Buy the Steak, not the Sizzle
The meat comes from continuous investment
The sizzle of new technology
is always there, but when it comes to investing in new equipment it's
vitally important to learn about the company behind the sizzle. It's
especially important to see how the continual investments a print
engine vendor makes can deliver value for customers. Look beyond the
types of printers and presses that are most relevant to your business
so you can see what else the company is doing, because this shows you
how the company thinks and how it sees the market.
Investment Protection
Whatever
your needs may be, the acquisition of new equipment or software should
never be made lightly. Always look to the benefits you expect to
achieve. New machines offer not only higher speed and better
productivity but lower operating costs --critical attributes in a time
when the pressure is on the economy and business profits. Be sure to
ask your vendor about the investment protection that comes from a
strategy of continuous investment in innovation and products that meet
market needs. For example, ask how the black-and-white equipment you
buy today can give you investment protection you need when you make the
move to color tomorrow. Not all companies will have an answer.
For
instance, today your business may thrive off of its black-and-white cut
sheet systems. You know you'll still need monochrome machines for much
of your work, but you also need a clear migration path to color. When
you look at the economics, it may make sense to shift to a higher
volume, color capable system like those in the Océ VarioStream 8000 or
Océ VariStream 9000 families. These can provide greater productivity,
more versatility, smooth the transition to highlight color, and in the
case of the VarioStream 9000, to full-color printing. If you have very
high print volumes and want to print in color and monochrome, it might
be time to consider a high-speed ink jet system such as the Océ
JetStream series.
Redefining Choices
The best approach
is actually pretty simple. Look at what vendors have been doing and how
their technology has advanced. Look at the range of products they have
invested in and introduced over time and how well they meet the needs
of the marketplace. Are they offering something really new, or just
updates to the same old iron? And look at software, too, and see
whether it has kept pace with demands for automated workflows, new
application support, and the scalability needed to grow with your
business.
Beyond looking for continual investments and
improvements, look for multiple choices in each of the major equipment
categories. But keep it simple. Guy Broadhurst, Vice President of New
Technologies and Client Development at Océ North America, breaks it
down into just five categories: Monochrome cut sheet, color cut sheet,
monochrome continuous form, color continuous form, and ink jet.
"These
categories help you see the landscape more clearly," Broadhurst notes.
"There are speed ranges within each of these, and what should drive
your decision is your applications and the combination of performance,
paper handling, pre- and post-processing, and workflow software that
fit those applications. And always remember that software, field
upgradeability and pre- and post-processing systems can be much more
important to overall productivity--and TCO--than mere speed."
It
is better to focus on your needs today and how you can also achieve the
investment protection you need moving forward by looking at the
companies that have made continual investments along with the
investment protection programs to support your needs.
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Océ helps the people who make
our world. Companies everywhere use Océ technical documentation systems
in manufacturing, architecture, engineering and construction. Each
week, high-speed Océ printing systems produce millions of transaction
documents such as bank statements and utility bills. And in offices
around the world, people use Océ professional document systems to keep
the wheels of business and government turning. Océ is also at work in
publishing on demand, newspaper production and wide format color for
spectacular display graphics. It all helps our professional customers
go 'Beyond the Ordinary' in printing and document management.
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