I work in the marketing department of a well-known real estate company in Kolkata. Among the traditions of our company is to get a calendar printed. Unfortunately, this particular year because of quite a few other marketing activities, planning for the calendar simply slipped our mind. It was only at the end of November that we realized nothing had been done.
Now you may be wondering what is so great about planning a calendar when you just need to print dates on paper. Well, that is not all. Planning a calendar is not as simple as it seems because you need to think of a concept, get it approved by the bosses, prepare content for it, get it designed, conduct a photo-shoot, make artworks, get it printed and distributed, and so on. For the calendars to be delivered by the end of December we therefore just had one month’s time to get everything done.
We started discussing ideas while simultaneously looking for design firms. Since we already had a designated printer, we asked them to send a preliminary quote. After a couple of days and much brainstorming, we came up with the concept of showcasing the architecture of old Kolkata. When we discussed this with our printer and asked them if they knew any design firm, they recommended one that had the experience of calendars. Calendars can be tricky because, while many people make excellent designs, not everyone knows how it will finally reproduce on paper. Besides, it must continue to look good through the year.
We sat together with the recommended design agency and described our expectations. After some discussion on the cost, we finally gave them the job. They not only took up the responsibility of design but took it on themselves to execute the entire process. They designed and developed the different pages while keeping to the theme. Once everything was done, they sent us the soft copy for approval.
The finished design looked so brilliant that everyone in the team loved it. Photography was done, and after some inevitable fine-tuning we asked for the artwork so that we could forward it to the printer. The only issue was that we had only 7 more days in hand before sending out the calendars and New Year gift packages, so we only had around 3 days to get the calendars printed.
When we spoke to the printing company, they suggested that we should go for the premium printing and paper to make the design stand out. The paper they suggested was a little more expensive than the previous year’s, but the look and feel was much better. We had ordered around 1500 calendars, which we thought would’ve been a little difficult for them to print in 3 days. Why 3 days? Because we required at least 4 days to send it out, and the MD is very particular about the New Year deadline. When we informed them about the tight schedule, they told us that they would make sure that we get the calendar on time. They promised that they would not compromise on the quality and give us the best product.
Although they had assured us, we were not quite confident that they would be able to complete the assignment. We kept calling them and asking them about the progress. Every time we got the same answer, “You are a priority for us. We will deliver all the calendars on time. You don’t have to worry about that.” On the day when we were supposed to get the delivery, all of us were tensed thinking they might fail to deliver. The entire afternoon we were at the edge of our seats, waiting for them to call.
At around 7:30, we got a call from them, but it wasn’t with the news we were hoping to hear. Apologetically, they informed us that although they had packed and sent off the calendars on time so that it reached us by 8 in the evening, the vehicle had broken down and delivery would be delayed. This was seriously bad news. We had promised the MD everything was under control. The courier was waiting. Worst of all, the gift boxes that had to go with the calendars included perishables that might spoil if they failed to catch the morning flight. It was a mess.
An hour later, the printers called us once again, telling us that they had managed to arrange another vehicle to transfer the consignment but they weren’t sure how long it would be before we get the delivery. 10 ‘o’clock came and went, and we were beginning to give up hope. Maybe this talk of a breakdown was just a tale and they had not even finished the binding, I began to think. I recalled all the nightmarish tales I had heard of printers lying to cover up their inefficiency. Then it started raining!
The entire office was empty except for the marketing team. I even stopped calling the printers in despair. Around midnight, just as we were wondering whether to give up all hope, we got a phone call from the printers to let us know that the calendar consignment was about to reach us in another 10 minutes. This was like the cherry on top after a whole tub of ice-cream with the wrong flavors.
We waited by the gate to receive the delivery, and sure enough within 10 minutes the vehicle was there. We then set off to work on packing them with the gifting packages. Finally around 4:00 in the morning, everything was checked and ready to deliver.
In the end it was a happy ending. Everyone who received the calendar was impressed. I was grateful to the printers not only for doing a premium job but for going the extra mile in every way. And yes I also swore I’ll never again leave calendar printing for the last minute and have them ready at least a week in advance!
If you want to know more about premium printing, then visit us here.