Gimbel & Associates Blog

 

Expanding into wide-format offerings is exciting on many fronts. It’s also challenging and complex as, among other things, it requires creating a smart manufacturing layout to produce the printed items profitably.

A good floor plan is like a puzzle—all the pieces must fit together to achieve the most efficiency. This includes moving materials, accessing equipment, creating networks, and other elements. Properly done, an efficient floor plan will reduce waste, increase productivity, and boost competitiveness.

Overall, the goal is to achieve an optimal flow. Create the most direct and productive means of physically moving a job from intake to production, to finishing and then shipping. The challenge is accommodating multiple printers, cutters, laminators, mounting devices, and other equipment into the flow.

The printing process is intricate and complex. Printing is a finely tuned and calibrated engineering feat with thousands of parts all moving in perfect harmony. On top of that, various technologies execute the function in different ways. While your customers needn’t be exposed to all the details, a little bit of knowledge about printing technology can’t hurt. Sharing information like this with your customers shows them you are a professional who has a thorough understanding of the industry.

Feel free to use the descriptions in this article to populate your own newsletters, blogs, emails, brochures or other communications aimed at your customers.

In-plant printing operations are different from commercial shops in significant ways. They are, for example, expected to provide services that support the goals of their parent companies. Sometimes that means decisions regarding scheduling, production, or resource allocation are dictated by the needs, wants, demands, and whims of the parent company, regardless of any financial impact on the in-plant.

But in-plants are like commercial shops in that they are expected to run efficiently and keep costs down while handily meeting customer expectations and delivering work on time. To operate at that

Wide-format printing, a large and resilient category, continues to show potential for growth and profitability. If you haven’t delved into wide format, it can be a significant new revenue stream for your print operations.

Definitions vary, but for our purposes, wide format means inkjet devices with printing widths of roughly five feet and greater. Encompassing many applications—posters, banners, pop-ups, labels, back-lit displays, textiles, home décor, wall art, and packaging—it also excels at very short runs with variable printing and customization.

In the first article of this two-part blog, we discussed the major considerations of a business plan for a start-up printing company. This time, we’ll look at other aspects that must be handled well to succeed in the printing industry.

Equipment and Software

If you’re like most printers, you love equipment. The speeds, the colors, the rhythmic whir of the sheet intake and output — they’re all mesmerizing. Even if you’re not awed by presses and laser cutters now, you will be. It’s inevitable.

Designing for print and designing for digital presentation can be quite different. Some aspects are common to both, such as visual appeal, a pleasing use of color, and effective space utilization. Other practices, techniques, and executions will differ.

Complimentary Webinar Available

Navigating Your Inkjet Journey -

Navigating Your Inkjet Journey is a two part session with Part 1 focusing on the discovery process in this on-line webinar presented by Randall Swope, Sr. Consultant - New Market Development for Gimbel & Associates. In conjunction with Xplor International, the webinar is free to all those who wish to attend. 

In The Discovery Process discussions feature key milestones required to identify and select the best fit for your needs. Randy will cover the growing demand for digital print and how inkjet is leading this growth. What is happening with inkjet technology evolution, and key factors for defining if inkjet is the right fit. Then we will delve into the development of the business case, a step not to be missed. The discovery process we will show you how to define the best opportunities for targeting customers and applications, as well as considerations for workflow, media, and finishing. We will then cover how to build customer value propositions for the inkjet business, and focus on how to prepare the sales force for selling inkjet value.

It is a lot to take in but the framework for the Discovery Process will help you to better structure your approach to inkjet opportunities!

About the Presenter:

Randall draws on more than 30 years of international sales and marketing experience including living in multiple overseas assignments and regional management for Developing Markets. He brings a wealth of talent to bear by managing client consulting projects; developing strategy; providing organizational and business analysis; and conducting sales training and seminars for customers.

Unlike one-dimensional digital ads, printed marketing materials connect with more of our senses. You can you see vividly printed pieces, but you can also touch, feel, and even smell them.

A printed piece appeals to us visually and makes us want to touch it. We become engaged at a deeper neurological level. This heightened response makes us more receptive to messages conveyed through print. Printers can intensify this haptic response with embellishments that add tactile appeal.

Printers have historically performed embossing, debossing, foiling, die cutting, spot varnishing, and raised UV in post-press production, often outsourcing the work. Today, printers can embellish documents in-house. Some techniques can even be performed inline on an offset or digital press.

 

Printing can be alluring. The technology is fascinating and the end result, with its popping colors and textured finishes, can be a feast for the eyes. But behind the fancy ink and substrates, there’s a business to run. If you’ve ever considered starting a print company, make sure you have a firm handle on all the variables before jumping into the business. Also, keep in mind that some of the biggest printing firms started as a dream in a basement or a garage.

Establishing or expanding a printing business can be a complex undertaking that requires a lot of strategizing, planning, and a good business plan. Let’s run through the key areas of that plan.

Printers often focus on how a project looks. Are the colors right? Is the registration exact? Any smears or smudges? Are the graphics and text sharp and clear? These are all important, of course, but we usually base the analysis on what we can see, hold, and touch. How often do you consider the suitability of a printed piece for someone with a disability? Nearly a quarter of the global population is disabled, and regulations like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) make looking at a piece from an accessibility aspect important.

Digital printing has been an intrinsic part of the printing industry for over two decades, yet many printers still struggle with finding a successful sales strategy. Even the term itself has gone through various iterations, and the technology has evolved considerably over those 20-plus years.

For our purposes, we’ll take a broad view of digital printing, encompassing the first-out-of-the-gate toner technology, followed by inkjet and its incursion into most applications including flexo. Digital technology also has been a game changer for finishing, with raised UV, die-cutting, foils, and specialty inks.

Fonts have personalities and convey different moods. A typeface or font matched to the personality or attributes of a specific individual or group can be the element that makes designs resonate with the viewer. Today’s variable printing technology makes it possible to match typography to audiences, but font usage in variable documents can be tricky. Fonts will display differently, depending on their attributes.

Font Considerations for Variable Documents

When designers create a variable project, they leave spaces in the documents into which the software will place the variable text. Since data files are not always available at design time, designers may guess at how much space to reserve for the variable data. Choosing too large a font for the data will cause unwanted line wraps or printing over static graphics or text. A too-small font results in odd-looking unused document spaces.

In-plant printing centers operate in an in-between world. They’re not commercial printers who must constantly hustle for business, but their continued existence is not guaranteed, either. The traditional model for in-plants to passively print documents for internal departments no longer works well. In many instances, those departments can outsource work to third-party printers or turn jobs over to staff members who may have only a passing acquaintance with design and production.

In this environment, we recommend in-plant centers develop strategic approaches that keep their operations relevant and thriving. In-plants can build a good strategy around adding value, selling services, and a little self-promotion.

Data, as they say, is king. But data, in its raw form with lines of numbers, can be challenging for readers to absorb and process, especially if you want them to discern key themes or trends.

The human mind processes information in various ways. Writers and communicators can produce reams of copy but, depending on what is being communicated, this approach is not a welcoming or interesting presentation. By itself, copy and numbers are not visually appealing, they don’t draw us in or encourage retention. Most of us, however, are receptive to visual information, that’s just how our minds work best. That is particularly true when dealing with data.

The best way to drive home a point that includes data is with data visualization.