Understanding Project Lead Times

In this post, we are going to talk about the Production Lead Times for different products and services in the Print and Promotional Merchandising Industry.

Individual suppliers will vary but generally for Event Elves, our general lead times are as follows:

• Printed Media (flyers, business cards, etc.) – 5 to 10 working days
• Apparel (embroideries, Supacolour print, screen print) – 7 to 10 working days
• Promotional Merchandise (corporate gifts, usb drives and small electronics) – 10 to 15 working days
• Indent / Custom Orders (overseas manufacturing) – 4 to 5 working weeks

The above lead times generally include production and transit times but do not account for all the preparation necessary for a project to reach “Production Ready” status.

Did you know that 99% of clients think that their project is ready to go however in reality it isn’t?”

This is a very common pitfall that can easily lead to non-feasible projects or unmet deadlines.

Here are 3 crucial things to consider when getting your project to Production Ready status.

Print-Ready Artwork

Print ready artwork means that the artwork has been fully developed, completed and approved by all stakeholders. It is delivered in a format that is accepted in the printing industry such as PDF, AI, and EPS.

Print ready also means that:

• All errors have been corrected and there are no more changes needed. Watch out for the elusive typos and little details.
• All colours are properly defined and referenced. For tips on properly selecting and referencing colours, check out the following posts:
  • https://www.eventelves.com.au/colour-schemes-made-easy/
  • https://www.eventelves.com.au/how-to-pick-print-colours-for-your-logo/
• The Artwork Proofing process (product design layout) has been completed and approved. For more on preparing an artwork proof, check out the post:
  • https://www.eventelves.com.au/creating-artwork-proofs-for-printing/

Print ready artwork continues to be the number 1 factor that causes project delays. Most common mistakes include the following scenarios:

• An under-developed or incomplete design/logo.
• Absence of artwork altogether.
• Providing a low resolution raster image (JPG, PNG) as the official logo/design. To understand the differences between raster and vector images, go to:
  • https://www.eventelves.com.au/raster-vs-vector-files-for-printing/
• Requiring artwork/design approval from upper level stakeholders.

Approved Budget & Time for Product Selection

There are many cheap products available on the market. But finding the right product that fits your brand and budget requires time. Give your preferred printer/supplier enough time to search for and quote products based on your requirements and available budget.

Find a promo company that you can trust to look out for your best interests. Understandably, this can prove to be difficult at times. Communicating your branding goals, target audience, budget constraints and providing as much information as possible will often benefit your project rather than hinder it.

Available Stock

Your project could tick all the boxes, but nothing will get done if there is no stock available. Just because a product can be found on a website or catalogue doesn’t mean there are enough quantities to fulfil your order.

Some products can be more popular than you think and it can take time to replenish low stock levels. Hence it is still important to allocate time for the eventuality that stock levels may be low on a desired product.

Parting Thoughts

Remember to account for the above when determining the real lead time for your project. Needless to say, don’t leave your project to the last minute. While we now live in a largely on-demand economy, the Print and Promo Industry are still subject to very real time constraints in production and logistics.