Testimonials
“I am very happy with the layout that you put together for us. We are filling up the western side of the building's office space with a design company, a music company and a large format output device. We are going to be rebranding as the COT Media Group later this month. We now need to refine a few Standard Operating procedures to maximize the work flow. Things however are dramatically improved with the new layout. I will keep you posted and please feel free to have anyone contact me for a reference.”
Nigel Worme
Managing Director
COT Caribbean Graphics
Articles
NAPL's Leadership Excellence
Digital Designs Can Help Avoid Expansion
By Hal Ettinger
Paper. Printers can't live without it. Yet, we all are aware of the irony that the process of printing is increasingly digital - sans paper. And it's not only the printing process that is becoming paperless.
Like printers, architects and builders have an affection toward paper, from early parchment and linen to blueprints and, now, bond copies. The computer, however, has replaced yesterday's drafting table, which is an important distinction for the printer planning to expand his or her printing operations.
Just as electronic prepress technology has revolutionized printing, computer-automated design (CAD) utilizing drawing software is changing forever the design of printing plants and other manufacturing facilities throughout the world. Traditional draftsmen are now CAD operators. Civil, structural, architectural and engineering design is being communicated to builders on drawings consisting of digital information and produced by CAD. And these "digital drawings" are output on inkjet, electrostatic or toner plotters.
Is it better to have your original, hard-copy plant drawings transformed into digital files? The answer for most printers - especially those contemplating capital expansion or acquisition of other printing facilities - is a resounding "yes," for three primary reasons:
- Better Information Access
- Easier Updates
- More Accurate Inventories
Access to Information
Digital information is readily accessible. When an original mylar drawing is developed, the architect and builder of record have to first locate the documents and preferably be in the vicinity to transfer the information. Then physical drawings are shuffled back and forth between them. Quite often, originals cannot be found, and old blueprints are a poor substitute. CAD drawings, on the other hand, can be transferred on 3.5-inch diskettes, ZIP disks and even transmitted over long distances via modem lines. And with digital-drawing files produced by CAD, no matter how old, you're always dealing with exact originals.
Even printers will admit that time is not friendly to most originals. Aging can be a real problem, depending on the date of your original drawings. Many printers with older plants have drawings that are yellowed, soiled, dog-eared and generally difficult to read - if they have them at all. Things have a way of getting permanently "misplaced" over the years. And if the builder or architect has gone out of business, you may have to rely on third- or fourth-generation copies, which can be more difficult to read than the bottom line of an eye chart.
Easily Updated
For the printer in the habit of upgrading, expanding, revising or relocating operations, digital drawings can be updated regularly and easily, facilitating future modifications. These drawings provide a baseline record of present, "as-built" plant conditions around which architects and builders can design. It's a lot riskier to rely on drawings and mylar overlays that are out of date, which can lead to unpleasant surprises when construction begins on existing facilities.
Once the information is in a digital format, you can take it virtually anywhere. It's more portable than its traditional, bulky counterparts. If the design engineer, builder or printer needs to see the latest drawing, the architect simply hands over a diskette or sends a downloadable e-mail attachment. Any redrawing that is required can be done remotely and viewed by anyone who has drawing software, such as AutoCad (an Autodesk product), or viewer software that allows people without AutoCad to view drawings. You even can use the World Wide Web to reference drawings during telephone conference calls among the design team.
Digital Inventory
Having all this digital information is great, but you may be wondering what to actually do with it. For starters, you can collect information about your site, physical plant and equipment inventory. Creating a "digital file" allows you to record noteworthy building characteristics, as well as production equipment and layouts in prepress, pressroom and bindery areas. And digital files are much more flexible than conventional drawings. You can enlarge digital drawings to scale and focus on a specific area - the pressroom, for example. Or, you can pull back for a wide-angle picture of an entire site plan, zooming in on building setbacks, property lines and particular site characteristics.
This digital form of "facilities management" is particularly attractive to larger companies with multiple operations, especially in the capital-intensive printing industry. Digital plant/inventory files also are an ideal way to conduct thorough due diligence on a printing facility that you are considering purchasing. The accurate information gleaned from these files ties in to future marketing plans, not to mention equipment expansions and, in some cases, production schedules. It also gives the potential buyer a complete equipment inventory, which facilitates decisions about whether to retain or sell off this press or that binding line.
Growing Your Business
So, whether you're acquiring a new plant, expanding an old one or relocating your printing operations, the bottom line is that digital information can help you make better, more cost-effective building decisions. You'll have a clear picture of any physical limitations (e.g., will a piece of equipment fit in a given space?).
Traditional, paper drawings are going the way of the letterpress. To determine whether something will fit or if a site will accommodate additional parking or building expansion, printers no longer are forced to rely on old, out-of-date drawings or, worse yet, "eyeballing it."
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