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Print/Mail Center Management Tips
June 2008
Greetings!


Do You Have Sufficient Quality Control in your Print Operation?
With all the focus on the latest trends like TransPromo, shape-based postal rates, and Intelligent Mail Barcodes, it is easy to forget some basic steps that can have a big impact on the end result. Below are some low-tech, low cost steps that document production managers can easily implement in their organizations.

Even if these steps are already part of your workflow, it pays to re-examine them periodically to make sure that:

  • Long term employees are still paying attention and not just initialling the quality control checklist out of habit.
  • Newer employees are aware of the procedures and familiar with the reasons why they are important.
  • Conditions have not changed, prompting a need for different quality control measures.

Basic Print Production Quality Control Steps
  • Proper paper stock is loaded - Especially important for cut sheet applications utilizing more than one paper stock.
  • Print is lined up in the intended position - No print should run off the edge of the page or overflow to a second page unintentionally.
  • Printing is on the correct side of the paper - This error usually shows up in the middle of the run.
  • Stock is loaded right side up - This can happen when there is no text or graphic on the stock that makes it obvious which edge belongs on top. Or it got stacked in the carton in two different orientations.
  • Variable data appears where intended and is not truncated right or left - Also check address blocks to make sure they accommodate the maximum number of address lines.
  • Proper fonts are printing - Font substitutions may have occurred without warning.
  • Inserting machine control marks are present, properly positioned, and legible - Marking errors can be devastating when they are caught in the inserting room after all the print is done.
  • No smudging or print transfer from one page to the next - Preprinted forms with ink that is not dry or is not laser-compatible can transfer onto printer rollers and then onto subsequent pages.
  • Contrast between paper and print is within specifications - Particularly important if inserter marks or other barcodes are printing in non-white areas and with MICR-encoded documents like checks.
  • Pages are printing in the expected sequence - Documents that are not sorted properly will have a severe impact on downstream operations such as inserting or tabbing.

Simple Procedures Work Wonders, But Require Reinforcement
 None of the above suggestions requires an investment in hardware or software. Of course there are camera-based automated solutions that can perform many of the same kinds of quality control checks. But most shops don't have that level of technological sophistication. Nor is it necessary so long as a few simple procedures are set up, enforced, and regularly reviewed.

Your shop probably has procedures that cover all the areas above. Most do. However, the vast majority of print production errors I have seen over the years would have been caught by the existing controls - had they been followed! Over time, operators get used to just giving documents a cursory glance. The actual state of the output doesn't really register in the brain.

It's sort of like being in the checkout line at the supermarket. You've probably had the experience of the cashier needing some assistance from the supervisor who rushes in, keys in a code, and vanishes within 3 seconds all without ever asking a question or looking over the situation that caused the error. I am amazed every time it happens. There seems to be no value associated with the supervisor intervention.

Are your operators doing their quality checks in the same sleep-walking state? If so, you need to reinforce the training and stress the importance of making sure bad documents don't make it out the door.

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Sincerely,

Mike Porter Sig
Mike Porter
Print/Mail Consultants
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