ready to pull whats left of my hair out

[bprint_tampabay]

Ya know -

You show people a couple of things, and all of a sudden they think they are pre-press operators.

Then you catch them staring at the screen, like little lost puppies, and you ask them what is going on, and then they stare at you...

I try to share the knowledge as much as I can, but it never seems to work out.

Customer Svc people, production mgrs, and everybody else seems to want to be in pre-press... for some ungodly reason.

You would think that they would leave it to the professionals...

BUT NO

[oxburger]

Why shouldn't they think they're prepress operators? Secretaries, Administrative Assistants, and Vice Presidents (or anyone with Publisher, Word or Powerpoint for that matter) think that they they're Designers!

[rbailleu]

you looked so busy they just thought they should help you out

[bprint_tampabay]

Yeah and I appreciate all the help...

and also the stellar design work coming out of all those spectacular Microsoft products.

Just makes my day a whole lot brighter.

[Mark H]

It's really not their fault, it's ours. We've demanded better, easier software and hardware for years, marginalizing our skill and experience. Now everywhere you look marketing screams "Fast, Easy, Professional! Anyone can do it!!!" Couple that with clients who think that good enough is good enough as long as the price is right - which we've cultivated as well by making the sale all about price and not value - and you've got no where to go.

Mark H

[Craig]

Agree with Mark, not to mention the lack of real life experience the kids are getting from our universities! How many of you have a whole quarter/semester to design a business card, letterhead and envelope?

[Mark H]

How many of you have a whole quarter/semester to design a business card, letterhead and envelope?

Even if the university provided the training no one would hire the graduate. Too many canned programs and templates to do the job at 1/10th the price. Now don't get me wrong, a couple colored swooshes and some font effects don't make a national brand, but how many national brands get new logos versus the everyday man that just needs a decent, passable letterhead and matching business card?

Couple that with the web-to-print powerhouses that will do the whole kit and caboodle for you (and provide printed goods as well) for a couple hundred dollars and we're sunk. You can't sell the value of the service when the buyer can no longer differentiate between the product offerings, especially when what they've been conditioned to pay attention to is price.

Mark H