Thursday, February 02, 2006

Mottled Printed and Brand Roll-Outs

February 6 is four days away... the date we had planned to roll-out the new branding iteration of my firm. Yesterday the new stationery arrived. Several hours later the roll-out had been pushed back a week. The reason? Color. The new logo was "mottled". The ink had pooled creating multiple lines of dark and light ink.

The engraver (the best in the business) said it was a predictable result of the logo to be engraved and the process of engraving. I believe them.... Yet; Why was the probable result not brought to my attention before printing began? They report there are workarounds in these situations.

On the other hand, after so many years in this business, why didn't I know about this. Should I have known better?

The result. Unacceptable stationery and a delayed launch date. I did see a proof prior to printing that showed the same pooling, but because the proof had been hurried I chalked up the ink pooling to insufficient drying time. I chose to not mention the result in the proof because I had pushed so hard at getting the proofs within a such a small time-window.... BAD CHOICE!

Do you think there are lessons to be learned here? DON'T even start counting. The lessons are many for both sides of this little activity.

Your thoughts and comments are always welcome.

Graphic Artists are Crazy

I might know. I am one. But, not like, "Wooo Hooooo, la la la la la, put me in a rubber room!!" Go online and look at any portfo...