Print Buyers Online.com recently asked our print buyer members, “How important is the brand of printing press/equipment in the production of your jobs?” Of the 72 print buyers who participated in the Quick Poll Survey:

　　• 6% said it was “very important”
　　• 44% said it was “somewhat important”
　　• 49% said it was “not important at all”
　　• 1% said “I don’t know”

　　I found these results very interesting as 50% of major print buyers now deem the brand of equipment to be important. This is a 20% increase from two years ago, when we last asked this question. The results of our newest poll support my belief that these days, print buyers are more interested in collaborating with their printers on workflow and equipment issues. Here is what some of them had to say:

　　“I know which presses are the best and have the highest quality―and I also know which ones are very old, problematic and to stay away from. Taking plant tours of shops lets me know what kind of equipment new vendors have and thus what types of jobs are best suited for their equipment.”

　　“The right equipment will print my job efficiently―and more quickly―and result in cost savings for my organization!”

　　“The right type of equipment can yield better pricing, faster throughput and increased quality.”

　　On the other hand, print buyers who said brand was not important also had valuable input:

　　“The professionals who run the equipment are more important to me than the brand of the machine itself. Some product names get thrown at me by prospective vendors who think the name of the press manufacturer will impress me so much that I will give them all my work. I have been witness to equipment that has not measured up to expectations. It is up to the management of the print house to have the best people, who are trained to get the most out of the equipment.”

　　“More important than brand is a particular printing press’ set of features, age, maintenance and integration into a plant’s job management systems. Most important is its operator.”

　　Both sides of the coin are valid―but what I found most interesting was suppliers had a much different take on the subject. When asked the same question, 69% of print suppliers believed equipment brand was not important to their customers. As one industry leader put it:

　　“I find most print buyers are less concerned with brands of equipment and more concerned with ‘capabilities’ when it comes to their interest in our equipment inventory. What the majority of new customers generally want to know is prepress, press size/capabilities, coating and turnaround time.”

　　What we’re finding is that print buyers starting to chime in on these issues. Let’s hear your comments on the subject: When it comes to print buyer interest in equipment brand, what have you found to be the case?