1. First, you need to understand what you need to print.

Seeing this, don’t you all find it rather amusing? You can’t help but think, “What am I supposed to print? Don’t I know that myself?” What we mean by “what to print” is determining which category the product in question should be classified under. No printing plant in the world is capable of producing all types of printed materials. Among various printing enterprises, those engaged in publishing—such as books, periodicals, and newspapers—account for approximately 10% of the total; packaging printers—producing labels, woven tags, hangtags, color boxes, and the like—make up about 30%; the remainder specialize in other printed products, including documents, materials, charts, and forms. Therefore, before selecting a printing supplier, you must first determine which category your print job falls into, so that you can accurately identify the right provider. The range of products a printing plant can offer is essentially determined by its production equipment. For example, newspaper printers require specialized rotary presses for newspapers. Packaging printers, in addition to printing presses, also need post‑press processing equipment such as hang‑tag threading machines, eyelet‑punching machines, and labeling machines, as well as die‑cutting machines (slotting machines), hot‑stamping equipment (for gold, silver, and laser finishes), laminating machines, UV coating machines, and box‑gluing machines, among others.

2. Clearly define the quality requirements of the product.

This point is also crucial; different quality requirements can determine which suppliers to engage. Nowadays, most printing plants opt for advanced equipment, which ensures higher quality. For example, consider clothing tags (hang tags) in a garment factory. In the past, factories would outsource the task of threading the tags by hand, which was slow, resulted in inconsistent tag-string lengths and varying knot sizes, and led to a relatively high rate of defective products. Today, garment manufacturers are increasingly opting for automated equipment, such as the fully automatic tag‑threading machine and the fully automatic eyelet‑setting machine produced by KAMGOLD Guanggong Machinery. These machines ensure consistent, aesthetically pleasing tag quality while eliminating the labor‑intensive process of manual threading and boosting production efficiency. It is precisely these latter two factors that truly ensure the long-term stability of product quality. 

3. Give the printing supplier a little more time, and then a bit more time.

Doesn’t this seem a bit strange to everyone? Why should the time allotted to suppliers even be taken into consideration? Generally, printing plants have already finalized their production schedules, and without sufficient lead time, it’s very difficult for them to arrange production. As the saying goes, “Haste makes waste.” Just imagine: when you’re given only a limited amount of time and are constantly being rushed, how can you possibly produce a good product? But when you have ample time, of course, careful work yields fine results, and the quality is guaranteed. Very often, it is precisely because there is insufficient time allocated that product quality issues arise. Moreover, the more time you allow for planning, the more options you have, and the easier it is to negotiate better product prices while ensuring higher product quality.