A colleague and I unwittingly performed a wonderful experiment last week. Though we didn’t know it at the time, our two companies were each working on a response to the same RFP, which had a short deadline and well-defined requirements. One of those requirements was that the documents had to be delivered, hard copy, to a corporate location out of state. Both Sue and I spend the majority of our time working out of one-person offices, so although we are each well-equipped for printing, binding and producing documents – there’s a certain point at which the project moves to a Kinko’s or Pony Mailbox level. However, this project didn’t quite meet that threshold. So it was normal to prepare to assemble and ship the documents ourselves.

In our previous lives, our organizations had corporate accounts with print production companies. The one I used is in Memphis, and I decided to see if they offered services to individuals for small production runs, and it turns out that they do. I spent 15 minutes determining what the cost would be to produce this document with Mimeo.com.

My estimate showed that the total cost of using the print production house was equal to three to four hours of my time at the project billing rate, and it probably would have taken me that long to assemble it. I presented my research to the client, and together we decided that at “break-even”, if I trusted the vendor, they would certainly support my decision to use them. So I decided to go to Mimeo for the production work.

My friend Sue opted to produce it herself. She had earlier dismissed out-of-house production as a choice because she assumed that the cost would be prohibitive for small runs. Also, Sue is much better at production than I am, and with more years of experience, and she is very efficient. All else being equal, it should only have taken her three hours to print, bind, and deliver (to the shipper).

What were the results? Let’s consider three things: Time, Finances, and Quality.

Time Expended

I spent 45-60 minutes (including my original 15) getting the document uploaded, electronically assembled, and proofed. I had some trouble with one large PDF – the fonts weren’t imbedded, so the production house had to obtain a copy via email from me – the print driver couldn’t parse it. Oh, I forgot to mention – they provide you with a print driver… all I had to do was “print” my documents to their system. Tight.

For various reasons, my deadline with the printer was 5pm Central for guaranteed next-day delivery (in some instances it can be later). So technically, I had to put a full stop on writing and editing at 4pm in order get production done in time. However, since I was unsure how long uploading would take, I actually stopped writing and editing after 2pm. Except for those last minute changes the sales team wanted. And the pricing worksheet which wasn’t ready until 3:30. But aside from that…

Sue spent nearly 4.5 hours getting hers printed, bound, and packaged (which means I would have pushed it to get it done in 6!). But since she only had until 6:30 (her local pickup time), she stopped editing after 2pm as well.

So, we both stopped editing at the same time, but I had to wait on last minute changes (which will happen). I squeezed in dinner while Sue was squeezing binder rings, but our two projects had nearly the same TIME impact. I had some time for other items that afternoon, but my client and Sue’s corporation both received the same project experience. From a Time perspective, using the production house was a Wash. Now, if it had been ten copies… or 20…

Financial ROI

Here’s where the roller coaster analysis starts.

Sue actually has a better salary than I bring in as a consultant on projects like this. So although she is more efficient (and normally is faster than that, but this one had some unique requirements), there is an increased cost-per-hour for her to use the hole-punch. Less experienced folks putting together the binders would be cheaper… but would generally take longer, so overall, the cost appears to be about the same whether Sue does it or I do it.

Sue worked and got paid to assemble binders until 5pm (technically, since she’s on salary) – but I was done uploading at 4pm, with a significant break in there for dinner. The project was “Time and Charges” for me, and I didn’t bill the client for the hour I took out for dinner, nor after 4pm. Once the order was confirmed and the team was made aware (and sent electronic copies) I was off the clock. Advantage, Client.

Presentation Quality

Now that I have the swing of using the production house, I know I can spend a little longer on deadline day ensuring that everything is complete. I probably won’t change the project plan, but I’ll budget the buffer for better editing, which is a smart investment of the hour or two I’ll gain from the project team.

But even better? The production people have their own quality checks. And I can’t tell you how nervous I get being at the end of a two day, two week, or especially a two month project and worrying that I’m focused enough to catch my own mistakes. These guys will CALL YOU ON THE PHONE if you put two tabs next to each other in your production order. They perform 14 Quality Checks. They made ONE mistake in approximately 240 proposals, in the three years I was at the previous company. Which means that I can focus on making sure the proposal is complete, concise, and accurate, and let them take care of presentation, and do it well! Advantage, Client.

Sue probably didn’t make any mistakes in her assembly. The larger the order, though, the more likely one is to put an appendix in upside down. Or two tabs together.

Another kind of presentation

Finally – I didn’t have to leave the house at 6:27 at night, wishing I had grabbed a granola bar on my way out the door, to drop a package off in my PJs. Not saying Sue did that.

Summary: Whether producing a document for a client or your corporation, our analysis is that they will benefit both financially and from a quality perspective. Even using conservative estimates and assumptions, it’s easy to see that, a the end of the [production] day, it really is better than a wash. Additionally, you end up with more time to focus on thorough editing, other projects… or dinner!

[editor's note: names in this post have been changed to protect the pajama-wearers...]