Many or few—it’s up to you

The Lowe-Martin Group recognized the potential of Print on Demand and the critical role it would play in the document life cycle early in the inception of this service offering. Our digital print division was established in 1991 with the specific goal of providing advanced solutions to our existing customer base while seeking and creating new markets that would benefit from this technology offering.

Prior to Print on Demand capabilities, organisations were forced to forecast document volumes over longer periods of time in order to purchase in quantities that yielded economies of scale. Warehousing and inventory costs, as well as the cost of financing product over time, had to be determined and added to the total cost of the document. Accurate forecasting is often difficult and most organisations experience obsolescence costs that further add to the total unit cost of each document.

How does it work?

Documents are provided to the Lowe-Martin Group either electronically or as hard copy masters. Electronic files can be sent by email or through our FTP site, and camera-ready masters can be scanned at a speed of up to 120 pages per minute with excellent resolution up to 600 dots per inch (dpi).

All documents are stored in our electronic document management system until required for on-demand print. At any stage of the production process, the content can be updated to reflect the most current version of the document.

Advantages of Lowe-Martin’s Print on Demand services

• The ability to purchase only what is required, eliminating inventory and warehousing costs, and capturing true cost without additional expenses.
• Secure and accessible document management, including version control management.
• The ability to include components printed in an offset process, printed on-demand, and printed with customised text to enhance corporate image and drive cost benefits.
• The elimination of obsolescence and its associated costs.
• Improved time to market.
• The ability to adjust to document life cycles. A typical production model for print sees limited initial order quantities as markets are tested. Subsequent orders may see a dramatic increase in demand making offset printing more cost effective. As the document reaches maturity, demand begins to decline moving back to a Print on Demand setting. We offer production models and methods that fit a range of quantities cost effectively.
• Legacy applications to support older product documentation in a cost effective manner.

As a full service provider, Lowe-Martin can seamlessly migrate documents to the most cost-effective production path at any stage of the product life cycle. We employ highly experienced individuals and invest in continuing education to ensure that our clients benefit from best practices across all service offerings.