DiClemente Siegel Design Inc. (DSD), located in Southfield, Michigan provides architecture, mechanical, electrical and interior design services and project management for new construction, renovations, system modifications, upgrades and additions. Founded in 1969, DSD serves a variety of clients: colleges/universities, K-12 schools, healthcare providers, corporations, manufacturing/industrial companies, religious institutions and governmental bodies.

In December 1999, DSD joined an elite group of national and international design firms that have earned ISO 9001 registration. ISO 9001 confirms the company's strong commitment to quality services and continuous improvement.

Danielle Morin has been the marketing coordinator for DiClemente Siegel Design for nearly 3 years.

Is there one person in the organization who orders most of your print related material?

There are multiple people from different departments in our company who purchase printed materials. Being a design firm, a lot of our print costs come from CAD drawing reproductions as well as project specifications which are inches thick. Any number of engineers and designers may place orders for these. Our office clerk orders our letterhead, envelopes, note pads, etc. and I design and order everything related to marketing, public relations and advertising.

Many design firms bid jobs out, do you handle print the same way or is a relationship most important here?

Know your print vendor! I have built a relationship with my printer, trying to help them out with my projects as much as possible. By doing that, whenever I need a little extra help – they are always willing to go the extra mile for me. We use 3 main vendors for 3 different types of print projects. The printer I deal with has continuously gone beyond the call of duty. I trust them and most importantly, they don’t take advantage of that.

What's the worst experience you have had with a print vendor?

The president of the printing company called me on the phone and basically told me they didn’t want our small projects. I believe he was trying to drum up more business, but he was rude and abrasive and his message was not ‘we want more work’, but ‘your projects are not important enough for us to do’. I have stopped using (the) printer – and not because of any mistakes in our jobs.

Describe the overall trend at your company in terms of spending and internal investment.

The trend in print spending for our firm has been on the rise, even though recently we purchased some in-house equipment that allows us to produce more of our marketing materials in house. The quantities of our projects have gone up – our client base is growing.

We have Pagemaker and Photoshop for desktop publishing, almost all of our pieces are designed in house. We recently purchased a high-quality 12 x 18 color printer so most of our internal and client proposal package materials are printed in-house. Time constraints on proposals made it impossible for us to use a printer in the past. We also can plot large format scan and bind in-house.

Explain how you use your documents and the process to ensure accuracy when proofing.

Our finished print pieces are used in multiple ways – many are mailed out to clients, used for marketing to new clients, as well as given to employees. Depending on the project, I will receive a fax to double-check the text. If it is not a job that will be printed on a press, I will receive a ‘finished’ piece to sign off on. If it is a job for a press, I will go and do a press check.

What characteristics would Super Print Provider have?

The Super Print Provider in my mind would be that the salesman I deal with on a daily basis also be a designer. One who understood the press requirements, computer design programs, as well as all the pricing. We would be able to sit down when I am designing a piece and figure out different options for printing and could give me different prices as well. It would be a true working relationship.

Thank you Danielle. We appreciate your time.