Work not to spec

[#1]

We were reassured that the file was according to specification but when we went to print with the file we found this not to be the case.  My colleague had already approved payment for the work and now the freelancer is not replying to our requests for a response to the fact they clearly did not understand what a "bleed" was around a print ready file...

What recourse do we have?

[#2]

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@Jennifer H wrote:

We were reassured that the file was according to specification but when we went to print with the file we found this not to be the case.  My colleague had already approved payment for the work and now the freelancer is not replying to our requests for a response to the fact they clearly did not understand what a "bleed" was around a print ready file...

What recourse do we have?

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 Actually none.

Ask your colleague for a refund who approved the work.

Jennifer I am sure you are telling the truth.  However, the fact on Upwork is that there are many clients who come to Upwork looking for bargain basement prices.  They do not communicate well with the freelancers and some of them are just looking for ways to stiff the freelancers.  I am not in printing business, but still I know what a bleed area is.  However, in many countries that term is not used.  What is a common norm here may not be a common norm in other places.  Remember even your colleague did not know that you need bleed for a print ready file - they approved the work.  I am sure it must be a lot of work now to have the bleed while still retaining the content to its original specs or the freelancer would have just shrunk the content.

[#3]

Thank you Prashant P for your response. Yes we appreciate that, although an industry standard term, "bleed" may nto be understood by some freelancers, hence our clairification that before completeion that "the size of the area with the image is A4 and the white 5mm bleeed around is in addition to that? ".  The response from the freelancer was a deifnate "yes" but this has proven not to be the case once we went to print.  Very disappointed.

[#4]

Hi Jennifer,

We always recommend that the client only releases payment from Escrow once they receive completed work and review it to make sure it meets their requirements. You can communicate with the freelancer and ask them to update the file. If you have troubles getting a hold of your freelancer, please let us know by submitting a support request here.

[#5]

Thank you Valaria K for your response. Yes we appreciate that, although an industry standard term, "bleed" may nto be understood by some freelancers, hence our clairification that before completeion that "the size of the area with the image is A4 abd rge white 5mm bleeed around is in addition to that? ".  The response from the freelancer was a deifnate "yes" but this has proven not to be the case once we went to print.  Very disappointed. Will follow-up accordingly.

[#6]

Like Prashant and Valeria said, you approved the milestone, which Upwork assumes means you have reviewed the work and are happy with it. You can ask the freelancer for help (either additional work or a refund), but they're under no obligation from Upwork to do so as you already approved the milestone.

Is the contract already closed? Have you already left feedback for the freelancer?

[#7]

Yes.  Understand.  In fact I wasn't 100% sure the work was correct hence confirming/clarifiying with the freelancer regarding the bleed details.  We made the error of trusting the freelancer on this point.

In the interests of being a positive hirer we made payment promptly and my colleague left feedback quickly, too. I imagine we cannot edit this feedback.  I now know we have 14 days to review the work and will take this time to do so in the future.

[#8]

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@Jennifer H wrote:

In the interests of being a positive hirer we made payment promptly and my colleague left feedback quickly, too.

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 Jennifer:

Kudos to you for being positive. 

Just as a suggestion - I used to do that - just prepare a hand drawn sketch with the size of the paper and size of your content area and say this is what you want.  Remember you may be dealing with people whose English comprehension skill may not be that good.

[#9]

It doesn't matter if someone doesn't know the term "bleed" (which anyone with any experience should).

Any professional graphic designer understands that there is a "live area", the "trim size", and what goes beyond the trim, no matter what you call it. A freelancer interested in maintaining good client relationships and acting professionally would take the file and spend the little time it would take to add a bleed, despite the job being closed, and especially since it sounds like the OP did request a 5mm bleed.

[#10]

What Virginia says.

...and please forgive me if I'm making wrong presumptions but first, making a 5 mm bleed is not a hard or time consuming thing even with fixed images (worst case you take mirror image where it needs the bleed, or complete the 5mm with PS). Second, if the client hired the lowest priced freelancer there is always a chance that things won't work out in the end; if you do layout for print you should know what bleed means. Last, if there had been scope creep in the original job and the pay was already low, the freelancer might have decided it was not worth learning what bleed is and applying it to the job which is not a professional attitude. I'm not taking sides with the freelancer here, they are unprofessional and what they do is unethical, and I don't want to be accusing the victim; just pointing out some of the possible reasons of this bad experience.

[#11]

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@Baris A wrote:

What Virginia says.

...and please forgive me if I'm making wrong presumptions but first, making a 5 mm bleed is not a hard or time consuming thing even with fixed images (worst case you take mirror image where it needs the bleed, or complete the 5mm with PS). Second, if the client hired the lowest priced freelancer there is always a chance that things won't work out in the end; if you do layout for print you should know what bleed means. Last, if there had been scope creep in the original job and the pay was already low, the freelancer might have decided it was not worth learning what bleed is and applying it to the job which is not a professional attitude. I'm not taking sides with the freelancer here, they are unprofessional and what they do is unethical, and I don't want to be accusing the victim; just pointing out some of the possible reasons of this bad experience.

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I hesitate to use the "you get what you pay for" thing or try to pry that info out of a client. Freelancers don't have to bid on low-paying jobs - it's a choice. And even if the job didn't pay well, it doesn't matter - if you bid on a job, you should do what you were hired for. Good freelancers do the same work no matter what the job pays. Bad experiences happen because there are lots of people who know nothing about the business of freelancing or how to interact with clients professionally - and lately there seems to be a lot of that going around.

[#12]

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@Jennifer H wrote:

(...) they clearly did not understand what a "bleed" was around a print ready file...

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First sorry for what happened. I'm not in the graphic design nor print industry but even I knew that a print file needs to have a bleed.

The person you hired is obviously not a professional in the field. I have no idea who you hired, hence what follows is a general observation. Some people on Upwork are from some geographies where it is culturally impolite to say anything than yes to a client. Which may lead to embarrassment, misunderstandings and mishaps. Rates in those geographies are also very low which attracts many clients. They should be extremely clear on the job scope and double check everything before releasing the money.

[#13]

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@Rene K wrote:

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@Jennifer H wrote:

(...) they clearly did not understand what a "bleed" was around a print ready file...

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First sorry for what happened. I'm not in the graphic design nor print industry but even I knew that a print file needs to have a bleed.

The person you hired is obviously not a professional in the field. I have no idea who you hired, hence what follows is a general observation. Some people on Upwork are from some geographies where it is culturally impolite to say anything than yes to a client. Which may lead to embarrassment, misunderstandings and mishaps. Rates in those geographies are also very low which attracts many clients. They should be extremely clear on the job scope and double check everything before releasing the money.

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Rene, just for your edification, not all print files have or need to have bleeds. But yes to everything else you suggested.

[#14]

Thanks Virginia, didn't knew.

I feel edified now 🙂