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From: chuq%plaid@Sun.COM (Chuq Von Rospach)
Newsgroups: comp.text.desktop
Subject: Xerography or Offset?
Message-ID: <18148@sun.uucp>
Date: Wed, 6-May-87 01:13:09 EDT
Article-I.D.: sun.18148
Posted: Wed May  6 01:13:09 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 7-May-87 07:25:40 EDT
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From:  desktop%plaid@sun.com

Here's an interesting question for folks out there.  OtherRealms is
currently running about 28 pages a month, and I'm printig 100-150 copies
depending on comps. That runs to 2800-2500 pages/month, which I'm currently
doing at a copy shop to the tune of about $100/month in copying costs.

The question I'm turning over in my mind is this.  Since OtherRealms is
about to go quarterly with an expanded (about 76-80 page) format, I have to
decide if I want to stick with Xerography or go offset with a real printer.
And if I stick with Xerography, do I want to continue shelling out $100/mo
in costs, or do I want to buy a machine and do it myself?

The way I look at it, if I go offset I get lots of new capabilities,
including being able to use cardstock for covers, go to a saddle stitch, and
be able to reproduce photos (photos and book covers don't really do well in
a copy machine....). But I'm tied to a schedule, the turnaround is slower,
and I'm not sure what volume I need before the cost per page is better than
Xerography.

If I stick with the copy shop, I'm probably trading off speed and
convenience (they collate for me, for instance) against cost.  If you assume
that their cost is 30% material (probably high) and the rest equiptment,
overhead and margin, I should be able to put $70/mo into a copier and still
break even, or perhaps reduce my costs.

But I don't know whether I can buy a copier in the 3000-5000 copy/month
bracket with 100% two sided capability in that kind of price range.  And if
I start doing my own copying, I have to also do my own collating, or buy a
feeder attachment.  And I suspect that eventually if OtherRealms keeps
growing that offset will be a necessity, and buying my own equiptment makes
the changeover later that much harder.  So I find myself in the middle of a
rather complex problem without any clear ideas of how to solve it.  Has
anyone else out there dealt with these issues? Any suggestions on places
where I can look for answers to some of these questions?  Any suggestions
are more than welcome!

chuq
s

Chuq Von Rospach	chuq@sun.COM		[I don't read flames]

There is no statute of limitations on stupidity