Throughout the printing process, four persistent weaknesses seem to appear with uncanny regularity, no matter where in the world I am. Those footing the bill know these flaws all too well, as they contribute to a distinct and measurable impact—otherwise known as the ‘non-quality cost,’ for those who prefer a euphemism to describe these budget sinkholes.
- “A Priori” Work. When you receive a PDF embedded with an ICC profile that doesn’t match your own, the color percentages on screen will be far from what will eventually appear in print. Did you run the preflight? Both for the individual PDF and the full plate setup? Because every defect, regardless of effort, will transfer directly to the final print. So, if the result isn’t what your client expects, how will you reduce waste? And those unproductive times? From the artwork to the final print, critical control points must be checked at the right time.
- Machine Standardization. It’s rare to find companies where the color sequence and aniloxes are immutable. And it certainly doesn’t help when adjusting color on the machine is almost tradition. This decision should be a production foundation—like a “productivity cornerstone” so solid that it prevents any pre-work tampering. Because once a workshop starts taking liberties with these shifts, returning to productive ground is wishful thinking. Simply put, these changes neither reduce costs nor benefit the environment.
- Handling Ink Returns. Nearly everyone claims to have a handle on this, yet sooner or later, a director is astonished to find how much capital is tied up. This has five recurring causes: • Confusing return with surplus. • Failing to correlate printed area by color in the PDF with ink load. • Lack of knowledge of the system’s minimum ink volume (with zero effort to reduce it, naturally). • Over-preparing ink when it should be under-prepared. • No one consciously manages this task until the director, inevitably, sounds the alarm.
- Job Approval Delays. Even with all the pre-work in place, delays in client approvals can lead to significant unproductive time. Every minute spent waiting on the “green light” slows down your production schedule, especially if corrections arise at the last minute. These delays not only interrupt workflow but can also disrupt planned ink and substrate usage, potentially wasting both. Properly scheduling and managing client touchpoints—and ensuring they understand the timeline’s impact on cost—can help mitigate these avoidable losses.
