SGIA Journal Graphic November/December 2016 - 69

feature
Swim With or Against the Alligators?
Healthier competitiveness through superior
processing techniques and efficiency
Before getting into this amusing story,
let me first outline why reducing overall
screening cost is so important. The world
of printing in recent times has become
fearfully more competitive for a variety
of reasons. Offset has taken a major hit,
for instance, as inkjet publishing and
an abundant of electronic alternatives
and handheld devices have made great
inroads into their traditional territory.
Consequently, offset clamors with open
arms and now readily embraces smaller
quantities than previously, largely to keep
the presses turning over to stay in business.
Similarly, screen has taken it on the
chin, too, by losing out on smaller print
volume business, being wholly unprofitable
in most cases when compared to the
inherent benefits and fast turnarounds of
digital printing technology. Other than
specialized applications and some nonfour-color process work, digital has become
the de facto choice to provide one-offs to
low volumes, and in many instances, much
more. Quantifying volumes by actual
amount of prints is purposely avoided, as
noted later.
In a nutshell, this means offset
has largely been forced to merge into
the lower end of the volume market,
albeit perhaps a less profitable one, by
reinventing their printing operation to
handle smaller quantities. Screen has
taken a tumble because it cannot compete
with digital at the lower end of the volume
scale - whatever that number might
be to any given company. Weighing on
the volatility within the marketplace as
everyone jostles to compete for their share
of business, one should recognize that
digital has stumbled, too, though for a
completely different reason.
In this instance, cause is more selfinf licted owing to its proliferating
success - conceivably triggering its own
hemorrhage as one printer opined. Digital
equipment suppliers were once quoting
incredible paybacks, with ROIs based on
high-dollar sellable amounts per square
foot/square meter. One supplier even

Print consultant, Mike Young, has an
amusing story to tell. Actually, it forms
the base of an analogy he uses to
illustrate the necessity of incorporating
superior processing techniques to
drastically reduce production cost of
screening, thereby shrinking overall
print unit cost (PUC). Any business
seeking profitable growth has to take
full advantage of their screen processing
abilities to succeed in becoming more
competitive. As he sees it, the holy
grail to be exceptionally competitive,
without capital equipment acquisition,
is none other than lowering production
overheads by enhancing process
techniques and efficiency - a factor
that directly impacts any company's
bottom line regardless of specialty.

By Mike Young, Owner, Imagetek Consulting International

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November/December 2016 | 67
SGIA Journal Graphic November/December 2016

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