WHAT TO DO IF A PRINTING HOUSE MAKES A MISTAKE AND REFUSES TO REPRINT IT

Working with a printing house can be stressful — not only for designers, but for clients as well. I’ve been working in branding since 2019, and even with years of experience, unexpected situations still happen. The reality is that we can only fully control the process up to the stage of preparing files for print.

A Real Case From Our Practice

A client from Germany approached us for branding services. She works in the premium event management industry, and we developed a logo and brand identity for her business. The next step was printing business cards.

The goal was clear: the cards had to look elegant, premium, and aligned with the level of her services. We selected a designer paper stock and, together with the printing house, decided to use gold foil stamping on both sides of the cards. All print files were approved, and the order was sent to production.

At that time, I was living in Kyiv and personally collecting printed orders to check the quality before shipping them to clients. I opened the package near the printing house, took out one of the business cards, and immediately noticed that the “gold” looked far too light.

I contacted the printing house to confirm whether gold foil had actually been used. They assured me that everything had been produced correctly. At first, I assumed it might simply be the lighting. It was summer, and the sunlight outside was incredibly bright.

But once I got home and compared the cards with a real gold foil sample, it became obvious: they had used silver foil instead of gold.

We documented the issue, sent proof to the printing house, and they quickly reprinted the entire order. In the end, the client received a flawless final product.

Why Situations Like This Happen

Even with well-organized processes, human error is always possible.

Mistakes can happen at different stages:

the wrong material may be selected;
the foil may be mixed up;
printing technology requirements may be violated.

What matters most is not the fact that a mistake happened, but how the contractor responds to it.

What to Do If You Receive Defective Printing

If you receive a defective order, the most important thing is to stay calm and handle the situation step by step.

First — document the problem.
Take clear photos and videos showing the defect.

Second — contact the printing house.
In most cases, professional contractors will acknowledge the mistake and reprint the order.

What If the Printing House Refuses to Admit the Mistake?

Unfortunately, this also happens.

In that case, make sure to collect all production elements that were paid for by you.

If your project included foil stamping, request the stamping die. If it involved packaging production, request the die-cut template (important: you can only claim the die-cut form if you personally paid for its custom development). You can read more about die-cut templates in this article.

These production elements already belong to you because you paid for them. You have every right to take them and continue production with another printing house. This can save you from paying for the same production tools again.

And of course, after a situation like this, it’s usually best not to continue working with that contractor.

Brand packaging is not just about design. It’s part of a larger system that influences brand perception, trust, and positioning.

That’s why not only the designer’s work matters, but also the quality of production and execution.

We believe in collaboration where every participant in the process works toward the final result. When the designer, printing house, and client operate as a team, the outcome is always stronger. When responsibility starts being shifted between parties, the business ultimately suffers.

Printing mistakes are frustrating, but they are part of the process. The key is knowing how to respond and what to pay attention to.

If you’re planning to develop a brand identity, packaging design, or a complete branding project, it’s important to think not only about the visuals, but also about the production stage.

Want to see how working on brand identity can be easy, clear, and stress-free?
Leave a request through our contact form or send us a message.

We specialize in developing Logos , Brand identities, and Brandbooks.

Sincerely,
V.Rich Studio