What are the most important things to look for when you choose a laminate supplier? Many people are looking for a comprehensive answer to this question….choosing the best supplier is an essential first step to making or specifying a quality product and limiting defects. Choose the wrong supplier and you could be facing shipping delays, poor quality leading to rejects and dissatisfied customers. In this article we detail five main qualities that you should be looking for when evaluating a 2DL and 3DL (rigid thermo foil or RTF) partner, and get you on the way to quality products and satisfied customers.
Committed to Offering Products with Excellent Quality
This is the first stop in the assessment, and is one of the most important attributes that a reliable laminate supplier should possess – top suppliers should be offering high quality products, from reputable manufacturers with comprehensive quality assurance and testing data and meeting the highest environmental standards.
The best 2D and 3D laminates offer a wide range of benefits, and you should be able to ask for data on consistency of color, UV stability, outstanding durability, ease of cleaning, ease of use, high moisture resistance and many more.
You need to look for the credibility and track record of the supplier to assess the product quality it offers. Today this can easily be done by conducting internet research – look for Data and Safety sheets on the supplier web-site.
Admirable Affordability
Leading suppliers not only focus on offering high-quality laminate products but also strive hard to make the price fair and affordable. Look for suppliers that are open to offering small or zero minimum order quantities yet also hold a large stock of products in N. America. They offer a perfect combination of cost-effectiveness and accessibility.
Fast and Responsible Delivery
When you place an order, look for trusted laminate suppliers to offer a fast shipping turn-around such as 24 – 48 hours after order placement. This allows a more just-in-time approach for supply, and ensures that the product will deliver on time to meet your unique needs. This also links back to the point above – high quality suppliers should hold significant stock available, and particularly work with customers to ensure consistent deliveries for large projects. This approach enables you to offer the products with confidence to your end-users, and protects your reputation.
Outstanding Customer Support Solutions
When it comes to choosing the right 2D or 3D laminate for your unique needs, you may have doubts or concerns about selecting the correct product. If you don’t clarify the questions you have, you may end up taking the wrong decision. That is exactly why responsible and dependable laminate suppliers offer outstanding customer support services. You can contact them to address your concerns or questions in a fast and easy manner. Great suppliers respond to your needs immediately, and will also have local representatives able to meet with you and offer both design and technical advice. This will enable you to make the best and most appropriate buying decision, along with ongoing guidance and support to make sure your project is as successful as possible.
Accountability for Quality Issues
Admitting a mistake can be difficult, but working with a quality supplier that takes responsibility if appropriate can make a world of difference. A supplier with accountability will take responsibility for a quality issue and work quickly to address it, and find solutions. Additionally, highly regarded suppliers offer warranties for their 2DL and 3DL products. It is important that the manufacturers of these products have defined production and material standards, excellent QA programs and also offer industry standard warranties on the products.
These are five main qualities that are always associated with trustworthy and high quality laminate suppliers. Make sure you review these attributes and contrast the results with the above when it comes to choosing a distributor of laminate products. Choosing the right supplier will get you on the way to quality products, on trend designs and satisfied customers.
