HOW WE WORK –
PRINTING PROCESS
All of our projects follow a clear six-step process, ‘owned’ and guided from start to finish by our friendly Account Managers and their technical knowledge. Every department from prepress to despatch has quality assurance protocols that are strictly followed, to ensure we deliver to our best at every step:
A new project starts with a consultation between the client and someone from the Centurion team. Apart from getting to know you, which is always a good thing, we discuss the project aims, the purpose of your printed item, how it will be used and so on.
When we understand your needs, we can then offer advice on important things like stock selection (what type of paper or board we print on), different print processes, colour, embellishments, finishing, deadlines and distribution.
Based on the initial discussion, the next step is for Centurion’s estimating team to provide you with an accurate quotation. Our quotes are sent promptly via email and they are valid for 30 days.
We outline the project name, the printing process to be used, the finished size of the project, the chosen stock, any print finishing, file and proofing information, quantity required and of course, the cost. Accurate quoting gives you cost certainty and ensures that we give you the best quality possible within your budget and deadline.
After our quote has been approved, the next step is to produce artwork. This refers to the creation of a final print-ready digital file that is compatible with our printing technology.
Many clients provide us with their own artwork. Otherwise our in-house prepress team can create artwork for you. The most common file format is a high resolution PDF but we can handle other file formats if necessary. Talk to us if you’re not sure.
Before a job is set up and run on one of our printing presses, we always produce a proof. A proof can be either a ‘soft copy’ for example a PDF file that we can email, or a ‘hard copy’ which is a one-off test print on the chosen stock, if possible.
The idea of proofing a job is to show you what the final job will look like and to allow time for the artwork file to be checked before printing. It’s much cheaper to make any amendments at this stage than later on. A proof gives you peace of mind that everything will print as you expect it to. All proofs must have client approval before production commences.
After proof approval, a digitally printed mock-up of the finished piece accompanies the job through every step of the production process to ensure correctness of content and to assist with quality control.
The final print production might use our digital presses or our offset presses, depending on what has been quoted for. Final production might also involve additional print finishes such as lamination, foiling, varnishing, embossing, creasing, binding or stitching.
Finished jobs are checked, packed, labelled and despatched. We don’t need to be in every city to cover the whole of New Zealand – we deliver to clients all over the country without compromising quality or service.
Small volume jobs might be delivered in person by one of our team. Larger jobs will be loaded into one of our Centurion delivery vans or transferred to a national courier company. And we’re always happy to see you if you’d prefer to pick something up in person.
Based on the initial discussion, the next step is for Centurion’s estimating team to provide you with an accurate quotation. Our quotes are sent promptly via email and they are valid for 30 days.
We outline the project name, the printing process to be used, the finished size of the project, the chosen stock, any print finishing, file and proofing information, quantity required and of course, the cost. Accurate quoting gives you cost certainty and ensures that we give you the best quality possible within your budget and deadline.