My question involves business law in the state of California, County of Los Angeles.
As a graphics designer, I design printed pieces and often have them printed for my customer offering a one-stop service. I designed an invitation for a customer consisting of four pieces: an invitation, an RSVP card, a return envelope and an outer envelope. The invitation and return card were done at printer A and they are fine. The two envelopes were done at printer B. The return envelope is fine, but the image on the outer envelope (consisting of an image and a return address) was printed about 1/2” too high on the envelope so that the return address just barely clears the top of the envelope. To me it looks incredibly bad, and I suspect that even the average person would figure something wasn’t quite right. I received a proof of the envelope before it went to press and the image was in the proper position.
I brought the problem to the attention of the printer on Friday and they offered to reprint them at half price. I was outraged. Then they said they would “see what went wrong” and get back to me on Monday. As I write this I haven’t yet heard from them. If this was any other defective product, I’d return it to the manufacturer and ask for a new one – in this case return the envelopes and ask that they be reprinted. But since this is for an event with a specific date, I suspect that the customer will rather use the defective envelopes – to be able to get the invitations in the mail – rather than wait for a reprint which would take two days at best and a week at worst. As I write this, I haven’t yet spoken with the customer.
So suppose the printer doesn’t reprint the envelopes for free and the customer uses the envelopes. Everybody’s kinda sorta happy, right?
Well I’m not, for two reasons. First, this is a high-end invitation which I had planned to enter in various graphic design competitions. Winning competitions increases my marketability as a designer and would be a feather in the cap of my customer as well. Trust me: I'm good at what I do and the possibility of winning isn't pie in the sky. But no way would I have a chance now. Second, my credibility with my customer has been damaged. Forced into making a choice, my customer might choose to use the defective envelopes but not be happy about it. Will they look at me the same way in the future?
Of course, if the printer reprints today or tomorrow, all is well. If the printer doesn’t ask for the envelopes back, the customer uses them, and the printer reprints a small amount for contest purposes, I could (reluctantly) live with that. But what if the customer uses the envelopes, and the printer refuses to reprint? Do I have a legitimate claim against the printer?

