Your Commercial Printing Equipment

By Author: Kaye Z, Marks
Total Articles: 252
Comment this article

When you are a commercial printer, your main assets would be your printing equipment. Without them, you do not have a business. Getting into commercial printing would take a lot of capital investment.

You have to canvass for the best quality equipment and try to haggle for the best quotes, especially if you are getting more than one unit. Additionally, get a good warranty for your purchase, especially for parts and service because that could really get expensive when your machine breaks down.

Average Costs - In the past, many companies have shirked digital printers because of their high costs. Most of those who are starting new companies about five years ago have preferred offset machines. However, the prices are now pretty much the same between offset and digital printers. Many newer companies prefer the latter. This is because with digital printers, it would be easy to set up an online printing company and accept orders from all over the world. If you want to start an online printing business, you can probably set aside around $15,000 for a good quality digital printer. The price of a digital printer can go ...
... up to a million dollar for those big complicated machines that can print colored copies very fast. These are usually found in those magazine publishing companies that have monthly issues.

Computers - Aside the actual printers, you would need peripheral equipment to get your printing company running. Computers are the most important. These should not be ordinary desktop computers but high-end machines that could work very fast. They have to have high-speed processors and high RAM in order that they can work efficiently on high-resolution layouts like catalogs and billboards.

Image setter - You would also need an image setter that will assist you in color separation. While some printers do the color separation through the computer, the outcome is not as fine as when the films are produced by the image setter. Some clients just settle for computer separation because it comes out cheaper, but the quality is not good. If you worked on advertising materials, it would be best to invest in a unit of image setter. You do not need a lot of them. One good quality unit will do, unless of course you are producing a monthly magazine with all the pages in color. Then probably you will need two.

Inkjet and Laser Printers - These may not be that important but you will also need inkjet printers in the office because these will help you in printing office documents like letters and even invoices and billing statements. Additionally, you may also want to have a colored laser printing so that you can accommodate small colored printing orders that are inefficient if processed in an offset or a digital printer.

These are the main equipment needed to run a printing business. It takes a big capital investment to become a successful printer. You have to be ready with the costs of purchase as well as with the maintenance of the machines. Additionally, you will also need to be prepared with the repairs. You will have a warranty with service but you will have to pay for the parts when the warranty will expire. You need to be prepared for these things.

Kaye Z. Marks is an avid writer and follower of the developments in commercial printing technologies by a commercial printing company that help businesses in their marketing and advertising campaigns.