A leaflet, a banner and a trade show stand
A client needs leaflets, pull-up banners and printed stand graphics for a trade show. The artworker emails three printers with the specs, each slightly differently worded. Quotes come back in three formats, one with a different paper weight, one with delivery extra, one missing the banners. The producer compares them in a spreadsheet.
Proofs arrive by email and go to the client for sign-off. The stand graphics need to be delivered to the venue on a specific day with a specific reference, which is in one email thread. The printer's invoice arrives a month later and has to be matched to the job and rebilled with a handling fee. By then the producer is on another job.
Why print production is hard to keep straight
- Specifications are written freehand in emails, so quotes are not comparable.
- Each printer quotes in its own format with its own assumptions.
- Proof approvals go through the client and back, with the risk of an old proof being approved.
- Delivery details are specific and time-critical, and live in email threads.
- Supplier invoices arrive late and need matching to jobs for rebilling.
Print is a small share of many agencies' work, which is exactly why there is no system for it. It runs on a producer's inbox.
Where it goes wrong
Quotes are compared unfairly and the agency pays more than it needed to, or misses a cost that appears on the invoice. Wrong proofs get approved and the reprint cost is argued over. Deliveries go to the wrong address or miss the venue slot. Printer invoices are not rebilled, or rebilled without the agreed handling fee.
The production tracker we build
- A job is created with a structured spec: item, size, quantity, stock, finish, delivery address, date and any venue reference.
- The spec is sent in the same format to the printers you choose, with a link for them to submit a quote against each line.
- Quotes are shown side by side, with differences in spec or missing items highlighted.
- The accepted quote becomes a purchase order to the printer and a cost line against the client, marked rechargeable with your handling rule.
- Proofs are uploaded by the printer to the job, sent to the client for approval, and the approved version is recorded. Older proofs are marked superseded.
- Delivery confirmation is requested from the printer, and the producer is alerted if it has not arrived by the date.
- The printer's invoice is matched to the purchase order, and the rebill line goes to the client's next invoice.
| Step | Before | With the tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Spec | Written freehand per printer | One structured spec for all |
| Quotes | Three formats to compare | Side by side, gaps highlighted |
| Proofs | Email chains | Versioned, approved version recorded |
| Delivery | Details in a thread | Tracked with an alert |
| Rebill | Remembered, sometimes | Linked from PO to client invoice |
A trade show job with a tracker
The producer enters the spec once and sends it to three printers. The quotes come back comparable, and the one missing banners is obvious. The client approves the right proof from a link. The stand graphics are confirmed delivered to the venue the day before set-up. When the printer invoices, it matches the order and the rebill appears on the client's invoice without anyone remembering to add it.
Is this your print production?
- Print specs are written freehand in emails to each printer.
- Quotes come back in different formats and are hard to compare.
- Proof approvals have gone wrong.
- Delivery details live in email threads.
- Printer invoices are not always rebilled.