In last month’s column, I discussed the many choices wide-format producers have regarding ink sets and related features in wide-format printing devices. In the last few years, many OEM trade show booths have featured truly impressive printed samples showing the extent of what today’s printers can do — cool prints and applications that should have you asking one key question: “Do I need that?”
My answer: “Maybe.” The reason for this comes down to integration of those new capabilities into your existing business, and whether your results can bring profitability.
Before signing on the dotted line for a new system with amazing features, wide-format producers should ask, for the sake of their businesses, how will these features be used? Is there a need among current customers that justifies their presence? Will these new features help the business grow (in both capability and product offerings) in an agreed-upon, pre-considered direction that will help the company access new markets, build value in the eyes of customers, and serve as a key to business growth?
It’s a lot of questions. But, given that this column is here to make you think, I’m going all out. And the questions above are for you to answer, not your equipment manufacturer or your supplier. Purchasing a machine solely because you were dazzled by its capabilities, without placing it within the priorities of the business, is what I would call “business by hunch.” Another name for that is gambling.
Read this full article on Printing Impressions, a publication of PRINTING United Alliance, ASI’s strategic partner.
