Hi everyone. First timer here so please be gentle.
I own a very traditional commercial offset printing company. We've been in business since the late sixties and have enjoyed some very successful years. Because of this we haven't been very enthusiastic about fixing what ain't broke. Over the last couple of years I have seen a bit of a downturn in business and more importantly I've seen a real shift in print buyers needs/desires. Gone are the longer run lengths. Print is becoming very commoditized as we are all producing essentially the same quality work and because of an over abundance of offset presses in my market (Mid sized Canadian city) the prices are constantly being driven lower and lower and lower as we all chase the same jobs. I am very well aware of the need to differentiate yourself and sell something of value beyond the ink on paper thing; to become a solutions provider, sell your process and not your product all that stuff but this not what this post is about.
I'm going to make some fundamental and monumental shifts in my company. We are going to explore options for producing print in a different manner than we do now. I'm convinced that we must turn to the digital print world to not only thrive but to survive. I've been actively researching toner based production (which we kind of play at now with a high end copier) as well as what I call "digital offset presses".
My first impressions have been that with toner based production you are really not offering anything more than the guy next door (notwithstanding service, process etc) except perhaps a lower price. I do however recognize that you need to have this offering for your present customers who need this service. I see us having a need to continue to supply this kind of stuff. In addition to the desire to jump into the Digital Print World, I also have a 4 color offset press that needs to be upgraded as it's growing very tired. Because of this I need something with offset like capabilities in terms of longer run lengths, wide range of substrates and the ability to run short run work and mid to long run lengths as well. I really like the quality I've seen and frankly it seems much easier to achieve the level of quality that we expect much more so than our present offset press.
Some things I've been looking at are
Kodak NexPress
Presstek DI
Indigo
Xerox technology
The DI is intriguing because it seems the most offset press like and is easier for me to understand. The others seem sooooooooooooooo overwhelming that I don't even know where to begin and how to really look at these things.
I should add that I'm looking for something that offers a point of uniqueness in it's product offering and believe that will be the success of what I bring here. I am visiting a National Trade Show in November and want to be well armed when I arrive there.
I'm not sure exactly what my question is here other than I'm looking for some unbiased and sound advice on where to begin. It really does seem overwhelming to me and I would really appreciate someone who may be willing to take me a little bit by the hand and push me in some sort of direction. That may be a bit of a big ask, I realize, but if this was a musicians forum or a hockey forum I would be willing to help someone with a similar dilemna with their music and hockey questions (hey, it's all I really know)
Please someone get me started. I would be forever grateful. A trillion good karma points would be headed your way.
Thanks in advance.
PS. If a private conversation would be better please PM me and I will gladly give you a call
I own a very traditional commercial offset printing company. We've been in business since the late sixties and have enjoyed some very successful years. Because of this we haven't been very enthusiastic about fixing what ain't broke. Over the last couple of years I have seen a bit of a downturn in business and more importantly I've seen a real shift in print buyers needs/desires. Gone are the longer run lengths. Print is becoming very commoditized as we are all producing essentially the same quality work and because of an over abundance of offset presses in my market (Mid sized Canadian city) the prices are constantly being driven lower and lower and lower as we all chase the same jobs. I am very well aware of the need to differentiate yourself and sell something of value beyond the ink on paper thing; to become a solutions provider, sell your process and not your product all that stuff but this not what this post is about.
I'm going to make some fundamental and monumental shifts in my company. We are going to explore options for producing print in a different manner than we do now. I'm convinced that we must turn to the digital print world to not only thrive but to survive. I've been actively researching toner based production (which we kind of play at now with a high end copier) as well as what I call "digital offset presses".
My first impressions have been that with toner based production you are really not offering anything more than the guy next door (notwithstanding service, process etc) except perhaps a lower price. I do however recognize that you need to have this offering for your present customers who need this service. I see us having a need to continue to supply this kind of stuff. In addition to the desire to jump into the Digital Print World, I also have a 4 color offset press that needs to be upgraded as it's growing very tired. Because of this I need something with offset like capabilities in terms of longer run lengths, wide range of substrates and the ability to run short run work and mid to long run lengths as well. I really like the quality I've seen and frankly it seems much easier to achieve the level of quality that we expect much more so than our present offset press.
Some things I've been looking at are
Kodak NexPress
Presstek DI
Indigo
Xerox technology
The DI is intriguing because it seems the most offset press like and is easier for me to understand. The others seem sooooooooooooooo overwhelming that I don't even know where to begin and how to really look at these things.
I should add that I'm looking for something that offers a point of uniqueness in it's product offering and believe that will be the success of what I bring here. I am visiting a National Trade Show in November and want to be well armed when I arrive there.
I'm not sure exactly what my question is here other than I'm looking for some unbiased and sound advice on where to begin. It really does seem overwhelming to me and I would really appreciate someone who may be willing to take me a little bit by the hand and push me in some sort of direction. That may be a bit of a big ask, I realize, but if this was a musicians forum or a hockey forum I would be willing to help someone with a similar dilemna with their music and hockey questions (hey, it's all I really know)
Please someone get me started. I would be forever grateful. A trillion good karma points would be headed your way.
Thanks in advance.
PS. If a private conversation would be better please PM me and I will gladly give you a call
