Sussing Trade Shop Facilities

8) VALUE—This is tough to determine until you have had some experience with the trade shop in question. In the end, you will usually get what you pay for. But if you feel that you are regularly getting less, it may be time to re-evaluate.

9) HIGH-END SERVICES—Do you need direct-to-plate? Do you need continuous sleeves? Do you need high definition plates? Do you need digital proofing? Most of these and other higher-end services require considerable capital investment by any trade shop. Most offer some of these services; few offer them all. Investigate your particular needs and evaluate the trade shop accordingly.