A print run that went out with an error in it

21 hours ago
3 min read

Introduction

Five thousand brochures are delivered and somebody spots that the phone number is missing a digit. Or a price is wrong, or a name is misspelled on the back page, or the trim has cut through text on every copy.

The question everybody wants answered immediately is who pays, and that depends entirely on where the error entered the process. The question that should be answered first, though, is what the client needs to do about five thousand unusable brochures and a deadline. Fix that first.

1. A print run that went out with an error needs the client's problem solved first

Their event or campaign does not move. Work back from their date.

Ask what the deadline actually is

Sometimes there is a week and sometimes there is a day. That determines whether a reprint is even possible and what the realistic options are. Ask before proposing anything.

Offer the practical options honestly

A full reprint, a partial run to cover the immediate need, a sticker or overprint, or a digital short run while litho follows. Solving the deadline buys the goodwill for the commercial conversation. Present them as a list.

2. Establish where the error entered

Do this calmly and with the file trail. The files hold the answer.

Check the approved proof

If the error is present on a proof the client signed off, that is a straightforward position — and it should be stated kindly rather than triumphantly. Nobody enjoys being wrong.

Check whether it was introduced after approval

An imposition error, a wrong file version, a plate made from an older PDF, a trim set incorrectly. If it happened in your process, it is yours entirely. Check the plate and the PDF.

3. Own your errors immediately and completely

Half-acknowledgement is worse than none. Be unambiguous.

Reprint at your cost without negotiation

If the fault is yours, say so in the first conversation. Clients tell other people about printers who did the right thing quickly. Do not wait to be pushed.

Absorb the urgency, not just the print

Overtime, expedited delivery, a courier. The reprint is the obvious cost; the inconvenience is what the client actually feels. Cover the courier.

4. Handle client-caused errors commercially

Being right is not the same as being paid. Or the same as keeping a client.

Show the approval rather than asserting it

Send the signed proof with the error visible. Evidence ends the discussion; assertion prolongs it. Attach the file.

Then help them anyway

A discounted reprint, cost price, a contribution. A client who made a mistake and was treated generously becomes a long-term client; one who was invoiced in full frequently does not return. Offer something.

5. Change the proofing process afterwards

Every one of these should improve something. Otherwise it recurs.

Make approval explicit and specific

A checklist alongside the proof, a statement of what approval means, and one named approver. Most errors get approved rather than created. Fix the approval step.

Add a final pre-press check on the details

Phone numbers, web addresses, prices and dates checked by somebody who did not set the job. Two minutes prevents most of these.

Conclusion

Solve the client's deadline before discussing money: ask what the real date is and offer honest options — a full reprint, a partial run, an overprint, or digital while litho follows. Solving the immediate problem earns the right to have the commercial conversation.

Then establish where the error entered. If it is on a signed proof, say so kindly rather than triumphantly; if it came from imposition, a wrong file version or a trim setting, it is entirely yours and should be reprinted at your cost including the urgency. Where the client approved it, show the proof rather than asserting it and then help anyway. Afterwards, make approval explicit and add a pre-press check on details.