It Costs
How Much?
Plotting a path to profitability
Defining the exact cost
per page has long been a
critical issue for every type of print provider. Today, with cost
pressures
tighter than ever and inkjet moving to displace some of the work done on
electrophotographic and offset presses, it's more important than ever to
truly
understand the cost of printing on inkjet devices. Confusing the issue,
though,
is that no two vendors state the operating costs of their machines in
quite the
same way. What's needed is a tool that shows the true cost of printing
in a way
that helps ensure jobs are quoted accurately-and profitably.
"Digital color inkjet is new territory for print
providers and provides tremendous opportunities for growing their
business. Critical to profitably exploiting this technology is for
users to clearly understand the value of color applications. As
customers take on this new technology, they need to be aware of the
factors that influence an accurate pricing model. They must consider
things like paper, droplet size, coverage and volume-based calculations.
There are many factors that contribute to cost per page, but once you
understand them and factor them into pricing your products, the
opportunities are significant," explains Guy Broadhurst, Vice President,
New Products & Client Development, in the Production Printing
Systems division of Océ North America.
Broadhurst says the cost per impression is the most correct basis, and that this must include five key factors:
Equipment cost (monthly lease rate)
Monthly maintenance (fixed amount)
Combining the lease and monthly maintenance equals the total fixed cost per month, whether the machine is running or not. Then come the variables:
Click (a fixed amount per thousand impressions)
Toner or Ink (a fixed cost per liter, but yields are not fixed and vary by equipment).
Developer (a fixed cost per page on toner machines)
Combining these three variables yields the cost for a given number of impressions.
The total cost per impression is the combination of fixed and variable costs. "And," cautions Broadhurst, "don't forget the "Three Ps: People, paper and power."
For print providers, the challenge is making these calculations accurately on every job, because the amount of toner or ink used can vary widely. While coverage is all but irrelevant in offset printing (because ink is such a minor cost factor), this is not the case with inkjet printing. And even most equipment vendors don't have accurate information about just how much ink a given job may require. This makes predicting the true costs of a job run on most of the new inkjet presses difficult at best. And that makes profitability an elusive goal. Until now.
TrueCost, a new software tool from Océ designed specifically for the JetStream family, not only tracks and helps estimate costs, it learns about the jobs a customer runs to help provide accurateand profitablejobs over time.
"It helps us count every single droplet, no matter what size they are, and report it out of the JetStream," explains Guy Broadhurst, Vice President, New Technologies and Client Development at Oce North America Production Printing Systems Division. "This gives the customer information on coverage and how much ink is used. It is the first tool in the industry that shows exactly how much a job costs in ink."
Generating an initial cost calculation using the Océ PRISMAproduction TrueCost tool is as simple as running a small sample of the color job. The software calculates the exact number of dots for every color in a sample, breaking out percentages of cyan, magenta, yellow, black, MICR or spot color coverage. Being able to calculate usage and costs in this way gives print providers more precise data for formulating quotes to help them run their businesses more efficiently.
In addition, the Océ PRISMAproduction TrueCost tool "remembers" ink consumption on a job-by-job basis for every document printed on the Océ JetStream system. As a result, print providers can look up historical pricing data on jobs weeks or months after they're printed. In addition, they can determine which jobs are making or losing money and ensure that all costs are in line. Print providers benefit from the ability to quickly generate accurate, competitive quotes, which helps improve profitability, enhance customer satisfaction and keep tight control of consumables cost and usage.
Harvey Hirsch says you should . But Trish Witkowski says that . What are these people talking about?
Then Howie Fenton talks about , while Elizabeth Gooding tells about the who happens to be Trish Witkowski. And you There's plenty more, all for reading and considering at The Digital Nirvana. Take a few minutes to check in, read, think and join in the discussions.
About Océ Océ is a leading
international provider of digital document management technology and
services. The company's solutions are based on Océ's advanced software
applications that deliver documents and data over internal networks and
the Internet to printing devices and archives -- locally and around the
world. Supporting the workflow solutions are Océ digital printers and
scanners, considered the most reliable and productive in the world. Océ
also offers a wide range of display graphics, consulting and
outsourcing solutions.
Océ employs around 22,000 people, with
2009 revenues of approximately $3.7 billion, operates in around 100
countries and maintains research and manufacturing centers in the
Netherlands, the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Belgium, the
Czech Republic, Romania and Singapore. Océ North America is
headquartered in Trumbull, CT, with additional business units in
Chicago, IL; New York City; Boca Raton, FL; Salt Lake City, UT and
Vancouver, BC. North American revenues represent approximately half of
Océ's worldwide business, and employment is approximately 10,000. For
more information about Océ , visit . Outside the U.S.,
consult .
"Océ"
and the Océ logo are registered trademarks of Océ-Technologies B.V. All
product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks and
are the property of their owners and are respectfully acknowledged.
