As the industry, hopefully, begins to exit arguably the most horrific few years of its near 600-year history, printers that have survived the cull are faced with the problem of ensuring that, next time, they are better prepared. So while they pick through the debris they also have to think about future-proofing the business.

The routes to protecting your business against any future storm are multiple and one of concentration should be the post-press arena – printers can no longer rely on simply printing work, folding it and sending it to a customer. The need to offer additional finishing services is almost obligatory now for any robust business. But many printers fear that the kind of investment required will be too great or that finance will be too difficult to find.

However, bringing a new service in-house needn’t cost the earth, in fact, in many situations, it may simply be a case of adding something to a standard piece of machinery and creating something entirely different.

Finishing equipment supplier IFS has had an increasing number of enquiries from companies wanting to do something along these lines in the build up to the Olympics. Joint managing director Bryan Godwyn says that a lot of companies are looking for something to produce boxes or folders following enquiries from those looking to capitalise on next year’s event.

To meet this demand more affordably, Godwyn explains that the Petratto machines sold by IFS, which include folder-gluers such as the Metro, can be fitted with additional folders for around ￡20,000, meaning it can offer a wider array of applications. The company has also seen an increase in companies looking to move into the pharmaceutical sector and Godwyn says there are a number of options available for this application too.

"On a basic six-plate folder, for around ￡30,000, you can add a second six-plate unit," he explains. "But you can also add something like a mobile knife from ￡13,000, or a four-plate with cross-fold for around ￡20,000 and they can make a huge difference to what the machine can do."

And Godwyn actually believes this build-your-own-finishing-equipment trend will increase as Drupa appears on the horizon. He adds: "We have seen it with collators and it seems the way to go, you either buy smaller and replace or buy more and grow into the machine – and it will take a brave businessman to do that in the current climate. I think we will see far more finishing processes become buy-as-you-need in the near future."

Sometimes it is not just a case of being able to move into a niche area that makes an investment in upgrading a machine worthwhile, it is also possible to charge a premium on your products with a simple investment.

Booked up

One area that finishing manufacturer Morgana has been helping customers improve their offerings in is the book market, where a ￡7,000 spine press can be added to a folder. Managing director Quen Baum says: "It improves the quality of a book, it gives it the look of a perfect bound book rather than stitched. Users can charge a premium for the books, or go into a different market, all with a simple addition."

But, it is not just niche services that can be achieved by simply adding low-cost additional elements to machines. According to Baum, his company has found a lot of customers asking for small upgrades and has actually launched machines specifically for this.

He says: "People are interested in anything that can increase productivity, making something faster or adding a second function. We have thousands of creasing devices around the world and, unfortunately, from a sales perspective, they last a lot longer than we would like.

"Anything that is creased has to be folded, so we launched the Autofold Pro, which can be attached to any creaser, not just Morgana machines. It costs ￡12,000, so for half the price of a creaser-folder, you can add the folding element to your creaser, you just wheel the Pro on to the back of your creaser and programme it in."

Another area that Morgana has found an increase in business in is automatic feeders. Many customers purchase its bookletmakers with hand-feeders, but, once business increases, the need for speed becomes more important. The company sells automatic feeders from as little as ￡6,000. Baum adds: "You don’t have to change the whole system, but for a modest outlay, you can automate it."

However, Friedheim International has found that there are limited occasions when customers want to upgrade machinery with add-ons, rather than buy another machine. UK and Ireland sales manager Stuart Bamford says: "It isn’t something we see much of. It is more simple things like adding a PUR system to a standard binder or adding handling kit to a guillotine.

"I suppose the one we get asked for the most is adding a gatefold plate to a standard folder. Depending on the folder it costs around ￡4,000-￡8,000. Even then, it depends on how much the job the customer is buying the plate for is worth. If its ￡11,000 they probably won’t go for it, because a lot of the time these plates are bought for one-off jobs."

And Friedheim joint managing director Mark Bristow says the company was not seeing customers looking for add-ons to existing machines, but finding more customers looking to buy complex systems that offer a high degree of flexibility.

He says: "Standard machines are much harder to sell, customers are looking for a solutions sale. They are looking for a complex application, part of a system. It will often include a standard folder alongside another machine. It isn’t just add-ons, it is a solution that we represent.

"Not all machines are modular though. You tend to buy a folder that suits the size of your company, then, when the company gets bigger, you buy another folder.

"On the standard front the only changes tend to be moves towards automatic or semi-automatic. Obviously customers are always looking for shorter turnarounds or more assistance in handling."

Although many of these investments are small in value, increasingly more advanced finishes can be brought in-house with an investment that, while not small, is certainly now far more cost-effective.

Hit the spot

One example of this is the addition of a spot-UV machine on the end of a laminator, creating a system that can laminate and spot-varnish in one pass. Lamination itself is a process that is only recently becoming a mainstay of the printer’s post-press department, with trade laminators now disappearing on a regular basis. However, specialist processes such as spot-UV varnishing have previously been far too expensive and required a big chunk of floorspace to accomodate a screen press.

John Gilmore, managing director at laminator manufacturer Autobond says it is now possible to combine the two processes for around ￡90,000. He explains: "At the moment you just can’t do spot UV yourself, everybody sends it out. You need a screen printing press, which is going to take up a lot of space and cost ￡200,000.

"Our machine is entirely retrofittable, it’s a standalone machine, you just put it on the end of a laminator. It makereadies in one sheet rather than 50, and allows it all to be done in one pass. Not every printer will need one, but anybody doing books, high-end brochures or business cards could certainly make use of one."

Perhaps ￡90,000 is moving out of the realm of an inexpensive add-on, but it is an example of the next step that printers can take to offer a unique service. For those looking for less of a spend, however, there are clearly a plethora of options available for ￡30,000 or less, which can either make a standard machine much faster, or turn into something special.

While investment has been put on hold for many printing businesses, it may be worthwhile investigating these options as they could introduce you to a whole new revenue stream.

While investment has to be monitored during difficult times, in an industry that is evolving as fast as print, it is not possible not to spend money on the business, or before long you will find yourself falling well behind your rivals and wondering if it wouldn’t have been worth spending ￡10,000 on something ever so simple.