Dealing with ZapCreatives
I’ll start off by saying that ZapCreatives is wonderful to work with and I generally have really pleasant experiences when working with the staff. I’ve stuck with them for 2 years now because of this and have printed over 100 designs with them over these years.
But they are not without their problems.
Recently, I’ve had a number of re-ordered designs missing from the last few orders I’ve made; those designs not even being printed. For all re-orders, Zap requires you to email them file names for designs you have ordered in the past. This is due to them having already set up cut lines based on the information you provided them in your files.
I have yet to receive any packages with these missing prints; many of which were shipped out months prior. They were shipped with the slowest method possible, 1st class air. I was told it takes 3-6 weeks to arrive with no tracking. Now I know they can’t do much about transit times, but they told me the reprints were shipped out on Februrary 3 and it is now April 17. It’s been 10 weeks.
After a few correspondences, I received an email with this line that made me quite furious.
They were very reluctant to give me charms that they had forgotten to print for me; products that I had paid money to get. Did this mean that, unless I had continuously pushed them to give me my items, I would not have ever gotten them? I understand if this applied to issues that dealt with printing but this was a product I had not even received. I did not give them money for nothing, I gave them money for a product. This was the last straw that pushed me over the edge.
I am not the only one to have had this problem happen to them. I’ve heard accounts of designs missing from orders dating back to late 2014. It even happened with another order I made with a friend just a few weeks ago. One of my re-ordered designs were missing, yet again! Right after I had contacted them about a missing design. Frankly, I’m a little appalled that this happens as often as it does. Not to mention I have at least 2 of these MIA packages with my name on it floating around somewhere in the world. I am out 100+ charms and have had to make my customers wait months for their product.
Please be aware that if you are re-ordering old designs, there is a pretty high chance of Zap forgetting to print them. I urge you to make sure that they do not forget your re-orders if you do this!
I’m generally a really patient person but I am at my limit with the sheer number of problems I’ve run into in just the last few months. With my most recent order, I had a number of problems with charms as well. These included cuts that were flush with the artwork on designs that were not my own.
The artist used cut lines that were the same as designs they had previously ordered; they should not have been that close to the artwork. The artist declined when I asked them if they wanted me to complain. Which is understandable considering it was a batch of 100 charms, though it would’ve been preferred if the cuts were not that close.
My own concern was that one of my designs was really unsaturated and dull. Now, I would not mind if the colors were only slightly duller than usual but these colors were extremely dull.
They look much worse in real life, I assure you. The orange, albeit a lighter shade of orange, was barely visible as orange, if at all.
I’ve used that same color in another charm and had no problem. Once again, this is not a problem only I have run into.
When I went to ask about the issues, we were completely denied any reprints. They were adamant that it was a problem on my end and went to the extent of even saying “this is just how that charm does print.” I’ve seen multiple complaints about dull colors on social media and this being the most recent.
On another occasion, I received two designs where parts I wanted transparent were not transparent. The charms were also not glossed like I had asked, which was fine. I noticed that I also forgot to horizontal flip one of the designs so that they’d be the correct orientation for double-sided printing. It was very nice of them to allow me to fix my file before sending me a new batch. Instead, a new problem popped up.
When I received them, my designs were flipped for no apparent reason..?! They weren’t just flipped, the order of the layers were changed. The front, artwork A, of both designs were on the back and the backs, artwork B, of those designs were on the front. Which resulted in an undesired horizontal flip due to how double-sided printing works. This means that the kid who is supposed to have an eye patch over the right eye, has it on the left and vice versa.
#1, my initial batch, shows what the correct print should’ve been if there was a backside (I forgot to draw a backside and didn’t realize). #2 was a new second print I ordered, with a slightly different file setup where I put the water on artwork B instead of artwork A. I’m not sure why they didn’t realize something was wrong, seeing as she’s swimming in milk. They didn’t bother to contact me that something was different considering I re-ordered other designs from the same set which were printed correctly. #3 shows the final print with artwork B as the front and artwork A as the back. I decided not to get a reprint of this. I mean, this was the third print of this specific bottle already and I couldn’t be bothered anymore.
I contacted them again in regards to my first design asking if they could do anything about it. I was denied any further reprints because I was told I was given a digital proof–of which I did not receive–and that I had approved of it. How could I have? I did not receive a digital proof! None of this would’ve ever happened if I had received a digital proof in the first place. I made sure to double check–triple checked–my files before I sent them off for production and after I received the charms to make sure I did not make a mistake again. My files were fine. It was clearly a change that they made on their end without informing me. This is clearly the case seeing as both the first and second designs are both printed with artwork A on the back instead of the front and the most obvious way to prove that this was a change made on their end.
There was one time a customer emailed me about their charm having a large number of ink dots all over them. Naturally, I went to check to make sure the rest of my stock did not have the same problem. Unfortunately, a number of them did.
My friends went on to even joke and call them sesame seeds. I contacted them about it and attached photos of the “sesame seed donuts.”
I also mentioned that a few others that had the artwork completely chipped off the charm.
They told me I would be able to get reprints if I gave them the quantity of reprints and the file names. It took me a while for me to figure out how many I needed and to compile that info onto the photographs. By the time I had a chance to finally email them, a month had passed. In their next response, they retracted their statement about being able to get any reprints. Simply because I was not able to provide additional photographic evidence of all of the charms in one photo by that time; after I was promised reprints.
What were my reasons for being unable to send additional photographs? 1) By that time, I had given them all away to friends because what else have I done with them? They were in such a bad state that I could not even imagine selling them. 2) They already gave me the okay that I would be getting reprints; so it should be fine if I got rid of them right? If they needed photos in a specific fashion, they should’ve stated right at the start.
These two last accounts were from a single order. I never managed to get a single correct print of any of these charms. These were by far the most expensive set of charms I’ve ever ordered. They didn’t even reply to my last email for that matter.
There is a myriad of other problems that I have not even listed. These were just a few of the biggest problems that I have encountered. Some include areas I wanted cut out were filled with color or even just artwork that is printed off center from where the cut lines are. Other minor issues include fuzzy images or really apparent (and thick!) white layers spilling out of the sides of the artwork.
So why didn’t I get proofs? Proofs are generally the best way to make sure things go right the first time! Unfortunately, I am the type of person to not get proofs if I know what I am getting. Having worked with them for so long, I developed a sense for what to expect when I receive a product, even if it’s a new design I have not printed before. Here’s not to say I have never gotten proofs from them, I usually do so if I have absolutely no idea how a product will look. A lot of these problems were problems on the end of the printer and not my own. Not to mention, sometimes a person just doesn’t have enough time nor the funds to get proofs.
If all of this were completely my fault, I would just eat my words and deal with it because you know what? It would’ve been mistakes made on my part; which has happened before and I have dealt with it. After all of these experiences, I will most definitely be thinking about getting proofs from now on. I recommend getting proofs if you are getting a large order, or any for that matter, from Zap.
TLDR; Was it worth it? No, at least not anymore. It may be difficult to get reprints if there are errors. You might have to jump through a few hoops to get them fixed, even if the problem was on their end and not yours. I’m tired of them telling me there is nothing they can do about simple problems that shouldn’t be problems. I would still gladly recommend them to anyone who are in need of their services. They are cheaper and more affordable but you will get what you pay for. I personally will not be using them for a long while, if ever.
Feel free to tell me about your experiences too! I’d love to hear good (or bad) experiences other people have had when using their services.
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