Supply Chain Issues

Seeking Knowledge

Well-known member
Hello all,

I am surprised that there are not more discussions about the supply chain issues, that I believe we are all seeing. I work for a printer on the West Coast and cannot comprehend how scares paper and other products are. Almost every day when we place orders we are having to switch stock entirely or substitute sizes. Or for our Small Digital equipment having to buy parent sheets to cut to press size. (not sure how to cross post).

How are all of you dealing with these issues. Are you asking customers to eat the extra costs? Are you absorbing them? Are you trying to get suppliers to be more flexible in their pricing? On top of all the shortages, price increases seem to be going crazy as well.

I know other industries are being effected as well, but it seems in our "never say no world of print" things are really out of hand,

Thoughts?

Thanks,
SK
 
A little of everything. Mostly just trying to plan ahead and order enough to stay ahead of the shortages while asking customers for more grace and flexibility.
For the most part everyone is being understanding and accommodating (suppliers and customers).
It's important to remember everyone is doing their best across the board. There's always challenges.

Personally, I'm just glad that our shop is mostly through the drum problem. I know other shops are just now starting to get hit with the drum nonsense. That was pretty awful for us here, having to swap out drums every 10 minutes and keep an eye on every sheet coming off the presses was nerve racking.
 
There are active discussions about paper and toner. I have managed by having more than one paper supplier, substituting brands, buying parent size sheets if needed, keeping excess on hand, and discouraging unusual and mill order items as those will take weeks if not months. Our paper prices were locked in April so we haven’t had to chase pricing adjustments too much, but have told everyone to expect increases on paper.
 

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