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Taking the Pain Out of Printing
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Business New Haven
4/16/2001
By: Priscilla Searles
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WATERBURY - Alphagraphics is a design, copy, print and digital publishing company that knows that success means staying on top of new technology. Opened 11 years ago, the shop is owned by Thom Molusis, Ray Lecours and Tony Molusis.
“The whole printing industry has changed in the last few years. Many printers are going to go out of business because they aren't keeping up with the new technology,” explains Thom Molusis. “Digital printing has arrived. What that means for clients is a first-generation print - digital - versus a copy. The difference is sharpness. It boils down to quality.”
According to Molusis people can't mistake the difference when a digital print is placed beside a piece done with the old technology.
But there's more to Alphagraphics than digital printing. “The advantage of doing in-house design work is that it is one-stop shopping” says Molusis. “When picking a printer, it helps to go to a shop that can help you design your piece as well as print it.”
Molusis points out that, “Everyone thinks they are a designer,” and shops are not in the business of tearing a job apart or being critical. But shops with designers can point out the problems.
“Often people will have a general idea what they want and they certainly should know what they want to accomplish with the piece,” says Molusis. “That's when it is very helpful for the client to work with a shop that has design capabilities.”
Not providing the proper information is a big problem. “About 88 percent of the jobs that go to a shop have to be returned to the client because they have failed to provide us with the proper material and information,” says Molusis.
Another problem that has become commonplace is related to new technology. People create a document on their computer along with graphics, then e-mail the document to the printer. Molusis points out that the graphics might not reproduce on another printer, the same fonts might not be available.
“Just because the document prints out from your computer doesn't mean it will print out on someone else's,” explains Molusis. “To be safe, put the document on a disk and try to print it out on someone else's printer. It can mean saving time and money.”
Carefully thinking out your copy is another important factor in getting a job down without going over budget. When printers have to make type changes, the client pays for it.
“Take plenty of time on your piece,” Molusis. “Hurrying doesn't pay. Have a clear objective on what you want the piece to do. Even mailing labels have to be thought out. Do you want the label to jump out at you or do you want it more conservative?”
Clients should always ask what the job is going to cost up front and should realize that numerous changes in the product are going to impact the cost. Molusis also points out that although some rush jobs are unavoidable, rushed projects can mean mistakes. Regarding copy, there can't be too many eyes checking for mistakes before a job goes to the printer. Everyone has seen jobs with major typos that were missed by the person paying for the job.
Alphagraphics faced a challenge recently when a client had an promotional piece that he wanted to make sure people looked at an event in Las Vegas. Alphagraphics came up with a colorful tube with two dice inside that could be heard the minute you picked up the tube. The idea worked.
Another idea born in the shop is a mouse pad that is actually a note pad. “You have an advertisement for a company facing you every time you sit down at the computer - and you have a note pad at your fingertips,' says Molusis. “When you need to take the note with you, you just tear off the sheet and start with a clean page.” He makes the point that creative thinking can make the difference between success and failure.
The key to success in doing an ad piece, be it direct mail or some other form of advertising, isn't so much a matter of money as it is thinking out the project carefully and going to a shop that can help with the biggest challenges.
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