Description on Estimates question

[Craig]

I couldn't think of what else to title this. When I print an estimate for a customer, let's say 3 items, 1 offset, 1 digital and 1 copy. Is there reason why MF will print "Digital 4 color" or C1/1? Does the customer need to know how the item is being produced? If so then why not have MF print "Offset" when an item is printed on a press?

From what I have gathered in the last few years all the customer cares about is if the final product looks pretty, or how much it costs. They really care less about how it was produced.

Here is the brass tacks for me, if Joe Blow want's 1000 flyers in black ink, and my copier can produce the job with more profit than the press, why should he know (or care) how it was produced on the estimate? Same thing goes for 4 Color work, what device it is printed on should make little or no difference to the customer, only quality and price.

Now on the Job Sheets that's all out the window, due to the need of letting the crew know what device the job was estimated to be run on.

[Hal Heindel]

Good points, Craig. Back in 2005 when Morning Flight first saw the light of day (and when I still had the print shop), copy/digital color quality was considered sub par, good enough for real estate listings but not for catalog sheets. If the job was going to be run digital, buyers wanted to know that. Some will insist on offset to this day. Other, less print-savvy consumers may even consider "Digital" superior, if only by virtue of the name. Digital TV is better than analog TV, so, hey, digital printing must be better than the old-fashioned kind.

The digital landscape has changed, and quality has gone way up since 2005. The forthcoming MF manuals are being digitally produced in-house on a Xerox 5500.

You're aware, I'm sure, that the product name can be changed to whatever you like, including the names of mandatory products. It wouldn't be a big deal for us to eliminate the word "Copy" or "Digital" from estimates and quote sheets. As you pointed out, those words are required only on documents going to the production department.

What will have to stay are the "C1/1" and "D1/1" designations on estimates. I don't think customers will read much into those, or even recognize what they stand for. On the other hand, the estimator needs to know just by looking at the quote sheet for which method the job was quoted.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Hal

[Craig]

Personally, I would like the option of removing the words "Digital" and "Copy" from the description line in the quotes. The D4/1 or C1/1 is not an issue what so ever.

Is this an on or off issue or something that could be "toggled" on a user basis?

[Hal Heindel]

Craig, unless I hear otherwise, I've already decided to remove the words "Digital" and "Copy" from all documents except Job Sheets and Job Tickets in the next versions. It could be toggled on Estimates and Invoices by tying it to the Show Full Description checkbox, but not on Price Sheets or Quote Sheets. That's getting too nitty, so we'll just drop the two words from the product description altogether.

You're right, digital has lost its onus, and by drawing attention to how the job will be produced, we're probably just kicking an old skunk.

Good call, thank you!

[Craig]

Thanks for the change, I think it will help especially if my customer takes a quote to a shop down the street who only runs 4 color on an offset. They wont be able to tell them that they are getting an inferior product because it wasn't printed with ink.

[Keith]

Sounds like a good upgrade to me! And having the keyword show in emails for Merchandise is working out real nice.

Thanks Hal!
Keith