Printing Services (UK)

[Cholmondely Percival IV]

Since discovering doxdirect.com a couple of years ago I have been using them quite frequently to print PDF’s of rule books as well as roster sheets and QRS’s. The results have always been satisfactory, until my last order was badly botched. This was for the Mordheim rulebook, which on arrival was missing the final 44 pages. On ringing to explain the situation I found this far more difficult than I’d imagined, initially being told that it was because I’d selected printing on both sides, which would naturally result in the printed item having half the number of pages. I was quite startled by the employee’s inability to see the point and also had to point out that her arithmetic was incorrect in any case; 118 of the 162 pages in the document had been printed, not 81, which she duly confirmed after consulting a calculator. With confusion still apparent, we eventually agreed I should send a photo of the book’s final page, which would be compared with the file I’d uploaded.

Some time after I’d done this I received an email apologising for the error and subsequent misunderstanding, with a promise to reprint the book. This arrived on the following Monday, thankfully without error.

Naturally I understand that errors can occur but I find this one quite puzzling. Aside from anything else, it is clear that the original work was not checked, which one might assume would be standard procedure. The difficulty I encountered in explaining the issue was an additional source of frustration.

The quality of the reprinted book is fine, as every previous item I’ve ordered has been at the first attempt, so I see no reason to write the company off. I am, however, wondering about alternatives in the event that something like this recurs. However I don’t know of a similar service with the range of customisation this company offers. The turnaround is generally fast and shipping is free for orders of £10+ in the UK and £20+ for RotW. The only feature I can think of that is lacking is the option to print part of a file or to combine multiple files into one document.

Those last points aside, I would be grateful for information on any similar service - ideally UK-based - that is consistently reliable in terms of quality and customer service. Equally, are there any that should be avoided?

[zemjw]

Sorry to hear about your problems. I've used DoxDirect several times, without any problems, so hopefully this was a one-off I had visions of the company being a single person with a couple of printers in their spare room, so it's good to know it is a real company with staff

I have recommended them to people (frequently on this site), so I've never looked for anyone else, sorry.

About the multiple docs in one file, I thought that was pretty much the default. I wanted to print a couple of documents separately and had to tread carefully to avoid them being lumped together. Now I'm wondering if my treading was unnecessary

I can't offer any alternatives, sorry, but I am curious about what other people come up with.

[manchesterreg]

Hope this was a one off, I have used them for years, and never had a problem. I started using them after our Company had manuals etc printed.

[Idle Doodler]

I've had good experiences with DoxZoo for a while now, recommended to me by an even longer user from my RPG group. I've not needed great customisation most of the time, but they managed my 5 Leagues from the Borderlands package without any problems: combining core rules and expansion PDFs, with card tabs marking out the various chapters. I've had ringbound and booklets printed, and so far they've all stood the test of time, at-the-table handling and shoved-in-rucksack storage.

[Cholmondely Percival IV]

Thanks to all the respondents. I’ve no idea what the set up is at DoxDirect. The two times I’ve phoned the calls were answered by a lady and on the first occasion in particular there was some background noise which conjured an image of her holding a baby in one arm. The emails I’ve received have always had the same name - Diatta - which seems to suggest minimal staffing. That said, the quality of production, this experience aside, has been first rate, but evidently there is some issue if basic checking is not being done. I may check out Dox Zoo at some point as it is always best to have a back-up plan.

It took me a while to figure out the customisation options so I may have missed something with regard to combining files. One issue that has defeated me is selective printing of parts of a PDF. I believe this is possible and Dropbox seems to offer a degree of customisation but so far it’s proven too complex for me to grasp (meaning I haven’t been able to force myself to work it out).

[Muddlingthrough]

I have nothing to offer, as I'm in Canada, but out of curiosity how much does the printing cost in the UK? I recently had a 130 page rulebook printed here in a spiral-bound format for around $37cad (I opted for a few fancy features like heavyweight paper, colour front-page, clear plastic front and back cover), which is around 21.50GBP. I'd like to get the cost down, but maybe I'm just being a bit of a penny-pincher.

[zemjw]

The DoxDirect site - https://www.doxdirect.com/ has an estimator on its front page that lets you select options such as colour, paper weight etc.

I am cheap , so always stick to black and white, as the colour option gets very expensive very quickly

130 pages duplex spiral bound on 120gsm paper, with a colour card front page and plastic cover comes in at just under £18. 80gsm paper brings it down to £14

It's free p&p for anything over £10 (I think) and you get a free sweet (candy) or two thrown in (and thrown out, as my digestive system doesn't handle that any more )

The Canadian price seems to be in the same ball-park (to introduce another nationality to the discussion)

[macsen wledig]

thanks for the links