Their own business cards were of quite poor quality. (hint 1)
They printed hard proofs without me approving the soft proofs. (hint 2)
They printed the hard proofs on the wrong stock (hint 3), but tried to convince me it was the right stock. When that didn't work they said they couldn't print digitally with that thickness stock. When that didn't work they said that they were out of that stock at the time of printing. Make up your mind.
While the soft proofs were in my clients hands for approval I was harassed by the salesperson via email.
Their prepress dept had no issues printing once, but then completely fell apart the next. They exercised me many times due to their lack of knowledge in photoshop. (hint 4) Then they sent quite a rude email steeped in ignorance. (camels back: broken) I pointed out the inconsistencies in their requests and that I was forced to go elsewhere.
I don't mind hiccups or even mild confrontations, but when people have no idea what they are talking about and vehemently defend it as gospel, I quickly run out of time.
Professionals should avoid Hillis. I should have paid attention to the hints.
I will add that I do not question the quality of the pressmen. I think the structure of the business hinders the experience. The salespeople try to handle technical questions/issues and they can't. If you can make it to press the quality is good, but the frustration is not worth it. read more