Digital Color A Good Fit

In-plants are acquiring digital color presses like the iGen3, NexPress 2100 and HP-Indigo 5000 in increasing numbers. Is this the right time for you to make the investment?

By Eric W. Martin

CONSUMER LUST for high-definition TV is driven by digital technology. If studios and sports broadcasters can deliver a higher-quality image than ye olde cable provides, people are more than willing to shell out the money to see the result.

Printing works the same way. As digital technology is adopted and improved upon in color printers, users gain the ability to print better quality images at higher speeds and lower costs with steadily improving reliability.

While offset printing still accounts for the bulk of production in in-plants, digital color printers are finding homes in increasingly more locations—and continued improvements in cost, quality and reliability will only increase their appeal.

Running Like the Wind...

In-plants are driven by the need to meet deadlines. Digital color printers help satisfy this need for speed in multiple ways, starting with the elimination of plates.

"Instead of waiting for plates and setting up the press, digital color devices can produce immediately," says Barb Childers, associate director of Facilities & Services Printing at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The in-plant acquired a Xerox iGen3 in July 2004.

In addition to the ability to send digital files directly to the printer, says Patrick O'Donnell, manager of Document Production Services at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, "the first copy out is good, as opposed to doing makereadies on the press, then bringing up the desired colors." What's more, says O'Donnell—who leased an iGen3 in August 2003—"we don't have to wait for the ink to dry on these printed pieces, which means we can fold, collate, staple, etc. right away."

...Without Spending a Fortune

You might think all this speed would come at a great cost, but users of these digital wonders tout cost-efficiency as another prime benefit.

"The cost of running 2,000 or fewer copies is 50 percent less than the cost of running on our press," testifies O'Donnell.

"Offset is our bread-and-butter," says Rick Wise, director of Printing Services at University of Missouri-Columbia, "but with models like the iGen3 that tout near-press quality, for the first time you have a viable option [for cost-effective color work]."

With a price model of 35 cents charged for a color 8-1⁄2x11˝ page, the iGen3 lets users make money, Wise says, instead of just breaking even, as was the case with previous color work.

"If a customer wanted 200 full-color brochures, by the time you make all the plates and set up the press, you're not recouping the advantages of offset printing," he says. "Now we can go ahead, say 35 cents for each, and boom—the customer can get shorter quantities fulfilled." With his customers asking for shorter color press runs, this savings can add up quickly.

Tom Neckvatal, director of Graphic Services at Securian Financial Group, in St. Paul, Minn., and owner of a Kodak NexPress 2100 since December 2003, says that he can finally offer his clients affordable short-run color.

"We had to do this work traditionally [i.e. offset], and the clients were paying an extremely high amount for what they were getting," he says. "They'd increase the quantity to lower the cost per unit, but then throw away half the job, so it wasn't really saving them anything.

"Now we can lower the costs, while sometimes turning jobs around in an hour."

The lack of makereadies is another cost-savings, says Jimmy Friend, director of Printing, Copy Centers, and Mail Services at the University of North Texas. His shop uses an HP Indigo 3000, he says, and waste is virtually non-existent.

"Printing on demand also saves us money in the recycling of unused materials," he adds.

But Wait, There's More!

Digital color printers offer in-plants new possibilities in terms of printing variable data, something O'Donnell and Friend both mention as an advantage, although Friend warns that "variable data isn't easy. It requires knowledge in your staff, and takes time to educate the customer."

Beyond the familiar printing of a recipient's name and address on items to be mailed, customized marketing pitches can be added to all types of documents. Friend says that requests for this type of service continue to grow as customers grow confident in the results.

"We want to take advantage of short-run variable data," says Wise, "and while we've been fairly unsophisticated to date, with the iGen3 that's something we can market and sell now. Within the next six months, it should become a big business for us."

Childers agrees, saying "Our variable data and imaging capabilities have greatly expanded."

A further benefit of these digital printers is that proofs let customers see the work exactly as it will be printed.

"Alterations, when needed, can be made easily and quickly," Friend adds.

Wise also notes that these printers can handle a variety of paper stocks: coated, uncoated, textured and more.

"That's a big, big plus," he says because when you restrict customers to particular papers, they tend to turn up their nose if they had something specific in mind. "Now if they want a linen finish, you're open to doing it."

Opening New Ground

Savings on a per-copy basis is good, but to make the expense of a new machine worthwhile you need to add jobs to your queue that would have previously gone elsewhere. Digital color printers score well in this category.

"We used to put all the small runs on our four-color press and send the longer runs to an outside printer," says O'Donnell. "Now that we have the iGen3 for the smaller runs, our four-color press can do the jobs that were vendored out. This has improved our color output capacity by over 200 percent."

Jimmy Friend has experienced even more remarkable growth with the HP Indigo.

"We bought the machine as a print-on-demand short-run color solution," he says. "Currently, we produce an average of 60 percent of our orders on the Indigo, and our click count ranges from 500,000 to 800,000 clicks per month."

If Wise's in-plant is any example, growth could start immediately.

"We had training off- and on-site, and I thought it might take some time," he says, "but we hit the ground running, were in production from day one, and have been busy ever since. I was pleased and surprised by how quickly we produced work."

Even better, Wise's customers were equally pleased and surprised.

"The cost of the machine was justified by us meeting customer needs," he says. "They want lots of color, whether process or spot color, so you have to have a device that can do that at a competitive rate. Now we offer them near-press quality on a short-run device. This was the right machine for us."

Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo

With three comparable machines on the market—the Kodak NexPress 2100, the Xerox iGen3, and the HP-Indigo—how do you choose one for your in-plant?

In 2002, Friend provided samples from the NexPress and Indigo (as the iGen wasn't yet available) to his customers at the University of North Texas; they favored the Indigo.

"But it wasn't a hands-down decision," he says. "All of the machines' output was of acceptable quality."

Neckvatal, of Securian Financial Group, says that the NexPress 2100 was an easy choice. The iGen3 wasn't available at the time (and would be too expensive for his in-plant once it was released) and he felt the Indigo didn't meet the in-plant's variable data printing needs. The NexPress 2100 has generated substantial business over the past two years, he says.

O'Donnell, of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, went with the iGen3 primarily because the operator skills needed were similar to the DocuTechs the shop already used.

At the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Childers was more impressed by Xerox's service record.

"Being in the middle of the cornfields, at least 100 miles from a major metropolitan area, service is a major consideration for us," she says.

Whichever machine you choose, your customers are going to notice a difference, both in terms of quality and speed. Says Friend, "There are now three good solutions for digital color in the marketplace. In the end, it's not about the company you buy the equipment from, but your understanding of the technology and how it will help you add value to the customers you serve."