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So here I am. All ready to print our invitation suite…*drums fingers on laptop*…and none of the local printers have called me back. It’s been three days and not a word. WTH, small businesses?
Image via Ragehaus
Printer #1 gave a phone quote last week, but the number/size of the printed pieces has since changed and I need a revised quote. (Plus, I’m not sure the original quote was 100% accurate because it was so cheap.) Hoping to expedite the quote/proof process, I uploaded the final files and job specs. It’s been three full days and nothing. The turnaround time for this job? A day or two. Like most businesses, they’re closed on the weekend so an answer will have to wait until Monday.
Printer #2 didn’t make it easy to get a live person. After going through their multi-layered automated-answering-service hell, I was unable to leave a message. Calling back this week, I got an operator who put me in to the voicemail of a sales rep…who never returned my call. When I spoke with the operator, I prefaced my inquiry with the size and nature of the job, understanding it might be on the small side for them. Just call me back—it takes two seconds.
Image via Wikipedia
When I was in college and had to professionally print my work, I must have worked my way through most of the area printers, one by one, as they found new and creative ways to screw up my print jobs. I swore I’d never use any of them again…until recently when one was granted redemption by handling our office’s holiday postcard two years in a row without any issues. So I know they’re capable.
I’m just anxious to get a quote and a proof so I can order matching yellow envelopes and start ticking off the invitation-related to-dos.
How long did you wait to receive quotes, proofs, and the final printed product? Did you run into printer issues, too?
You know, I did it all at Office Max, and for being a corporate chain, they did a fantastic job, were relatively cheap, and quick. I took the files and paper in and had an estimate in minutes!
Nope. Just ordered from a website. Magnetstreet.com. And I love how they came out.
I know how you feel! I had a printing place do my entire invitation, from design to print to assemble. It took them one week to give us an example of the design we agreed on, another week for them to change the spelling on my FI’s name, another 1.5 weeks to change the flower pattern..in all, with all the typos, it took over 5 weeks and we still have to wait another month for them to be done! I know some small businesses are hard to reach, it took me about 10 phone calls to correct one mistake that I ended up driving there each time with a correction instead!
luckily, mr. mittens works in the printing industry so we were able to print our very small invitation suite for free!
but! in response to the no calls back, that has by far been the most frustrating part of planning! we actually moved to a different venue after our first choice didn’t returning my (2) phone calls! lame.
and! i have to say that during the planning i have come across some of the most unprofessional and rude people! which is the exact opposite of what i expected!
That sucks! I have never used a pro printer before but they should have gotten back to you already. At a minimum with a “thanks for the email. we will get a quote out in a couple days”.
:[!
i got a groupon for $50 worth of prints at a local printer for $20. i used it to get my STDs printed and they were pretty good. we communicated via email & their website’s form. they called when the proof was ready (something that i requested) and i viewed it on a thursday and confirmed my order. they said the cards would be ready either friday or monday, but when i called on monday they weren’t ready so i ended up getting them on a tuesday. not too shabby!
I printed our invites myself, but I can’t believe no one is getting back to you! Crazy…I hope you hear back soon!
I don’t have any wedding-related experience with printers, but common courtesy tells me they should’ve already gotten back to you! Since starting my planning, I’ve actually been fairly surprised with how long people take to get back. Anyhow, I hope they get a hold of you soon, Miss P!
Urgh, that’s so frustrating! If they don’t get back to you soon, maybe a drop-in would get their gears crankin’?
That is so frustrating! I only used the printer for one project and they had it done in an hour (it was a smaller project).
How annoying!!!! Unfortunately you either need to step it up (calling, going there in person) or you need to look for another online printing company. Sorry to hear that, I’m having some trouble myself with the same thing!
Ugh this is so annoying! Im crossing my figures for that they will get back to you soon!
@MissLam: That is a long time to make a client wait! I can only imagine how stressful that would have been if you were in a time crunch.
@mittens111211: Yes! Really surprised at how few vendors want (my) business. Mr. PaC keeps reminding me that just because someone is a good baker or hair stylist, doesn’t mean they have great business or communication skills. Still, frustrating.
@Mrs. Meerkat: That’s all I was looking for. When I finally got ahold of someone, I felt like I was the one behaving badly.
@elliestan: Ohmygoodness, that’s a steal! Are you having them print your invites too?
@Miss Gazelle: It was so tempting to print them ourselves but our little printer/scanner/copier/fax isn’t pro quality and there was no way I was chopping down 340 printed pieces. Four years of art school and I still cut crooked.
@Miss Seal: I finally got ahold of them 3 days after I wrote this, but they only took 3 more days to print and cut it for me. The timing wasn’t bothering me because we built in cushion time. The lack of common courtesy -gah!
@Miss Tartlet: Their shenanigans reminded me of the crap I went through in college getting pieces printed. I was one day away from a drop-in visit and pulling the “I know your boss” card.
@Miss Elephant: An hour! Did you bribe them with chocolate in the shape of PA or TX? 
@Miss Carousel: I can’t begin to imagine how tough it is planned a wedding in another country. Finding specialty materials, let alone basic supplies is probably challenging.
@Miss Cotton Candy: This is what I get for NOT screen printing!
I used Catprint to do all the paper products for my wedding. I can’t recommend them highly enough, it’s all done through the Web site, you can get an instant price quote, and their customer service is so good.
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Mrs. Pain au Chocolat, Wilmington, DE Age and Occupation: 29, Realtor Fiance's Age and Occupation: 34, Realtor Engagement Date: November 21, 2009 Wedding Date: June 2011 Venue: Greenville Country Club About Me: An ENFJ with an artistic streak who loves backgammon, sailing, graphic design, and sleeping in. Travel (near or far), good wine, and tasty food makes my heart sing. I'm a compulsive list-maker who lives to plan and organize. Mr. P and I have lived together for 4 years, all the while renovating our city townhome bit by bit. We're planning a whimsical, Anthropologie-inspired garden wedding in June 2011.
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