Broker expanding to in-house

[Johntron]

I have a design company that has been brokering printing solutions to the majority of our clients for a few years now. We have a growing problem with handling short run orders for flyers and posters.

In January will be moving to a more retail-friendly location, and I want to get a good entry level digital copier/printer to accommodate any smaller order, as well as possibly stop brokering some slightly larger orders wherever possible.

From reading the forums and looking around it seems like a used Docucolor or Bizhub might be what I'm looking for, but I'm not sure.

My budget is either $2000-$3500 for a used machine, or maybe a little higher on a lease. Do I have to get a service contract? If so what might those run in cost?

I anticipate a fairly low volume at first, but I feel it might grow quickly once I have the machine, especially if it can do things like booklets, etc.

 

[X33]

Good luck for $2000-$3500

You should invest in something that is going to last.

If you are in the US, call Xerox and ask for a step lease program. It will help you build your business.

 

[Johntron]

Yeah i realize that the budget is probably too low, and I could get something better by leasing instead. I'm wondering if I can't bite into a bigger portion of what I'm outsourcing with a new machine.

I set up a meeting with two different local copier sales people on Thursday to see what they have to say.

I went by Staples yesterday to look at what they're running, and they had a leased Docucolor 12 sitting behind the counter. The employee said they were replacing it with somethign better soon.

 

[Johntron]

The dealer is recommending a Konica Minolta C280 for me. He didn't give a formal quote but gave me a guess of $280/mo.

 

[Craig]

Staples... give me a break! What makes them a printer? Why don't you find a REAL printer and farm out your work until you can afford equipment that can handle your work load. You will get what you pay for.

 

[Johntron]

All I'm saying is that they have a copy shop and probly have researched what type of machines work for them as a corporation so I checked. Seems somewhat smart to me.

I already broker a lot of business, that's partly why I'm considering a machine. Thanks for reading the posts and being helpful.

 

[GusG]

they had a leased Docucolor 12 sitting behind the counter

I'm sure you can do worse than getting a used DC12, it will surely get you going though it's slow, until you upgrade. You can pick one up with a RIP on ebay within your budget, it may even pay for itself within days.

 

[X33]

The dealer is recommending a Konica Minolta C280 for me. He didn't give a formal quote but gave me a guess of $280/mo.

be careful, this one sounds like an office color machine ... not entry level production

 

[X33]

All I'm saying is that they have a copy shop and probly have researched what type of machines work for them as a corporation so I checked. Seems somewhat smart to me.

I already broker a lot of business, that's partly why I'm considering a machine. Thanks for reading the posts and being helpful.

are you in a rural area? I haven't seend a DC12 at a Staples shop for a while.

You are right saying that they did their research. Fedex Kinkos, Staples, Office Max, Office Depot, all of them spend millions of dollars researching equipment, support, customer service, costs, etc ... and all of them made the decision of going with Xerox.

Unfortunately, it seems that their stores printing facilities are not at the same level as their corporate HQ researchers.

 

[GusG]

be careful, this one sounds like an office color machine ... not entry level production

Hear, hear! I started out the K-M office machine route and these machines just aren't built for capacity. More importantly, without a RIP like Fiery, Splash, Creo etc. you will never be happy with the colour on a Bizhub.

 

[Happyprinter]

As you have been brokering printing for years I would assume you already have a client base built.
If at this point you do not have enough business to pay for a good production machine, I would give the purchase another thought. After being in business for several years as you stated, you should at this point be able to afford at least a small production machine, ie Canon, Xerox, Minolta and not have to worry about the machine paying for itself and making a profit for you. Dont settle for a small worn out machine that will quickly cost more than you paid for it thru maintenance and most important, QUALITY. You dont have to spend alot to make your customers happy. For example a Canon 3200 w/rip can be picked up for a very minimal investment as also mentioned earlier Xerox etc. You can also find a local Small Printer who would be more than willing, especially in this economy to work with you and your schedule and your pricing.
Good Luck

 

[Johntron]

The Staples girl admitted that the DC12 was a temporary thing because of the last machine getting damaged by fire.

You mentioned the bizhub not quite being an entry level production machine, but keep in mind that my volume isn't super-high at the moment for jobs that would be appropriate for digital. I get a lot of work outsourced on offset at places like 4over.com or local larger printers for custom jobs. Of course, having the machine will allow me to take more short run work and advertise color copies, etc.

Regarding the color without a RIP, the rep claims the machine has calibration built in, so if I profile my media, will I not be okay?

 

[St.Nicholas Press]

The Staples girl admitted that the DC12 was a temporary thing because of the last machine getting damaged by fire.

You mentioned the bizhub not quite being an entry level production machine, but keep in mind that my volume isn't super-high at the moment for jobs that would be appropriate for digital. I get a lot of work outsourced on offset at places like 4over.com or local larger printers for custom jobs. Of course, having the machine will allow me to take more short run work and advertise color copies, etc.

Regarding the color without a RIP, the rep claims the machine has calibration built in, so if I profile my media, will I not be okay?

What is your monthly volume?

 

[Johntron]

I have moved on from the DC12 idea. After looking at my sales of appropriate items in past 12mos, I can justify a $250-$350/mo 3-yr lease on a better machine.

So, in the range of a $10,000-$12,000 machine, does anyone have recommendations?

Speed is not a major concern yet, because I'm coming from printing with desktop printers can't even do one 11x17 per minute.

The Bizhub C280 looks nice, but what is Xerox's comparable product, the Docucolor 242?

 

[Johntron]

What is your monthly volume?

My monthly volume will be low to start, maybe 2,000-6,000/mo, but this machine will be installed at the new, retail-friendly location we are moving to in January. I won't know more about what kind of extra use I will get on it until Spring or Summer most likely.

I had about $6000 in digital sales last year (less than 3% of my total sales). The plan is to increase that, and have this machine cover any brochures/flyers/11x17posters at less than qty 500. Higher quantity jobs will be outsourced, for the most part.

 

[X33]

The Bizhub C280 looks nice, but what is Xerox's comparable product, the Docucolor 242?

a comparable product will be the WorkCentre 7400 series; you should at least put a Fiery on it.

 

[X33]

My monthly volume will be low to start, maybe 2,000-6,000/mo

this volume should be more than enough to justify a Xerox DocuColor 242 (entry level).

Remember that volume is one part of the equation. There are cheaper machines that can do the volume, but you need to look at paper handling, max paper size, max paper weight, can it run coated/uncoated media, color management tools, quality, upgradeability, etc.

production is not just about volume.

 

[Johntron]

So what advantages would a DC 242 have over a Bizhub 280 in your opinion?

 

[JLee1970]

I can't say that I agree with the slams to the BizHub. It's worked great for us here.

 

[GusG]

Regarding the color without a RIP, the rep claims the machine has calibration built in, so if I profile my media, will I not be okay?

I started with a Bizhub C352P, moved on to a Bizhub C451. I've sold my C352P and got a DC2060 and a DC12 to back that one up. Despite the K-M techs calibrating the C451 the colour is NOWHERE near even the DC12 and I would say that this humble DC12 beats the pants off any Bizhub I've had or seen except in speed and in the ability to duplex higher grammages of stock. It will take SRA3 and the Bizhubs will not, it doesn't jam much and my C451 does (and the techs can't figure out why, even after replacing a $1,500 bit) and, at least where I am, it is cheaper to run. Yes, my C451 soldiers on but I have actually had jobs rejected from it when my client had previously seen the quality of my Xeroxs.
Of course, you can put a proper RIP on a Bizhub but then you are probably getting close to the price range of a DC242 anyway.