The campaign file was sent to the print house on Thursday afternoon. On Friday the end client asks whether everything is fine. You do not know which stage the order is at, so you write to your account manager asking for a status update. With several campaigns running at once, there are several such messages a day.
A question about status does not have to come from a lack of trust. It often appears simply when it is unclear what is happening with the order and when the next piece of information will arrive. Below we show how orders are handled in the two channels agencies use, and where you can check an order’s status.
1. Two ways of placing an order
How an order proceeds depends on how you place it: through your account manager or in the online shop. The rules and the scope of file checks differ between the channels, so it is worth knowing them.
2. An order placed through your account manager
- You send the order by e-mail: product parameters (material, format, finishing), quantity, proposed completion date and delivery address → How to write a print brief.
- After receiving the order, Labo Print sends a summary with the parameters, date and price. You confirm it by e-mail on the same working day, within the deadline stated in the terms and conditions. After that deadline Labo Print may change the completion date → Labo Print terms and conditions.
- If you provided all the parameters and the file together with the order, acceptance of the order may be confirmed directly by e-mail, with the completion date, price and transport cost, without a separate summary. Any comments should be submitted within the deadline stated in the terms and conditions.
- The file should be a closed file (e.g. PDF) that complies with the specification. Open project files, e.g. .ai, .indd or .psd, are not accepted for print. You send it to the FTP server (access details are provided by the sales department) or in another way agreed for the order.
- The completion period runs from the acceptance of the order until the goods are handed over for shipment, and does not include delivery time. If files or materials arrive later than agreed, the date is postponed.
- Labo Print notifies you when the goods are handed over for shipment.
It is worth agreeing the scope of file checks in this channel with your account manager. Under the terms and conditions, the customer is responsible for the completeness and correctness of the file, and the contractor is not obliged to verify the file before production starts. A change of date caused by a deficient file is therefore the customer’s responsibility → File comes back with corrections.
3. An order placed in the shop
- You place the order at shop.laboprint.eu and pay. After the order is placed and paid, you receive an e-mail confirmation with the completion date.
- You upload files in the customer panel or send them by e-mail with the order number in the subject line.
- Every file undergoes a basic check against the specification: dimensions, fonts (open fonts and font conversion) and space for punching. The check does not cover content, layout or graphic errors.
- If the result is negative, you make corrections and submit the file again. If you do not, the order will not be accepted for production, unless you accept the file despite the negative check. In that case the order is accepted, but a complaint about the file’s non-compliance with the specification will not be upheld. At the fourth file check the shop may charge a fee, after informing you by e-mail and obtaining your consent.
- The completion time runs from payment of the order and delivery of correct files.
- You agree changes to the order by e-mail with the shop’s customer service before production starts. The rules for cancellation are set out in the shop’s terms and conditions → Labo Print shop.
4. What can delay or block an order
In the shop, the most common reasons an order is not processed are:
- no payment,
- no print files,
- incorrect or incomplete files,
- waiting for corrections.
For orders placed through your account manager, missing necessary data, no contact to complete it, or files that do not comply with the specification may prevent the order from being accepted. Files or materials delivered later than agreed, in turn, postpone the completion date. These items are worth checking before you ask about status.
5. Where to check the status
- Shop: the order status is visible after you log in to your customer account.
- Order through your account manager: the reference point is the e-mail with the confirmed date. Ask the account manager handling the order about its status, quoting the campaign name and the details from the order confirmation. When the goods are handed over for shipment, Labo Print notifies the customer.
6. How to ask less often
- Provide all required data and a file that complies with the specification.
- Give the full delivery address and the recipient’s phone number. An incorrect or incomplete address may result in the shipment not being delivered.
- In the shop, first check the status after logging in to your account.
- For an order through your account manager, go back to the e-mail with the confirmed date.
- If you run several campaigns in parallel, your own overview of statuses may help.
Three questions for this week
- Do I have an e-mail with a confirmed date, and do I know who is handling my order?
- Is the file compliant with the specification before I send it?
- Am I asking about status because I lack information from the print house, or because I lack information in my own agency?
Order in progress?
Not sure who to write to? Contact us and give the campaign name and the details from the order confirmation.