Hi! Just like to add my 2 cents of experience. It might be a li'l irrelevant seeing as I'm in Australia but what you're looking to do seems similar to what I had to go through the last 10 years.
Quick background: My brother and I bought a small print shop off a printer. My background was in graphic arts with a bit of pre press knowledge and that helped a bit but we had no experience in the actual print industry & finishing side of things, etc, so we had to learn on the way.
We had such crappy gear at the start but they did the job! A vintage 1 colour offset, an old pc, an A4 to DL folder, platemaker, guillotine, drill press (some of which we still use actually). The equipment wasn't worth what we paid for the business tbh but the main thing was the previous owner had established a list of repeat clientele already.
We worked our butts off at the start (we still do, but now we only avg a 12 hr work day instead of 18
) and it slowly started to pay off, gradually upgrading however we could with whatever we could afford.
Onto digital printing - our first machine was a Docucolor 1250, entry level I couldn't find any other machine that could do what it could do, heavy stocks, decent reproduction, colour, nice solids and clients loved the glossy wax finish. Next was a C450, more of a office environment machine but the click rate we were offered was good at the time. We also went through a number of b/w machines copiers.
Latest upgrade was the Docucolor 5065 when it came out - which I still use atm. I don't know how it compares to the 252 (they read similar) but from experience I LOVE this machine! It's an entry level machine, new we got it for ~$50k with stapler, hole puncher, booklet maker etc and an even better click rate than our 2 previous FX's. Most brands probably offer something on par with it these days, BUT.... one thing I'd like to STRONGLY point out is that it could reliably run offset gloss stock without any bubbling. Why's this important? You'll find paper made for digital printers are usually much more expensive than offset grade papers, especially when it comes to gloss stock and labels (here in Oz anyway); a few cents diff per sheet certainly adds up. Our supplier has a range of a quality (but inexpensive) offset gloss and matt stock that I use in 128, 150, 170, 200, 250, 300 and 350gsm (here it's called Sovereign Gloss / Matt Silk btw, and the gloss labels we use are Jac Brilliant Gloss 170gsm). Our clients have always been happy with them.
I can also run NCR paper through it to make short run invoice books if needed. Numbering is done through a $70 software i bought on the net or on a machine I bought 2nd hand that does perfing / scoring / numbering (GW 6000).
We're looking at the new Xerox Color 550/560 as an upgrade when they release it here next year, sounds like a nice machine (start price is <$35k for the 550 supposedly).
I guess this is where brand loyalty comes in, for me, I've tested and looked into other machines but I still lean towards Fuji Xerox machines, just for the fact that I comfortably know it can take what I give it where none of the other brands have managed to, plus tech support have been reliable and... 'unquestioning' when it comes to 'unusual cases'
So as you can see everyone has different opinions and experiences with each brand / machine.
Imho digital printing has rapidly improved so much the last few years, so whatever you choose it should do the job well. But, on a side note, I'd like to say, regardless of what machine each person has vouched for here, from experience, I've found most trouble stems from the Sales Rep! (no offence to any out there, I know it's their job)
Don't take their word for it, make sure what they promise is in writing, and triple check the contract, even then, you'll end up getting screwed by them! Just kidding!
I hope you don't.
And if you want to find out something, most of the time the best people to ask are the Tech guys, I find they're usually more up front with you.
Oh, and with the click rate... new or old machine, it's worth getting, saves a lotta hassle when it comes to consumables and tech support / service. Just make sure you get a click rate that's charged by pass regardless of paper size, eg print on A3 and you'll halve your cost per pass than if you were to print on 2 A4s. Mmmm! ...bad analogy since you use different paper sizes there
Anyway, it's a hard slog to start with and will be a steep learning curve if you're not originally from the industry but it can be quite lucrative if you find that niche and establish some repeat clients. We've been fortunate, we've never had to advertise, most of our new customers come from word of mouth. We do have a store front but we rarely have walk-ins.
We also have a network of trade printers we can outsource jobs we can't do inhouse so we've also become a print broker of sorts for our clients.
Sometimes we have to bend over backwards for our clients but in the end they appreciate this and come back regardless of whether we're the cheapest or not.
Lots more I'd like to mention but this is such a long post already, sorry!
Just thought I'd share and give some insight from someone who's experienced what you may be getting into. It's a risk, it is hard work and very stressful at times (see: deadlines) but it is feasible!
All the best if you decide to do it!
