Are we in the wrong ?
- Thread starter Paul11
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its 45, 000 copies and the costs are about £1600 roughly
and seeing that it seems that its about half / half people that think we are in the wrong, im thinking to offer him 50/50 for the reprint as the only fair solution and to try to keep him happy. .
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
Hope the damage limitation works. If it doesn't, assuming you are in a legally solid position, you will just have to tough it out. Good luck
[TW]Fox;11974576 said:
You really are not understanding that the customer is buying a process which starts with the customers idea of what should be in the end product, the printer adds some input based on experience and deals with the technical details of producing it, but at some point just before the expensive print run there HAS to be a sign off process where the printer says to the customer "Be sure this is right, because this is what we are printing for you and even if it is wrong you will still have to pay for it". The printer has to cover himself against customers fickleness. The customer knows that the process to produce a leaflet consists of several error-prone stages. If he doesn't protect his interests by reading the proof properly then ... well. The customer cannot refer back to correspondence pertaining to the order that precedes the SIGNED OFF proof and say they meant such and such a detail to be on the leaflet after the print run has been done. How could the printer ever run a business where such a thing were possible?
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Associate
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[TW]Fox;11974434 said:
In this instance, something like a mis-typed phone number should really have been spotted and rectified before the proof even reached the client, but the general gist of your point is not how it works in the printing industry I'm afraid - or at least not at the companies I've worked for during my 20 years in the trade.
Any design/repro house worth its salt will have someone who checks proofs before they are sent out - in our case that's yours truly - to eliminate typos before the proof even reaches the client. I take that a stage further - I am also quite prepared to correct the client's grammar where necessary and indeed some of the grammar and spelling I see in copy written by people supposedly educated to a higher level than myself is truly shocking.
No-one is infallible though, so the arrangement we have with our clients is that on top of this it is their responsibility to thoroughly check and sign-off a proof - once they do so, the job goes to print. If a mistake/typo is then spotted, the majority of our clients are happy to hold their hands up to it as their reponsibility. As a gesture of goodwill, mainly in the case of regular clients, we sometimes meet them halfway on any reprinting costs.
To the OP I would say you must do what you can to stop this sort of thing happening and instigate some sort of proofreading before a job is sent out - yes, it's one more thing to do before a job goes out the door, but a few minutes spent doing so can go a long way to creating a favourable, professional reputation for your company in the eyes of your clients.
Associate
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dose not make it right though , I had a valuable original painting framed ,they made me sign to say if it was damaged during framing they were not to blame,but assured me it would not get damaged ,yes it got damaged and they even charged me the full framing cost which was 3 figures
dose not make it right though , I had a valuable original painting framed ,they made me sign to say if it was damaged during framing they were not to blame,but assured me it would not get damaged ,yes it got damaged and they even charged me the full framing cost which was 3 figures
Agreed. But there are basic laws in this country which cannot be signed away by unfair disclaimers and contracts. If a business can sign away all risk and get away with it - good for them. Sometimes it might actually be reasonable - mostly probably not.
However your example is not quite the same as the printing example.
didnt read any other posts, but coming from a design advertising backgroud this happens to me allot. When the proof is signed off... it's over
end of....
... unless i'ts the biggest client you have then you take the blame.
Thats the way its always been.
They could do something truely radical like proof it internally first to avoid making such cockups in the first place. What sort of a printer sends out proof work to a client with the wrong phone number on it?
Hmm, I agree with fox. but I would (if I were a trader) be inclined to placate the customer either way if possible. After all if a person's buying 45,000 leaflets they're obviously not scared of buying lots of leaflets, and you sell leaflets. Chalk it up to experience and make it back over the next few orders .
Hmm, they could really take that as an insult depending on how they view things.
.Hmm, they could really take that as an insult depending on how they view things.
If I were the client (and I am an awkward git it has to be said) I would take that as you admitting fault and you would get not a penny from me. Either reprint for free or stand your ground IMHO.
lol of course it is your fault you created the error when he read back the proof it would be very easy to miss the number change that YOU created.
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Man of Honour
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I'd ask your lawyers rather than OcUK, personally. You don't want to get done for negligence....surely any contract you have can't override your basic duties. But then...we're all human and everyone makes mistakes which is why there's a proof. Interesting question - good luck.