Dazzling Results
Anyone who wants to really stand out on the market needs to
offer something special. That's why the Speedmaster SM 52 with
Anicolor short inking unit is now also available in a UV version.
Print shops can therefore produce even very short runs profitably
with unusual effects or materials.
For Paul van Marle, managing director of van Marle Grafische Bedrijven in Hengelo in the Netherlands, being different is vital for survival. "We need to constantly offer something special to ensure we can hold our own against our competitors in the face of a declining market and strong price pressures," he says. And that "something special" is finding its way increasingly into short yet high-finish runs. This can be seen very clearly by taking a look in the pressroom, where some of the piles of elaborately designed plastic promotional folders or brochures with matt/gloss effects barely reach knee height. Runs of 100 to 300 sheets are not uncommon. Some production jobs require this amount of sheets just to reach the "OK" stage, but the Speedmaster SM 52 Anicolor with UV capability can handle short runs of this kind and still make a good profit. This is because van Marle is using the technology in a strategic move to position his print shop as offering more than conventional commercial jobs. "Complex coating and special effects are often critical in winning an order and, if the customer is satisfied with the results, this can open the door to further orders," he explains.
The van Marle Grafische Bedrijven print shop is not an isolated case. "Being different from the competitor around the corner or online is the number one challenge for many print shops," explains Frank Süsser, product manager at Heidelberg. This is something he knows well from countless conversations with customers. A protective or glossy coating often isn't enough for a print shop to make an impression. The trend is clearly moving toward more coating and special effects. Local car dealerships and hotels, for example, are increasingly using special effects to ensure they still get noticed by consumers and to prevent their brochures from being thrown away immediately.
For Paul van Marle, managing director of van Marle Grafische Bedrijven in Hengelo in the Netherlands, being different is vital for survival. "We need to constantly offer something special to ensure we can hold our own against our competitors in the face of a declining market and strong price pressures," he says. And that "something special" is finding its way increasingly into short yet high-finish runs. This can be seen very clearly by taking a look in the pressroom, where some of the piles of elaborately designed plastic promotional folders or brochures with matt/gloss effects barely reach knee height. Runs of 100 to 300 sheets are not uncommon. Some production jobs require this amount of sheets just to reach the "OK" stage, but the Speedmaster SM 52 Anicolor with UV capability can handle short runs of this kind and still make a good profit. This is because van Marle is using the technology in a strategic move to position his print shop as offering more than conventional commercial jobs. "Complex coating and special effects are often critical in winning an order and, if the customer is satisfied with the results, this can open the door to further orders," he explains.
The van Marle Grafische Bedrijven print shop is not an isolated case. "Being different from the competitor around the corner or online is the number one challenge for many print shops," explains Frank Süsser, product manager at Heidelberg. This is something he knows well from countless conversations with customers. A protective or glossy coating often isn't enough for a print shop to make an impression. The trend is clearly moving toward more coating and special effects. Local car dealerships and hotels, for example, are increasingly using special effects to ensure they still get noticed by consumers and to prevent their brochures from being thrown away immediately.
