Register   |  Login
 

 
http://twitter.com/ImageMakersMag
 
http://twitter.com/ImageMakersMag
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Choosing the Right Printer — There is a Better Way
Email    
 

By Anthony Carrozzella and Peter Elliott
 
Having reviewed the advantages and disadvantages of prominent printer technologies in the last issue of Imagemakers, we now present a series of steps and tools to help you evaluate your needs and focus your decision-making on choosing the printer that is right for your business.

The Steps in Choosing a Printer – The Quick Look

Analyze Your Business: What do your customers need and what technology or printer would best align with those needs? What are your anticipated future needs?

  

Analyze Your Budget: What does today’s price/value map look like? – what can you get for your dollar? – and what should you consider to be an acceptable return on investment (ROI)?

Review Your Key Buying Criteria: What are the critical inputs that should be considered during the buying process?

At this point in the process, you should have your choices narrowed to a couple of models or technologies, preparing you to, as a last step,

Evaluate the Printer (the “Test Drive”): Now that you’ve locked in on a printer or two, it’s time to take them for a “spin.” What should you evaluate – and how – to ensure that you make the right decision?
The Detailed Look At Your Business

Let’s start by reviewing the needs of your business.

What markets does your business serve, and, more importantly, what are the needs of your customers in these markets? At this point, it’s very important to also consider the future. What new markets are you considering serving? Obviously, expansion into new markets may have an impact on your printer-purchase decision.

Here’s a quick review of some of the key needs of market segments you may currently be serving:
  • Fleet: durability, flexibility, conformity, warranty, print to vinyl and image quality
  • Signage: image quality, durability, warranty, backlit capabilities requiring high saturation
  • Event and Promotion: short-term durability, substrate flexibility, image quality, low production cost
  • Point of Purchase: image quality, colour vibrancy, sharpness, ink-substrate adhesion, low production cost
To simplify the decision-making process, we’ve developed two charts: Market Applications by Technology and Printer Specifications by Technology.

In the Market Applications chart, a green bar indicates that the technology is applicable; yellow, somewhat applicable; and red, not applicable. Please remember that this article is based largely on our experiences with these technology platforms over the years. Consider these charts as a guide to your buying process. With this in mind, consider a red bar a flag we’ve raised that suggests extra due diligence is necessary on your part.

The second chart, again with the “stop light” colours, provides printer specifications by technology platform.

Your Budget

Now that you’ve completed the evaluation of your business and customer needs, the next step in the printer-selection process is to evaluate your budget. What does today’s price/value map look like? And what should you consider to be a healthy return on investment (ROI)?

Your budget deliberations will probably inject a dose of reality into the process. While available money may be more than sufficient to select a printer to meet your current and future needs, there is always the possibility that you’ll find you cannot afford the “best” printer for your business.

It might be helpful at this point to see some sample calculations for return on investment that you could adapt for your decision-making process.

In this ROI model, we’re evaluating three printer options. For the sake of discussion, let’s say they are three solvent printers.
  • Option 1 is a low-priced, cartridge-based printer.
  • Option 2 is a mid-range printer.
  • Option 3 is the high-end printer in the category.
These ROI equations revolve primarily around saleable output projections. Naturally, the projections must be relatively accurate in order to generate accurate ROI estimates. To calculate payback as part of your decision-making process, don’t forget to factor in all relevant information related to:
  • Gross selling price
  • Gross revenue
  • Overhead and material costs
  • Monthly gross profit
  • Investment and return
From this example, you can see that filling one of the higher-end printers with volume creates healthy gross revenue and quick payback on investment, even though the cost of entry is higher than it is for the other options. However, if we were to decrease the hours of operation on any of these printers by half, the length of time to payback would double. (Payback on any printer is obviously achieved more quickly when volume is high.)

Being able to fairly accurately predict your output volume is essential when you’re deciding on a printer. Without that information, you won’t be able to determine your costs and the anticipated payback on various machines. Armed with information about your company’s specific requirements, you’ll be able to make an informed assessment and appropriate decision.

Anthony Carrozzella and Peter Elliott work at 3M Commercial Graphics in St. Paul, Minnesota.		  
 
 
 
< Back  
 
Copyright © ImageMakers. All rights reserved.  

 

 
MediaEdge Branding
Privacy Policy
);