For commercial printers, an investment in automated color control makes good business sense. Use these tips and our straight-forward calculator and get clear on the savings and ROI.
There are lots of ways a you might analyze the decision to invest in an automated color control system such as Techkon’s PressLink. But if complicated spreadsheets with KPIs and all kinds of bifurcations are something you’d prefer to leave to the CFO for later, you can gain a tremendous amount of immediate insight on the potential long-term savings of automating your color with this straight-forward ROI calculator.
To get started, all you need is a whiteboard, pencil and paper, or a spreadsheet so you can capture the numbers associated with the following:
- Hourly overhead cost of the press requiring an upgrade
- Number of print jobs that run on that press per day
- The average make-ready time for each job
- The average per sheet cost of your typical paper or substrate
Create one model for a typical job, or create several models for different kinds of jobs and presses, and plug the numbers into the ROI calculator. On the backend of our algorithm, we’re using proven predictability of 50% faster make ready times, a reduction in paper waste of 100 sheets, and a 50% reduction in color variation (3-4 deltaE), per job. This allows you to arrive at an annual cost savings number per press you can comfortably predict will be the result of installing a PressLink automated color control system.
The (3) components of a Techkon PressLink System that impact the savings are:
- Precise ink key presetting
- Fast and accurate press sheet color bar scanning
- A sophisticated, closed-loop hardware/software connection
During Make Ready
With shorter print runs becoming commonplace, your presses are surely printing many more jobs per day. So, reducing make-ready time with an ink key presetting system is a great way to increase press productivity. Our PressLink solution consists of software for calculating ink coverage from pre-press CIP3/4 data and a communications box that connects with and mounts to the press console. Ink presets are automatically optimized and moved in place by the software based on press characteristics calculated from actual data. The result? Your press gets on color much faster.
Color density variation before and after closed loop adjustment
During the Production Run
Pull a press sheet during the run and our automated scanner, SpectroDrive, will analyze its color bar (up to a 40” sheet) in just (8) seconds. Ink fountain adjustments are then instantly calculated by the software and sent to the press console for automated ink key adjustments. Optimal adherence to GRACoL, G7, and other printing standards can also be realized.
Leap ahead of the competition at a fraction of the cost of a new press
Your older presses can leave you at a distinct disadvantage if you’re competing against printers who’ve made the huge capital equipment investment in a new press that includes ink presetting and automatic color control. But you can close that gap quickly at a fraction of the cost with PressLink. In fact, in many ways, your color control will be more robust. PressLink can be retro-fitted to presses from nearly all manufacturers, including: Heidelberg, Manroland, Mitsubishi, Koenig and Bauer, Komori, Sakurai, Ryobi, Shinohara, Muller Martini, Adast, Polly and others.
Installing the system typically results in make-ready time reduction of 10 minutes per job. For a press that runs 10 jobs/day, 250 days/year and costs $350/hour, the savings in make-ready time alone is worth $145,000 per year.
In addition, paper savings of 100 sheets per job can be seen. Even assuming a paper cost of 10 cents per 40” sheet saves an additional $27,500 per year.
Color variations over the course of the print job are reduced significantly. Typically, a 50% reduction in color variation is seen which is a reduction of 3-4 deltaE.
While PressLink will save you time and money on each run, its true value is achieved when you become more cost competitive while also improving quality and customer satisfaction.
Why wait any longer?
Get a price quote on a PressLink system for your press today >>
