A lot of times you will see “Next Day” and “Same Day” printing advertised at various print shops or especially online print companies.
However, most of the time this doesn’t necessarily mean you will have your final printed product(s) in hand the next day.
Here at Replica Printing, it does mean exactly that. You will have the final product(s) in your hand the next day or the same day if that is the time frame we have promised.
In a world of instant gratification and seven second (Vines, GIFs) attention spans, it’s no wonder customers want their printers to perform in a similar “want it now” fashion.
The challenge for printers is to balance turnaround time with production quality and the associated cost of meeting turnaround demand.
Most people will look at an online printer for quick turnaround service and lower prices. Once armed with that information, customers then use that as a benchmark when comparing it with a local brick and mortar printer.
Therein lies the problem. True next day printing simply doesn’t exist with an online printer. They do however serve their purpose for low priced, self serve printing. You just won’t be receiving your printed materials the actual next day, as advertised.
For many online printers, next day printing actually equates to an approximate 3-4 day turnaround by the time it arrives at your doorstep.
Many may believe “next day” to be the day it prints and ships. Others mistakenly believe it to be the day they receive. Most of the time, this is not the case.
Printing Process Calendar
Here’s how it really works: When placing an online print order for next day printing, the print cutoff for “next day” service is typically 10AM. If the art is received by that time, you effectively get into that day’s print schedule. If your print job is received after 10AM, you are pushed into the next day and are essentially losing a day.
Your print project then prints on day 2 and may or may not even ship that day. There is a very real possibility that it ships on day 3 and arrives to you on day 4 .
We here at Replica Printing were prompted to write this piece because we have had a number of people tell us about their failed “next day” service with online printers. As long time print professionals, we think it’s only fair that print customers are truly aware of the level of service and turnaround they expect to receive.
Please feel free to respond and let us know about your experiences with next day printing services and whether or not it was delivered in the time frame that you expected from your online printer.