Up till now, standard practice in the automotive industry when it comes to making printed markers and signs has been either to buy from an outside supplier or to maintain inhouse printing systems and materials. With PrintoLUX®, both approaches can be optimized significantly in terms of cost, quality and availability.

Purchasing signage, labels and markers from outside suppliers has a number of practical drawbacks:

• Changes to requirements, often arising within a very short time frame (e.g., as a result of increased production, the introduction of new components, obsolescence of existing signage) can create a need for time-consuming re ordering and result in time lost while waiting for the new order to arrive. Just-in-time availability cannot be guaranteed.
  
  

• Businesses that buy more than they need to cover their immediate requirements may find themselves storing excess markers, labels or other printed materials. This takes up space and costs time and money for inventory management and administration.
  
  

• Time and resources spent on ordering, accounting and payment must be added to the other regular project costs.
  
  

Producing required signage in house, most commonly by conventional engraving, laser engraving or plotting, also has disadvantages:

• The need to keep materials in stock ties up resources in terms of space and personnel. In cases where coloured signage is needed, multiple layers may need to be printed.
  
  

• The processes used and the optimum inventory levels can be assessed only retrospectively. The ability to respond to changing requirements in terms of volumes and quality criteria is limited.
  
  

• Even with in house production, some items will still need to be ordered from outside suppliers. This adds to administrative costs and puts downward pressure on productivity.
  
  

• Different signage materials (metal, plastic, adhesive films) call for a variety of production technologies, leading to increased equipment servicing and maintenance costs.
  
  

This side-by-side comparison of the PrintoLUX® system with other signmaking and labelling systems shows the benefits you will gain by opting for the PrintoLUX® process: Comparison of printing systems

  Some important aspects to consider:

• In many businesses, the total signage requirement is spread across a number of different departments and projects. The various requirements are generally considered separately (often by the particular project manager) and their impact on the bottom line therefore tends to be underestimated. Only an integrated assessment will identify the potential savings to be had in equipment, materials, time and human resources by finding an efficient and centralized solution.
  
  
• For automotive companies, we can provide an informative board documenting many examples of the kinds of signs and labels used in practice and how they are produced with the PrintoLUX® system – economically and to the highest standards of quality.