Establishing a Good Relationship with Your Commercial Printer

By: Sharon Penn - December 28, 2015

 For hospitality marketers, it is especially important to choose a commercial printer that can handle all your printing needs. Printed material that enhances your online presence can go a long way toward establishing your brand and conveying your brand message. You will want to use an experienced commercial printer that is capable of producing your marketing brochures and postcards, operational products and food and beverage printing with the quality and consistency required to create an unforgettable brand for your hotel. 

Aim for Consistency

When it comes to hospitality marketing, you will want to use the same printer for all your printing to achieve uniformity. Shades of color, spacing and the orientation of images and other elements should be one and the same across different printed materials. If these elements are off even slightly, you may run the risk of suggesting that your organization will not meet expectations. A high quality commercial printer will understand how to use custom printing to brand your company.

Contribute Your Ideas

Show the printer samples of what you are expect. Of course you can describe what you have in mind, but showing a sample can save a lot of back and forth with your printer. Once the printer has an idea of what you want, he can guide you by making suitable recommendations. When gathering samples, look at the weight of the paper, the size of the finished piece, how many folds it has, the font style and size, and dramatic finishes like embossing and dye cuts. These are some of the elements that create a custom printed piece. 

Ask For a Professional Layout

 Choose a full-service printer with an art department onsite to create professional layouts with plenty of white space. Proprietary colors in a pleasing color palette, appealing fonts and a distinctive logo can create a custom look and project the right image for your hotel. Use strong graphic elements, and make sure the copy fits the space with concise wording and bullets where necessary that convey your message. A professional copywriter can strike just the right note for your printed pieces.

Comply with the Format

Your printer will have a preference about the format for graphics that you supply. A quality commercial printer typically requests high resolution TIFF or PDF files. Before you sign off on the job, ask for a high resolution color proof to make sure you and your printer are on the same page.