Si Spurrier

Review of Forward Graphics

Short version: Appalling professionalism, woeful l...

Short version: Appalling professionalism, woeful lack of skill, abysmal customer service. Forward Graphics printed my run of posters using the wrong image-file. They considered the job complete despite appalling pixellation on the prints. I had to pay almost the full amount for a replacement run, but this time the colours were so badly skewed they were even worse than the lo-res versions. All subsequent attempts to get in touch to secure a refund have been ignored. Steer well clear.

Longer version: I've come to the unpleasant decision to write-up my experiences with this company because they refuse to respond or engage with me in any other way.

I approached Forward Graphics (hereafter FG) on the advice of friend and was pleased with the price they quoted. I commissioned 100 high quality poster prints, which I intended to sell at an industry festival. I made it very clear from the start I wanted to use a high-resolution image as the basis for the prints. Separately I provided a low-res file to check that the print could be properly sized (it's an American-ratio format rather than a standard A3 scale this was all fine). I was very careful to ask FG if they had everything they needed to proceed.

That question was never answered. Instead I received 100 prints in the post which were clearly based on the lo-res file. They're extremely pixellated even to the untrained eye and totally unsellable. In subsequent discussion FG claimed they'd never received the hi-res image. I can't explain why not, but I have no choice but to give them the benefit of the doubt.



The second run arrived one day before the show and was even worse than the first. This time at least they'd used the hi-res file, but now the colours of the image were horribly distorted. Whole areas of dark shadow were suddenly lighter than the regions around them; utterly unlike both the original file and the lo-res print run.



To date FG hasn't responded to my emails nor called me on the number I've provided. I'm therefore forced to make good on my threat to earnestly and honestly give them the review they deserve. They are woefully unprofessional, care nothing for the quality of their product, and have demonstrated only contempt for customer service.

They're relatively cheap, but will end up costing you a lot more in the long run. Please take my advice and consider using someone else.