copy of the publication in which your well-crafted ad is running lands in your in-box. With great anticipation, you scan the ad index, locate your masterpiece and flip to the right spot. As you rapidly turn the pages, will your feelings about your ad turn to elation or dread?

You and your design team have spent considerable energy and money coming up with an attention-grabbing, sharp looking ad that communicates your focused message. You've done everything correctly: following the publication's production specifications and giving them everything they need to get your ad just right.

But there it is in print, right down the middle of the smiling guy's face: a black smudge. Or maybe he's slightly out of focus or not centered on the page where you intended him to be.

Unfortunately, there are circumstances beyond the publication's control that can affect your ad's appearance. Fortunately, this doesn't happen very often, and there are ways to resolve these problems.

Even if everything looked fine through the production process on your end and at the publication, issues at the print shop can ruin the best-planned design. For instance, oversights in the ad's design might not be apparent until it appears in print.

An ad's poor positioning on the page might result from errors made using the design software-for example, an image you intended to bleed off the page instead gets cut off. Fuzzy images might be caused by incorrect resolution or mistakes with color profiles that no one along the way could detect until it's too late.

Things can happen at the print shop, too. Printers on deadline will run with what they're given; when printing a four-color publication, for example, they might make a color decision on the spot that results in a washed-out image.

Printing press maintenance is also very important. Lines, smudges, blobs and bleed-throughs are the results of dirt on the press, scratched rollers or plates or too much ink on the press.

If your ad doesn't look like you expected it to in print, remember that cooler heads prevail. Call the publication to see if they can give you an explanation. Call your art department or agency to make sure they followed the specifications exactly.

These steps are critical in determining how to resolve the matter. Remember, you signed an advertising contract, which should clarify matters for both parties in instances like these.

Hopefully, you're hearing rave reviews on the ad. Kudos to you and your designers! Ask people what elements stand out for them. Humor, glamour and technology touch people in different ways, and if you've managed to capture lightning in a bottle, take advantage of it while you can.

Consistency is very important in maintaining brand image and recognition; a good overall campaign will "speak" to readers. Change your design often, but maintain your image. Track the number of calls you receive and the interest that's generated when different ads run-lightning can strike more than once.