Hiring a Printer
There are a variety of issues to consider when initiating a working relationship
with a printer. Quite often people in charge of finding a contract or custom
screen printer deal with the problem in the same way they look for a printer
for offset, where the primary consideration is often price. In the offset
environment this is a generally more successful strategy due to the fact
that the publicly perceptible differences in quality between printers is
negligible. The equipment at an offset printers disposal may limit or accentuate
his capabilities but the techniques are all fairly similar and standardized.
In the world of textile printing there are a vast range of techniques and
abilities. Screen printing is also a much more 'hands-on' manufacturing process
than other print mediums so quality control issues on even simple images
can become a major factor in the evaluation process. Unlike printing on paper
the preponderance of what you are paying for is the substrate itself, so
if quality is at all at issue then cutting corners and shopping on price
only can lead to a less than successful association with your printer.
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