Getting Respect from Commercial Printers
Why can't in-plant printers catch a break from commercial printers? That's the question Ray Chambers poses in his latest blog. He notes that, despite the good relations many in-plants have built up with their local printers, many commercial printers retain a low opinion of in-plants, complaining they have unfair advantages or that in-plants don’t pay taxes.
"It often means that the in-plant manager is doing a pretty good job, and the commercial shop can’t beat the in-plant's prices or service levels. So they complain," writes Chambers.
He describes one agonizing plane ride when he sat next to the owner of a print and mail house and argued with him for two hours about the value of in-plants. The man regurgitated all the hackneyed old complaints against in-plants—customers are forced to use them, they don't understand deadlines, they're not held accountable for financial performance—while Chambers gritted his teeth and refuted every gripe.
Read all about this exchange, and how in-plants can set the story straight, in Chambers' blog.