It’s the start of a new year and that means the start of a whole new set of objectives. New year’s resolution season is upon us, making it the perfect time to revamp current business workflows and inspire new ideas to start the year out with a bang! Here is a list of New Year’s resolutions to take your business to the next level in 2018.

Buy Into Preventative Maintenance Programs

It’s not broken, so why fix it? A phrase we’ve all heard before and one many business owners live by today. However, allocating part of your 2018 budget to preventative maintenance programs is a great way to ensure your operation runs smoothly throughout the year. If your press isn’t running properly, you’re not building towards your 2018 revenue goals. Investing a small amount of time and money on preventative maintenance is taking a proactive approach to increasing the lifespan of current equipment, and to increasing uptime and profit.

Invest in Your Employees

Making the effort to continuously train your employees is a win-win situation. With advances in both flexo and digital hybrid technology, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut. Keeping employees up-to-date on current market trends and printing techniques (such as working with unfamiliar materials, finding supplies that work better for your jobs, etc.) ultimately results in keeping your customers happy. If not, you may find your customers moving on to other printing avenues, essentially taking time and money right out of your hands. Make 2018 the year you invest in employee training programs and keep on the right side of what’s trending. Programs like Mark Andy University are the right place to start and offer hands-on training opportunities to add to the skillset of your production teams. Regardless of experience level, various OEM-based training courses are a valuable asset addressing not just Mark Andy equipment, but specific techniques of label and packaging production.

Evaluate the Performance of Supplies

Pressroom supplies are something printers cannot be without. Whether it’s plate mounting tapes, flexo plates, doctor blades, or cleaning supplies, you need the proper supplies to enable your operation to run efficiently. Evaluating the performance of your current supplies can make a world of difference, and is an ideal step to start 2018.

For example, let’s talk about tape. Increasing demands in print quality partnered with the need for high levels of efficiency mean you need a plate mounting solution specifically tailored for optimal handling. tesa® Softprint Secure™ flexographic mounting tape combines high quality foam and film materials with engineered adhesives for excellent print results and reduced plate lift. Mark Andy partners with tesa® because we truly believe in the quality and workmanship of their product, and if you’re not already using tesa® tapes now is the time to make the switch. Roll into 2018 with an exclusive trial offer from Mark Andy and tesa®.

Get Your Daily Dose of Dr. Flexo

Is your press experiencing symptoms of decreased productivity? Do you have outstanding questions about common pressroom pain-points? The doctor is in! With informational videos ranging from cleaning your anilox rolls to best practices for plate mounting, Dr. Flexo can cure even the toughest flexo-flu.

 Ring in the New Year with New Technology

Change is hard. Stepping away from the familiar isn’t the most comfortable situation, but is often necessary to keep up with the dynamic nature of the print industry. Flexo is forever, however it’s important to understand where digital technology got its legs. The best of digital derives from the best of flexo, and true hybrid technology is the marriage of the two for exceptional printing performance. Mark Andy Digital Series is a true hybrid press, offering numerous benefits for converters making the switch, while Mark Andy Performance Series is a flexographic workhorse answering basic requests for fast changeovers and reduced waste. Whichever makes the most sense for you and your operation in 2018, Mark Andy is committed to being your total solutions partner and is here to answer any questions you may have.

New Year’s Resolutions are sometimes hard to follow, and are more often than not more stressful than anything else. The good thing here is that these simple resolutions are easy, require little time commitment, and ultimately result in a more profitable 2018.