As a result, more of our print services customers are looking into large format opportunities.

But, if you’re new to this space, it’s worth doing your research. There are plenty of options available and you need to be sure the solution you buy is the right fit.

You can use the four questions below to start your research, then download our in-depth buyer’s guide for everything else you need to know. To download the buyer’s guide, just fill out the form to the right (or below if you’re on mobile).

Roll-to-roll, flatbed or hybrid format printer?

It should go without saying, but large format printers tend to be just that – large. Whether you’re thinking about getting a roll-to-roll, flatbed or hybrid, you need to make sure the format you select matches the space you have available.

Next, ensure that the format you select can handle the print applications you want to offer your clients.

Considerations:

• Will I be printing onto rigid substrates, rolls of flexible media or a mix of materials?
• Do I need to print onto thick or textured media?
• How important is registration? Will I perhaps be overprinting existing images?
• How much space have I got? Some systems are more compact than others

UV curable, latex or solvent ink?

Most new large format flatbed and hybrid printers nowadays use UV curable ink. The remaining will be working with either latex or solvent ink. Different inks come with pros and cons. For instance UV curable dries the fastest, meaning you can process more jobs, but will usually be more expensive than latex or solvent.

If you think UV curable is the right fit for you, you will also need to decide between traditional Mercury or newer UV LED curing systems. LED technology may cost more upfront to but can save money in the long run as it uses less energy.

Considerations

• Will I be printing onto heat sensitive print media?
• What is the quoted life of the UV light source?
• Will I need to replace UV lamps and, if so, what is the ongoing replacement cost?
• What is the printer’s energy consumption and what impact does that have on costs?

What print quality (dpi)?

Which printhead technology you choose will impact print quality and turnaround time. Consider how the print will be viewed. For work viewed at close quarters, such as fine art, it is important to pick a device that produces high resolution prints. But for display graphics that will be viewed from further away, resolution is less important.

Considerations:

• Can the printer produce greyscale images of near photographic quality?
• Do I need to use light cyan and light magenta ink or just standard colours?
• What is the throughput speed when printing greyscale images?
• Can it print in different resolutions for different applications?

What is the advantage of white ink?

White ink expands the range of potential print applications. It can be used as a base layer when printing onto coloured media and transparent film. The white layer eliminates show through and ensures colour integrity. It can even be used to add a texture, such as a snakeskin effect, to the print media.

The commercial value it creates can outweigh the cost of running an additional colour and help you achieve higher margins as well.

Considerations:

• If printing solely onto white substrates, white ink may not be required
• Is white ink available on demand (dedicated channel) or do I need to use a colour channel?
• If I have to change colours, how long does it take and how much ink is wasted?
• Can I print white ink at the same time as other colours or does it require a separate pass?

To learn more about large format printers, fill out the form to the right (or below if you’re on mobile) and download our comprehensive buyer’s guide for free.

The post Looking into large format printing? 4 questions to ask before you buy appeared first on Insights.

No matter how extensively you search and no matter how varied the types of information you use to make your choice, there is one critically-important area that, in my opinion, you should always include in your pre-sales analysis.

Figure out the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

Traditionally, the TCO calculation has been used to help buyers and owners determine the direct and indirect costs of purchasing a product. A TCO calculation allows you to place a single value on the complete lifecycle of a purchase. This value includes every phase of owning a product, for example acquisition, operation and running costs plus maintenance and any future upgrades.

TCO is a very common analysis that is conducted by supply chain and IT departments as part of their decision-making, but there is nothing to say it can’t be used by a home user or a business owner of a small enterprise.

The TCO calculation enables you to work out how much a printer will cost you in total for the period of time that you intend to use it.

How does total cost compare to price?

TCO highlights the difference between the purchase price and the overall long-term cost.

Depending on the type of print technology you have chosen, and the amount of printing you intend to do, running a machine could cost you between two and six times the purchase price.

In addition, not all consumables are created equal. Buyers are sometimes lured by the prospect of low-cost consumables only to find that they need to be replaced with unacceptable frequency.

Be savvy and don’t get tempted by a cheap hardware price or the small price tag for a toner – you need to look further than the price. Don’t get bamboozled by the science – the rest of this article will equip you with the information you need to ask, with confidence, what the printer will cost you for its entire lifecycle.

Three key components to TCO calculations

1. Acquisition / physical hardware costs

This is the cost of the printer invoiced to you by a vendor. In the business sector, products are very often leased, so the cost here is the cost of leasing over the period of time.

2. Printing costs

What does it cost to print a page (Cost per print (CPP))?

In essence, you take the cost of each toner cartridge, divide it by its yield then add all the components together.

At this stage, the total is likely to be a very small sum of money but you now need to multiply it by the number of pages you print in a month and then by the number of months you intend to keep the machine.

For example:

Let’s say your CPP is 5p per page and you plan to print and/or copy 1,000 pages a month over a period of five years. This means your total CPP will come to £3,000.

Then you need to include the cost of the machine itself and you will get a good idea of the total costs you’re facing.

3. Click Contracts

An alternative approach is to purchase a printer from a supplier with a ‘Click Contract’. In my experience, you will most likely save money since the price per click click is fixed and you will only pay for what you print.

You won’t have to think about getting the best deals for printer supplies, including toners, inks and parts (such as drums in laser printers) and some contracts also include the service of your machines.

Now add the costs of the ‘Click Contract’ to your TCO calculation.

Running Costs of your printer – some areas to consider

Energy consumption over the period of time

We all try to save energy and be more eco-friendly but do you actually think about the electricity usage for each device that you own? Each printer should come with an industry standard rating called Energy Star as well as a TEC value.

TEC shows the Typical Electricity Consumption over a period of week. The TEC will already be calculated by each manufacturer, so all you have to do is compare the TEC of one machine against another.

The difference in running costs of a printer with a TEC value of 1.17kWh and a printer of 2.67kWh could be between £30 to £100 per machine per year.

Cost of paper

Another factor you consider is the cost of paper for the type of printer you are looking to buy. Typically, laser devices will operate on low-cost plain paper but ink technologies often require more expensive, specialised paper (especially for high-quality colour printing). Check whether the device offers double sided printing (for both printing and copying) in order to minimise paper usage costs. Can you set your machine to double-sided printing by default? This could effectively halve the cost of paper use.

Maintenance costs

How long is the warranty that comes as standard? Does the vendor offer on-site, return to base (RTB) or another form of maintenance contract? Can you extend the warranty and, if so, how much will it cost you? Perhaps you can purchase an annual maintenance contract to reduce the costs. These are all very important questions to ask and may affect the overall TCO calculation.

Do you need help in choosing the right printer? Ask these seven questions to get the one you really need. Or, fill out the form to the right to download our buyer’s guide to desktop printers and multifunctional devices.

The post Look at the total cost of ownership – not just price – when buying a printer appeared first on Insights.

Why does duty cycle mean?

As with any new piece of equipment, you want to know if it’s going to be suitable for the type of work you need it to carry out before you buy. Part of the manufacturing process is stress testing. This is where the item is deliberately pushed to its limits, often to breaking point, in order to determine its maximum capacity to perform whatever task it is designed to do.

In printers, duty cycle is the number that’s based on the results of stress testing. It represents the absolute number of pages that can be printed per month at the rated print quality of a machine. In other words, the duty cycle is intended to show how much a given printer can produce over a one-month period without any errors or jams.

If the stats for a printer indicate that the duty cycle is 1,000 pages per month, the manufacturer is essentially saying that you can expect to print a maximum of that volume per month without any issues. This does not mean that you can produce that given number of pages each and every month, but it is an extremely useful figure to use when comparing printer quality.

Why is duty cycle quoted?

Duty cycle is associated with robustness of a device, so you may want to purchase a printer with a monthly duty cycle well beyond your needs to ensure trouble free operation.

You may find that cheaper models may promise 8,000 pages per month and a typical workgroup printer may claim a 250,000-page monthly limit. There is no industry standard for duty cycle, so one vendor’s figures can vary from another’s, so be careful and do your homework.

But be careful, there is a catch.

Another factor to consider is how long a printer can last when printing at duty cycle level and for how long before it becomes a problem.

How can you tell whether you’re being sold the printer that you really need?

In addition to duty cycle, there is also another number that can help you to determine whether a particular printer is suited for you and for the volume of printing in your office. When speaking to vendors, I would definitely suggest that you ask them to provide the monthly recommended print volume for each machine that you are considering.

Recommended monthly print volume is the number of printed pages per month within the stated range for optimum device performance based on factors including:

• Supplies
• Maintenance intervals, and
• Device engine life

This is the real monthly usage value that guarantees smooth and uninterrupted performance of your device.

Are you looking to buy a new printer? Ask these seven questions to make sure you get the one you really need. Or, fill in the form to the right to download a copy of our handy Buyer’s Guide for Desktop Printers and MFDs.

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