Connecting Printers with Installers — Communication is Key

Ray Weiss, the vice president of eLearning & Certifications for PRINTING United Alliance, moderated a panel session recently that addressed this very topic. He was joined by an all-star group of both printers and installers: Kenneth Burns, president and CEO of Axis Graphic Installations; Eric Kahle, chief revenue officer at Visual Marking Systems; Rich Thompson, president of AdGraphics; and Chris Ulmer, president of Crystal Coast Graphics.

Perhaps the single biggest take-away from the discussion, which permeated the entire conversation, was the need for clear, concise communication at every stage of a project. Ideally, installers will be part of the planning from the very beginning, when discussions are happening with the client about what, exactly, the end results will look like. But even when that’s not possible, getting them involved earlier can help identify and mitigate potential problems long before getting to the job site.

Ulmer noted that details matter, stating that sharing information such as, “do we have climate controlled facilities? Are we doing this outside? If we're doing it outside, what are the states of the windows, what direction are the windows facing? Is there a time of day I have to do the installation?” And those are just a few of the questions that can all impact the quality of the final installation, that a seasoned installer can ensure they account for. He continued, “I’ve never had a job where I thought there was too much information. The more you can provide, the better and smoother that job will go as the installer.”

On the flip side, noted Thompson, while printers know you can’t always account for everything, one of the top things he is looking for in an installation partner is someone who steps up and takes responsibility when something goes wrong. “Take ownership of the job as if you were us,” he told the audience. “I don’t like it when an installer says it was the printer’s fault [when something goes wrong on the job site.] Communicate with us first if there’s a problem, rather than assigning blame. You are our representative while you’re on site.”

Burns agreed with both, noting, “We want [printers] to ask us questions. It shows you have a knowledge of what needs to happen to get the job done. We’re an extension of the printer, so the communication needs to come at the beginning, not the very end. We’re a team, not just a printer and installer. Open a dialog — there are too many factors that can go wrong, so we all need to be on the same page from the start.”

And it’s not just about getting a finished application that looks great. Kahle pointed out that, at the end of the day, both printers and installers are trying to run a business, so the fewer errors that can start cutting into margins to correct, the better. “We’re all trying to make a buck together,” he said, “so how do we do it so we can both make the most out of it.”

That said, Kahle also noted that installers shouldn’t be shy about bringing problems to him. He would much rather know up front so he can fix it quickly than have it become a larger issue later in the process. “If [the error happens] in the scope of what you do, [the cost] should be on the installer to correct. We might negotiate with them a bit and rerun the panels, but if the mistake is out of negligence, we’re less likely to negotiate. However, if it’s our fault, if there was a registration issue and you were set up to fail, for example, don’t be shy to tell us that.”

Finally, the panelists all agreed that it’s not just the printers and installers that need to be in the loop when it comes to communication — the actual customers need to be part of that conversation as well. Educating them ahead of time on what they need to do to ensure a successful installation can make or break a job — no matter what the printer or installer actually does. One example the panel gave was ensuring a vehicle comes in clean before being wrapped — while it’s not always something a customer can control — such as getting a vehicle wrap in the winter when there is salt on the roads — the better they know and can prepare their surfaces and facilities for the day of the installation, the smoother the entire process will go, and the fewer chances for errors.