Author Topic: The first sign of trouble ...  (Read 5658 times)

Offline Frog

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The first sign of trouble ...
« on: January 02, 2012, 09:46:20 PM »
was when the customer answered "Adobe" as the program in which he created the design.

And yes, the hits kept coming.
That rug really tied the room together, did it not?


Offline Homer

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Re: The first sign of trouble ...
« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2012, 08:18:42 AM »
love it. . second best -

me: what design would you like on the shirt?

them: oh it's not a design, it's just a logo.

. . and that's when it happened officer. . .
...keep doing what you're doing, you'll only get what you've got...

Offline Denis Kolar

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Re: The first sign of trouble ...
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2012, 08:54:36 AM »
I love when they supply you with "high quality" "artwork" in PowerPoint.

It happened more than once :(

Offline Shanarchy

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Re: The first sign of trouble ...
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2012, 09:40:52 AM »
Received this morning. We are going to be off to a busy new year!

I'm interested getting some t-shirts done.
i want to start off with at least two t's .
i want them to say .... **** **** ...i have an open mind on designs maybe you can help me with.
thanks , *** ***


Offline blue moon

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Re: The first sign of trouble ...
« Reply #4 on: January 03, 2012, 09:45:02 AM »
I love when they supply you with "high quality" "artwork" in PowerPoint.

It happened more than once :(

at least you are talking to ppl off the street. We are dealing with same issues and are doing contract work only!
I have two guys doing over $10k per year with ZERO understanding of the artwork!

pierre
« Last Edit: January 03, 2012, 09:57:47 AM by blue moon »
Yes, we've won our share of awards, and yes, I've tested stuff and read the scientific papers, but ultimately take everything I say with more than just a grain of salt! So if you are looking for trouble, just do as I say or even better, do something I said years ago!

Offline 244

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Re: The first sign of trouble ...
« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2012, 09:53:17 AM »
My best one is "It's just like an M&R only cheaper"!
Rich Hoffman

Offline Denis Kolar

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Re: The first sign of trouble ...
« Reply #6 on: January 03, 2012, 10:05:32 AM »
I love when they supply you with "high quality" "artwork" in PowerPoint.

It happened more than once :(

at least you are talking to ppl off the street. We are dealing with same issues and are doing contract work only!
I have two guys doing over $10k per year with ZERO understanding of the artwork!

pierre
We are getting those at the big printing company where I work full time. And those are coming from big corporation sometimes.
I got that only once in the last year for screen printing

Offline Ripcord

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Re: The first sign of trouble ...
« Reply #7 on: January 03, 2012, 10:19:30 AM »
How about when someone sends you vector artwork...And it looks just fine until you click on it and learn that it is a "Group of 49,567 objects"...
Raster to vector conversion

Offline Dottonedan

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Re: The first sign of trouble ...
« Reply #8 on: January 03, 2012, 10:32:41 AM »
Received this morning. We are going to be off to a busy new year!

I'm interested getting some t-shirts done.
i want to start off with at least two t's .
i want them to say .... **** **** ...i have an open mind on designs maybe you can help me with.
thanks , *** ***

I've heard this many many times before. Half the time when a customer is acustom to ordering multiple designs, they may refer to them as tee's in conversation when they are really referring to an entire order when they say " this tee or that tee". This tee being an order of let's say 100 tees and that tee being an order of 200 tees.  Just tossing that in as well. You may already know the real intent, but you might want to clarify the customers statement.



Artist & high end separator, Owner of The Vinyl Hub, Owner of Dot-Tone-Designs, Past M&R Digital tech installer for I-Image machines. Over 35 yrs in the apparel industry. e-mail art@designsbydottone.com

Offline inkman996

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Re: The first sign of trouble ...
« Reply #9 on: January 03, 2012, 10:45:43 AM »
My best one is "It's just like an M&R only cheaper"!

Becareful you are sounding like a screen printing fascist!...... ;D
"No man is an island"

Offline Command-Z

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Re: The first sign of trouble ...
« Reply #10 on: January 03, 2012, 10:49:51 AM »
I always laugh when these customer-bringing-artwork-that-isn't-really-artwork stories come up. They never fail to deliver the funny.

But consider this... these people off the street aren't supposed to know raster from vector or Powerpoint from Corel Draw. That's your job. The general public doesn't deal with this stuff daily like us. They are bringing their stuff to you so that you can solve their problems.

Every napkin logo and web banner jpeg is an opportunity. You should welcome them. Most of you have art departments, right? Don't miss chances to make some extra money on art charges.

"Well the customer doesn't want to pay for art. Well, if I bid too high the customer will take the order elsewhere." Bullsheet. Guess what, your customer doesn't want to pay for screens, setup or the shirts themselves, either. What other business gives skilled labor away for free? Try getting free artwork from an offset printer sometime. No, if they won't pay, let them take their order to the sucker who gives away their time and skill.

Explain the extra charges up front and bill them for it. Educate these people on how printing works so they know why it's just as expensive to print 2 shirts as it is to print 2 dozen, even if it means showing them around your shop. If you lose the order, so what? Let your competitors deal with them.



Design, Illustration and Color Separation for the Imprinted Apparel Industry for over 20 years. SeibelStudio.com
 Custom art not in the budget? Check out Bad Bonz Designs

Offline JBLUE

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Re: The first sign of trouble ...
« Reply #11 on: January 03, 2012, 10:52:29 AM »
I always laugh when these customer-bringing-artwork-that-isn't-really-artwork stories come up. They never fail to deliver the funny.

But consider this... these people off the street aren't supposed to know raster from vector or Powerpoint from Corel Draw. That's your job. The general public doesn't deal with this stuff daily like us. They are bringing their stuff to you so that you can solve their problems.

Every napkin logo and web banner jpeg is an opportunity. You should welcome them. Most of you have art departments, right? Don't miss chances to make some extra money on art charges.

"Well the customer doesn't want to pay for art. Well, if I bid too high the customer will take the order elsewhere." Bullsheet. Guess what, your customer doesn't want to pay for screens, setup or the shirts themselves, either. What other business gives skilled labor away for free? Try getting free artwork from an offset printer sometime. No, if they won't pay, let them take their order to the sucker who gives away their time and skill.

Explain the extra charges up front and bill them for it. Educate these people on how printing works so they know why it's just as expensive to print 2 shirts as it is to print 2 dozen, even if it means showing them around your shop. If you lose the order, so what? Let your competitors deal with them.

EXACTLY!!!!!!
www.inkwerksspd.com

We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid...... Ben Franklin

Offline 3Deep

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Re: The first sign of trouble ...
« Reply #12 on: January 03, 2012, 11:02:51 AM »
 @ Command Z    Easier said than done
Life is like Kool-Aid, gotta add sugar/hardwork to make it sweet!!

Offline Frog

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Re: The first sign of trouble ...
« Reply #13 on: January 03, 2012, 11:06:24 AM »
I always laugh when these customer-bringing-artwork-that-isn't-really-artwork stories come up. They never fail to deliver the funny.

But consider this... these people off the street aren't supposed to know raster from vector or Powerpoint from Corel Draw. That's your job. The general public doesn't deal with this stuff daily like us. They are bringing their stuff to you so that you can solve their problems.



All true, but what is my guy, for instance, doing with $500-$1800 bucks worth of the newest CS? I can barely justify the expense, and I would use it almost daily.

It's not unlike the novice rider getting, as his first bike, four times the horsepower and performance than he can handle. (or the recent winner of the Lamborghini who immediately crashed it!)

And, btw, in my world, at least in this instance, for two $21 digital transfer shirts, I can only get so much for additional artwork.  Fortunately, these are for a trade show important to them, so they will pony up.
That rug really tied the room together, did it not?

Offline Ripcord

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Re: The first sign of trouble ...
« Reply #14 on: January 03, 2012, 11:15:15 AM »
But consider this... these people off the street aren't supposed to know raster from vector or Powerpoint from Corel Draw. That's your job. The general public doesn't deal with this stuff daily like us. They are bringing their stuff to you so that you can solve their problems.

Depending on the job, many times I'll vectorize raster artwork for no charge (or an added charge that i don't itemize) just to be done with it so I can get on with the job. As you said, the customer usually doesn't understand why it's necessary to change anything about the 72dpi graphic they stole off someone's website and I can usually fix it in less time than it takes to explain to them why I need to. This also is a good way to get an edge on the competition because a lot of companies make the ordering process more complicated than necessary. I say just gimme what you got and I'll do what I need to to get the job printed. Also, now that I alone possess the vector artwork it makes it more difficult for them to shop around when it's time for a reprint.
Raster to vector conversion