHITEPAPER Wide Format Printing Opportunities for Commercial Printers tap into new business. VersaCAMM VS 30", 54" and 64" printer/cutters These days, print customers want it all. Posters, banners, decals, wraps, apparel. CMYK, metallic and white ink. Custom contour cutting. Roland VersaCAMM VS inkjet printer/cutters give you the quality and versatility you need to say yes to just about any job that comes your way. Then let the profits flow. For more info and a free print sample, visit www.rolanddga.com/vs. For more information, visit MyPRINTResource.com/10007761 w w w. M y P R I N T R e s o u r c e . c o m August 2013 / QUICK PRINTING 17