Picking the Perfect Printer

DESPITE THE rise of digital color printing, in-plants still have a pressing need for good black-and-white printers. These devices form the backbone of many an in-plant.

In-plants can sink or swim depending on which printer they choose, though. To help you make the right choice, here are some tips from in-plant managers who have gone though the selection process.

First Tip: Know what you’re getting

“We did a lot of research,” says Bev Lucas, “and determined what features we needed, and determined which equipment would fulfill our requirements before we contacted vendors.”

As manager of Printing Services at Bellevue Community College, in Bellevue, Wash., Lucas was part of the team that selected the in-plant’s Xerox DocuTech 6115 (115 ppm), Canon imageRUNNER 110 (110 ppm) and imageRUNNER 105 (105 ppm). For Lucas, it was important to make an informed decision about these machines.

“We selected each model based on our needs and experience,” she explains. “Being a state institution, we have to go with the lowest bidder, unless there are exceptional conditions. We got bids from several places for Canon equipment, and got a favorable quote from Xerox.”

Xerox included a trade-in/buy-out-lease agreement for the in-plant’s old equipment.

Second Tip: Listen to other users

Laura Sicklesteel, manager of the Duplicating Center at the University of California, San Bernardino, had it narrowed to three: the Xerox Nuvera, Canon imageRUNNER 110 and Kodak NexPress E-125 (125 ppm). To guide her in her decision-making process, she listened to what other users had to say.

“The customer feedback and service reports I received from the vendors’ references made a difference,” Sicklesteel reports. Some customers only gave their vendors’ service departments medium grade marks.

“The Kodak NexPress had great references, and the customers really spoke highly of the transition from analog to digital being a reasonably easy process for their staff,” she says.

Third Tip: See the machine in action

Sicklesteel got good reports about the NexPress E-125, but just to be sure, she also attended several demonstrations.

“The quality also just seemed better all around with the NexPress, from the demos at the showroom to visiting actual users in our area.”

Other vendors’ demos, she says, were more awkward and they left her team feeling less confident about the equipment.

Fourth Tip: Speaking of life expectancy…

For Steve Blanchette, offset pressman III at the State of New Hampshire Department of Transportation, finding a machine that would last was definitely a priority. He chose the Konica Minolta Bizhub PRO 1050 (105 ppm). The in-plant purchased the machine in September of 2005.

“That is our workhorse—and it is built like a workhorse,” Blanchette enthuses.

Blanchette looked at roughly five models from Canon and Xerox, including the Canon imageRUNNER 105 and the Xerox Nuvera and 4110. To him, the Bizhub PRO was the superior machine for his purposes.

“It’s a heavier duty machine,” he explains. “It’s an all-steel construction [including] the paper trays. It’s just much sturdier built.”

The Bizhub PRO puts out over 400,000 pages per month now.

Fifth Tip: Don’t be afraid of change

“Don’t be stuck on one brand,” Blanchette says. “Look at them all. Try them all.”

Steve Tschida, manager of the Digital Output Center at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, took this advice, and in September of 2004, went one step further. Not only did the in-plant replace its existing three Xerox DocuTech 180s, but it did it in grand style by purchasing a web-fed Océ VarioStream 7450 at a whopping 934 ppm.

Once the decision was made to go with a web-fed printer, selecting the vendor proved difficult.

“You can’t ignore Océ,” Tschida says of the company’s place in the web-fed printer market. “They’re the biggest in the world.”

While that might be the case, it was difficult for the in-plant to let another vendor go.

“It was a tough decision,” says Tschida. “We were partnered with Xerox. They were such a good partner because they were like family. In 2003 we really started looking at the continuous feed. Xerox were just getting into it. We looked at Xerox and Océ and they had similar presentations, the costs were that close.”

Océ came to Tschida with an offer to grant the in-plant the first six months free of charge.

“That’s really what won it for Océ…that concession,” he says. So far it’s been working great. “It definitely has a hemi in it,” Tschida jokes. “It’s a print-eating machine.”

Sixth Tip: Don’t settle

The work being done by these machines is too important to be done on inadequate machinery. If a change needs to be made, make it.

“In December 2002 the Xerox WorkCentre was installed and looked like it would meet our needs,” says Dorothy Kuperus, of Christian Reformed Church Product Services, in Grand Rapids, Mich. “However, the speed was inadequate, the jams were excessive, and the downtime was frustrating to everyone, service technicians included.”

In February 2004 Xerox agreed to upgrade the in-plant to the WorkCentre Pro 90. The in-plant had difficulties with this machine too.

“In January 2005 we were upgraded to the Nuvera 100, a new machine that appeared to blend some of the strengths of the old 5090 with the digital features of the Work­Centre line,” Kuperus reports. “It has been an improvement.”

Seventh Tip: Speed is important, but if the machine isn’t working…

Marty Gamble, printing operations manager at Ohio Savings Bank/AmTrust Bank, in Cleveland, has his eye on the ball.

“Whether it’s 110 ppm or 150 ppm, if the printer is being serviced more than it’s running the speed becomes irrelevant,” he says. “The majority of our forms and inventory is print-on-demand. Downtime for service has a direct impact on the delivery of time-sensitive documents, such as customer statements and disclosures.”

The in-plant runs two Kodak Digimaster 9110s (110 ppm) with a combined volume of 1.2 million impressions per month.

“The Digimaster proved to handle the volume and products our company presented and tested,” Gamble relates. “The paper path is fluid, and the components which make up the paper trays, path assembly and delivery are built of sturdy metal. It’s a toner tank.”

Eighth Tip: Know your quality needs

Some in-plants require very high quality work. Others, not so much. Pick a machine that suits your needs.

“High-quality is always important,” stresses Bev Lucas, of Belle­vue Community College. “Our black-and-white [Canon and Xerox] printers copy and print from 1,200x600 dpi to 2,400x600 dpi. We use higher resolution for documents and files that contain photos, graphics and detailed drawings.”

BlueCross BlueShield’s Steve Tschida, on the other hand, is more worried about volume. One of the in-plant’s staple duties is to print a document called a Zero Payment Explanation of Benefits Statement.

“It’s a piece of paper that says you owe us nothing,” Tschida muses. “What we’re printing is just black type on a white piece of paper.” When the in-plant switched from the 600-dpi resolution of its DocuTech 180s to the 300-dpi quality of the Océ VarioStream 7450, the difference in quality was negligible.

“Our customers still haven’t noticed any decrease,” he says.

Ninth tip: Remember to finish

In-line finishing makes things a lot easier, especially if there is no in-house bindery. Stapling and three-hole-punching in-line can provide a great relief in time and effort. More advanced finishing is also available.

“The purchase of the booklet binder on one of the [Digimaster 9110s] was important in producing our health benefits booklets entirely in-house,” Ohio Savings Bank’s Marty Gamble reports. “We’ve trimmed our costs and turnaround time considerably.”

Tenth Tip: Keep an eye on the future

What about a hybrid device that can deliver the speed of a black-and-white printer to meet the fast turn-around times yet still offer some color capabilities? So far, reception to these devices has been mixed.

“I don’t see us switching to hybrid devices,” Bev Lucas comments. “We’ve recently acquired a Xerox DocuColor 240…The cost is substantially less, quality is excellent and it’s fast. Our color volume has almost tripled, and we’ve been able to lower our prices for color.”

More and more in-plants are investigating another very intriguing option: the digital press. Marty Gamble sees a strong future for it.

“There are increasing requests for color and a smaller delivery window,” he explains. “The products are targeted and in lower quantities. This translates to less full-color printing on our offset presses. The future for high-speed black-and-white, as I propose, will be the replacement with the iGen or NexPress. This would combine the current work flowing though multiple systems and increase the capability of marketing to touch the customer on a one-to-one basis.”

Perhaps in the future, the black-and-white printer will be replaced by some kind of hybrid device or the digital press. But in the meantime it provides the backbone of in-plants across a wide spectrum of fields. IPG