In-house light production devices offer a wide array of benefits to companies in any industry. Here are 10 of the most prominent benefits, pertaining to how their use extends beyond outsourced and office-class arrangements.

1. Flexibility

Having a light production device in-house allows you to print when you want at a fixed cost. Outsourcing this type of job may introduce challenges resulting in a delay in turnaround time and an increase in pricing. This can be detrimental when a job is needed quickly.

2. Confidentiality

Printing on site helps ensure your corporate data stays secure. While it may be unlikely that a print service provider would sell your information to a competitor, the chances for a potential confidentiality breach are certainly higher.

3. Print quality

Light production devices go beyond the capabilities of office-class printers to deliver outstanding print quality. This is achieved through features including color matching, calibration, and control—often with the use of an internal color spectrophotometer.

4. Speed

Light production products also tend to deliver faster print speeds than office printers and copiers. Keypoint Intelligence/InfoTrends considers 70 pages per minute to be the minimum print speed of a light production device. Fast speeds are crucial to efficiency in high-volume environments.

5. Durability

Compared to office-class products, light production machines are built to handle higher volumes of printing in a given month. While color machines tend to have a duty cycle of between 101,000 and 300,000 pages a month, some are capable of up to 500,000 pages a month, or 1,000 reams of paper.

6. Run lengths

Light production machines can run large print jobs with little interruption. This is enabled by features like 7,000-plus sheet capacity requiring minimal user intervention. While high-capacity drawers are generally a standard feature on light production systems, you’d only find this only offered as a bonus on high-end office systems.

7. Finishing

Stapling, saddle stitching, hole punching, folding, trimming, and stacking are all functions of a light production You can produce perfectly bound documents, including lay-flat books and full-bleed books.

8. Media support

Light production systems often support the use of heavier paper stocks including coated and uncoated. Other commonly supported media include plastic, magnets, textured linen, and cling, which is used to make items like window decals and stickers.

9. Full-bleed capability

Some items, such as marketing brochures, look better printed with no margin or border. Light production devices may offer full-bleed capability, allowing printing to extend to the edges of the paper.

10. Workflow support

Today’s light production printers generally have several types of software embedded in the control panel, including software for controlling job characteristics and job submission. These capabilities can clean up pages, check and correct colors, and prepare documents to accommodate finishing.

Next steps

If these benefits seem attractive for your organization, you are encouraged to consider investing in a light production machine. Contact us today for more information.