What about painting the moulding before installing it?

Many people seem to look for ways to avoid having molding painted after it is installed. I can understand the thinking I mean it makes sense in theory that you should be able to pre-paint molding and put it up and avoid having to bring in a painter to working your home. But the ultimate judge of whether an idea is best is by looking at the final results. 

Molding that has been pre-painted prior to installation not only is handled quite a bit during the process of cutting bringing into the home and installing but it is also mailed through and caulked so all those impressions cuts and voids have to be touched up with some sort of nail filler and cocking and they cannot just be left unpainted because they turn yellow overtime compared to the paint. Plus any outside corners will have a noticeable seem because the material has been cut and not painted over. Additionally crown molding especially when installed Relizon on cocking to hold it securely to the wall and ceiling nails alone are often not sufficient and caulking that is not primed and painted is unsightly. Nail filler and caulking come in a stark white color that is in contrast with the finished painted collar of most people's crown molding which is often Swiss coffee or whisper white or eggshell color. 

One might think that pre-painting the molding would save time for a painter who would just need to touch up for nail holes and seams but when you consider there are typically two nail holes every 12 inches it makes for a lot of touch up work plus all the cutting in to cover caulking on the wall and molding. Properly installed molding in our experience always looks best when it is installed first and then painted in a single application because all the workmanship all the cuts all the nail holes are all coded by a single application of primer and at least one coat of paint so there are no noticeable nail holes or seams.