Benefits of Color Management

[kmick612]

Hello all, I am new to a company and trying to get some equipment purchased so we can start a color management system here. I need to get a densitometer, plate reader..etc. I have been asked to justify the cost of such equipment. I am not sure what to tell them they can expect as far as cost benefits, I told them that it really isn't a money issue, it is a quality issue. That didn't go over too well...haha. So, I ask you all, what cost benefits can we expect here if I am able to make proofs that better match our presses and measure the proofs, plates and press sheets? Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

Less ulcers = lower medical bills. It is so much easier to sleep when you know what you get instead of guess what you get.

 

[gordo]

Hello all, I am new to a company and trying to get some equipment purchased so we can start a color management system here. I need to get a densitometer, plate reader..etc. I have been asked to justify the cost of such equipment. I am not sure what to tell them they can expect as far as cost benefits, I told them that it really isn't a money issue, it is a quality issue. That didn't go over too well...haha. So, I ask you all, what cost benefits can we expect here if I am able to make proofs that better match our presses and measure the proofs, plates and press sheets? Thanks in advance for all your help.

It's a business. It has to be a money issue.
So look at the value from an economic poit of view. For example, the image on plate will vary ( due to chemistry, coating, laser efficiency, etc.) what would be the cost in make-ready time, materials, production scheduling if a "bad" set of plates went to press because they weren't QC'd?
Or, if your presswork and proof color is not aligned (via some kind of CM) then what is the cost in make-ready time, materials, production scheduling of using a press as a color editing device.
As far as "quality" is concerned - quality is meeting your customer expectations. What is the consequence to a business if they do not meet customer expectations? Has your boss heard of that little company "General Motors."
I assume your company wants to make a profit. If so, they may want to consider that unless there are chargeable customer alterations, the maximum profit they will ever see on a specific job will be when their customer awards the project to them based on the quote. As soon as they begin the manufacturing process they also begin to erode that profit with inefficient workflows, duplication of effort, technical mistakes, errors in communication, etc.
Bottom line – profits are not what they are able to make, profits are what they manage not to lose.

best, gordon p

my print blog here: Quality In Print

 

[Colorblind]

I agree with both Lucas and Gordo. Also, because color management implies that you can repeat the same color rendering over time, it forces you to monitor your whole reproduction system which means better overall quality control.

 

[encompus]

Gordo said it best.

Color Management = Efficiency = Less Waste = Higher Profits. It's that simple.

 

[c0d3gr1]

Relate a customer experience

Relate a customer experience

Relating customer experiences might help too - or at least reinforce the consequences of poor color performance.

Here's one, my sister worked for a company that needed special credit-card like ID cards. These cards needed to be printed with very specific colors; because the shop that was printing these cards explained to her that it was difficult to mix the ink (which I cannot verify - but even so, that means it was likely they had little to no QA equipment for CM), so to ensure the color was correct, her company flew my sister to the printer as the "color inspector". Oddly enough, my sister is not a color expert, but she was the best solution.

My sister spent about 10 hours at the printers, she told me that it was exhausting. They did several print runs, adjusting the colors and never getting it right, the entire day. They wanted her to return on the next work day, but since she had not planned on being at their vendor for more than that one Friday, her company had to make other arrangements. The company was located in California, the printer was on the East Coast - her company paid for the overnight stay, the waste of a managers day, not to mention the time and expense for the flights. In the end, her company had to switch printers.

I agree with Gordo, its not all about the cost, its about the potential loss of business as well. You might be able to talk with others in your company to get a feel how often color is an issue and how much of an issue.

 

[rich apollo]

kmick612,
The cost benefits are there. You're looking at cutting waste, and increasing capacity.

Let's say that your pressroom bills at $300 per hour - I have no idea what market sector you're in, so I'm just pulling a number out of the air. Thats $5 per minute. Now lets say you run 10 jobs per day. That's 2600 jobs per year (based on a 5-day workweek). If you can get to color and start the counter 1 minute sooner per job, that's 10 minutes per day, 50 minutes per week, 2600 minutes per year. That's $13000 in press time alone. Also that's 43.3 hours per year of now un-utilized time. That's additional time that your sales force can sell. You've just gained a week per year. Think about that - you have regained in excess of an entire week.

By saving 1 minute per job, you've saved $13000 in press time and added an entire sellable week to your schedule. That's before you take into account paper waste, overtime, overhead, downtime, waste plates, ink-consumption.

If your average pressman makes $26/hour, then he's knocking down $39/hour on OT. If you add in a feeder at $17/hour ($25.5/hour on OT), then the labor cost to run that press is $43/hour straight time - $64.50/hour on OT. So, if you could eliminate 43.3 hours per year of OT, that's another $2792.85.

I've worked up this kind of ROI in Excel. It's a good exercise. It'll make you think about what you need and it'll make you set some goals. Keep your goals reasonable. Sometimes it's surprisingly easy to cost justify stuff. Sometimes you find that it really makes sense to make-do with what you have. Be honest with yourself about that.

The other thing to consider is that you are all ready spending that money. That's another good place to start, calculate what it costs to produce a job right now. Where do you think you could save money.

Quality is difficult to quantify, so it probably won't be part of your discussion with management.

 

[kmick612]

Thanks for all your help guys! I think I will be able to justify the new equipment now.

 

[meddington]

By saving 1 minute per job, you've saved $13000 in press time and added an entire sellable week to your schedule. T

Our pressmen have been wasting that extra minute scratching their backs on one of those posts they put in the zoo for bison.