Designers/marketers poll: Do you buy or manage the printing on print projects you have designed?

Through the years, attitudes toward managing print jobs for clients has varied widely. How do we stack up on this issue today? For bigger agencies — both design and marketing — it’s a good revenue source, as well as a tool to control the marketing and branding process.

But can small shops handle the extra responsibilities, not to mention costs? Taxes and regulations have driven many small designers out of this important role. Some have found the answer in printing brokers. How ’bout you?

Please, share your successes and failures on this topic. Got stories?

Update: Monday, 5/4/09 08:25

So far, our poll indicates that all or most of the time, 70 percent of designers or marketers control the printing for print materials they design. An added 10 percent handle print management at least some of the time. Thanks for your continuing comments on this topic. They are appreciated.

And don’t forget our sponsors: VIPrintShop.com

Let’s talk about print

Welcome to what we hope becomes a regular stop for designers and marketers, where we showcase and understand the role of printed media as a marketing tool in today’s digital age.

Is print really dead? How will the paperless office affect the medium? How can designers and marketers dovetail print into today’s many other tools, not the least of which is social media?