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2020 Printing Trends

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Inkjet printers have only been a workplace mainstay for about 30 years, but each new decade brought vast advancements in printer, copier and scanner technology. The start of the ‘20s is sure to do the same.

Learn about printing trends we expect in 2020 and how they’ll affect your workplace.

Personalization

The rise in consumers’ desires for printed décor, signage and other large format printing projects are ushering in a demand for advanced multi-function printers, such as the Oce Colorado.

The desire for more personalized printed products means production printing operations need efficient and long-lasting large format printers that can keep up with demand. Equipment must also be versatile enough to handle printing on a variety of media, everything from thin wallpaper, window film and cloth to thick paper or vinyl for signs. 

Security

Cyberattacks are one of the biggest threats businesses face, and the frequency and severity of cyberattacks won’t slow in the next year or decade. Consider how many documents containing sensitive information roll off the printer, copier or scanner at your organization each day.

Because most multifunctional printers are connected to a business’ servers, they’re at risk for cyberattacks. In 2020, we’ll see even more manufacturers release machines with software and hardware offer more security, such as programs that require employees to verify credentials before printing or collecting documents.

Cloud Storage

Storing reams of documents in countless filing cabinets is so 2000. As we head into the 2020s, workplaces will demand more efficient processes. Cloud storage services, such as Infomax’s uniFLOW document management system, will allow workplaces to print faster and store documents easily. These programs also allow remote printing. System administrators can also set document permissions for specific users, increasing security for sensitive information. We’ll see more workplaces use document management systems to connect to various devices throughout the next year.

Crisp Imaging

The minimalist aesthetic that ruled the late 2010s will continue to dominate design in 2020. For printers, simple design could mean fewer headaches with clashing ink colors and complex overlaid graphic elements.

However, understated designs could bring their own set of challenges, whether printing on inkjet or laser printers. The few elements on a printed document will need to have clean lines and crisp images. 

Environmental Sustainability

Many industries champion environmental sustainability causes, and the printing industry is no exception. Customers have long chosen to print on recycled paper, but we’ll see more printer manufacturers nod to green practices a nod in 2020. It’s possible that more printers will use soy and vegetable-based inks instead of petroleum-based substances. New machines will also be more energy efficient.

To outfit your office with equipment suited for the next decade, message us online or call 1-800-727-4629.

What You Need to Know About Large Format Printing

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You may have spent hours online creating custom wallpaper for an accent wall, but have you considered how that wallpaper was created? How about the large banner you had printed for an event? These projects wouldn’t be possible without large format printing techniques.

Large format printing is defined as printing on materials anywhere from about two to 15 feet in size. We sat down with Infomax’s John McGill, solutions engineer, to hear about some of the trends in the large format printing industry.

Customization

Banners and signs have traditionally been popular large format printing projects. They’ve long been used for everything from business advertising to personal display pieces. However, consumers are wanting more customization than ever. Customers can design their own wallpaper through online programs, which are then printed on a large format system. Artwork is also popular with sticky-sided vinyl portraits and pictures printed on canvas on the rise. The desire for more custom jobs means printers must be more versatile, transitioning from one job to the next.

Material

Growing in popularity is printed window perforated film. The medium is being used more and more as a creative means for advertising or informative signs. Floor graphics — printed on material with one adhesive side — are increasingly being used in the same way.  Currently, printing on fabrics is a bit of a fad. However, John warned that the material can often be finnicky.

Ink

Ultraviolet ink will soon reign supreme in the large format printing industry. Previously, eco-solvent inks were used, which could be messy and required a certain amount of time for the ink to cure — or outgas — before the printed material could safely be handled without smudging. Most recently, latex inks were used. However, the advent of UV ink is saving printers time and money. When a printer uses this type of ink, a UV light passes over the just-printed section, instantly drying the surface. Additionally, about 35 to 50 percent less UV ink is needed to cover a printing job than is required for eco-solvent or latex ink.

Efficient equipment

Many companies that provide large format printing are working with Infomax to secure technologically advanced systems for the best value, such as the Canon-brand Colorado printer. Clients know this machine is built with quality and value in mind. It also saves printers time with its automated creep and crawl correction. Unlike other printers that could set the project lopsided, newer large format printers, such as the Colorado, will automatically correct the material if it starts to go out of alignment.

Benefits of Production Printers

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If you’re thinking of taking advantage of production printing, then you really should learn more about the incredibly effective, diverse functionalities of these powerful machines. One of the most obvious benefits of a production printer is the ability to print large quantities of professional, on-brand materials for your business, in-house. This flexibility saves companies time and money while giving them a competitive edge over their industry counterparts. But the payoffs to production print don’t end there. There is a wide array of benefits to having a production printer in-house, some of which may surprise you. Consider the following advantages to production printers before automatically dismissing these machines as the next component of your print fleet.

Higher Image Quality
There is no denying the fact that production printers are big machines. However, great things come in big packages, too, including the fact that these large machines provide outputs with stunning image quality that a desktop printer simply cannot replicate. With better printing capabilities at your disposal, production printers’ high image quality allows users to enhance their marketing potential quickly and in large quantities.

More Productivity
By nature, production printers get more work done faster than a standard printer or MFP. They are designed to produce large quantities of outputs quickly, making your team more productive. So, if your business is paper-intensive and frequently requires high-volume jobs, the productivity benefits alone should convince you to consider adding a production printer as the next device in your fleet.

Better Compliance, Control, and Security
Another great reason to consider a production printer is because you achieve better regulatory compliance, have more control over the quality of outputs, and experience enhanced security over the content within your prints. Bringing a production printer in-house means you will not have to worry about leaking confidential employee or customer information or disseminating proprietary information to competitors.

Great Flexibility
With production printers, you are in control of your destiny. You will not have to worry about meeting deadlines or whether your logo colors are exact, because you will be the one in charge of the entire operation. Whether you are concerned about a last minute typo or want to tweak a cover’s title, you have the flexibility you need not only to quickly produce large quantities quickly, but perfect them as well.

To learn more about how a production printer can benefit your office, contact Infomax today.

Streamline the Workflows of Your Production Printing

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Modern production printing is no longer relegated to specialized print shops; in fact, many companies are finding it efficient and economical to bring production printing in house. With fast, high-quality, often high-volume capabilities, production printing can transform how you use print materials for your business. But did you also know that you have options that can streamline production printing workflows and make your team even more efficient?

Some of your options are literally right in front of you, such as the finishing options available on today’s printers. For example, a printer can not only fill in templates and print personalized materials, but also fold, stuff, and label mailings. When your equipment manages this work automatically, the amount of time needed for each step (and time between steps) is dramatically reduced. Building finishing options like this into your workflow also provides a high level of quality control that minimizes mistakes and errors. With automated decision making and improved interconnection, your staff can have fewer touchpoints for any given print process.

Infomax offers solutions from both EFI and ConnectPlus that streamline production printing workflows. ConnectPlus, for example, is a comprehensive package that keeps your office systems up-to-date and working together as seamlessly and efficiently as possible. Desktop computers, networks, and imaging systems are all optimized with ConnectPlus’ hands-off installation. EFI, meanwhile, offers the Fiery Workflow Suite, a solution that coordinates printing and production systems. From job submission to prepress, processing to color management and variable data printing, EFI streamlines workflows and speeds the timeline between job creation and complete, printed materials.

Production printing can be a powerful business tool, made even more powerful when systems are designed for maximum efficiency. By leveraging computing and equipment power to create high-quality materials, minimize mistakes, and provide quick turnaround times, workflow tools keep your company nimble and responsive. Contact Infomax Office Systems to put workflow tools like EFI and ConnectPlus to work for you.

Advantages of Digital Production Printing

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Production printing has long been a technology available only by outsourcing projects to a select few companies possessing an intensive print infrastructure. Fortunately, today’s digital production printing technology has transformed the print world, making exceptional quality, high-speed output, and powerful finishing options available to businesses of all sizes. Read on to learn how digital production printing can make a difference for your company.

Remarkable print quality — Internal digital production printing technology is providing print quality at levels never before seen by small and mid-sized businesses. From copy number one to copy number 1,999, color and resolution capabilities of today’s machines mean that businesses can get professional results in-house.

Cost savings — We’ve said goodbye to printing plates, film plates, chemicals, and the complicated tools and costly setups that used to be required for professional print results. Toner and droplet technologies provide fast, affordable printing options and reflect actual usage, rather than per-page cost.

Productivity improvements — Digital production printing makes professional quality outputs available at the push of a button. Having quality devices meant to produce the type of documents you need to run your business smoothly on-site instantly streamlines your team’s workflows, so they can focus on content and sales rather than coordinating the production of hardcopy business data.

On-demand access — With digital production printing, you determine printing priorities. Need to make a last-minute content change? Working a late night to prepare for a meeting? Production printing guarantees that your equipment is readily available, providing you with quick access to exceptional outputs.

Prototyping and short runs — Digital production printing provides you the flexibility to print for testing and evaluation purposes. Low-volume print jobs for proofs or prototypes don’t require extra setup, and there are no minimums required.

With digital production printing, you can print what you want, how you want it, when you want it without sacrificing quality, speed, or finishing options. This is the power of today’s print technology—quality, cost savings, productivity improvements, on-demand access, and convenient short runs. If you’d like to bring the power and flexibility of digital production printing to your business, contact Infomax today. We’d love to help you leverage today’s technology to help your business thrive.

Think Big: Boost Quality & Productivity with Large Format

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Many businesses think that production printing equipment is only for very large organizations or for companies that need to print massive quantities of professional documents regularly. But in fact, many smaller and medium-sized businesses could also benefit from introducing production-level equipment in-house.

Here are four key benefits of in-house production over outsourcing larger projects.

Print more efficiently: Would your business benefit from being able to print up to 250 pages per minute whenever you want? If your business thrives on printing high-volume pieces, consider removing the middle man. Instead, make the right machine for your business available anytime. Doing so will efficiently produce high-quality products at professional speeds, getting the job done faster than if you outsource it to a third party.

Control the quality of your outputs: Bringing the right equipment in-house gives you control of your outputs, ensuring that your documents look exactly the way you intend them to. Gone are the days of getting an entire job back that’s way too dark or seems a bit off-center. When you are in charge of the printing job, you can ensure consistent, high-quality products every time. And you don’t need to be a printing expert to master production-level equipment. At Infomax, we partner with the industry’s best manufacturers to ensure your devices are easy to use and maintain.

Experience flexible printing times: Production printing eliminates the need to outsource large-volume printing to vendors, providing you the convenience of dictating each job’s start and stop times. Keeping large jobs in-house means that you no longer have to consider where your job fits into your local print shop’s schedule when you’re on a deadline or waiting three days for a proof before the job even begins. In-house printing offers quick turnaround time—regardless of the size of the job—saving you time and money.

Reduce cost: Outsourcing costs can add up when factoring in job aspects like inflated price per page, exorbitant color costs, logo inclusion fees, job-size fees, and even product delivery charges. In-house production printing reduces waste and ensures quality output when you are tasked with high-volume print jobs.

Are you considering including production printing equipment to your business? Contact Infomax today to learn more about the best options for your business.

Production Printing Workflow Tools You Need Right Now

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Let’s face it: your production printing operation could use a little help. Many print shops however, are slow to upgrade their printing environment out of preference for the status quo. We get it, the task of implementing new workflow tools can seem daunting. But, rest assured that workflow tools can make all the difference when it comes to your business’s efficiency.

By optimizing your professional print environment with workflow software, you can maximize the effectiveness of  your existing equipment. A workflow management system will help tasks get completed faster and more efficiently. This way, you can save time and money, and you can ultimately get back to growing your business.

Here are some workflow tools that could drastically improve your printing operation.

  • Job submissions. By creating a simplified system for job submissions, tasks can be completed in record time. Furthermore, as the process of job submissions is made easier, customer satisfaction will skyrocket.
  • Pre-press. By streamlining and automating print jobs, you can reduce the amount of waste used throughout your print shop. Furthermore, it ensures the integrity of each individual job prior to going to print.
  • Color management: With color management, you can ensure that you will have consistent color on every job. Whether you are using the same color today or next month, the colors will remain uniform.
  • Makeready. With just a few clicks, you can easily adjust particular jobs. By integrating Integrate labor-intensive document preparation activities under one visual interface, you can shorten job preparation and complete more jobs in less time.
  • Processing. Make sure your server is capable of fast turnaround, intuitive use, and consistent high-quality output. Digital front ends (DFEs) control the printing operations across multiple devices and printing environments, ultimately resulting in faster turnaround times for graphic-intensive jobs, as well as personalized jobs.

To learn more about production printing workflow tools, contact Infomax today. We will show you how to take your printing environment to the next level.

High Quality Meets High Volume

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In-house production printing might seem like a drastic move to make, but many companies actually benefit greatly by upgrading their printing equipment. Expanding your print capabilities with advanced production printers can result in saving money, higher-quality imaging, and faster results for your company. Although many companies choose to outsource their printing needs, in-house production printing offers many valuable benefits as your printing needs grow.

If your company has high-volume printing needs, or if your company often needs professional-grade materials printed on sharp deadlines, in-house production printing could be the answer.

Here are some of the many benefits of in-house production printing.

  • Saving money: The upfront costs of establishing an in-house production printing environment can undoubtedly cause trepidation. However, if your business’s printing needs have reached critical mass, then in-house production printing will ultimately save you money. And keep in mind that leasing production printing equipment is often a feasible and savvy way to upgrade your equipment while saving cash flow at the same time.
  • Security: Just because your business environment prints high-volume quantities, does not mean you want the information on those documents shared with just anyone. Avoiding outsourcing by utilizing in-house production printing ensures that you can control the flow of information, and you no longer need to fear those dangerous data breaches.
  • Customization: It’s time to free your business from the constraints of the print shop. Their markups, quantity requirements, and other stringent rules are a thing of the past with in-house production printing. Now, you can print what you want, how you want it.
  • Convenience: If you need it now, you need it now. Outsourcing your production printing means that you are at the whims of an outside company—a company with their own best interests in mind. With in-house production printing, you can print whatever you need immediately, or time your production printing in a way that maximizes workflow.

To learn more about in-house production printing, and to determine if your business could benefit from it, contact Infomax today.