As we are all adjusting to a new ‘normal’, most commercial printers and implants will face a new reality: operating with less staff (social distancing and unfortunately costs cutting measures) and more small jobs to run. 

Then let’s add social distancing rules, which will remain for quite some time, and it becomes apparent that printing operations need to review their approach to finishing.

Finishing when done manually is both time and labour intensive. In the past, the actual cost of finishing might have been overlooked and seen as a bit of a grey area, especially by more traditional facilities, to keep people in jobs for example, and simply because it was working so why rock the boat?

Unfortunately, as most businesses now find themselves in a fight for survival, their ability to evolve their finishing processes into a profitable cost centre becomes critical.

So how can you turn things around?

AUTOMATION:
Over the last few years, technological and software evolutions mean that it is now possible to automate most manually intensive finishing tasks. Take creating simple business cards for example; your existing guillotine might have served you well in the past, but how will you cope with having to operate with less staff, and with more distance within each worker? There are some systems such as the Duplo DC-618 that are very easy to use, require a very small footprint, and that will automate cutting, slitting, creasing and perforation tasks within one pass. The investment required is so small that you hit a positive ROI almost immediately. Talk to us now to find out more or have a look here!

LOAD IT AND LEAVE TECHNOLOGY:
Finishing systems nowadays can read barcodes, identify the right finishing task(s)to apply on each job, etc. This means that one operator can simply load the machine and walk away to work somewhere else. A system like the PFi Blade will not only do what is needed without any supervision. It will also open new revenue streams by keeping in-house what you might outsource and attracting new customers. 

EASE OF USE:
Gone are the days when you could have separate operators for separate systems. In fact, your operators need be equally comfortable running a saddle stitcher or a binding system. Having systems that have been engineered to make a complex task easy will go a long way in supporting your operations and is certainly not an area to ignore.

FLEXIBLE APPROACH:
Survival isn’t about strength. It is about flexibility and ability to adapt. Systems that help you create multiple outputs, that are modular in their approach so that you can add options as your needs evolve, and systems that help you deliver different end products, will go a long way in your ability to restart your business and grow. 

To find out more about how we can help you, please contact us here.