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...

By Mark Bohan, Director, Prinect and CtP, Heidelberg USA The print industry is currently embracing change through the adoption of Industry 4.0, which is all about driving productivity while ensuring and verifying the quality of printed materials. Combining seamless integration with business decision making allows for achieving this kind of smart manufacturing facility. At the heart of this change, we need a business intelligence platform (also known as a fully integrated workflow) that evaluates and analyzes a company’s production as a linked process rather than individual activities. What we are seeing with the fourth industrial revolution is the use of cyber-physical systems. These systems and processes communicate with each other (both inside and outside company boundaries) to provide a smart production system throughout the entire value chain. This builds on individual systems using the Internet of Things (IoT) and the cloud to provide connectivity and integration. Big data can be collected, analyzed and acted upon so that systems can utilize simulations and models to adapt, reconfigure and carry out steps in the manufacturing process. To facilitate this change, a business intelligence platform removes the obstacles by integrating production processes and making them measurable from the initial customer inquiry through to delivery and invoicing. As a job passes through the stages of production, the software knows where it is, who is doing what to it, how close to schedule it is moving along, and what kinds of costs/time it is accumulating as it progresses. Now, your company has a continuous feed of real-time information that it can use to: Reduce touchpoints Drive productivity and uptime Optimize consistency and repeatability Reduce waste and inventory A true business intelligence platform will significantly impact the future strategy and profitability of your company. The discussions and value propositions are now centered on how to rewrite the business operation as a whole rather than focusing on individual manufacturing centers (such as estimating, prepress, press, digital and postpress). The platform now connects all parts of the manufacturing process. Consider a car manufacturing operation. Changes to the production process are never made based on individual employees. Instead, the impact of each change is analyzed to assure that it will not degrade productivity or lead to costly failures and potential recalls. The same philosophy should apply to print manufacturing environments where the use of materials, software and equipment must be measured throughout the entire production cycle. Print production is transforming. The smart factories of tomorrow are becoming the reality of today. Systems that leverage Industry 4.0 are available throughout the whole production cycle, offering significant improvements to the manufacturing process. This is redefining the marketplace and cost structure. Exploiting these systems allow reduced manufacturing costs and cycle times...

By Mark Bohan, Director, Prinect and CtP, Heidelberg USA The print industry is currently embracing change through the adoption of Industry 4.0, which is all about driving productivity while ensuring and verifying the quality of printed materials. Combining seamless integration with business decision making allows for achieving this kind of smart manufacturing facility. At the heart of this change, we need a business intelligence platform (also known as a fully integrated workflow) that evaluates and analyzes a company’s production as a linked process rather than individual activities. What we are seeing with the fourth industrial revolution is the use of cyber-physical systems. These systems and processes communicate with each other (both inside and outside company boundaries) to provide a smart production system throughout the entire value chain. This builds on individual systems using the Internet of Things (IoT) and the cloud to provide connectivity and integration. Big data can be collected, analyzed and acted upon so that systems can utilize simulations and models to adapt, reconfigure and carry out steps in the manufacturing process. To facilitate this change, a business intelligence platform removes the obstacles by integrating production processes and making them measurable from the initial customer inquiry through to delivery and invoicing. As a job passes through the stages of production, the software knows where it is, who is doing what to it, how close to schedule it is moving along, and what kinds of costs/time it is accumulating as it progresses. Now, your company has a continuous feed of real-time information that it can use to: Reduce touchpoints Drive productivity and uptime Optimize consistency and repeatability Reduce waste and inventory A true business intelligence platform will significantly impact the future strategy and profitability of your company. The discussions and value propositions are now centered on how to rewrite the business operation as a whole rather than focusing on individual manufacturing centers (such as estimating, prepress, press, digital and postpress). The platform now connects all parts of the manufacturing process. Consider a car manufacturing operation. Changes to the production process are never made based on individual employees. Instead, the impact of each change is analyzed to assure that it will not degrade productivity or lead to costly failures and potential recalls. The same philosophy should apply to print manufacturing environments where the use of materials, software and equipment must be measured throughout the entire production cycle. Print production is transforming. The smart factories of tomorrow are becoming the reality of today. Systems that leverage Industry 4.0 are available throughout the whole production cycle, offering significant improvements to the manufacturing process. This is redefining the marketplace and cost structure. Exploiting these systems allow reduced manufacturing costs and cycle times...

On March 19-22, the TAGA 2017 Annual Technical Conference will take place in Houston, TX. At the event, attendees will learn about the latest industry advances and those of related fields, as well as brainstorm with other experts about solving problems and road blocks in order to move our industry forward. Members come to the Annual Technical Conference from all over the world and from all facets of the graphic arts industry. Papers accepted and presented at the TAGA 2017 Annual Technical Conference will be published in the TAGA Proceedings. TAGA is recognized worldwide as the most prestigious and comprehensive literature resource for graphic arts sciences and technologies. On Tuesday, March 21, Anoosheh Oskouian from Ship & Shore Environmental will give his paper presentation, Energy Efficient Approaches to Innovate the Printing Process & Gain the Competitive Edge. Energy efficiency is one of the most overlooked opportunities in the printing process.  With increasing environmental regulations, energy efficiency has become required or the “right” thing to do; studies have also shown it can significantly cut costs.  Learn the critical steps to transform existing waste into productivity and profits by identifying sources of emissions, wasted heat, energy and non-value added activities. This will provide valuable insight as to where consumption, loss, defects, inconsistencies, non-value time, activities and overall waste occur.  By identifying these areas, process improvements and savings opportunities can begin.  Arming printers with the tools to identify process waste allows companies to become proactive players in the flexographic printing game and gain the competitive edge. By identifying and eliminating the most common areas of waste, flexographic printers can become aware of the competitive opportunities and cost savings slipping through their process and fingers.  Additional benefits may include opportunities to take advantage of possible incentive programs, increase credibility, and choose qualified vendors. To learn more about Oskouian’s paper or to hear others, register for the TAGA 2017 Annual Technical Conference at...

On March 19-22, the TAGA 2017 Annual Technical Conference will take place in Houston, TX. At the event, attendees will learn about the latest industry advances and those of related fields, as well as brainstorm with other experts about solving problems and road blocks in order to move our industry forward. Members come to the Annual Technical Conference from all over the world and from all facets of the graphic arts industry. Papers accepted and presented at the TAGA 2017 Annual Technical Conference will be published in the TAGA Proceedings. TAGA is recognized worldwide as the most prestigious and comprehensive literature resource for graphic arts sciences and technologies. On Tuesday, March 21, Anoosheh Oskouian from Ship & Shore Environmental will give his paper presentation, Energy Efficient Approaches to Innovate the Printing Process & Gain the Competitive Edge. Energy efficiency is one of the most overlooked opportunities in the printing process.  With increasing environmental regulations, energy efficiency has become required or the “right” thing to do; studies have also shown it can significantly cut costs.  Learn the critical steps to transform existing waste into productivity and profits by identifying sources of emissions, wasted heat, energy and non-value added activities. This will provide valuable insight as to where consumption, loss, defects, inconsistencies, non-value time, activities and overall waste occur.  By identifying these areas, process improvements and savings opportunities can begin.  Arming printers with the tools to identify process waste allows companies to become proactive players in the flexographic printing game and gain the competitive edge. By identifying and eliminating the most common areas of waste, flexographic printers can become aware of the competitive opportunities and cost savings slipping through their process and fingers.  Additional benefits may include opportunities to take advantage of possible incentive programs, increase credibility, and choose qualified vendors. To learn more about Oskouian’s paper or to hear others, register for the TAGA 2017 Annual Technical Conference at...