Staples Design Service Review

Staples offers a service aptly named Staples Design Service. As one can easily assume, this service is obviously for designing just about anything you need, however is it really that good? Let's look into prices and the most important part, the finished project.

Before getting into the specifics, we will cover the company Staples gets this business from. While some of the quick designs are performed in-house (they shouldn't be, but sometimes to save time they are) most are outsourced to Affinity Express. They are a well established company, and you can easily find them via Google. Most of their higher prices services, like vector images, are not offered from Staples. However, the prices are lower due to Staples' great relationship with them. So if you are looking for a basic design, head to Staples.

What type of documents can be designed? Just about anything really. Business cards, flyers, typesetting, posters, forms, and so on. So in this regard it is rather versatile. They also have a HUGE book of clipart to choose from, so if you don't have a logo or a picture all ready for them, there is a vast selection to choose from. Also the designers can usually customize the clipart to whatever color you need.

Price wise, I have to say they are rather good especially going against other designers. Business cards are about $20 for a design, forms for $50, and compared to other "real" graphic designers (who tend to charge near the $100 range and up for the same document) this is a real money saver.

And now, the finished document. Unfortunately there are usually mistakes on the document, but thankfully they can be easily fixed (most of the time). For example, a client asked me to create a card that had his company name as the mainline, and he wanted it in a light purple. What the finished project mainline said was: "(company name) in a light purple." Not a very professional design, but since it was just a typographical error the staff could easily fix it.

However, if the correction is beyond the staff's ability (or if you just didn't get what you envisioned) they can send it back out for a free revision. Be warned though, you only get the one revision. After this you are charged half of the original design charge for more.

Most of the time, they will get it right on the first or second attempt. When ordering from this service, make sure you are specific as possible. If you want a dark purple background, don't just say purple. If you want a certain feeling attached to the design, tell them. These are professional designers working on your project, and any designer worth his salt can make something feel energetic, or sad (whatever you are looking for).

Time frame wise, they are also good. While they do not work on weekends, you will get your design back in 24 hours if it does not fall on a weekend. Some designs, such as those specifically for BCIM, actually tend to come back within a few hours instead of the next day, but that is only for BCIM and certain banners.

Staples Design Service is a good service for basic designs. If you need a business card with a colored background, a well colored font, and good composition this is a great choice. However, those of you who know some designing can easily make the same thing without the extra charge. Also, those of you looking for modern and crisp designs that are more exciting than a gradient background should lay out the extra for "real" designers.