How To Evaluate Your Shop

Want to increase productivity while reducing waste and costs? Read on to see if a direct digital color device is the right choice for you.

Before his in-plant purchased a Xerox DocuColor 40, Dennis Moran had to send out most of his color work.

"We would have to go to press and send the plates out to be made for just 40 to 50 copies or so," says Moran, supervisor of electronic printing at Guardian Life in New York. "Now, we're able to offer a lot more in four-color in less time than it would take to put on the press."

For example, it takes Moran and his 20-employee in-plant a few hours to complete the company's four-color newsletter. If they were to use an offset press, the job would not only tie the press up for a day or two, but it "would cost a small fortune," he says. The DocuColor 40, he notes, "paid for itself in less than a year and a half. Color copies that used to be a dollar a copy are now 20 to 25 cents a copy."

Eliminating unnecessary costs is a benefit for any company, and a digital color printing device can help with that—proving the value of your in-plant in the process, notes Conor Wickham, director of marketing for Indigo.

"A digital color printing installation can immediately raise the intrinsic value of an in-plant to its company," Wickham says, "not only by producing high-quality materials faster and more efficiently, but by opening the doors to a vast new world of database-driven marketing and sales opportunities."

In short, a digital color device gives you the flexibility to print what you want, when you want it—even if it's right now.

How Do You Know You Need It?

With in-plants constantly investigating ways to offer better services, digital printing is a frequently discussed topic. But what questions do you need to ask to determine whether it's the right move? Here are a few.

• What type of work will you produce with your digital color equipment?

Xerox did a primary market research study in the commercial, quick print and in-plant markets, according to Joe McGrath, vice president and general manager of production color Systems for Xerox. It came up with eight top applications for digital color usage: short-run catalogs, brochures, book covers/illustrations, flyers, advertisements, direct mail, booklets and reports/presentations.

Do you print any of these?

In addition, Charlie Thackston, vice president of marketing at T/R Systems, says: "Applications which are well suited for direct digital color include documents with variable data and image requirements for support of programs such as one-to-one marketing."

• What are your run lengths?

"Short runs fall into 1,000 to 1,500 pieces while medium runs can fall between 1,500 and 10,000," explains IBM's Chris Parker, business line manager of color production printers. "[Whether to purchase] depends on how many pages they use and throw away, how many would they like to have the ability to change but don't have the capability to, and would they rather make 10,000, use 2,000 and store the rest in a warehouse?"

• Is variable data in your future?

In a world where no one knows your name, personalization is a valuable tool. According to Thackston, any size run is justifiable compared to offset presses, since they don't offer variable printing.

"We see all companies realizing the value of printing variable data, shorter runs, etc., and wanting to implement their own system," he says. "A high-impact color sales proposal or direct mail piece that generates substantial business for a company can easily justify an investment in a color digital print solution."

• Are you asked to supply ever-shorter turnaround times?

"If a color photo of a product package must be changed shortly before a presentation meeting, an in-plant's digital color printing capability will allow the change to be made quickly, without any diminution of quality in visual," notes Wickham, of Indigo.

Moran, of Guardian Life, points out that if a project is needed immediately, doing it on a press is virtually impossible because of production time. Digital printing lets him produce it fast.

• Are you currently outsourcing work that could be printed digitally?

"Look at whether the work can be done more economically on a digital press and if all the current outsourced work could be brought in-house by purchasing digital," says Bob Barbera, Agfa senior business line manager.

Justifying It To Management

For Moran, it wasn't hard to convince his management that a DocuColor 40 would increase his volume while saving the company money.

"It was basically a need factor," he explains. He told them, "this is what you want me to do, and this is what I need to do it with."

But for some in-plants, the icing on the cake may not be as sweet. How can you assure management that this investment is in everyone's best interest?

"In-plants have to do a financial analysis and find out how much money the company spent already on this capability," explains McGrath, of Xerox. "Go to accounts payable and ask them how much money is spent sending work outside. The gap may be 25 to 50 cents." He also suggests obtaining a profile of the marketing department to see how many of those jobs it will take to justify the purchase.

"Focus on the customer," adds Thackston, of T/R Systems. "If the vice president of sales feels personalized color proposals can help win more business, upper management certainly will listen."

In-plants should do extensive research before approaching management about a digital color device. That's how Meredith Corp., of Des Moines, Iowa, won its customers. The company bought an IBM InfoColor 70 to print prototypes and marketing materials. To compare cost and turnaround time on the InfoColor 70 with other pieces of equipment, Meredith Director of Digital Content Management Bob Furstenau put together the following figures. They represent the costs and times for printing 10 copies of an 11x17˝ piece:

• Offset: $1,000 for 10, or $100 each.

Turnaround time: two days.

• Rainbow: $300 for 10, or $30 each.

Turnaround time: two hours.

• Color copier: $30 for 10, or $3 each.

Turnaround time: two minutes.

• InfoColor 70: $10 for 10, or $1 each.

Turnaround time: one minute.

Guess which one they picked.

How To Get It Into Your Shop

Going digital is an alluring prospect, especially considering the benefits and increased services your in-plant can offer with it. But in dollars and cents, how can you bring it home?

"The Growth Optimized Architecture plan of the MicroPress allows a customer to invest in the appropriate level of print capacity required for their current demands," says Thackston, of T/R Systems. Customers can add print capacity as their demands—and budgets—grow.

Agfa has a product that helps with the cost for in-plants that can't readily afford a full-service digital press. Intelliprep, an offline workstation, enables you to prepare digital files, RIP them and print on any Chromapress.

"This is for the in-plant who doesn't have the volume justification to get this equipment," explains Barbera. "Having this machine allows corporations to manage the document longer because when the printer receives it, it's ready to print."

Can't Afford It? Try Leasing It

Leasing is another option. Most of the vendors mentioned offer it, and it's an economical way to get a digital color printer in your shop.

"At Xeikon, there are some options of leasing and quick rent programs, but we try to create a program that's tailored to fit [the customer's] needs," says Chris Payne, vice president of marketing.

Indigo, makers of the E-Print 1000+, recently signed an agreement with Leasetec Corp. to provide lease financing programs to its customers.

"Lease payments eliminate capital budget requests and let companies make payments from operating budgets," says Wickham.

There's no need for in-plants to be left out of the technological loop—even with a small budget.

"Take advantage of new technology," advises IBM's Parker, "so you can reap the benefits and sweet rewards."

Connect And Query

Dennis Moran: Guardian Life: dennis_moran@glic.com.