Saturday, 16 February 2013

Printed.com Review

The is an impartial review by myself having been given credit towards my Printed.com purchase to review their services.


I hadn't heard of Printed.com until I subscribed to Crafty Creatives, the monthly craft box subscription. I have spoken and ordered from other printing companies previously through work and also when I was an Avon rep.

I was approached by Printed.com (through Crafty Creatives) who gave me credit to try out their services as a blogger who had blogged about Crafty Creatives. When I was approached by them I didn't think I had anything to print but then Baileys Bandanas was born, my new project of dog bandanas!

I knew exactly what I wanted....round stickers (as I love Crafty Creatives round ones so much) and leaflets to handout and place in packages with people's purchases. With my leaflets I wanted a double use of both advertising and care instructions so got to work designing them.

I found it so easy to get my quite from Printed.com without having to speak to anyone! There's nothing I hate more than wanting to get a quote in order to make a decision on the options available and then getting sales calls but unlike other companies there was none of this with Printed.com

The options are so clear and easy to navigate through, choosing paper thickness, finish (gloss/matte etc) paper texture, double sided etc. you can then look at the price and then go back to change options if you wish in order to change your quote. As with other companies there are minimum order charges, this was £15 so I amended my order so it came to around £16 as I only wanted a minimal number of leaflets and stickers as I didn't want thousands as my venture is new. I ordered around 300 leaflets and 250 round stickers.

Your artwork needs to be in PDF format and you get templates available in PDF, Adobe In Design and Adobe Illustrator. As I was designing it myself and had knowledge of Printshop I decided to use InDesign. I don't have InDesign on my computer but.....found you can download a 30 day trial from Adobe which was perfect. When I told my Dad he gave me access to training on SimonSezIt.com which helped me know how to get the best out of InDesign.

My Dad kindly took photos of Bailey modelling the bandanas too for my printed items (Bailey was a right diva apparently during the photo shoot!) I must add that my Dad is a professional photographer although dogs are not usually his normal subjects but he got some amazing pictures of Bailey.

I put together my design and after getting feedback from friends and family I sent off my chosen design to Printed.com via their website.

I was very suprised that the next day I was told it was being sent out by Courier and would be with me on Friday (I put my order through on Tuesday late afternoon).

I was a bit worried about the delivery as I live in a gated apartment complex and we have so many problems with couriers actually trying to access the flats and wasn't able to get my order delivered to work. Looking on the website it said were there are small orders they are sent out via Royal Mail, however when my order went through it said it was coming via courier and no other options came up about delivery when I placed my order so I was worried about my items actually getting to me. I contacted Printed.com who advised me my order would be coming on Friday before 5pm and they were able to take my mobile number and advise the courier to call me if he wasn't able to deliver.

On the day my order arrived it just so happened I was at home at lunch so was in for the delivery from CityLink. I couldn't wait to open my parcel but was a little worried that maybe my design skills may have failed and that it would be all pixelated however the stickers and leaflets were perfect. I couldn't have asked for anything better.

Everyone has commented on how professional my leaflets look so I'm really happy with the service, much better than printing your own!


I would definately recommend Printed.com especially for their round stickers!


Stickers on the bandana packaging

Stickers and Leaflets once unpackaged
You can find out more about Bailey's Bandanas on http://www.facebook.com/baileysbandanas where I sell handmade dog bandanas with prices starting from £2.50

To find out more about Printed.com go to http://www.printed.com




Printed.com Overview
With the UK's 1st print reward programme, printed.com is perfectly suited to small and medium-sized businesses looking to order high quality print at the best possible prices. printed.com offer over 35 print products, including business cards, leaflets, wedding and business stationery, bound documents, stickers and much more, all of which all ordered through the easy to use online shop.
Every pound spent earns customer's points to redeem against over 30,000 rewards, such as electronics, travel, high street vouchers, office supplies, free print and much more. When combined with the industries leading digital printing presses, the HP Indigo, printed.com makes a strong case for truly standing out as a small business print supplier.
Backed by online and phone support printed.com delivers print to the customer's door, in around 2-3 days, with a 24 hour express delivery option should they need it. 
Product List
  • Business cards
  • Business card holders
  • Letterheads
  • Compliment slips
  • Leaflets & Flyers
  • Folded leaflets
  • Postcards
  • Stickers
  • Presentation Folders
  • Direct Marketing
  • Wiro bound documents
  • Perfect bound documents
  • Saddle stitched documents
  • Greeting cards
  • Calendars
  • Banner stands
  • Posters
  • Indoor posters
  • Standard A2 posters
  • Outdoor posters
  • Mounted boards
  • Vinyl banners
  • Self-adhesive vinyl
  • Backlit graphics
  • Strut cards
  • Flat unfinished sheets
 

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