Reconciling The Connection - Part II

Here is the second part of Ryan Hahn's blog on:

THE TUMULTUOUS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRINTERS AND DESIGNERS

4. LACK OF RESOURCES:

This problem is a continuation of the last point because it is all about staying up to date with the technology that is being developed.  If you want to be a competitive printer you must be able to meet any needs that arise from your customer.  If you are keeping up with the market you should know that all-over prints are a strong trend right now.  This means as a printer you should have the equipment to print graphics in full garment form covering the shirt.  Companies like Affliction and Ed Hardy have moved away from the dye sublimation technique and are now doing the same coverage and quality with screen-printing.  I use this example to stress the importance of having all the necessary equipment and supplies in your shop.  Go out to the malls and see what the major retailers are doing so you can then prepare yourself for when your customer comes wanting that “popular” trend.  This keeps you from having to spend 2 weeks researching a technique and losing time on production.  Stay ahead of the game!

5. COMPROMISE (NO MORE BLAME GAME):

Compromise is what printers are always asking for and what designers are always unwilling to give.  I am obviously speaking in generalities, but the existence of this problem can be confirmed by anyone within the industry.  At the end of the day we all have to look at the situation from a logical perspective.  What limitations are there? How much time do we have?  Is the detail/imperfection going to make or break the style?  These are all questions we must ask ourselves, not whose fault it is.  That is a counterproductive question that only delays finding the solution.

First and foremost we have to look at what limitations we are dealing with.  Sometimes there are requests from designers that just physically cannot be done.  Certain combinations of inks and transfers, for whatever reason simply are impossible to produce.  This is something as designers we have to realize and accept the advice given from our expert printers.  When a situation like this arises the printers should not only reply with, “We can’t do this because this transfer will cause the HD ink to melt down when applied”.  Come to them with solutions as well.  Give them some options to help guide the designer through the next step… Not just a simple NO.

 

6. COMMUNICATION IS THE KEY:

The key problem with the relationship between printers and designers is the lack of communication.  We need to partner at the hip from the beginning of the process and walk each other through every step.  Put the keyboard away for a moment and make a call.  Create personal relationships with your partners to help strengthen the business side of your connection.  We are all part of the same family and are trying to accomplish the same goal.  At the end of the day we are all striving to give the customer a superb product and THAT should be the bottom line.  Let’s reconcile this connection today!

RYAN HAHN – SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER – G by GUESS MENS

email: dreamingofsleep@yahoo.com

Personal design page: www.dreamingofsleep.com

Personal page: www.facebook.com/kkentucky

Work site: www.gbyguess.com

Thank you, Ryan for a great blog.  For more on International Coatings products, please visit our website at www.iccink.com.

All images courtesy of Ryan Hahn, Guess Inc.