Like almost all businesses, printing is now an online business. If you know for a fact that you don’t need help from your friendly, local printer, then an online printing business might be a good fit.
Full disclosure: I was contacted by Printfirm to write a review in exchange for a product from their product line. I’m writing this review based on my limited experience as both a customer and a graphic artist.
First, I had no experience using their website to order my product, in this case business cards, so I can’t tell you what to expect. I have found that the ease of use of a website depends on what your experience level is and what level of frustration you’re willing to put up with. I used a competitor’s website to order cards before, and I found the experience daunting and was overwhelmed by their relentlessness in their zeal to up-sell me. This website may be the same, maybe not.
The good news is that Printfirm does accept almost any file type, but according to Printfirm, for best results, start with a CMYK color space and 300 DPI. Being a Photoshop hobbyist, I was informed of this after I had sent in my first draft of my business cards. I then had to figure out how to convert my RBG color space and 72 DPI to the recommended settings. Once I made the revisions, I sent back two 3meg JPEG files, one for the front of my card and one for the back. A flattened PSD or a PDF file might have been a better choice to send in.
From here, Printfirm does a great job of communicating. After sending my files, I received an email confirming that my proofs were sent to the email address assigned to my order. The next day I received an email confirming my artwork and my files were approved.
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They then generated a PDF of my files for one last approval before it went to print. Here’s where things get a bit murky for me. I created my cards using a Photoshop template that should, at the very least, guide me for aspect ratio. I brought my logo design very close to the edge of the card. When I got the PDF proof from Printfirm, I noticed that they squeezed the entire image smaller which added more negative space, a border if you will, around the image and text. They then filled in that space with the background color. What if I wanted the image to “bleed” off the edge of the card, would they not allow it? I don’t know the answer, but this is the same thing that happened when I used a competing company. All the same, I approved their layout and soon I had an email confirming that it was being sent to “In-print-process” which includes staging, plating, printing, cutting, boxing and quality control. From this point on, no more revisions could be made.
I soon had a few more emails confirming my order, including pricing and shipping. You can follow your shipping by logging on to your order number which is very convenient.
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Overall, I was a little disappointed in the quality of the cards. Prior to sending my files, I had printed a proof on photo paper and my expectation was that my cards would come out looking similar. Squeezing the design to make it smaller reduced the fine lines of the font. While almost imperceptible, I could see where they added more background color. The background color has a grainy, uneven look and is a bit darker and more saturated than my photo paper proof. I didn’t want my card to have a flimsy feel, so I asked for a heavier card stock this time, but I’m thinking that what I received is a standard card stock. In fact when held up to the light, I can see the image on the backside of my card. Some of these issues could be of my own doing. I would have to have a detailed discussion with a printer to find out how to get the best results from using an online printing company.
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The good news is that I’m not embarrassed to hand out my new cards. I received 250 cards that have a $26 value. I figure that’s about right for what I received considering that it’s a double sided card with a UV coating on one side, in fact it’s probably a good bargain.