Last week’s column about getting itemized invoices from printers hit a nerve with a group of printers who decided I must work for the other “side.” Banished from Printer’s Island, I was!

My advice was misinterpreted by several printers. Of course I wasn’t suggesting that printers itemize every dollar’s worth of paper, ink, and other consumables. I do think that large invoices should specifically break out the charges for primary services, such as file formatting, design services, proofs, printing, and delivery.

Why send a detailed invoice? To help your customers appreciate what things cost. To create a billing history. To educate professional buyers about pricing. To disclose to your customers that they got what they paid for. To communicate better with your customers, which creates loyalty.

If you can’t explain a bill to a customer, that’s a problem. Your problem. Everyone likes to know exactly what they’re buying. Including details about pricing won’t make them leave you - will it?

Here’s some full disclosure I’ve no trouble revealing: I was never a printer. I was a corporate print buyer, so I think like buyers think. This perspective helps printers in a lot of ways.

My business is to bring printers and buyers closer together because I have great respect for printers. Since a) I don’t work for a printer and b) I was a print buyer, I believe I have more credibility among consumers when I sing the praises of printing. Like a third-party endorsement.

And guess what? The printing industry is not paying me to promote it. (I can’t think of any other non-printing company that promotes this industry, can you?) I can’t choose sides, either. I’m both pro-printer AND pro-buyer. By articulating the needs and issues of buyers and printers to each other, I try to help both groups understand each other a little better.

I need input from printers and buyers alike to open the lines of communication, which is my goal.