In this fresh perspective, Verity Fox, managing director of large-format print specialist Dominion, reflects on how speed, quality, and service have become baseline expectations in print – and why price now exerts growing pressure on every part of the process How Can Print Really Deliver on Speed, Quality, Service, and Price? For much of my career in print, the industry has been guided by a familiar model of speed, quality, and service. Historically, if you got those three aspects right consistently, you were doing a good job. Today, this model – often referred to as a ‘triangle’ – no longer reflects reality. Customer requirements have evolved, competitive pressures have intensified, and pricing has progressed from a commercial consideration to a constant operational force. The fourth increasingly dominant pressure is now price, and I’d argue, therefore, that the commonly known triangle has become a square, with each side constantly pushing against the others. A lot of this expectation has been shaped by the world outside print. Platforms like Amazon Prime and other major retailers have normalised next-day delivery, instant purchasing, and seamless service, leading people to believe all industries can and should work at the same pace. The world is moving faster than ever before, and this pace inevitably filters into how print is bought and sold. Furthermore, print has become more commoditised over the last 20 years. In some cases, the expert element has been lost from the buying process, which can make print appear deceptively simple. While some projects move quickly through automated workflows, many don’t. Largeformat and bespoke print still rely heavily on skill, experience, and judgement, particularly when expectations around speed, quality, service, and price are in play at once. Where the Square Begins to Strain It’s when these four elements collide that the real challenges emerge, and it’s something I’ve witnessed increasingly over the last few years. Referring to the model as a square, rather than a triangle, feels accurate to me because it’s rarely one expectation in isolation that causes tension. More often, one side of the square pushes against another, bringing about trade-offs that aren’t always visible to the customer. One of the most common pressures we’re seeing right now is speed versus quality. Fast turnarounds inevitably restrict the time available for quality control and that all-important attention to detail. When deadlines are compressed, there’s less margin to pause, check, and refine – particularly on complex or bespoke work. Meanwhile, pricing introduces another layer of complexity. Quick turnarounds often come with additional costs that would sit outside the basic production process. Queue-jumping jobs into the schedule, shipping in non-stock substrates, arranging direct deliveries, or running overtime all add pressure to already tight margins. Looking in from the outside, these costs may not be visible, but on the production floor, they’re very real. There’s also an ongoing tension between price and quality. Intricate, bespoke jobs demand time, precision, and expertise – but when pricing is pushed too hard, something has to give. Nobody wants to see a squeeze on price reflected in a downturn in quality, yet, sadly, this is a risk when high-quality work is expected to move through a process designed for speed. Why Automation Hasn’t Replaced the Human Element There’s a long-held assumption that 28 email: editor@signlink.co.uk Issue 265 - June | July FRESH PERSPECTIVES | VERITY FOX
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