by Steve | Mar 28, 2010 | General Information
Gutenberg invented the first printing press over five centuries ago, and since that time paper has enjoyed its dominant position as the medium of transmission and storage of information. Who could have foreseen the slow and steady move toward a paperless society that the age of the computer and the internet has introduced?
Will we ever end up completely paperless? That is debatable, but highly unlikely. Although paper consumption has steadily declined over the past decade, there will always be the need for tangible printed materials.
Decline is not a pleasant word for any industry, but there are ways to push through and prosper. For printers, the answer is to change with the times.
Updating Your Printing Services
Access to the internet has been profitable for marketing companies, desktop publishers, online work groups, and just about anyone with a copy of Photoshop at their disposal. With that in mind, it is more important than ever for you to offer every possible convenience (and possibly a bit of training) to your clients who are in need of full color printing.
As you know, many individuals designing materials are using low resolution images found online and bringing them to you, expecting the impossible. Files created in RGB at 72 dpi might be perfect for a web page, but a nightmare for you, the printer.
So, how can you help your potential clients and save yourself these headaches at the same time? Update your printing services with these two quick fixes.
- Offer a Detailed Tutorial – You’ve been thinking about it, but now is the time to make it happen. Your in-house graphic artist is most likely your best resource for this project since he is the person who deals with the incorrect files on a daily basis. Start by having him keep a list of the major issues. After a week or two you’ll have enough information to create detailed guidelines for your clients.
Issues that should be covered include, file size, layout, bleeds, text, color issues, proper font sizes, image resolution, and file saving. This may sound like quite a project, but without these guidelines you will continue to deal with the same time consuming problems.
- Uploading Projects with Ease – This is a convenience you simply can’t do without. Once your client understands the 300-600 dpi issue, they will quickly realize that this type of resolution creates incredibly large files. In order to get the files to you quickly and conveniently, you will need a ‘customer upload’ feature. My Docs Online has you covered. Customer uploads are made available to all Enterprise and Transcription accounts. Uploads are stored for you in easy to identify subfolders, which streamlines the process for the client as well as the independent printer.
Instructions for this feature are available by visiting our Customer Upload page. There are no file size limitations on uploads and no special IDs or passwords are needed. For added convenience, customer upload links can be posted to your website, your email messages, or anywhere that will make uploading convenient for your client.
Once you’ve updated your services by implementing these two conveniences, you can relax and focus on what you do best…printing.
Sign up for an Enterprise Edition account for as little as $9.95 a month and receive files from your Customer Upload Page in minutes. No contracts to sign. See more pricing options. Sign up for a FREE trial Now for 15 days. Review Branding options.
by Steve | Mar 12, 2010 | Customer Support, General Information
With so many file-hosting web-sites now available to assist companies in the day to day saving and sending of information, and the majority sharing strikingly similar attributes, it would be understandable for a company to think that there is little to choose between them. As well as offering a quality service for a surprisingly affordable price, these shared attributes are usually as follows: speed, easy-usability, the capacity to store large files which may then be accessed from anywhere in the world at any time, and a customer support service.
Notice how ‘customer support service’ came last? Well, sadly that was no accident. Many file-hosting companies place customer-service low down on their list of priorities. Yes, they can handle every other aspect of your business, but what good is that when it’s the end of the day and something goes wrong?
Why Live Support Is Essential
Customer service is actually the most vital part of a file-hosting business – the link in the chain which you need to be sure is working perfectly before signing up to a long-term contract. It’s the difference between acquiring more clients (and maintaining a strong reputation) and being known as a firm who couldn’t care less. My Docs Online knows this only too well, offering the kind of customer care that is largely all but forgotten.
While some file-hosting services are only available online, making communication slow and sometimes confusing, My Docs prides itself on being a voice at the end of the line. Not everyone understands complex computer jargon, and we recognize that. Which is why we pride ourselves on talking you through any problems that may arise, enabling things to run that much more smoothly
Economically Viable
Many businesses become disenchanted with their customer service, and for good reason. Upon signing up and discovering that the service is not as they expected, they are forced in to an awkward and unexpected situation: to stick with it or spend extra money on external support? Both are costly, counter-productive, and nine out of ten times a headache.
By choosing My Docs Online, you’ll never experience that problem. The result will be money saved and less stress.
Round The Clock, All The Time
We all know this frustration: 4:45p.m. and the business world is, at least on the surface, winding down. But there’s a problem and it’s not small…No…In fact, it’s a problem you’ve never seen before. A problem which does not look likely to go away soon…
My Docs shares the general consumer view: that a file-hosting service, one which is critical to a business’s proper functioning, no less, should be available to help whenever you need us. Not only that, it should be available wherever you are in the world.
Future Problems Eradicated
Good customer service is more than just solving problems in the present. Equally, it’s about making sure that all problems are recorded, so that any future issues can benefit from a sound knowledgebase. A business choosing My Docs has this and all of the aforementioned elements covered. Not only that, but there is also an expansive FAQ database containing answers to many of the less complicated issues that crop up repeatedly.
by Julie Campbell | Mar 9, 2010 | General Information
What Exactly Is Online File Storage?
Online file storage is, quite simply, the holding of information on an external server which is designed especially to cope with large volumes of data. Instead of a business employing one person to send out information numerous times—sometimes to many different countries—a business uploads all their information to one place (like My Docs Online, for example) where it is accessible to all staff, twenty-four hours per day. The advantage of this is clear: time is not wasted on sending emails confirming what has and has not been downloaded / viewed, and every person in the company knows exactly where they stand.
How Things Used To Be
Before online file storage was the powerful, high-speed, globe-encompassing entity that it has evolved in to today, running an online business of any size was fraught with challenge and difficulty at almost every level. Companies the world over relied on postal and courier services to deliver important information, with no choice but to accept a less than impressive time-scale, not to mention the strong likelihood of client dissapointment. With ever tighter deadlines to meet and clients expecting more and more value for money, companies struggled daily with a myriad of inter-connected problems which are now easily sorted in a matter of seconds.
How Things Are Today
Today things are very different—almost to the point that online file saving is now unrecognizable: like a gold-fish turned into a streamlined killer-whale. Instead of taking hours, sharing, accessing, and editing information happens in seconds. In minutes deals are done and dusted, crossing oceans and hurdling consecutive time-zones on a daily-basis. As a result the working day has been made infinitely more productive. In the space of a week a company can achieve what used to only be possible in a matter of months. The best part? Not only can we now do it fast—it’s also very affordable.
The Standard Has Been Set
Quality service and a thorough dedication to efficiency may be the norm today at My Docs Online, but in its infancy, the online file storage industry as a whole was also a costly, slow, and cumbersome affair. With only a few specialist online file storage companies to choose from, companies were stuck with less than a handful of frustratingly costly options. In the age pre-broadband, staff struggled to properly do their jobs and companies fought against the constant headache of sending large files from point A to point B. All that’s relegated to the past now, of course. My Docs Online makes it possible for businesses to implement the ideal online infrastructure, whatever their needs. In only a few simple steps, staff can send and receive information which is far too big to be sent via email (not to mention expensive). And there are several other prominent reasons why a business can benefit hugely from utilizing the best in online file storage:
Security Issues
Security is of paramount concern to every business, and My Docs Online file storage offers a number of obvious and distinct advantages over hard-drives and other data-holding equipment. Theft is one serious problem which online file storage—with its well-engineered safety features—is unaffected by. Fire is another. With information safely held off-premises, crucial data is safely kept out of harms way.
Diversity And Customization
Many levels of service are available, from economical plans to suit small businesses of only a few people to multi-user options capable of meeting the needs of networks containing hundreds. Increasingly powerful technology enables staff to navigate a sea of virtual information, and discuss its merits with colleagues at the touch of a button.