PARAMUS, N.J., July 14, 2008 – Printers that wish to refine their Web press print pricing to maximize profits will want to turn to one of the industry's most trusted and powerful financial management tools, the NAPL 2008 Budgeted Hourly Cost Studies for Web Press Operations, which will be released on July 21.
 
For decades, printing professionals have relied upon NAPL Cost Studies to understand and calculate the true costs of production in order to price their work appropriately. The Studies are also an essential reference to consult prior to making equipment purchases since they allow users to compare the actual costs of operating various machines. A copy of either the printed book or CS InterACT, an interactive software program utilizing the data, is available at no charge to members of NAPL. The book and software are also downloadable at no charge to members at www.napl.org.
 
The Studies are considered a core financial tool for making detailed management decisions in the printing industry. In addition to being a go-to source for pricing jobs or before investing in new equipment, they can be used to recalculate costs after building new plants or consolidating operations, as well as to reevaluate profitability factors and return on investment in specific operational cost centers. Printers may also contract with NAPL consultants for customized analyses of their specific operations.
 
"As the largest segment of the printing industry in terms of volume and total sales, Web printers dominate the graphic arts, and the ups and downs of these Web operations have a huge impact on the industry as a whole in terms of pricing and cost models," states Timothy Fischer, NAPL executive vice president, chief operating officer and head of NAPL's Consulting Group. "If you are operating in this very competitive segment, it is imperative to know your true cost of production so you can maximize your capacity, determine which work is profitable, and avoid potentially costly mistakes."
 
The Web Press Operations Study includes heatset and non-heatset, business forms, direct mail, general commercial, newspaper/publication, digital imaging, flexographic, and letterpress equipment, along with a new category for digital wide-format printers. The specifications and pricing data is derived from all new survey data provided by 26 participating manufacturers/exclusive distributors.
 
Participating manufacturers include Aquaflex, Canon USA, Flexo-Printing Equipment Corp./SIAT, Goss International, GSS Printing Equipment, HP, HP ColorSpan, KBA North America Inc., Komori America, KPG Corp., manroland USA, Manugraph DGM, Mark Andy, Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses, Muller Martini, Mutoh America, Océ North America, PCMC, Propheteer International, Punch Graphix, Solna Americas, Stevens Technology, Super Web, Taiyo Kikai USA, Web Press Corporation, Xeikon, and Xerox.
 
The printed book version of the Study shows how the hourly cost rates are constructed, and how they differ for various equipment configurations, one-to-three shift operations, and three different productivity levels. The interactive CS InterACT software allows users to enter and edit more than 50 data and description fields to construct rates for their operations instantly. A new feature, "Your Costs," allows users to input their own fixed and variable costs just once. That information, including data such as wages and productive hours, can then be inserted into any Study with a click of the mouse.
 
"All navigation, functions, and even help topics, in fact, are performed by clicking," says NAPL Special Projects Editor Joe Andrukitas. "There are no tedious menus to learn anywhere in the software. It's extremely simple and intuitive, allowing new users to get started right away."
For a five-minute software preview, visit www.napl.org/bluebookdemo/.
 
NAPL publishes five editions of Cost Studies, covering all operations in a printing plant, including Digital and Conventional Prepress Operations; Sheetfed Press Operations; Web Press Operations; Bindery, Finishing and Mailing Operations; and Print Operations up to 20 Employees. Together, these Studies contain hourly costing data provided by the manufacturers or exclusive equipment distributors for more than 1,400 individual pieces of equipment. Each Study is updated every two years to provide current working data on each machine.
 
NAPL members receive a full set of the latest releases when joining the Association and one free copy of each new Study upon its release. All members can also download the software and book at no charge from the members-only section of NAPL's Web site. Budgeted hourly cost rate consulting is also offered without charge to premier and partner-level members as part of their tiered membership benefit options.
 
Nonmembers may purchase the 216-page book version (Product Code NB104) for $199.95 and the CD-ROM version (ND104) for $249.00. To order a Cost Study or inquire about budgeted hourly cost rate consulting services, call NAPL at 800-642-6275 or visit www.napl.org.