What I learned was that while the list is a critical pre-qualifying tool, it is in fact just the beginning of a prospect's assessment of a printer. Senior buyers put more emphasis on the quality and processes of the team members producing their work. Time and again, this is what they said:
Mike Taylor has 34 years in the business. Currently he's the print manager for the Orange County Register in California. “The equipment list is critical in my eyes, but much more important is the staff that operates it, and also how they maintain it. You can have the best equipment in the world, but if you are ignoring maintenance and running it 24/7, then the list means nothing. I try to visit all my vendors to see the job flow and meet with the team to see and learn how jobs run through their shop.