A new tool, which aims to identify which print process is most appropriate for a particular job, is to be demonstrated for the first time by Ricoh during the Hunkeler Innovationdays.
The digital or offset calculator will be free and exclusive to all members of the Ricoh Business driver programme and will help printers to ensure that their offset and digital presses are used in the most profitable way.
The tool will help customers make an informed choice on what technology to use, job by job, taking into account the run length for the product to determine the most effective printing platform.
Stephen Palmer, production print director, explained why the tool is needed, ‘For jobs at either end of the scale, the production technology decision can be obvious. However, there is an increasing grey area in the middle that this calculator addresses. This is driven by continual price and performance improvements in digital printing presses that extend the run lengths for which these presses are appropriate. The Digital or Offset Calculator provides printers with a fact-based methodology for making these important production decisions.’
Those who use Ricoh’s new tool will need to enter information such as the cost of labour, consumables and energy consumption for each process. For the offset option the make-ready waste, plate production, service and maintenance costs are included. For digital, click charges and maintenance fees based on anticipated volumes are important data points. For both offset and digital, equipment depreciation and residual values are also considered. Information on substrates, based on an A3 sheet size and whether the job is simplex or duplex, can also be a factor if different substrates are used in the two processes.
