According to PrintWeek, Koenig & Bauer has rejected the findings of a Smithers Pira report into the productivity of used sheetfed presses.
The white paper—sponsored by Heidelberg—looked at used presses from 5 manufacturers, finding that Heidelbergs produced higher annual print volumes than competitor’s machines. The report concluded: “the profit opportunity for Heidelberg machines is significantly higher than for competitive models.”
However, Klaus Schmidt, Koenig & Bauer director of marketing & corporate communications, rejected the findings. Schmidt told PrintWeek: “It seems that the Smithers Pira study has been ordered as a white paper with the target to reach the published result.” According to Schmidt, Smithers Pira had not contacted Koenig & Bauer for a statement before publishing the white paper.
KBA argues that the number of prints per year, alone, is not a clear indicator of press productivity. Productivity depends on many factors:
The white paper—sponsored by Heidelberg—looked at used presses from 5 manufacturers, finding that Heidelbergs produced higher annual print volumes than competitor’s machines. The report concluded: “the profit opportunity for Heidelberg machines is significantly higher than for competitive models.”
However, Klaus Schmidt, Koenig & Bauer director of marketing & corporate communications, rejected the findings. Schmidt told PrintWeek: “It seems that the Smithers Pira study has been ordered as a white paper with the target to reach the published result.” According to Schmidt, Smithers Pira had not contacted Koenig & Bauer for a statement before publishing the white paper.
KBA argues that the number of prints per year, alone, is not a clear indicator of press productivity. Productivity depends on many factors:
- press configuration,
- number of colours,
- inline finishing equipment,
- straight or perfecting,
- structure of the print jobs:
- long or short runs,
- standard or sensitive substrates,
- good enough or high-end quality,
- qualification & motivation of the press crew, and
- print shop business model—one, two or three shifts.
