Inkjet proofing has been utilized as a reliable standard for sometime now. Visiting and speaking with many customers, I am surprised by how little these devices are utilized to their full capacity. Sure, proofs are charged for as part of a standard job, but if the inkjet is sitting idle other than producing proofs you may want to consider some other options.
Consider that in the pressroom, equipment capacity is watched closely. If the press has idle time, you frequently push to obtain more work and fill this idle capacity. The same attitude should be used in relation to your proofing equipment.
Ancillary Work Opportunities
If proofing devices are sitting idle you may want to consider a dual use for them. Short run wide-format work provides an ideal opportunity for you to sell this downtime and turn your excess proofing capacity into a profit center.
As an example, if you have a customer you are producing printed brochures for have you explored what there use will be. If, for instance, they are printing them for a trade show, perhaps there is an opportunity to produce signs, banners or table items for the show.
It is worth the time to review your clients’ business and explore if there are additional opportunities to fully utilize your inkjet investment.
New Market Opportunities
In addition to filling excess capacity with current customers, you should also consider new opportunities and markets available to you by expanding in wide-format opportunities.
There is a wide-variety of inkjet media available that is targeted for use in Photo and Fine Art. An evaluation of your target market area will help to identify potential new customers that you may be able to acquire as a result of producing wide-format fine art work. Additionally, it may lead to other traditional printing projects as a result.
The market today is highly competitive and requires you to explore all possibilities beyond those just in the pressroom. Do a quick review of the equipment in your shop, especially with inkjet, and ask if there is any capacity you can still utilize and how you want to utilize it. You may just find that there is further revenue potential already sitting in your company that you can put to good use today.
via Kodak: Grow Your Biz – Maximizing Your Investment in Inkjet.
