Dissertation and Thesis Printing: Choosing the Best Printing Services in Kent

David Banks
Authored by David Banks
Posted Monday, December 16, 2019 - 5:37am

There comes a time each year when professional printing services in Kent, like Digilab -  a highly successful printing service, find themselves inundated with urgent and important requests from students. Some of whom are armed with dissertations, others with a thesis that’s (almost) ready for submission.

Suffice to say, these are the kinds of documents that can heavily influence the author’s future for their entire life.

Academic documents like these are typically products of dozens or even hundreds of hours of intensive research and writing. Proofread, edited and expanded continuously along the way, a dissertation or thesis is a labour-intensive document of unique value and importance.

Precisely why the importance of quality printing and binding really cannot be overstated.

Important Tips and Recommendations for Students

Simply passing an academic document over to a printing house without a second thought really isn’t the way to go. While it’s not to say that the visual aspect of your thesis or dissertation is more important than its content, it will still play a key role in how it is interpreted.

After all, you cannot expect a poorly presented document printed on faded or low-grade paper to be taken too seriously. 

Thankfully, submitting a beautifully printed and presented dissertation or thesis doesn’t have to be difficult. It’s simply a case of bearing the following tips and recommendations in mind, prior to printing and submitting the final document:

Consider Your University’s Instructions Carefully

First and foremost, it is essential that you carefully consider all the instructions and requirements set out by your university. Very specific guidelines will be issued regarding exactly how your academic document should be printed, bound and presented. In some instances, certain types of bindings are not accepted by academic institutions. There may also be important requirements regarding specific text or information being displayed on the front or back of the document.

Before even considering the quality and presentation of the final result, you need to know exactly what your university expects from you.

Don’t Wait Until the Last Moment

This is almost always a recipe for disaster for relatively obvious reasons.  Planning ahead holds the key to successful academic document submission. By leaving things until the last minute, you leave yourself with very little room for manoeuvre where corrections, edits and improvements are concerned. In addition, you could also find yourself at the back of the queue with your chosen printing house, which may already have a long list of jobs to complete before yours.

Even if there are several weeks or months before the final submission date, it’s never too early to start thinking about how, when and where you intend to print your document.

Consult with the Experts

It’s worth remembering that the best professional printing houses have worked on hundreds or even thousands of projects like yours in the past. As a result, they’re among the best sources of advice available regarding the best way to print and present your thesis or dissertation. They may not understand the subject matter quite as well as you do, but they’re the absolute authority when it comes to quality printing and presentation.

Consider booking an appointment with your preferred printing house at a convenient time and date, in order to discuss the available options and choose the best way forward.

Print at Least Two Copies

This is simply a common-sense safeguard, which can protect you from the worst-case scenario. That being, the unlikely event that your primary printed copy is either damaged or destroyed, along with the digital copy of your dissertation or thesis.  

Of course, the likelihood of such an eventuality is minimal, but it still makes sense to arm yourself with a second copy, just in case.

Don’t Compromise on Quality

A dissertation or thesis represents a once in a lifetime investment in your future.  Hence, it should be treated as such where quality and presentation are concerned. There’s no going back once you’ve handed it over, so it’s worth ensuring it makes the right first impression. From paper to printing quality to bindings the covers and so on, this isn’t something you should be cutting corners with to cut costs.

Speak to your preferred printing house to discuss the available options and ensure your document is presented appropriately.

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