In-House or Outsource: 5 Keys Things to Consider When Choosing a Printer

When deciding whether to use an outsourced or in-house printing solution it can be tempting to leave the comparison at labour, hardware and consumable costs. An accounting/return on investment comparison for typical projects is an important step; however, there are several additional factors to consider.

1. Controlling priorities

If you frequently have rush jobs or last-minute changes, an outside printer may hit you with pricing penalties or be unable to reschedule to meet your deadline. When you print in-house, you can bump lower priority projects to produce rush jobs or changes.

2. Protecting confidentiality

You don’t know who is seeing your documents when they’re printed elsewhere. By controlling projects in-house, you can ensure that private information is protected and manage security compliance.

3. Implementing process improvements

Adding a multifunction printer or digital press to your environment does more for you than print your documents when properly connected. Canon software helps to drive all your prints to the most effective device, increasing the productivity of your investments while also helping you manage your costs more effectively through highly accurate reporting—saving you time, effort and money on your daily projects.

4. Improving quality control

Being able to check print quality on-site for graphic design projects has valuable benefits. Instead of inspecting a piece after it’s been delivered, your internal personnel can monitor important jobs. Complex design projects can be proofed right away on an actual, real-size printout instead of on a PDF, preventing issues that are apparent only on the final piece. And having equipment and software that guarantees the quality of an image always meets industry specifications helps ensure that the final output is right every time.

5. Reducing delays

An in-house high volume printer for marketing pieces facilitates efficient press checks and fast turnaround. Having an in-house operator helps when an image is missing, the logo colour needs approval or another problem arises that can be quickly fixed but would require back-and-forth if it were outsourced.

However, a skilled project manager or operator is essential to ensure that production flows smoothly. Keeping the machine running isn’t enough. Having more than one person who knows how to optimize the printer’s capabilities, check quality and perform basic maintenance is a necessity. If your in-house staff is unable to acquire the necessary skills, outsourcing makes more sense.

Keep outsourcing options open

A hybrid solution is often the answer. For frequent high-volume, confidential or rush projects, a multifunction or large format printer will likely provide a good return on investment and make sense for the five factors listed above. For occasional projects that require effects such as embossing and metallic inks; specialty finishing such as die cuts; or services such as packaging and shipping, an outside supplier with the right expertise is invaluable. Maintaining good relationships with trusted outside print service providers is critical for producing specialized jobs for events, shows or launches.