Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Hi folks, recently got back a print job from Overnightprints who has been my preferred provider since 2010. The results were more than disappointing. Especially in light of their outstanding previous work. Thus I initially marked this up as maybe a "bad hair day" for them and submitted another job days later... Same very poor results... The press had not been cleaned prior to either run (which was in all B&W both image and text. The job can back with a strong color tint... And the card edges were frayed and unevenly cut...

And yes I used their CMYK temple file... The exact same as for previous jobs which had been printed with excellent results.
Now the kicker in the mix... The "Customer Support" email can back from a Russian time zone (checked the SMTP header). Customer Support wanted me to send images of 50 cards along with closeups... What? Time is money, I'm suppose to do the Quality Assurance? Nope, writing them off... They have likely changed ownership... If you've dealt with them in the past, you might rethink using the now, enough said.

Ok enough of the rant (and heads up)
Can anyone please recommend a reliable quality offset press company for sizable runs for Business Cards and Comp Cards (Zed Cards).

I have used WHCC - White House Custom Colour for large In-Store display pieces. Guess I'll go there next if no one else has any suggestions...

Thank you for your time/consideration here...
I trust others will benefit from this also... :)

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Look at moo.com

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Thanks rgrenaderphoto...
I've heard good things about moo in the past, but not recently...
I'll look into them...

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

There’s no one local...you’re in DC after all. That way you could go do a press check.

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Cdouthitt I have no issues with the location of the press, only the quality matters...
btw, Moo is located in London, England which also works for me...
My job is to simply assure the work meets and/or exceeds client expectations, enough said...
However I'll keep you in mind for Graphic Design :) Thanks!

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Please do keep me in mind for design work ;-)

FYI that's good to know about overnight prints as I usually use them for smaller job too. Anything other than that I go locally so I can review the quality on a proof before doing a full run.

Joe Blow

I just spent the past 15 minutes researching them. It seems that over the past couple of months their quality and deliveries have suffered severely. The reviews are all similar as yours.

Sorry you got scammed by someone you trusted.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

MOO's in London? They print and ship in the US also. Don't scrimp on the paper, they've got some really nice stock available.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

If all you need is business cards and you have the design, just bring it to any Staples.

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Yes I've heard good things about www.vistaprint.com/ also... Will check them out also...

Staples? I need outset press since my clients like black with white text...
I'm totally good with my cards it's client work that needs to be run frequently...
Blacks are typically very good with offset press...

That said I will look into Staples to see what they offer...
Thanks all, really appreciate the excellent feedback and suggestions :)
UHH remains a great resource for those working on the commercial side of photography...

mrtaxi Loc: Old Westbury NY, Fort Lauderdale, FL

I use vistaprint.com and staples

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Thank you mrtaxi... I'm looking into both Vistaprint and Staples...

Also I greatly appreciate your diligence for researching Overnightprints current issues with quality JoeBlow...
Yes it is sad to see an excellent resource gone "south" so to say...
They had been stellar for many years... can only assume a change in ownership at this juncture...

Again many thank to all, and I will report back on my future experiences with other printers...

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

I've been using Vistaprint for several years and have gotten good results and decently priced cards. They can also provide matching magnetic signs, and other stuff if you feel that you need it. I did cheat a little when I moved from Warminster Pa to Florida. A Prudential agent handled the house. I shot all of the real estate photos and processed them. He posted the images and got decent results for about 4 weeks then, suddenly we weren't getting any traffic. I looked at his images and they had removed my images and put shots that he had taken with his POS camera. I sat him down at my computer and we uploaded my images again. The house sold 2 weeks later. So, I decided to keep his for sale sign. I put a metal plate on each side of it (removed everything identifying it as a house for sale sign and got 2 of the magnetic "car" signs from Vista Print and put them on the sign. I stick it in the front yard at various times to get additional traffic. I also can take the sign up to the busy streets and stick it in the ground for a few hours or a day or so. This way I don't get in trouble for running a business in a "private" neighborhood. I can easily pull the sign up and take it back inside. My point here is that the Photo signs on my "real estate" sign match my business cards and look great but I didn't have the added expense of buying the yard signs and the sign is much more robust than the stick and cardboard "election" signs that you see at certain times a year. I like Vista Print because they can provide (for a fee) all kinds of advertising that match your business cards.

rayr

VistaPrint has done my cards for for the past 5 or 6 years, always happy with them and a good price.