By Andy Rae, Senior Vice President of Equipment & Marketing, Heidelberg Americas Why do you buy capital equipment? Hopefully, your answer is to make as much profit as possible from that purchase. Many think profit potential is related to the price of the equipment, but that couldn’t be further from the truth! To justify a 25% price premium, you only need about 9% more output for the same cost per sheet —yes, 9%!  This is because finance and depreciation only account for 30% of your budgeted hourly rate (BHR). The rest of your BHR is linked to your fixed and variable costs. So, when looking to buy capital equipment, you should consider these key investment questions: Based on the price of the equipment and its real potential output, what is your cost per sheet going to be? Can you utilize this capacity? Heidelberg has conducted in-depth research using neutral data on press productivity based on real-life performance in the market. This research proves that paying a premium for equipment with proven productivity leads to a significantly lower cost per sheet. Why? Because the number of sheets that can be printed are enormously higher, and at times, more than double what can be produced on other equipment (and remember you only need 9% more!). The next task is to extrapolate this thinking across the entire business so that you minimize the cost per sheet, in each cost center. Then you need to align the capacity of each cost center; it’s useless buying a new press with an average output of 50 million sheets per year if you are not able to invoice the work because it’s sitting in the bindery (as additional work in progress)! In all,  it boils down to a combination of optimal business capacity, cost center capacity, process offerings (stitching, binding, laminating, etc.) and minimizing the cost per sheet of those offerings…oh, and keeping sales & admin costs low, while still offering great service (I didn’t say it was easy!). Once you have the lowest cost per sheet, you can still work on the niche markets or customers that are willing to pay more based on your excellent service and quality, giving you even more profit. Entrepreneurs with the lowest cost per sheet smile when they hear the competition say, “They will go bust offering those prices.” In reality, they know they are making more profit on that “low” price than their competitors would have made at a higher price… that couldn’t even win them the...

By Andy Rae, Senior Vice President of Equipment & Marketing, Heidelberg Americas Why do you buy capital equipment? Hopefully, your answer is to make as much profit as possible from that purchase. Many think profit potential is related to the price of the equipment, but that couldn’t be further from the truth! To justify a 25% price premium, you only need about 9% more output for the same cost per sheet —yes, 9%!  This is because finance and depreciation only account for 30% of your budgeted hourly rate (BHR). The rest of your BHR is linked to your fixed and variable costs. So, when looking to buy capital equipment, you should consider these key investment questions: Based on the price of the equipment and its real potential output, what is your cost per sheet going to be? Can you utilize this capacity? Heidelberg has conducted in-depth research using neutral data on press productivity based on real-life performance in the market. This research proves that paying a premium for equipment with proven productivity leads to a significantly lower cost per sheet. Why? Because the number of sheets that can be printed are enormously higher, and at times, more than double what can be produced on other equipment (and remember you only need 9% more!). The next task is to extrapolate this thinking across the entire business so that you minimize the cost per sheet, in each cost center. Then you need to align the capacity of each cost center; it’s useless buying a new press with an average output of 50 million sheets per year if you are not able to invoice the work because it’s sitting in the bindery (as additional work in progress)! In all,  it boils down to a combination of optimal business capacity, cost center capacity, process offerings (stitching, binding, laminating, etc.) and minimizing the cost per sheet of those offerings…oh, and keeping sales & admin costs low, while still offering great service (I didn’t say it was easy!). Once you have the lowest cost per sheet, you can still work on the niche markets or customers that are willing to pay more based on your excellent service and quality, giving you even more profit. Entrepreneurs with the lowest cost per sheet smile when they hear the competition say, “They will go bust offering those prices.” In reality, they know they are making more profit on that “low” price than their competitors would have made at a higher price… that couldn’t even win them the...

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Ben Franklin understood that in-depth learning happens when a student is engaged in the learning process. For managers who want to improve their competitive stance, implementing an eLearning program for their employees can not only save them substantially when compared to traditional learning methods, it creates a richer, more engaging learning environment. (Find out more about the benefits of online learning for both managers and employees here.) However, many online learning initiatives fail due to an inefficient plan or not having a plan at all. Your organization may already be using an online training platform like the Integrated Learning Center. To get the highest success—and ROI—out of your program, we recommend you first develop an online learning implementation strategy.  To help get you started, here are a few tips for launching your online training program: Identify training needs—Is your operation facing declining sales volumes or profit losses due to incorrect or late jobs? Do you have new employees without much prior knowledge of the printing industry? Pinpoint your most immediate issues and ask yourself if training will lead to a solution. Match business needs with the appropriate type of training. (ICS Learning Group) Choose the right online learning platform—Look at your online learning platform as a long-term investment for your company. Some of the criteria managers use to evaluate platforms are 1) ease of access from multiple devices (including mobile), 2) benefits of each course, and 3) how the courses meet your specific business needs. (Syberworks) Gauge your employees—Many managers find that, to get maximum results, they need to “sell” online learning to their staff. Talking to them about 1) the equipment they use, 2) the certificates they hope to attain, 3) what time of day they prefer to learn, etc., gets employees more involved and can increase the overall success rate of your program. (Brandon Hall Research) Measure performance—Keep tabs on employee improvements by developing benchmarks and evaluating training programs. Collect feedback (Syberworks) and evaluate and refine your training regularly (ICS Learning Group). Create incentives—Research shows that accountability can drive employees to stick to their online learning goals. Managers who tie eLearning to performance reviews and require certifications have found that employees are more motivated and, in turn, less likely to fall off the online training wagon. (Brandon Hall Research) Help make learning easier—Most of us learn better in an environment free of disruptions, i.e., phones ringing, emails chiming, or coworkers coming in and out. As a manager it is your choice of whether online courses are completed at the employee’s home or during work hours, but the bottom line is that they...

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Ben Franklin understood that in-depth learning happens when a student is engaged in the learning process. For managers who want to improve their competitive stance, implementing an eLearning program for their employees can not only save them substantially when compared to traditional learning methods, it creates a richer, more engaging learning environment. (Find out more about the benefits of online learning for both managers and employees here.) However, many online learning initiatives fail due to an inefficient plan or not having a plan at all. Your organization may already be using an online training platform like the Integrated Learning Center. To get the highest success—and ROI—out of your program, we recommend you first develop an online learning implementation strategy.  To help get you started, here are a few tips for launching your online training program: Identify training needs—Is your operation facing declining sales volumes or profit losses due to incorrect or late jobs? Do you have new employees without much prior knowledge of the printing industry? Pinpoint your most immediate issues and ask yourself if training will lead to a solution. Match business needs with the appropriate type of training. (ICS Learning Group) Choose the right online learning platform—Look at your online learning platform as a long-term investment for your company. Some of the criteria managers use to evaluate platforms are 1) ease of access from multiple devices (including mobile), 2) benefits of each course, and 3) how the courses meet your specific business needs. (Syberworks) Gauge your employees—Many managers find that, to get maximum results, they need to “sell” online learning to their staff. Talking to them about 1) the equipment they use, 2) the certificates they hope to attain, 3) what time of day they prefer to learn, etc., gets employees more involved and can increase the overall success rate of your program. (Brandon Hall Research) Measure performance—Keep tabs on employee improvements by developing benchmarks and evaluating training programs. Collect feedback (Syberworks) and evaluate and refine your training regularly (ICS Learning Group). Create incentives—Research shows that accountability can drive employees to stick to their online learning goals. Managers who tie eLearning to performance reviews and require certifications have found that employees are more motivated and, in turn, less likely to fall off the online training wagon. (Brandon Hall Research) Help make learning easier—Most of us learn better in an environment free of disruptions, i.e., phones ringing, emails chiming, or coworkers coming in and out. As a manager it is your choice of whether online courses are completed at the employee’s home or during work hours, but the bottom line is that they...

Helping companies produce accurate, consistent color is a full-time job for Dillon Mooney. As our Technical Consultant for the Center for Technology and Research, Dillon, a 30-plus-year industry veteran, has encountered many of the challenges your company faces each day. Here Dillon dishes five key improvements you can make today to get the consistent color your customers demand. (Psssst! If you’ve ever called our Technical Hotline, you probably already know Dillon—he answers more than 1,500 inquiries a year!) The success of color management depends on consistency of the output devices. Once color management is implemented, it must be managed through process controls to maintain its repeatability. Run color bars on all jobs and include solid ink density patches, gray balance patches, 50% tint patches, and overprint patches to measure wet trapping. If you don’t measure it, you cannot control it! Consider using under some Gray Component Replacement (GCR). These techniques remove some of the CMY that makes up the grays and add weight to the K separation. This makes it easier to control the color on press. To ensure your presses are printing consistently, first check that the solid ink densities are running at you shop’s standards. Additionally the tonal value increase (TVI or dot gain) values should be in an acceptable range. Once you’ve created a color profile, it will only work if the press is printing with the same attributes. To monitor this, make sure to regularly measure the solid ink densities, TVI, gray balance, and wet trapping values. If different solid ink densities are run on different jobs, the ink film thickness differences can affect TVI, gray balance and wet trapping. Slurring creates differences in TVI and will cause a shift in the color of a process image. Random slurring can cause the appearance of the color to change from sheet to sheet. A good slur indicator is the Ladder Bars on Printing Industries Test Forms. Star Targets included in our color bars will also detect slurring. Maintaining the consistency of the output of the press also involves standardizing consumables, including ink, plates, and fountain solution. Use process inks that are ISO 2846-1 compliant. ISO 2844-1 inks are going to have very similar hue and saturation levels, and are specified in the G-7 methodology. Any time a different plate, blanket, fountain solution, or ink is used, check your process control aim points to ensure the press is printing the same way it was when the color management profile was created. Implement a preventive maintenance program that includes a good roller wash-up, deglazing, and roller setting procedure. For color management profiles to match your output, you need to address maintenance issues or face a gradual decline of...