Sales per Employeee Far Beyond the Norm
Bob Tursack used to run a graphic design business specializing in
exhibition prints and other fine-art services. He had been
outsourcing all the company's print work until one day he
decided to set up his own printing business. The launch, says
Tursack, was a $6.5 million "greenfield startup" that
included a new building as well as workflow and equipment, all of
which were sourced from Heidelberg.
"We have everything that's Heidelberg," says Tursack. His pressroom boasts a six-color Speedmaster XL 105 with Prinect Image Control, a spectrophotometric color control system. Saphira Thermoplate PN plates-exposed up to 400 lpi with Heidelberg Hybrid Screening technology-are supplied by a Suprasetter S105 CtP unit. Postpress capability, likewise, is courtesy of Heidelberg and POLAR equipment.
"From Estimating to Bindery"
As for digital workflow, says Tursack, "our Prinect capability extends from estimating to bindery." Various Prinect production components including Signa Station and MetaDimension handle imposition, RIPing, prepress data exchange, and other critical functions. Tursack also selected Prinect Prinance as his MIS solution. The fact that Brilliant Graphics can do $7 million worth of work annually with only two and a half people detailed to prepress is an ROI that Tursack attributes to the heightened productivity that Prinect has brought to the prep department. He also gives Prinect credit for helping him achieve sales of $225,000 per employee-more than 50% higher than the industry-wide average reported by Printing Industries of America last year. Improved profitability, he adds, is a natural by-product of being able to do everything in prepress, including all proofing and platemaking, with only two and a half people. He may install another Signa Station for impositioning to handle anticipated growth in volume.
"We have everything that's Heidelberg," says Tursack. His pressroom boasts a six-color Speedmaster XL 105 with Prinect Image Control, a spectrophotometric color control system. Saphira Thermoplate PN plates-exposed up to 400 lpi with Heidelberg Hybrid Screening technology-are supplied by a Suprasetter S105 CtP unit. Postpress capability, likewise, is courtesy of Heidelberg and POLAR equipment.
"From Estimating to Bindery"
As for digital workflow, says Tursack, "our Prinect capability extends from estimating to bindery." Various Prinect production components including Signa Station and MetaDimension handle imposition, RIPing, prepress data exchange, and other critical functions. Tursack also selected Prinect Prinance as his MIS solution. The fact that Brilliant Graphics can do $7 million worth of work annually with only two and a half people detailed to prepress is an ROI that Tursack attributes to the heightened productivity that Prinect has brought to the prep department. He also gives Prinect credit for helping him achieve sales of $225,000 per employee-more than 50% higher than the industry-wide average reported by Printing Industries of America last year. Improved profitability, he adds, is a natural by-product of being able to do everything in prepress, including all proofing and platemaking, with only two and a half people. He may install another Signa Station for impositioning to handle anticipated growth in volume.
Tursack says that, besides being able to produce more with less in
an automated production workflow, "that 'more' has
very high quality standards." This is because Brilliant
Graphics has taken advantage of Print Color Management (PCM), a
color consultation program that shows Heidelberg customers how to
optimize the performance of all of their Heidelberg devices and
software. With the help of PCM, says Tursack, the company has
turned the "potential angst" of color approvals into a
"fait accompli" of customer satisfaction.
The Solace of Sole-Sourcing
Tursack says that, at the printing company he owned before he started Brilliant Graphics, the effort of harmonizing production systems from multiple vendors "was half of my job." But with Heidelberg as his end-to-end supplier, he says, "I have one phone call" to resolve workflow - and equipment - related problems whenever they occur. Tursack adds that Heidelberg support technicians sometimes "beat me to the punch" by monitoring and correcting problems remotely. Tursack acknowledges that making a 100% commitment to the technology of only one vendor potentially was a "tremendous risk" for a start-up company to assume. But, the morale as well as the technical support that he received from his Heidelberg representatives every step of the way proved to be the catalyst for success. "Without their help, we would never have been able to launch this company," Tursack says.
The Solace of Sole-Sourcing
Tursack says that, at the printing company he owned before he started Brilliant Graphics, the effort of harmonizing production systems from multiple vendors "was half of my job." But with Heidelberg as his end-to-end supplier, he says, "I have one phone call" to resolve workflow - and equipment - related problems whenever they occur. Tursack adds that Heidelberg support technicians sometimes "beat me to the punch" by monitoring and correcting problems remotely. Tursack acknowledges that making a 100% commitment to the technology of only one vendor potentially was a "tremendous risk" for a start-up company to assume. But, the morale as well as the technical support that he received from his Heidelberg representatives every step of the way proved to be the catalyst for success. "Without their help, we would never have been able to launch this company," Tursack says.
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