In my last blog, I spoke about how to determine the true value of a label printing press. Now I will delve beneath the iceberg to help uncover what to consider when calculating the real ROI of your press investment.
When purchasing a new press, a converter may visit various manufacturers, see live demos, and compare prices. Important to remember, is just because one press has a lower price tag than another doesn’t necessarily mean it will remain the lower-cost option over time.
Here’s what you need to consider.
The true cost of ownership
If you’re purchasing a press to produce high quality labels with daily production runs and multiple shifts, there are a number of things to think about in calculating the total added value.
Important to track is the number of yearly production hours, press run-time, job changeover time, cost of added value specific job, number of jobs per year, and yearly production of material.
This is where features of your press can make a positive contribution to its total added value, such as those that provide less set-up and change-over time, less waste, and most importantly improved ease of operation.
In a nutshell, over time your press can earn you more money than its initially less expensive counterpart.
Beneath the iceberg
During a live press demonstration, you can visually see performance in terms of speed, wasted material, length of job changeover, and the final print result.
What you don’t easily see is the technology used. What is beneath the iceberg? What is the quality of manufactuered components used, which OEM-products are choosen and why, how reliable is the construction —and many more considerations.
It is important to know if the press engineers get full support to develop clever innovations that focus to reduce material set-up time, waste, and increase overall productivity of a press, or if they need to concentrate (only) on cost price.
Operator friendliness is key in judging productivity, as the operator has a huge influence in the TCO. The press needs to deliver reliable and repeatable print quality with every job, with slidable ink trays or a technology that allows the rail units to be repositioned easily.
The biggest driver in profit
The considerations mentioned above, and more, all contribute to achieving the lowest cost per 1,000 labels. And the biggest driver? A motivated operator.
At the end of the day, the operator must enjoy running your press. That’s where the real productivity comes in.
Need further help in calculating the ROI of your press? I’m happy to walk you through the process. Just reach out to me here.
