No-click digital print to expand the market

Click charges and digital printing have been almost synonymous since the beginning. Now Steve Brown of Ferrostaal is intending to change the model when addressing commercial printers.

The new digital division of Ferrostaal Australia is pioneering a radical break with industry digital practices with its range of Canon digital presses. It believes click charges are restricting the amount of work for digital print.

The move into digital is part of an overall transformation of Ferrostaal in Australia under Markus Hafeli, CEO. An imminent announcement is expected to include the addition of a major offset press marque to the company’s range.

The digital division was created some months go with the arrival of Steve Brown, ex-Canon. The new charging business model is something he has long advocated as a way of expanding the market for digital print.

According to Brown, the cost of the average click charge is often greater than the toner cost on many one, two and three colour commercial printing jobs. By giving printers the ability to price according to real costs as opposed to click charges, the market for digital print substantially expands.

“Click charges are restricting the digital print market,” he said. “With the new ‘no click’ coverage pricing model we are promoting printers can retain margins while aggressively expanding their market.”

The business case recognises that there is much more to the cost of printing than click charges, such as the ongoing cost of buildings, labour etc. Brown has developed a job/cost simulation, based on operating the Canon C7000, C6000 and the Imagepress engines sold by Ferrostaal to allow printers to more accurately cost jobs.

He believes many commercial offset printers are uncomfortable with the whole idea of click charges. By allowing them to have more control over the operation of their machines they can identify the hourly costs of their digital presses in the same way as their offset machines.

In addition, E-maintenance oversight of the machines, especially in remote locations, allows the printer and Ferrostaal to cooperate on scheduling replacement parts. Printers can plan clear blocks of production time at a known cost.

Ferrostaal will supply consumables, support and maintenance under contract or as required. The company is opening a digital showroom in Moorabbin, Vic, with a C7000 in place to demonstrate its new digital expertise. Steve Brown, ex-Canon, is well known in the industry and is one of the leading experts in Canon digital technology.
He is currently putting together a team of 15 service people.

The entry of Ferrostaal into digital printing is likely to be well received by the offset printing community. Apart from its radical ‘no click’ business model, it leverages its experience in dealing with the upper end of the offset manufacturing market. It is able to access the packaging and label sector as well as the large commercial printers.

According to Brown, the Canon range is only the start of a complete solution that includes Objectiv Luna workflow and finishing equipment.