Maximizing Efficiency: The Case for Outsourcing Graphic Installations

Two wide-format print providers share how outsourcing graphic installation has helped their businesses, and the best way to approach it.

Picture this: A one-location print service provider (PSP) lands a job with a local business and has successfully printed and installed its printed graphics for a while. Now, the client has locations opening across the country. The client comes to the PSP with the new job(s) and the PSP takes on the multi-location install — keeping its client's business.

Credit: Wide-format Impressions

How was this possible if the PSP only operated out of one location? It successfully partnered with a third-party or contract installer. In this scenario, the client gets to continue working with the PSP they know and trust, and the PSP gets to say yes to the job.

Beyond these benefits, Matthew Ferguson, president of Auburn, New York-based A&M Graphics, says outsourcing installation also solves a labor issue.

“Post-COVID, business owners are living in unprecedented times,” Ferguson states. “The struggle to find and keep skilled workers is harder than ever, especially in smaller markets like the one A&M Graphic's home base is in. This makes outsourcing to trusted installers more important than ever.
Utilizing a roster of trusted contract installers helps to keep the workflow moving. It also helps smaller shops immensely that do not yet have the workload or resources to hire multiple full-time installers.”

Whether it’s environmental graphics, wayfinding signage, or SEG displays, finding a network of installers you can rely on can really serve a PSP.

“The environmental, and even the wayfinding side of things is a big sector,” says Rich Dobda, manager of Columbus, Ohio-based Atchley Graphics. “For instance, we started on with a restaurant group that all of their locations were in Ohio and now they're in North Carolina and Texas and Minneapolis and really all over the country, and we’ve been able to continue doing all of their printing and found great partners in different states that have helped us with the installation side of it.”

When outsourcing installation for large-scale window graphics, it’s important that your outsourced installer is lift-certified and has a good understanding of the complexity of the job. Picking up the phone and asking important questions about lift experience and certification should always be your first step. | Credit: Atchley Graphics

Dobda adds that outside of a few cases, the customer typically doesn’t know Atchley Graphics isn’t the one physically doing the install because they’re receiving the same great service they’ve grown to expect.

“In their mind, nothing’s changed,” he adds. “Certainly, [there are] changes on your end and how you have to manage it, but it is a great thing that I don’t know that we’d still have that account if we just put a hard stop on it and said, ‘Oh we don’t do those installations anymore.’ They could have gone a completely different direction than staying with us.”

At A&M Graphics, Ferguson relies on a network of installers for a variety of jobs, including vinyl wall murals, wallcoverings, wayfinding, architectural films, and more.
“When we are ready for installation on projects that may cover a whole multi-floor facility or even a whole campus, we often rely on our trusted network of contract installers to add to our horsepower and make sure our projects are completed by the deadline we promised our client,” Ferguson adds. “We also utilize contract installers and other shops we have relationships with across the state, so if there is an installation much closer to one of our partners than us, it only makes sense to try to source that installation to them rather than travel all that way.”

With the number of different jobs a PSP takes on, outsourcing installation can make sense when distance is an issue, or you simply don’t have the capacity in-house.

Where to Find a Contract Installer

So, you want to start exploring the outsourcing waters. Both Dobda and Ferguson agree that finding a certified or preferred installer is a great place to start.

An installer working on a vehicle wrap. | Credit: A&M Graphics

“We'll always use the resources that PRINTING United supplies, the PDAA supplies, and 3M, so we'll start there,” Dobda advises. “In the past, I would immediately go to the 3M Certified Installers or 3M Preferred Installers site and find somebody within a 20–25-mile range of my job location.”

Ferguson points PSPs to the United Applications Standards Group (UASG), where they can find a list of nationwide trusted installation companies.

“Installation companies on this list are 3M Certified, meaning they have trained and tested to some of the highest standards in the industry, been in business for a minimum of three years, carry a certain level of insurance, and also commit to a code of ethics,” Ferguson explains.

After finding an installer, Dobda picks up the phone and starts a conversation — something he says a lot of people skip. For him, this is the major key to ensuring the installer is the right fit.

“Anybody can have a pretty website with an amazing portfolio of all these things, but before I trust that they’re going to be able to do what I would like them to do, I want to get them on the phone and just start that conversation and make sure we’re on the same page and speaking the same language and lingo, and make sure that I can trust that person or that company,” Dobda adds.

Key Characteristics of a Great Installation Partner

You get a qualified or preferred installer on the phone. What do you look for in that conversation? What kind of questions should you ask the installer?

To ensure the installer understands the job and the application, Dobda shares job specifics over the phone and says the installer’s response tells him everything he needs to know.

“It’s something you can feel out as you have that conversation and make sure they’re confident in their abilities and know what they’re doing,” Dobda says. “And it gives them an opportunity to ask questions that can also help define the level of confidence. Again, if they’re asking what an SEG is, that might not be the best partner for you.”

He usually has a couple of questions at the ready, based on what type of work he’s outsourcing. If it’s a wallcovering, making sure they know what a level five finish is, or what paste they’re going to use. If it’s an SEG, they should know how to put up a frame.

Ferguson says starting with a 3M Certified/UASG partner takes some of that legwork out of it, as the PSP can trust the installer has been through the certification process.

“Having the peace of mind to know the baseline at which a company operates without having to take a risk or go through our own vetting process is a great tool to have,” he says.

Successfully Working with Contract Installers

Clear communication, outlined expectations, and staying on deadline — that’s the aim when working with contract installers. Both Dobda and Ferguson agree that much of the responsibility falls on the PSP to ensure seamless project execution.

“I think a lot of it is on the PSP and not the installer,” Dobda says. “You need to set those expectations before the job starts and you want to provide those resources to make that possible.”

This includes doing a proper site survey, taking photos, giving the installer checklists or a guide for the graphics, detailing what needs to be done, and defining an agreed upon timeline. Dobda says timelines are one of the bigger challenges because sometimes job sites aren’t ready, or the contractor overpromises and takes longer than expected.

Having conversations before anyone steps on a job site is key, he adds. If the installer shows up to a site, and it’s not ready for the installation, he agrees to pay a $250 trip charge, recognizing the installer’s time.

Ferguson feels similarly, saying A&M Graphics takes pride in having all logistics set and ready for its installation partner, minimizing any potential issues or delays onsite. Further, the installer should have all the necessary site contacts, so they know who to reach upon arrival.

“Setting clear expectations with your installer and your client is key to a smooth transaction,” he adds. “The A&M Graphics team has also worked very hard to refine our proofing and installation packet so that our installation partners have next to no questions about the job they are working on.”

Once you’ve established a relationship with a contract installer and built that trust, the process gets smoother and installer-PSP dynamics can flourish.

“The goal in all this should be to build a relationship with a contract installer or third-party installer ... so that you are comfortable with each other and have that working relationship,” Dobda adds.
“Unfortunately, it just takes time to work through these jobs together. It’s not something that you can just make happen.”
How to Handle Reprints

Something goes wrong, and a reprint is needed. Who’s responsibility is it? Dobda says these scenarios can go south quickly, so it’s important to hash out the possibility with your installer well before they arrive onsite.

“It can get it to a pretty dicey area where you, as the PSP, are frustrated that you have to incur more cost, but the installer who, depending on the situation, could be just as frustrated if they have to go back and spend more of their time,” he explains.
In his opinion, again, the responsibility falls on the PSP because they chose and trusted the installer to complete the project. Even if the mistake was the installer’s fault, Dobda still reprints it.

“That was my part of this equation, and I hope that they will go install it, and I hope that neither of us will charge each other for it,” he shares. “This might just be my outlook on it but, I feel like you're taking that risk by hiring an installer. If they don't do well, you have to reprint that print. You can't try to charge it to the installer.”

It's important to remember the installer is an extension of the PSP’s business during that time. What they do is a direct reflection of the PSP’s business, Ferguson stresses. That’s why resources, like the PDAA and UASG, are so valuable.