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Boost Your Press Runs

2020-08-29
Today the vast majority of people are carrying around tiny computers in their pockets, capable of displaying marketing messages that incorporate not just images, but video, sound, interactive elements, and even virtual or augmented reality components. So how does print compete in this kind of environment?

The answer is to go beyond just “ink on paper.” Special press enhancements like coatings, metallics, foils, and more can take an average postcard, mailer, or brochure and transform them into a conversation piece that makes people want to pick it up, read it, and share it. They help printers, print buyers, brands, and content creators stand out from the crowd—even when they are up against more than just other printed materials.

Where to Start?
The sheer volume of choice printers have today is both a good and bad phenomenon. On the one hand, more choice, on more presses, means everyone in the product lifecycle has the ability to let their creativity run free. They can push the boundaries, and create eye-catching designs with unique patterns and textures that beg to be touched and passed around. But on the other hand, where does a shop looking to add these effects even start? There are simply too many options for every shop to offer every enhancement, so which ones are right for your shop right now? Which ones will fuel the most growth in your market, with you customer list, in your niche well into the future?
boost your press runs
Boost Your Press Runs
Here are a few questions to get you started:

1. What do my current customers need? Take a hard look at the jobs you are currently running. Think about ways you could have enhanced them—would a UV coating have created a texture that would make the pieces more unique? Could a metallic or foil addition have transformed multiple jobs into amazing works or art? Figure out what two or three, at most, enhancements the majority of your client list might benefit from, and then focus your efforts there.

2. What jobs do I want to go after in the future? Once you have an idea of what your current customers would benefit most from, take a step back and figure out what customers you want to court in the future. Maybe you mostly do direct mail work today, but you really want to start going after high-end restaurant work. Maybe you are a general commercial printer, but you see packaging as your future. The point is to not only purchase the equipment and supplies for the jobs you have today, but to ensure you have the capabilities you need to effectively go after the work you want to grow into.

3. How do I sell it? Once you identify the right enhancement mix for your shop, then comes figure out how to actually sell it. Most print buyers and content creators aren’t going to understand how they can use your enhancements in their pieces if you just tell them you have new equipment. Your best bet is to take pieces you already created for them, and tweak them, using your new capabilities to show them how their own work can go to the next level with just a few enhancements. You probably heard, at some point in your life, that you should “show, don’t tell.” Well, in this case, that is exactly how you get your current customers on board. And when you are trying to win new work, do the same thing—take any creative you are asked to bid on, and quote them not just on what they’re asking for, but on what additional features you can bring to the table as well. Show them how your shop, above any other, can offer them more than just a print run.

Equipment to Consider
There are more vendors and more technologies on the market than can listed here. However, we have pulled together a few of them that you might want to check out. These are all award-winning technologies from the past few years, which make them a great place to start your research as you try to determine what your shop ultimately needs.

• The RYOBI MHI Graphic Technology RMGT 920PF-8+CC+LED-UV 8 Color with Coater Perfecting Press. This is the first time in North America that this press will be shown with this combination of enhancement options. It features an in-line coating addition, allowing printers to add their special press enhancements as the piece is being printed, increasing automation and allowing you to get the benefits of the added features without having to increase the costs.

• The MGI JETvarnish 3D Web. This press enhancement allows label printers to go digital for spot UV coating and embossed hot foiling without dyes, screens or expensive tooling on narrow webs up to 16.53 inches. It is designed for both 2D (flat)/3D embossed spot coating over flexo, offset or digital web-fed printed output. Hot foiling can be added with metallic and colored foils to embellish label designs.

• The Scodix Ultra Pro Digital Print Enhancement Platform with Scodix Foil. This press was designed from the ground up to incorporate press enhancements directly into the workflow. The in-line foil station, in particular, allows printers to add this feature to short or medium-run jobs, using a range of both hot and cold foil films, on a wide variety of substrates.

• The EFI Armor Erase UV Coating. There are a wide range of coatings to serve a wide range of purposes. Don’t get so caught up on coatings that add tactile elements, to the exclusion of coatings that add practical elements as well. In some cases, these can be just as important—if not more so—to jobs as flashy, stand-out enhancements. The EFI Armor Erase UV Coating in particular is a great option for adding protection from the elements to practically any type of substrate your shop could want to run, including flexible media, rigid boards, or even thermoforming materials.

This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it is a place to start. As you evaluate the wide range of options on the market today, Penge noted that shops should also remember to take into account how each new enhancement will interact with each piece of equipment already running in the shop. Don’t make the mistake of investing in an amazing new capability, only to discover you can’t get the results you were hoping for. 

Special press enhancements take jobs to the next level. They add flashy elements. They add tactile elements. They add protective elements. They add, ultimately, to the shop’s bottom line. With the right mix of jobs, presses, and enhancements, your pressroom will find the future to be a shining place indeed.