Moving to Digital Printing on Your Own Terms
The challenges of change
Though inkjet printing can enhance printers’ operations, many have been slow to adopt these solutions. While offset printing can be the best solution for long print runs, inkjet is more suitable for printers who produce short runs and variable printing.
As a result, it is not easy for printers to shift their business models to accommodate the demand for short-run jobs.
Another factor affecting the adoption of inkjet is the expenditure it requires. New presses are expensive, and require a significant outlay of capital. If printers invest in an inkjet press, they then need to retrain staff members: employees need to change from performing trade-focused roles to operating a digital process, and salespeople must engage in new sales conversations to quickly fill the machine and achieve the expected ROI.
Inkjet printing also requires a physical and electronic workflow that is different from an analog workflow. Tasks like color management, automatic job queuing, and even specialized document finishing differ from their counterparts in an analog workflow.
Moreover, the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that printers have with their customers will undergo significant changes. Customers will expect very quick turnarounds, putting a new kind of burden on plant logistics.
