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The Truth about Light Production
You May not Know This
By Noel Ward, Editor@Large
"The definition of light production is not what it was ten years ago. Market dynamics change and so do the definitions,” affirms Andre D’Urbano. As Vice President of Sales at RISO he may have a handle on this.
The things I notice of late are the same things as many printers: Declining run lengths, the search for more jobs to fill press time, and in some segments of the industry the search for new types of jobs to fill press availability. Many printers are telling me there is less work out there, so I take this as largely true. To be sure, print is shrinking but it is not going away. So what does one do?
Good question.
Many business-savvy printers built business models accounting for periodic downturns in business. Okay, no one planned on a pandemic, the fast rise and broad acceptance of electronic delivery or the rapidity of change, but so it goes.
Meanwhile, press vendors, or at least the digital ones, saw a path forward paved with the growth of inkjet presses that delivered much of the volume that was needed but now seems like too much. Many big inkjet presses built to compete with offset models, have volume capabilities greater than some press-owners need. But the makers of these beasts saw this coming, so they took what they knew and created a new class of presses dubbed light production.
Light Production?
So what is light production? Good question. D’Urbano says it lacks a simple answer. Some call it a steady stream of jobs printed that inter-mix color and monochrome pages. Others consider it long runs of a single document. Some say it is many small jobs that keep a machine running most of the day. All are correct. You probably have your own definition or don’t even think about it. The job comes in and you run it. Most of your customers don’t think about it either. They just send jobs in.
If you’re among the many lacking a clear definition you’re not alone. A few years back you cut a deal on an inkjet press larger than your spouse’s SUV so you could compete with the shop in the next Zip Code that was doing short runs and undercutting you on price. With that big box under your roof things were fine—until customers started asking for even smaller runs. Before long, your inkjet printer was maxing out at half its capacity in a busy month. This was not working the way you planned. I know guys paying leases on a couple of big inkjet boxes who are thinking they made a mistake. Some are looking for other lines of business to make up the missing volume, some are looking for smaller presses. And they call me. Vendors are trying to fill the gap but designing, testing and bringing a new printer to market takes a while, what with margins and options to consider. The nuances of customer demand have a funny habit of being ahead of the products available.
For example, D'Unbano told me about a printer who was once generating 500 million prints annually on about 250 jobs. Not too shabby. He brought in four high volume production inkjet printers to do the heavy lifting and a couple of smaller machines to handle reruns and leftovers. Today, that same location is still printing 500 million prints—but does 2500 jobs. Doing ten times the work to produce the same volume tends to cramp profitability. For him, the only way of making the numbers work was to vanquish the big machines (each ran about seven figures) and invest in several light production ones that could run multiple jobs simultaneously. For some shops that's the only way of meeting the needs of short-run print buyers.
“The production market today is about light production and much less about the traditional heavy iron”, said D’Urbano. His firm and its affordable inkjet presses have become popular among printers who appreciate the machines’ simplicity and economical operation. They recently rolled out a light production box that should find a home in this space.
Technology rears its head
“Technology changes the definitions too,” explains Bill Donnelley, a Senior Campaign and Strategy Manager at Ricoh’s dealer channel. “Applications are becoming more complex, enabling a broader range of jobs on a single device.” Indeed. Inkjet presses are becoming the go-to devices, spurred in part by the countless inkjet printers in homes around the globe.
This is important because a couple things are happening. First, people in offices are increasingly okay with electronic documents sent via email—Microsoft Office files or PDFs— and printing on their local MFP (Multifunction Printer). Second, many devices from companies such as Sharp or Konica Minolta not only do lengthy print runs but can be configured with a host of finishing options. These lessen demand for even short-run jobs that once went to professional print businesses and quick printers. The upshot is that some digital print engines you hadn’t thought much about can now run longer jobs while delivering print and image quality that satisfies customers. It is worth looking at the monthly duty cycles and service requirements of some smaller machines to see how they can fit your market.
The permanence of print
The shift to printing pages on as-needed basis has appeal because print has a permanence that screens lack. Corner stapled or bound, there are reports that still need to land on the desks of 41 people, some of whom don’t like reading off a screen. Meanwhile, a deck of 23 color slides has to be viewed by people who like making notes and comments on the pages. Still other documents have to pass through legal, which has mandated printed pages.
Coming out of this is opportunity for professional printers. Talk with customers and leanr their needs. For instance, some jobs need to be run in smaller quantities several times a year. When things like finishing is added to the mix, the hallway printer shared by 32 people may not be the best choice for producing 64 copies of a 42-page job that has to be printed, bound and have a cover by noon tomorrow. But the light production press you bought last month may be up to the task.
I have become a fan of inkjet over the past several years. Call me a toner throwback, but I was less than impressed by the output of early inkjet presses. I was among those throwing stones because the early forays into inkjet were less than impressive. But now I’m an advocate.
The other day I had a protracted conversation with a friend who has authored several books on art, all of which include images. I explained the different technologies and that inkjet is probably in his future. Fortunately, he knows inkjet can be truly spectacular and for the run lengths of his typical print runs inkjet will work fine. His needs will not be met by the present generation of light production boxes, but high-quality color is coming to this space. Be ready for it. Okay, inkjet can still fall short if a machine is not run regularly (like the 8-color, 13x19-inch photo printer in my office), but this is not the case in professional printing environments. Embrace the inkjet future in light production.
You May not Know This
By Noel Ward, Editor@Large
"The definition of light production is not what it was ten years ago. Market dynamics change and so do the definitions,” affirms Andre D’Urbano. As Vice President of Sales at RISO he may have a handle on this.
The things I notice of late are the same things as many printers: Declining run lengths, the search for more jobs to fill press time, and in some segments of the industry the search for new types of jobs to fill press availability. Many printers are telling me there is less work out there, so I take this as largely true. To be sure, print is shrinking but it is not going away. So what does one do?
Good question.
Many business-savvy printers built business models accounting for periodic downturns in business. Okay, no one planned on a pandemic, the fast rise and broad acceptance of electronic delivery or the rapidity of change, but so it goes.
Meanwhile, press vendors, or at least the digital ones, saw a path forward paved with the growth of inkjet presses that delivered much of the volume that was needed but now seems like too much. Many big inkjet presses built to compete with offset models, have volume capabilities greater than some press-owners need. But the makers of these beasts saw this coming, so they took what they knew and created a new class of presses dubbed light production.
Light Production?
So what is light production? Good question. D’Urbano says it lacks a simple answer. Some call it a steady stream of jobs printed that inter-mix color and monochrome pages. Others consider it long runs of a single document. Some say it is many small jobs that keep a machine running most of the day. All are correct. You probably have your own definition or don’t even think about it. The job comes in and you run it. Most of your customers don’t think about it either. They just send jobs in.
If you’re among the many lacking a clear definition you’re not alone. A few years back you cut a deal on an inkjet press larger than your spouse’s SUV so you could compete with the shop in the next Zip Code that was doing short runs and undercutting you on price. With that big box under your roof things were fine—until customers started asking for even smaller runs. Before long, your inkjet printer was maxing out at half its capacity in a busy month. This was not working the way you planned. I know guys paying leases on a couple of big inkjet boxes who are thinking they made a mistake. Some are looking for other lines of business to make up the missing volume, some are looking for smaller presses. And they call me. Vendors are trying to fill the gap but designing, testing and bringing a new printer to market takes a while, what with margins and options to consider. The nuances of customer demand have a funny habit of being ahead of the products available.
For example, D'Unbano told me about a printer who was once generating 500 million prints annually on about 250 jobs. Not too shabby. He brought in four high volume production inkjet printers to do the heavy lifting and a couple of smaller machines to handle reruns and leftovers. Today, that same location is still printing 500 million prints—but does 2500 jobs. Doing ten times the work to produce the same volume tends to cramp profitability. For him, the only way of making the numbers work was to vanquish the big machines (each ran about seven figures) and invest in several light production ones that could run multiple jobs simultaneously. For some shops that's the only way of meeting the needs of short-run print buyers.
“The production market today is about light production and much less about the traditional heavy iron”, said D’Urbano. His firm and its affordable inkjet presses have become popular among printers who appreciate the machines’ simplicity and economical operation. They recently rolled out a light production box that should find a home in this space.
Technology rears its head
“Technology changes the definitions too,” explains Bill Donnelley, a Senior Campaign and Strategy Manager at Ricoh’s dealer channel. “Applications are becoming more complex, enabling a broader range of jobs on a single device.” Indeed. Inkjet presses are becoming the go-to devices, spurred in part by the countless inkjet printers in homes around the globe.
This is important because a couple things are happening. First, people in offices are increasingly okay with electronic documents sent via email—Microsoft Office files or PDFs— and printing on their local MFP (Multifunction Printer). Second, many devices from companies such as Sharp or Konica Minolta not only do lengthy print runs but can be configured with a host of finishing options. These lessen demand for even short-run jobs that once went to professional print businesses and quick printers. The upshot is that some digital print engines you hadn’t thought much about can now run longer jobs while delivering print and image quality that satisfies customers. It is worth looking at the monthly duty cycles and service requirements of some smaller machines to see how they can fit your market.
The permanence of print
The shift to printing pages on as-needed basis has appeal because print has a permanence that screens lack. Corner stapled or bound, there are reports that still need to land on the desks of 41 people, some of whom don’t like reading off a screen. Meanwhile, a deck of 23 color slides has to be viewed by people who like making notes and comments on the pages. Still other documents have to pass through legal, which has mandated printed pages.
Coming out of this is opportunity for professional printers. Talk with customers and leanr their needs. For instance, some jobs need to be run in smaller quantities several times a year. When things like finishing is added to the mix, the hallway printer shared by 32 people may not be the best choice for producing 64 copies of a 42-page job that has to be printed, bound and have a cover by noon tomorrow. But the light production press you bought last month may be up to the task.
I have become a fan of inkjet over the past several years. Call me a toner throwback, but I was less than impressed by the output of early inkjet presses. I was among those throwing stones because the early forays into inkjet were less than impressive. But now I’m an advocate.
The other day I had a protracted conversation with a friend who has authored several books on art, all of which include images. I explained the different technologies and that inkjet is probably in his future. Fortunately, he knows inkjet can be truly spectacular and for the run lengths of his typical print runs inkjet will work fine. His needs will not be met by the present generation of light production boxes, but high-quality color is coming to this space. Be ready for it. Okay, inkjet can still fall short if a machine is not run regularly (like the 8-color, 13x19-inch photo printer in my office), but this is not the case in professional printing environments. Embrace the inkjet future in light production.
