Turnaround time on orders is becoming one of the most frequently asked questions in the label printing industry.  The average industry turnaround is about 2 weeks, sometimes 3 weeks on new orders.  Rush orders, generally speaking, are orders that are needed in hand in ten days or less.

If you have a custom label request that needs to be completed in 10 days or less, here are three items you should have ready to make sure your vendor can meet the turnaround request:

1. Make sure your request is not for specialty material (unless your vendor maintains that material on site) and make sure that your label can fit in an existing die size or shape.
2. Have your label art ready.  For Valley Forge Tape & Label’s art submission guidelines, click here.
3. Be prepared to approve the proof immediately.

While accommodating rush requests is becoming more and more common, there are some instances where the request can seem almost impossible. An example of how we dealt with one such situation was when we received a rush request on a new folded coupon from an existing customer.  Folded Coupon Labels are a construction where we usually ask for about 2 weeks for turnaround, but they wanted it shipped in 4 days.

Because this was new and not a repeat order, this meant several things for our company. Art needed to be submitted and approved, we needed to make sure we had the correct material and tooling in stock, we needed to make plates, and we needed to run, finish, and ship the job.

We started off on January 9^th with entering the order and getting art from the customer.  Art was submitted and out for approval to the customer on the same day.  Material and tooling were verified to be in stock and we felt confident that this project would reach our customer on time.

Proof approval was received by us on January 10^th and digital plates were made that day.  Our logistics coordinator rearranged the press schedules so that we were still able to accommodate orders already in house and the folded coupon was on press January 11^th.  The order was finished and sheeted into stacks of 50 pieces per pack.

The coupons were shipped to two different locations on January 12^th and our customer was very appreciative of the fast and reliable service.

Many factors go into making sure you get the fastest turnaround possible, but there are several ways you, as a customer, can try to ensure that you get the quickest service possible.  Ask for our Turnaround Checklist for some easy ways to make this happen.

Prior to choosing a vendor, consider their capabilities and any limitations they may have.  Service and quality should never be sacrificed for fast turnaround.