A few months ago, Print Buyers Online.com asked our major print buyer members in one of our popular Quick Poll surveys, “Before your current role as a print buyer, had you ever worked for a printing company or print supplier?” 61% of the survey respondents said they had worked as a print supplier before becoming a print buyer. Here’s what some of them shared about how this experience helped their careers:

“Working as a CSR/job planner at a high quality commercial printing company gave me a great foundation for my print buying position. There is no substitute for the hands-on experience of learning the tricks, pitfalls and solutions to allow you to collaborate with print vendors.”

“I think my five years in customer service at a local commercial printer helped me tremendously in knowing what to expect from my printers once I ‘went to the other side’ of printing.”

“Many look for ad agency experience when hiring a print buyer, but I think a print background is more useful. Agency experience suggests to me that someone knows HOW to buy, while a print background indicates a better understanding of WHAT is being bought.”

And my favorite:

“I spent 10 years as an account manager in a web production plant. That experience either makes me a better client, or a more difficult one. It’s hard to feed me a line without getting caught!”

As you can see, these print buyers found that prior experience with a printer was a huge advantage. Do you know print buyers who have previously worked for a printer? In your experience, are they typically a better or worse client?