中文Rising energy costs, persistent inflation and more expensive inks and consumables are forcing wide-format print service providers to squeeze more efficiency from the businesses they already run. According to FESPA contributor Nessan Cleary, the route to better margins does not necessarily require heavy capital spending; it starts with auditing assets, applying Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) principles, tightening inventory and eliminating the unforced errors that drive costly reprints.
The first step is clarity about the business itself — what work it wants, who it wants to serve and, crucially, what profit margin it is targeting. From there, providers should list assets and liabilities and check whether the equipment mix still matches where the business is headed rather than where it was a year ago. Under OEE thinking, a machine earns its keep while running and costs money while idle, so optimising job queues for a constant flow of work matters more than occasional bursts. That may mean moving on underused equipment, outsourcing selectively, or adjusting shift patterns to maximise utilisation — and it means not skimping on staff training and welfare, since operator performance drives equipment profitability.
Maintenance is the next lever. Vendor analytics software, often powered by AI, can now analyse data from hundreds of similar presses to predict component failures and optimise servicing before a breakdown occurs. Durst’s P5 Core is cited as an example of a mid-range hybrid built with this philosophy. Software itself also needs disciplined upkeep, even if continuous-licence models mainly benefit the vendor.
Inventory discipline is frequently overlooked yet can tie up significant cash in spare parts and raw materials. Consumables have shelf lives, and nobody wants to choose between wasting inks past their use date or risking that exterior signage or vehicle graphics fail to perform. Tracking substrates so short rolls and exotic, rarely used materials do not accumulate protects both cash and quality. The same scrutiny should apply to customers: those whose files need constant correction, who delay proof sign-off or pay slowly may cost more than they return, and better relationship management — or a candid decision to walk away — protects margin.
Most reprints trace back to unforced errors, and colour management is a common culprit. Investing in a spectrophotometer, better training and routine printer calibration overcomes trial-and-error approaches, while a competent colour-management system with optimised profiles reduces ink consumption directly. Poor communication, internally and with customers, is another quiet source of mismatched jobs and rework.
Utilities offer easy wins too — managing heating, cooling and vehicle fuel, plus longer-term moves such as roof insulation or electric vehicles, all cut overhead. Cleary closes with the Japanese kaizen philosophy: continuous small improvements, constantly monitored, outperform occasional large investments. For wide-format providers squeezed between price-sensitive customers and rising costs, that disciplined, low-capex efficiency programme is where margin is defended.
Source: FESPA — “How Wide Format Printers Can Reduce Waste & Drive Efficiency” by Nessan Cleary (21 September 2026).
Cleary’s framing is ultimately about margin defence in a price-sensitive market. Wide-format providers cannot easily raise prices, so the only durable lever is reducing the cost of producing each job — less waste, fewer reprints, tighter inventory and smarter labour. The kaizen mindset, applied consistently, often outperforms a single large equipment purchase, which is a useful corrective for shops tempted to solve efficiency problems with capital alone. The energy and consumables squeeze gives the argument extra urgency: when ink, media and power all cost more, shaving a few per cent off waste on every job compounds into real gross-margin protection across a year. The colour-management prescription is especially actionable because it attacks the single biggest source of unforced waste — reprints driven by mismatch and miscalibration — with a relatively small investment in a spectrophotometer and discipline. Equally important is the customer-level honesty: not every account is worth keeping, and pruning chronically unprofitable or slow-paying clients frees capacity for better work. For smaller wide-format shops that cannot fund a press upgrade, this programme is genuinely empowering because almost all of it is operational rather than capital. The sustainability co-benefit — lower energy, less waste, a credible environmental story for the company blog — is a bonus that also helps win tenders from councils and brands with ESG commitments.
The prescription is deliberately low-capex because that is what makes it actionable for smaller shops. Most of Cleary’s levers — auditing assets, applying OEE, tightening inventory, calibrating colour and improving communication — require discipline and time rather than a new press, which is empowering for operations that cannot fund a hardware upgrade. The energy-and-consumables squeeze gives the argument extra urgency: when ink, media and power all cost more, shaving a few per cent off waste on every job compounds into real gross-margin protection across a year. The colour-management recommendation deserves particular attention because it attacks the single largest source of unforced waste — reprints driven by mismatch and miscalibration — with a relatively small investment in a spectrophotometer and routine procedure. Equally important is the honesty about customers: not every account is worth keeping, and pruning chronically unprofitable or slow-paying clients frees capacity for better work. For wide-format providers squeezed between price-sensitive customers and rising costs, this operational programme is where margin is defended, and the sustainability co-benefit — lower energy, less waste, a credible environmental story — also helps win tenders from councils and brands with ESG commitments.
