Mailing Systems Technology - July/August 2008 - (Page 12)

Feature Inkjet cross the street from Wolf Mailing and Marketing Services, I noticed one of our neighbors preparing his race car for the local speedway track. Admiring his sleek speedster, and always interested in going fast, I asked, “How much does a car like that cost?” His smile nearly grew to the width of this face before replying, “How fast do you want to go?” I realized then that, for the most part, price is proportional to speed — the more you pay, the faster you can go. His wisdom meant more to me than just a race car. The racer’s comment lingers when I see my inkjet printer addressing mail and sorting at speeds in excess of 50,000 pieces per hour (pph). Of course, the cost of mailing equipment is a serious consideration. But when considering inkjet addressing equipment, speed is more important than the price tag. Consider the economics of the matter: With greater throughput per hour, one can turn jobs around faster. That will allow more help to be hired, which increases capacity. With greater throughput on an inkjet printer, one can meet a deadline, frustrate a competitor, gain more the economics of Addressing The right equipment boosts capacity, increases proﬁt and market share By John Wolf 2. 3. 4. 5. Labor Electricity Ink Maintenance A market share, build the brand, reduce expenses and improve proﬁt margin. The economics of inkjet addressing show that when making the commitment to addressing mail, performance and ﬂexibility can outweigh price. Inkjet Fundamentals For the purposes of this article, inkjet equipment consists, in progressive order, of: • The feeder • The base that handles the mailpiece • A printhead, or printheads • A dryer (which is optional) • A conveyor When considering any piece of equipment that handles paper, it’s important to consider the wide array of possible mailpieces. Inkjet addressing equipment is primarily designed to print the address on a mailpiece; yet most inkjet printheads provide the ability to print other text or graphics as well. A mailpiece, then, could be an envelope or a self-mailer, such as a newsletter, postcard or folded brochure. Costs and Proﬁt There are ﬁve core costs when it comes to addressing a piece of mail: 1. The inkjet addressing equipment This article addresses the economics driving inkjet addressing and shows how overall performance can justify the purchase of the machine that oﬀers the best throughput. Time and space doesn’t allow for every deviation, nor an exhaustive explanation; however, when entering one’s own ﬁgures, the principles will remain accurate and demonstrate that making a proﬁt with an inkjet printer should not be overshadowed by the lowest price alternative. A calculation will look something like this: Selling price per piece x average pieces per hour = Total revenue per hour - Total costs per hour = hourly proﬁt x productive hours per week x 52 weeks per year Ink Choice Affects Throughput, Flexibility The cost of consumables — the ink itself — is often overestimated when comparing inkjet printer options. One inkjet printer manufacturer says its cost for ink is 45¢ per thousand 12 JULY-AUGUST 2008 | WWW.MAILINGSYSTEMSTECHNOLOGY.COM http://www.mailingsystemstechnology.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Mailing Systems Technology - July/August 2008

Mailing Systems Technology - July/August 2008 Contents Editor’s Note Peer to Peer The Economics of Inkjet Addressing Virtual Mailstream Management Guarding Your Internal Documents Top It Off With Training Implementing Digital Mail Saving You Money Kate’s Slate Products & Services Advertiser Index Sho Time Who’s Who Company Profiles BCC Software BÖWE BELL + HOWELL Collins Ink Corporation Datatech SmartSoft Endicia Hasler, Inc. Kern, Inc. Kirk-Rudy Mail Quip, Inc. MCS, Inc. Melissa Data MidSouth Technologies, a NPI Company Neopost NPI Parascript Pitney Bowes Inc. Rena Systems Satori Software, Inc.

Mailing Systems Technology - July/August 2008

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