Printing for business purposes varies widely from private use. Yet, many businesses start out with a traditional printing setup that’s only slightly more advanced compared to what most people have at home. It usually doesn’t take long for an organization to notice that its current setup simply isn’t sufficient to meet its needs. In that case, the standard printer should be replaced with a more powerful machine – a production printer.

This article will explain exactly what a production printer is, whether you need one in your business, and how to pick the best product for your requirements.

What Is a Production Printer?

Production printers are also called digital presses or commercial printers. A good part of explaining their purpose comes from those titles alone:

“Commercial” because they’re intended for commercial use that surpasses private requirements, and “digital press” because they can handle large volumes of printing. Let’s break those concepts down in a bit more detail.

A production printer is made exclusively for use in the commercial industry, specifically finance, banking, insurance, construction, and, of course, publishing. These particular sectors have specific printing requirements that only production printers can satisfy.

For instance, formal quotations, bank statements, financial proposals, and construction blueprints need to be printed in particular formats. Furthermore, such documents must comply with particular standards that production printers help achieve.

Evidently, production printer use is widespread across various industries. That’s why it might not be obvious whether your business needs such a device.

The following section will explore how to determine if you require a production printer.

Do You Need a Production Printer?

You’ll need a production printer if your business requires the following:

  • High-quality printing
  • Very high printing resolutions
  • Specific formats like A3+ or SRA3
  • Better security for network printing
  • Multiple simultaneous printing outputs
  • Greater flexibility

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that a production printer can put out high-quality prints, especially compared to smaller devices. This difference in quality makes production printers suitable for areas like marketing and graphic design.

On the other hand, printing in high resolution contributes to greater clarity of printed material. This may be crucial for professions where distinguishing visual details are important – for instance, construction or architecture.

A similar principle applies to special formats. An architectural blueprint likely won’t fit a standard A4 page size and will need to be printed on larger paper. In such cases, high resolution and bigger formats go hand in hand to produce large prints that still show the image in crisp detail.

In terms of security, conventional printers have proven to be surprisingly vulnerable to cyberattacks. This is especially true if they’re connected to an insecure Wi-Fi network. Luckily, production printers don’t share the same weaknesses as their smaller counterparts.

Since a production printer can put out several copies at the same time, this device represents an excellent solution in terms of productivity. For that reason, businesses that handle a lot of printing might also be interested in getting a production printer, even if they don’t deal in areas where such hardware is usually required.

Higher printing output will mean your team doesn’t spend as much time handling such tasks. As a result, the entire organization can function more efficiently, leaving your people free to do the more important work.

Finally, you could consider a production printer if you need more flexibility in your printing jobs. With the extended possibilities in terms of format and quality, you’ll be able to print whatever you need. And the faster printout will allow you to meet deadlines easily.

In addition, rapid printing will make for effortless reprinting, which means you’ll correct any errors and do a document all over again in no time at all.

Besides everything mentioned, production printers have another crucial feature: a quality production printer will deliver a perfect copy of your document the first time of asking. In the long run, this will mean less spending on paper and ink.

Of course, all these benefits will come into play under one condition: that you choose a quality production printer. Here’s what you’ll need to consider in that regard.

Picking the Right Device

Firstly, the brand of your production printer will be essential. Unlike other products, production printers aren’t all the same – some manufacturers offer reliable quality and ideal performance.

In this sense, you can’t go wrong picking the following brands:

  • Savin
  • Konica Minolta
  • Epson
  • Brother

Naturally, there are other brands worth considering, but the brands we mentioned are the most widely renowned and can be considered an industry standard.

Once you choose a brand, you’ll need to consider the type of media you’ll need to print. This will relate to paper size more than anything else. For example, while A3+ is a regular format for production printers, there are some that can print even larger media.

Finally, you’ll need to take your budget into account. Production printers can be costly, especially if they’re of the highest quality. Also, they come with additional expenses like consumable materials and peripherals.

If you find that a decent production printer still falls outside of your budget, you might want to consider a refurbished machine.

Handle Commercial Printing with Ease

Commercial printers have their use in various businesses. If your organization has the need for extensive printing either in volume or format, you’ll likely benefit from getting this type of device.

If you want to make finding the right printer easier for your business in Winston Salem, Charlotte, or Greensboro, you can check out Kelly Office Solutions.