The following post was submitted by 2016 President’s Conference sponsor, Heidelberg.
Your profit per job should be the driver of which technology and processes you use to produce a job.
Think of an ideal production scenario:
1) Your MIS/workflow would determine (based on cost parameters) how a job is scheduled and produced to maximize your return on that entire job.
2) Your color management is so well defined that quality across technologies is a given and will match.
3) Data from your production devices would provide exact and timely feedback for that critical information loop on cost versus estimate.
With Heidelberg, that production scenario is a reality today, not a futuristic “wish list”!
Heidelberg is committed to improving and expanding its digital solutions as its customers need to run jobs from one to a million sheets.
The crossover cost point of digital versus offset technology is much, much lower than people think! Generally, customers compare the cost per copy of a new digital device versus their old offset press, but if you compare the latest Anicolor 75 offset press, it breaks even at 250 sheets versus a 29-in. digital device. In reality, you only need ultra-short run and personalized digital output, a gap which is nicely filled by the latest Linoprint CV (90ppm) & CP (130ppm).
At the end of the day, the questions to ask are:
– What volume can you bring in to utilize an asset?
– What’s your cost per sheet based on that volume and the asset price?
– What can you charge for that sheet?
Those questions lead to the investment decision, not the technology itself.