Online Printer Reviews

There are literally hundreds of online printing companies, each vying to win your next print project. Whether it be printed brochures, posters, postcards, calendars, catalogs and more, it's not hard to find a printing company to do it. However, it can prove mighty difficult to find an online printing company that offers exceptional quality at an affordable price. As such, many turn to online printer reviews to decide which printer is best-suited for their projects. Is this a good idea? Let's take a look at why you should read online printer reviews, and why each should be taken with a grain of salt.

Online printer reviews provide insight

Unbiased online printer reviews can lend insight into which online printing companies have a track record for customer satisfaction. If one printing company has quality, one has quick turnaround, one has a helpful staff and yet another has all three, then it makes it easier for you to decide which printer is best for your project. Conversely, if one printing company tends to deliver poor results, you can glean that information from online printer reviews so you know to avoid that company.

Online printer reviews can be misleading

Even though online reviews for printing companies can provide insight, they can also be misleading - especially when a reviewer is being paid to write the reviews or when a reviewer is one disgruntled customer in a sea of happy customers. One thing that all good marketers know is that unhappy customers will complain loud, but satisfied customers will mostly just enjoy their contentment and make no effort to praise services well rendered. Thus, when you read a good review about an online printing company, you have no way of knowing whether it was paid for or whether it was written in earnest. Likewise, a bad review could be as simple as a customer who cannot be pleased. For all you know, the printing company bent over backwards to accommodate a reviewer who had unrealistic expectations. Even more vile, unscrupulous companies could pay reviewers to denounce the competition. You simply have no way of knowing whether a review is honest or not.

How to choose an online printing company?

Printing is the final step to a finished project - and the source of many costly mistakes. Depending on reviews and accurately sorting the biased reviews from the sincere is ultimately not the best way to choose an online printing company. The best way is to try the company yourself before using it for client projects: order free samples, call and speak to a representative, and order a batch of business cards, brochures or postcards for yourself. You can ask friends and colleagues, post in forums or ask on websites such as Yahoo! - but remember that everyone has a bias, even if they're honestly trying to be helpful. The bias might not even be so much in favor of the recommended printing company; rather, it can be in favor of your respondents' recommendations being taken and therefore making them heroes. Online printing reviews can lend insight, but they can also lead to costly errors. Anyone can tell you that PsPrint is a top-notch printing company with superb quality and customer support at affordable prices, but how do you know until you try them out for yourself?