3 Key Factors to Note When Making the Shift from Offset to Inkjet
Making the leap from offset to inkjet is no small decision — it’s a shift that impacts ROI, quality, efficiency, and even the way teams think about production. In a recent webinar, “From Press to Progress: The Smart Shift from Offset to Inkjet,” hosted by In-plant Impressions and sponsored by Canon USA, industry leaders Chris DuBach, executive vice president of Sales and Business Development at Phoenix Innovate, headquartered in Troy, Michigan; and Sherry Morris, general manager, Alabama Operations, with Election Systems & Software, based in Birmingham, shared candid insights from their own transitions. From stronger-than-expected ROI to efficiency gains that surprised even their operators, the discussion offered a clear-eyed look at what it really takes to succeed with inkjet.
Here are three of the top takeaways.
- The ROI on inkjet equipment far exceeded initial expectations.
Dubach pointed out that ROI, for starters, can’t be evaluated in a vacuum. It’s about more than just the printing process itself. “That’s only one part of the equation,” he said. Other elements such as speed, waste, paper differences, and ink costs will all contribute to the actual ROI. Time, in particular, he stressed was a critical factor to look at.
“Time has to be part of the equation,” he continued. “The print industry is probably laughing at me because [customers] are never on time with things. But when it’s got to hit mail dates, and you’ve got mail times to meet, those times become even more critical.”
In the end, he notes, after doing the ROI calculations taking into account how much time an inkjet press would save them over their traditional offset equipment, DuBach noted, “we wouldn't have done it if the ROI hadn't been so positive. But it wasn't just slightly positive, it was extremely positive in favor of inkjet, and that helps our clients, that helps our production, and it helps us be able to take on more growth.”
Morris agreed, noting, “When we came looking at it, we considered everything for the ROI, not just the print, but the time we have put into it. We looked last month, and we’re running about 9 months ahead of schedule on our ROI right now, and it’s actually been better than we expected. We have been able to take in more work than we were doing before, and because we’re faster and more efficient, we’re ahead of our ROI, which the Board of Directors love.”
- Quality is no longer a consideration.
While quality might have been a trade-off with the early generations of inkjet presses, that is no longer the case today. In fact, DuBach notes that for some applications, such as photography, he is actually finding better quality in the half-tones and details on his inkjet web press than he did on offset. And Morris notes that when comparing the work between the offset and inkjet presses, they aren’t seeing any differences at all.
And when you add in the ability to personalize every single item in a run, it gets even more impressive. For the long runs, offset is still going to have the upper hand when it comes to cost per piece, but if you’re evaluating purely on quality, these days there is functionally little difference. Inkjet has come a long way.
- Efficiency has improved in leaps and bounds.
Finally, the panel chatted about the fact that inkjet efficiencies have also seen some large leaps in recent years, making it a more cost-effective competitor to offset all the time.
The ability to just load jobs all day long, and keep those inkjet presses running more or less nonstop has been a critical factor in both operations’ ultimate decision to go all-in on inkjet. There are no complicated makeready times, and the maintenance of the inkjet presses has proven to be simpler to manage. Both Morris and DuBach note that their teams have gotten training on how to handle a lot of simple repairs and maintenance themselves, allowing them to take care of things when it’s most convenient, which has led to a lot more uptime.
Morris notes there was a definite mental shift for the operators, coming from roll-fed offset to roll-fed inkjet, and realizing that while they might both be roll-fed presses, they just don’t operate the same way. She noted, “They were like, ‘well, this isn't going to work. There's no way that that press is going to be as fast and as efficient — or more efficient — than the offset.’ And just watching them realize and see how much more efficient they are — they were pleasantly surprised.”
- BONUS: Don’t overlook the small details.
When asked what was the most challenging thing about the transition from offset to inkjet that they weren’t expecting, Dubach highlights how critical it is to think about the operation as a whole, not an isolated piece of equipment.
It was the estimating that was a surprise, he noted. “We had estimating built around sheetfed work forever, and moving to roll-based work was a challenge. It was just a different animal, and required a different way to think. Honestly even our estimating software required some changes to be able to get it in the spot where we wanted it. And that took some time. And that was surprising.”
So take the time to look at the entire workflow, from the fist contact with the customer, all the way through finishing and going out the door. Inkjet and offset don’t move through the production floor the same way, and taking the time to figure out those pathways ahead of time will only make the transition go smoother.
Offset and inkjet are still both powerful print technologies, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Learning from those who have taken steps to move between them — and what they would have done differently — can mean the difference between your own transitions going well, or having hiccups that could have been prevented. Make sure to watch the entire webinar for more tips and tricks to help your own decision making process.
Toni McQuilken is the senior editor for the printing and packaging group.
