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After sending a booklet to print, after client approval, I noticed a typo that was my fault. The client supplied the text but in the design process it was edited and I have misspelt an email address. The client was given proofs and didn't spot it but they haven't received the print version, yet. I feel terrible even though the client is unaware of the issue and may never spot it, but should I email them to explain and offer a discount, or should I wait on them contacting me?

Update: I've contacted my client to notify them of the typo and haven't yet heard back, but feel much better being honest with them. I offered two solutions thanks to the below answers so hopefully this will be resolved soon. Thanks for your input everyone!

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    Related note - a lot of times an IT department can just add typoed email addresses as an alias.. It might not even be a big deal at all for your client.
    – Tim Brigham
    Nov 15 '16 at 17:33
  • Hi @TimBrigham. What does adding typed email addresses as an alias mean? :-/
    – Gillian
    Nov 15 '16 at 19:33
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    Sorry, I'm a tech by trade. If your client has an IT department someone on it can route the typo address where it needs to go. We do it all the time, for example when a lady gets married.. Both names go to the same email box.
    – Tim Brigham
    Nov 15 '16 at 19:36
  • Huh, I didn't realise that was a possibility so thank you for that! :-D
    – Gillian
    Nov 15 '16 at 19:38
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    Note that the feasibility of the alias solution suggested by @TimBrigham depends on exactly where in the address the typo is. Basically, to simplify things a bit, if the mistake is to the left of the @ sign, then setting up an alias is probably relatively simple; if it's to the right of the @ sign, it's most likely somewhere between difficult and flat out impossible.
    – Ilmari Karonen
    Nov 16 '16 at 2:35
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You need to contact the printer immediately to see if you can make the changes, if it hasn't finished printing.

If it's too late, I would say you might have to bite the bullet on this one. I suppose you could play dumb and hope no one notices, but that's a bad habit to get into and will damage your integrity.

Typos in body text are one thing, but a typo in contact information is much more critical.

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    Side note: the client probably will notice because people won't be emailing them
    – Zach Saucier
    Nov 15 '16 at 16:04
  • Thank you for your answer. I contacted my printer and it is unfortunately too late. I really don't want to play dumb as I agree it will damage my integrity, but what do you think would be a suitable compensation? A discount, or do you think offering to supply stickers to cover the typo would be worth considering?
    – Gillian
    Nov 15 '16 at 16:04
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    Just to clarify, the email address that I got wrong was within a promotional booklet that included 50 companies details who are offering a promotion. The booklet will only be used for 1 week...not that makes it any less critical.
    – Gillian
    Nov 15 '16 at 16:07
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    @Gillian Call the client and speak with them about how to best resolve the matter. If they are just a marketing company that had you print this for one of their campaigns, it might not be a huge deal to them, but that's something you two need to discuss
    – Manly
    Nov 15 '16 at 16:09
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    Thanks @manly. My client is a community company who promote the local business within the area. This was a promotional booklet for Small Business Saturday. I will contact my client, confess and work out a solution. Thanks for your advice.
    – Gillian
    Nov 15 '16 at 16:12
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Make an additional insert. This could be a sticky paper covering the wrong information or in an emergency, just a small piece, like a business card.

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  • I agree, printing bunch of stickers is cheaper than re-printing the whole thing.
    – Tomáš Zato - Reinstate Monica
    Nov 15 '16 at 17:38
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    Thank you! An insert might be another solution if the stickers can't be printed small enough. Thanks for the suggestion.
    – Gillian
    Nov 15 '16 at 19:34

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