Product displays differently than how it was designed

[WBartworks]

How am I (or the customer) supposed to know how the product really will turn out, if I design it one way and the picture on the web shows something different.  

Against my better judgment, I designed another key chain.  This time I made sure I placed my picture inside the guide lines.  In the design mode, it looks like part of my dog's head will not appear because of the hole in the key chain.  However, when looking at the picture that will be displayed for everyone to see, the entire head is visible.  Now, some of you may say the printer will look at what was designed (therefore part of the head will not be visible), however, the customer will expect to get what he or she sees.  This will not only frustrate the customer, it frustrates me tremendously because I feel I am wasting my time trying to design it correctly.  

See examples below:

Morkie Double Sided Keychain
by WBPetstore

[CreativeLeahG]

Always go by the printing guidelines not the preview.

[WBartworks]

But the customer sees something different than what was designed.  That's bad business practice!

[CreativeLeahG]

If you work within the guidelines, as long as the product prints properly and the full image is visible, they will be satisfied. What is the preview when designed correctly inside lines? 

[WBartworks]

Look at my post and you will see!  And let's not assume that all people think alike.  I think that here are plenty of people who actually would like to get what they see.

[CreativeLeahG]

I thought the preview reflected the image when it was improperly aligned as per your screenshot? I can't comment without seeing a properly aligned image (re the gridlines) and the preview it produces. Maybe others can better understand what you're getting at.

[WBartworks]

If you look at my post, again, you will see there is a link to the product and you can see it for yourself and even try redesigning it yourself.

Scott:  You would think Zazzle would be more concerned about that, as fixing the problem would avoid having to deal with lots of returns or cancellations.

[Scott]

It's important to remember that the design could shift a bit when it's produced. This is why the green dotted line (the "safe area") is smaller than the physical product itself. This is especially noticeable with the hole that's punched out at the top of this product type. Even though this hole is not very large, we pull the "safe area" back into the design a bit to ensure that when the hole is punched that no important information is lost.

[WBartworks]

I guess then I have to let it be and not worry about what the product looks like at the end.  I hope when customers do complain, they get the explanation you just gave me.

[CreativeLeahG]

The issue appears to be that there is not sufficient border around the subject (dog). When the image is enlarged and aligned as much as it can be (without the main subject of the dog going outside the lines) it results in a gap at the top. The same gap of course is visible in the preview. If you size this image to 'fill' the whole space the dog image overlaps the guidelines. Thus you need a larger border area in the original artwork for this to fit properly, OR create a rectangle frame around it to hide the 'gap'.   

[WBartworks]

I guess I can't use this image for that particular key chain unless I want to risk the head being cut off by the whole.  The original dog image has a lot of space around but I guess it's not enough for this product.  

Tx for checking into that!

[Connie]

Can you Photoshop a little more onto the top? That background looks like it would be fairly easy to clone with a soft brush. That cute dog fits so nicely on the keychain, except for that little bit at the top.

[WBartworks]

I added a background to color in the little bit of white on the top.  I think it looks o.k.  What do you think?

Morkie Double Sided Acrylic Keychain
by WBPetstore

[KC · Accepted solution]

Have you tried clicking the box towards the center of the page that has a broken square and says "Guidelines"? You'll have a more detailed view of the situation without everything grayed out on the sides.

In all printing everywhere, traditionally, you will have specs such as:

"LIVE" AREA/SAFE AREA - are inside the trim area that should be safe to have important details even if things shift 1/8" to 1/4" when cut.

TRIM SIZE - exact final dimensions of the product. If all goes well on every piece, the prints will be cut along this imaginary line, however 1/8" to 1/4" wiggle room is fairly standard.

"BLEED AREA" - image that must extend past the Trim size/trim area so there is artwork printed in case of shifting when the items are cut. This will eliminate white/blank areas along the edges if the cutting is off a little bit.

All that is what it is. 

That being said, I HAVE seen what I think are differences between the lines displayed in the template editor VS what is shown on the product page previews. Such as, I think some product page previews are programmed to read the bleed size instead of the trim size indicated in the design editor. (or vice-versa, just to say that I've noticed an occasional obvious difference when I have had square borders or bold artwork near the edges.)

This keychain though looks to be pretty spot on. 

They need to allow the same 1/8 to 1/4 "safe"/live area all the way around the hole punch. 

[WBartworks]

Thank you KC for your detailed explanation!  I will check into what you suggested!