Why More Businesses are Bringing Digital Production Printing In-house

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When it comes to large print jobs for your business, you have two options: outsource your projects to a print shop or print them in-house. Many of today’s businesses are turning to an in-house approach with digital production printing due to a number of benefits that are difficult to pass up. The driving factor for doing it in-house is control; there’s no more need to rely on outside vendors to meet your quality standards or deadlines. The use of an in-house digital production printer puts the full control of your printing projects directly into your hands. Read more

Spot These 4 Prepress Issues & Prevent Them Before It’s Too Late

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Preventing-Prepress-Issues

Everything you need to know to avoid print press issues.

There are many prepress issues that can arise along the way in the printing process. However, innovations in prepress print solutions, such as improved software and automated checks, have made the printing process more accurate. Despite advancements in printing, there are still some errors that could ruin your print job. The top list of complaints Infomax receives include:

  • Color quality
  • Resolution and compression quality
  • Page area bleed
  • Font selections

Color Quality. Color is one of the most complex and talked about issues when it comes to print production. There are many variables that can affect the color quality when it comes to printing your final product. To get the quality of color you envision, you will need to make sure the CMYK is always in the correct format and not set to RGB. While RGB looks great online, it does not translate well in print.

Resolution and Compression Quality. This is a consistent issue prepress operators face when handling images. In the prepress process, you need to ensure that your image is set to 300 dpi (dots per inch) before sending your project to the printer. The lesser 72 dpi will have your print project coming out pixelated and blurry at completion.

Page Area Bleed. The bleed area is excess image area that will be excluded from your final product. Since pages tend to shift during the printing process, leaving excess image area is vital. One main issue is that the bleed area does not have the correct dimensions, and the printer will need to reprint the image a few times to ensure accuracy. One of the things a computer cannot catch is a lack of bleed, so always be aware of how much bleed your image requires.

Font Selections. Avoid overly complicated fonts, as they can be an issue. Even though this is tempting, do not choose complicated fonts when creating a document to send to print. When the printer receives your file and prints it, their software may not support the font that you have chosen. Your fancy font will be replaced by their default font, producing and end-result that you didn’t expect.

Print-Production

Print Advertising is Making a Comeback – Take Advantage Using Production Printing

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Although we like to think of this as “the digital age,” print media (specifically, print advertising) is becoming increasingly relevant again. It’s a comeback story a decade in the making. After over 10 years of decline, traditional print media is gaining speed again. Production printing, digital printing systems, and in-house commercial printing set-ups bring big benefits to businesses. Today’s consumers are drowning in digital advertising; print media is a creative way to push through an oversaturated digital market.

 

Production Printing
An in-house production printer can save your company time and money, with the added bonus of flexibility. By printing your materials in-house, you will maintain complete control of all of your printing projects. This gives you valuable flexibility with deadlines, materials, quality, and any other print-related aspect that fits into your budget. Infomax Office Systems offers production printing equipment from top brands such as Canon and Lexmark that can help both small and high-volume print shops. Some of Iowa’s most trusted companies utilize Infomax to accommodate all of their printing needs.

For those businesses with high-volume needs, an in-house production printer is a great option to reduce your costs while enhancing your printing capabilities. With this type of printing set-up, there’s no longer a need to rely on outside vendors to carry out your printing needs.

 

Digital Printing Systems
Digital printing systems utilize high-quality inkjet or laser printing technology. In comparison to traditional offset printing, these technological printing advancements allow for significantly faster turnaround times and higher capacity levels. The utilization of this impressive technology provides businesses with fast, high-quality printing outputs at a surprisingly affordable rate.

Tangibility, credibility, and branding are just a few of the key attributes of print media. It’s time for your organization to take advantage of this exciting trend. Infomax Office Solutions offers production printing devices that enable you to create your own in-house commercial printing, pieces which are great for events, print campaigns and so much more. Contact the Infomax team today for more information on how production printing will allow your business to boost its printing efforts.

Benefits of Production Printers

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If you’re thinking of taking advantage of production printing, then you really should learn more about the incredibly effective, diverse functionalities of these powerful machines. One of the most obvious benefits of a production printer is the ability to print large quantities of professional, on-brand materials for your business, in-house. This flexibility saves companies time and money while giving them a competitive edge over their industry counterparts. But the payoffs to production print don’t end there. There is a wide array of benefits to having a production printer in-house, some of which may surprise you. Consider the following advantages to production printers before automatically dismissing these machines as the next component of your print fleet.

Higher Image Quality
There is no denying the fact that production printers are big machines. However, great things come in big packages, too, including the fact that these large machines provide outputs with stunning image quality that a desktop printer simply cannot replicate. With better printing capabilities at your disposal, production printers’ high image quality allows users to enhance their marketing potential quickly and in large quantities.

More Productivity
By nature, production printers get more work done faster than a standard printer or MFP. They are designed to produce large quantities of outputs quickly, making your team more productive. So, if your business is paper-intensive and frequently requires high-volume jobs, the productivity benefits alone should convince you to consider adding a production printer as the next device in your fleet.

Better Compliance, Control, and Security
Another great reason to consider a production printer is because you achieve better regulatory compliance, have more control over the quality of outputs, and experience enhanced security over the content within your prints. Bringing a production printer in-house means you will not have to worry about leaking confidential employee or customer information or disseminating proprietary information to competitors.

Great Flexibility
With production printers, you are in control of your destiny. You will not have to worry about meeting deadlines or whether your logo colors are exact, because you will be the one in charge of the entire operation. Whether you are concerned about a last minute typo or want to tweak a cover’s title, you have the flexibility you need not only to quickly produce large quantities quickly, but perfect them as well.

To learn more about how a production printer can benefit your office, contact Infomax today.

Streamline the Workflows of Your Production Printing

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Modern production printing is no longer relegated to specialized print shops; in fact, many companies are finding it efficient and economical to bring production printing in house. With fast, high-quality, often high-volume capabilities, production printing can transform how you use print materials for your business. But did you also know that you have options that can streamline production printing workflows and make your team even more efficient?

Some of your options are literally right in front of you, such as the finishing options available on today’s printers. For example, a printer can not only fill in templates and print personalized materials, but also fold, stuff, and label mailings. When your equipment manages this work automatically, the amount of time needed for each step (and time between steps) is dramatically reduced. Building finishing options like this into your workflow also provides a high level of quality control that minimizes mistakes and errors. With automated decision making and improved interconnection, your staff can have fewer touchpoints for any given print process.

Infomax offers solutions from both EFI and ConnectPlus that streamline production printing workflows. ConnectPlus, for example, is a comprehensive package that keeps your office systems up-to-date and working together as seamlessly and efficiently as possible. Desktop computers, networks, and imaging systems are all optimized with ConnectPlus’ hands-off installation. EFI, meanwhile, offers the Fiery Workflow Suite, a solution that coordinates printing and production systems. From job submission to prepress, processing to color management and variable data printing, EFI streamlines workflows and speeds the timeline between job creation and complete, printed materials.

Production printing can be a powerful business tool, made even more powerful when systems are designed for maximum efficiency. By leveraging computing and equipment power to create high-quality materials, minimize mistakes, and provide quick turnaround times, workflow tools keep your company nimble and responsive. Contact Infomax Office Systems to put workflow tools like EFI and ConnectPlus to work for you.

Advantages of Digital Production Printing

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Production printing has long been a technology available only by outsourcing projects to a select few companies possessing an intensive print infrastructure. Fortunately, today’s digital production printing technology has transformed the print world, making exceptional quality, high-speed output, and powerful finishing options available to businesses of all sizes. Read on to learn how digital production printing can make a difference for your company.

Remarkable print quality — Internal digital production printing technology is providing print quality at levels never before seen by small and mid-sized businesses. From copy number one to copy number 1,999, color and resolution capabilities of today’s machines mean that businesses can get professional results in-house.

Cost savings — We’ve said goodbye to printing plates, film plates, chemicals, and the complicated tools and costly setups that used to be required for professional print results. Toner and droplet technologies provide fast, affordable printing options and reflect actual usage, rather than per-page cost.

Productivity improvements — Digital production printing makes professional quality outputs available at the push of a button. Having quality devices meant to produce the type of documents you need to run your business smoothly on-site instantly streamlines your team’s workflows, so they can focus on content and sales rather than coordinating the production of hardcopy business data.

On-demand access — With digital production printing, you determine printing priorities. Need to make a last-minute content change? Working a late night to prepare for a meeting? Production printing guarantees that your equipment is readily available, providing you with quick access to exceptional outputs.

Prototyping and short runs — Digital production printing provides you the flexibility to print for testing and evaluation purposes. Low-volume print jobs for proofs or prototypes don’t require extra setup, and there are no minimums required.

With digital production printing, you can print what you want, how you want it, when you want it without sacrificing quality, speed, or finishing options. This is the power of today’s print technology—quality, cost savings, productivity improvements, on-demand access, and convenient short runs. If you’d like to bring the power and flexibility of digital production printing to your business, contact Infomax today. We’d love to help you leverage today’s technology to help your business thrive.

Production Printing Workflow Tools You Need Right Now

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Let’s face it: your production printing operation could use a little help. Many print shops however, are slow to upgrade their printing environment out of preference for the status quo. We get it, the task of implementing new workflow tools can seem daunting. But, rest assured that workflow tools can make all the difference when it comes to your business’s efficiency.

By optimizing your professional print environment with workflow software, you can maximize the effectiveness of  your existing equipment. A workflow management system will help tasks get completed faster and more efficiently. This way, you can save time and money, and you can ultimately get back to growing your business.

Here are some workflow tools that could drastically improve your printing operation.

  • Job submissions. By creating a simplified system for job submissions, tasks can be completed in record time. Furthermore, as the process of job submissions is made easier, customer satisfaction will skyrocket.
  • Pre-press. By streamlining and automating print jobs, you can reduce the amount of waste used throughout your print shop. Furthermore, it ensures the integrity of each individual job prior to going to print.
  • Color management: With color management, you can ensure that you will have consistent color on every job. Whether you are using the same color today or next month, the colors will remain uniform.
  • Makeready. With just a few clicks, you can easily adjust particular jobs. By integrating Integrate labor-intensive document preparation activities under one visual interface, you can shorten job preparation and complete more jobs in less time.
  • Processing. Make sure your server is capable of fast turnaround, intuitive use, and consistent high-quality output. Digital front ends (DFEs) control the printing operations across multiple devices and printing environments, ultimately resulting in faster turnaround times for graphic-intensive jobs, as well as personalized jobs.

To learn more about production printing workflow tools, contact Infomax today. We will show you how to take your printing environment to the next level.

High Quality Meets High Volume

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In-house production printing might seem like a drastic move to make, but many companies actually benefit greatly by upgrading their printing equipment. Expanding your print capabilities with advanced production printers can result in saving money, higher-quality imaging, and faster results for your company. Although many companies choose to outsource their printing needs, in-house production printing offers many valuable benefits as your printing needs grow.

If your company has high-volume printing needs, or if your company often needs professional-grade materials printed on sharp deadlines, in-house production printing could be the answer.

Here are some of the many benefits of in-house production printing.

  • Saving money: The upfront costs of establishing an in-house production printing environment can undoubtedly cause trepidation. However, if your business’s printing needs have reached critical mass, then in-house production printing will ultimately save you money. And keep in mind that leasing production printing equipment is often a feasible and savvy way to upgrade your equipment while saving cash flow at the same time.
  • Security: Just because your business environment prints high-volume quantities, does not mean you want the information on those documents shared with just anyone. Avoiding outsourcing by utilizing in-house production printing ensures that you can control the flow of information, and you no longer need to fear those dangerous data breaches.
  • Customization: It’s time to free your business from the constraints of the print shop. Their markups, quantity requirements, and other stringent rules are a thing of the past with in-house production printing. Now, you can print what you want, how you want it.
  • Convenience: If you need it now, you need it now. Outsourcing your production printing means that you are at the whims of an outside company—a company with their own best interests in mind. With in-house production printing, you can print whatever you need immediately, or time your production printing in a way that maximizes workflow.

To learn more about in-house production printing, and to determine if your business could benefit from it, contact Infomax today.