Skill

Shameless bragging: my prepress technical chops are solid, the result of (a) years of production experience both before and after computers took over the field, and (b) being technically curious and obsessive. Also, on this job, I made extra-sure that my production of the job was virtually perfect, so the printer would have a precise baseline to start from. I'm also very experienced at supervising printers. (You should see the special leather-from-hell outfit, frozen snarl, and spike-studded whip that I keep on hand for these occasions.) In sum, it was a risk, but a risk mitigated by skill; and it worked. All seasoned pros should do a high-risk, high-reward job at least once in their lives that lets them smirk and tell their more junior colleagues, "don't try this at home." It feels good.