Some of the attendees agreed that a tour is important – but others saw little value if any in going to the trouble of visiting a printing plant. As long as their job was done correctly, as expected, on time, and “on budget,” they felt no need to see the facility.

They made a valid point, don’t you think? How much do you care – or should you care – about the printing plant and what goes on there? Here’s my answer:

It depends.

If you occasionally buy printing, or your jobs are pretty run-of-the-mill, and/or you don’t spend a lot of money on your business’ printing, you probably do not have to visit the plant.

If the work is being produced elsewhere – another state or another country – and you are an occasional print customer, or you only buy a small amount of printing for your firm, you don’t have to do a site tour.

If you source printing solely online, you won’t see the plant.

If you think printing is a commodity, you won’t be taking any tours.

If you do your printing through brokers or print managers, you rely on them to source the work. They should know the facilities intimately.

If you wouldn’t know a Heidelberg from a Xerox iGen3™ and don’t care to learn, you need not tour a plant.

On the other hand, I know plenty of professional buyers in corporations and organizations such as universities and nonprofits, who wouldn’t dream of working with a printer unless they visited the site first.

These tend to be the most experienced print buyers (10 or more years) who are responsible for a significant print spend. Or they handle very specific types of work which is produced by specialty printers only. Or they need manufacturers who offer the highest levels of security.

There are lots of reasons why big-budget customers want to, need to, tour the plants ahead of time. (Buyers who have print manufacturing experience would insist on checking out the plant, too.)

What to Look for?

There are a handful of obvious points-of-interest for print customers (including designers) when they do a plant tour:

• Cleanliness – Is the plant generally clean and tidy – or a holy mess? It could reflect on how they’ll treat your work. Female buyers tell me they also want to see clean bathrooms. Laugh if you want; I’m just passing along what I hear. And most print buyers are women these days.
• Camaraderie – Does production seem to get along with your sales rep or do you sense some snarkiness? Many buyers want to see a good relationship between their rep and the press people. Apparent friction is a bad sign. Good relationships mean your work will hopefully sail through production.
• Equipment clean/maintained – This is key. If a printer takes care of its equipment, there’s a better chance that it’ll take care of your work.
• Redundant equipment – Having multiples of every type of major press at a facility would give me comfort. It’s a signal that a plant can accommodate its client base and that it has on-site options in case of emergencies. (You don’t want to hear “the press broke down.”)
• Managers apparent – Do you see people in charge? Introduce yourself if you can. It gives buyers comfort to see sales managers, GMs, or better yet, the owner of the company.

These are the basics to look for when you tour a plant. Take the time to ask questions about what you’re seeing. Learn something new with every plant tour. Showing your face at your preferred printers’ facilities is a smart relationship-building strategy, if you ask me.

Aside from checking out the “heavy metal”, customers want to establish a good working relationship with their printer-partners. An up-close look at printing presses is an exciting adventure for many of us. Be interested; be enthused; be inquisitive. Your relationship with that printer will benefit.

Let me know what you think. What do you look for when you visit a printing plant?

© 2010 Margie Dana. All rights reserved. Your comments are encouraged. You’re free to forward this email to friends and colleagues. However, no part of this column may be reprinted without permission from the author.