Make ready

Is your printing equipment actually making you money, or just consuming paper, ink, and floor space? Print buyers in 2026 expect short runs, quick turnarounds, and pricing that holds up when they compare quotes online. If your operation can’t hit those expectations, the work may land with the shop down the road that has already modernized.

A simple equipment audit shows you where the money goes and what you get back. Instead of guessing, you can see which equipment still pulls its weight and which ones quietly drain cash every month.

Digitization of the print industry has leaped over the last two decades. The average shop floor today is significantly more automated than it was 20 years ago. All front-end functions, administrative departments, presses, and e-commerce platforms are managed by workflow and MIS systems that share information for higher efficiency and productivity.

The bindery department, often the most labor-intensive area of the shop, had lagged somewhat, with job-ticket information not making it quite as far as the folders, cutters, and gluers. Part of the reason is the multi-faced aspects of bindery. After printing, paper can be die-cut, bound, folded, stamped, jogged, trimmed, or embellished with coatings, foils, and other decorative elements. Over the last few years, though, manufacturers have turned out automated versions of traditional devices, bringing automation to the back of the shop.