Yellowbeard said:
I work at a small print shop (less than 5 people) and latley we have been having to rerun a lot of jobs. This had been due to several different issues such as but not limited to: poor cutting, not matching PMS inks or inconsistant color throughout the run, poor communication with our customers resulting in incorrect outputs.
We are going to put some sort of prevention/quality control system into place and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions, or steps that they take that are helpful.
Well, you've already figured out what is going wrong. That's by far the first step in the equation. Write it all down in a list or even grab a dry erase board and put it up somewhere that only employees have access to, with the list there.
Have a major training session on the cutter...poor cutting is the result of either not knowing the machine properly, laziness, or people rushing too much to get a job done.
Figure out a system of checks & balances for all work done, call it a QA system. Maybe something like this:
Job comes in, proof is run. After customer approval, job is run and checked against the proof. After the KeyOP for the job finishes and everything's good, a second peson double checks the work. This is all documented on paper and in a preflight system.
Inconsistent color sounds like a machine problem. Good equipment should provide good results, but it has to be properly maintained for that to happen. If you're running under a service contract, then there's no reason for this to happen. Call service in and keep the problem runs, that'll give the service tech a better idea of what's happening than a verbal description.
Communication issues with customers are a major issue. Standardize a form for all customer orders. Take a small copy job to a local Kinkos and leave it to be done overnight. They'll use a large envelope to record the your info and the job specs. You'll get the envelope when you pick it up. Afterwards, take a good look at what they have on it and make yourself something like that. Have it sectioned like theirs...you'll see what I mean after looking at it.
If you're running something and the KeyOP doesn't quite understand the job, have them stop it until they can speak with whoever took the order. If the KeyOP still doesn't feel he has a good grasp on the situation, then he needs to contact the customer and iron out the details.
Include a customer comment card with every order you send out, even for repeat customers. Make sure they're self addressed and postage is handled. Don't forget the all important "What could we do to serve you better?" type question.
Good luck, sorry about the Novel.
