What you don't know does affect you.  When a printer suspects they're dealing with an inexperienced buyer, they frequently give a lower price. Yes – you read that correctly. So why is that bad? (And it "is" bad.) All printers want to close the deal. Most printers perceive inexperienced buyers as "price shoppers" … in other words; they know you'll most likely buy the lowest bid. In order to lower their price, the printer will need to compromise the quality of materials used to print your job; the paper, the type and number of inks being used, coatings, skip proofing steps, and many other things. End result … when you receive the final printed product … disappointment, sometimes to the point where you cannot even use what you purchased. At MG Lomb, we've seen printers substitute expensive paper stocks with junk paper "intentionally" and without notifying anyone!

If you want the best value for your money, having an expert to guide you is advised. MG Lomb is has been designing work for print for more over 15 years, and we've worked with the majority of our local printers. We are experts at print. From offset press printing to digital on demand, to point-of-purchase, novelties and special substrates, we help our clients get the best results and value.

About the Printing Process:
Below are some important facts about the printing process.

Selecting a Printer.  It's MG Lomb's objective to participate in the selection of a printer for our clients. Not every printer is suited for every project, and we can tell you who is right for your job. If you need a professionally printed brochure to promote your products and services, you don't want a printer who specializes in 2 color envelopes and business cards. MG Lomb will help you make the best selection, and achieve the best cost/quality ratio; if cost is more important than quality, we'll bring you the right printer; if quality cannot be compromised, we'll bring you the right printer. Our loyalty is to our clients, and getting the right outcome.

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Prepress Proofs.  When MG Lomb acts as your print broker, we assume this responsibility. After a printer has been selected, and before your job runs at press, we make and review prepress proofs. We'll review these proofs with you and the printer. If the prepress proofs are acceptable, we'll sign-off on them. If adjustments are required, we'll work with the printer to correct them; adjustments might include color balancing of photography (floats), or color balancing of specific brand elements, such as logo colors, etc.  These precautionary steps can be time consuming but are very important. If the prepress proofs are skipped, the final results could be unacceptable and require a reprint – at your expense. If a printer tells you that prepress proofs are unnecessary, then they are not being forthright.

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Press Run Proofs.  When MG Lomb acts as your print broker, we frequently attend the actual printing of your work (the press run). One of MG Lomb's team may travel to the printer's facility where we proof and approve the actual printed sheets, as they come off the press. At this proofing session, the press operator will start then stop the press, and bring a freshly printed sheet out for MG Lomb to review. Under special lights we'll examine the sheet for color and other critical elements. If all is good we'll sign two copies of the printed sheet (press proof) and the printing will proceed. If changes are required we can make adjustments, or pull the job off press until the problem is corrected. This is called a "press-run proof" and it is critically important.

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Cost of Brokering.  By purchasing directly, you might pay less. However, there is real value to MG Lomb brokering and participating. If MG Lomb acts as your broker, the services that we provide (discussed above) are paid for, so it's a very good deal. You will get "piece of mind" from knowing that a neutral party is making sure that your job is done right, and that the right printer was selected.

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Advanced Printing Techniques (Spot Colors / Embossing / Aquesous Coating).  In addition to basic full color printing, there are numerous options to consider. Used professionally these options can dramatically enhance the appearance of a printed piece. MG Lomb's staff can show you examples of these options, and we will make sure that the printer gets them right on your printed work.

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Printing Support.  If you choose the printer yourself MG Lomb cannot back the results, nor can we attend the pressrun proofing (unless MG Lomb's support is paid for separately). Unmanaged, a print job risks the possibility that errors, paper substitutions, or price gouging might occur.  There is also the possibility that your purchasing person may not be able to correctly convey certain design elements to the printer.  In either case, potentially costly problems may occur.  The most common reason that the MG Lomb team is selected to broker printing is that we deal with these industry specific complexities "for" our clients – so they can relax.

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