Tag Archive: Industrial Inkjet Machines

  1. Supporting and Training Industrial Printing Customers

    Comments Off on Supporting and Training Industrial Printing Customers

    In this edition of EPS Insider I caught up with Jim Tower, Technical Services Manager at Engineered Printing Solutions. Simply put, Jim is dedicated. He commutes around an hour each way every day and he offers customers around the clock mobile phone availability. His morning commute is devoted to mental preparation for the work day ahead, and his commute home offers an opportunity to wind-down.

    Jim and the Technical Services Team play a vitally important role at EPS. Jim and his team are responsible for supporting the Sales Team in the early stages of product qualification, generating the samples for each of our prospective clients. Technical Services is deeply involved in the development and maintenance of our facilities process development. They also put the final stamp on our completed projects during the quality control phase prior to shipment. And lastly, our most important point of competitive differentiation, our post-manufacturing customer support that follows every product we ship for the products entire lifespan.

    Q: What is your role here and what responsibilities does it entail?

    “I am the Technical Services Manager at EPS and manage a 15 person department. Our team handles a wide variety of responsibilities, a good place to start is at the ‘hand off’ from the Machine Assembly and Engineering Team(s) after a piece of equipment is complete. We make sure that the equipment meets all specifications, and after we are satisfied that these specification have been met we build a process for support around them. We are very critical during these activities because nothing will leave this building unless we are positive we have met our customer expectations. Accomplishing this is all about process development, and this is where the talent of this department really comes into play.”

    “In addition, we provide support for the life of the equipment after we have completed our final testing steps before we ship to their facility. This post purchase customer support is a large part of what we do every day. It begins with what I term, installation commissioning and on-site training. This involves visiting the customer’s facility, checking the equipments condition, reproducing the production process, establishing a baseline of what the equipment is capable of, and then training the customer to effectively perform the process themselves.”

    Q: Can you tell me more about the free lifetime technical support that we provide to our industrial printing customers?

    “While we offer an extensive warranty for every product we sell, the personal relationship never really stops for us. We provide free post-warranty, lifetime technical support to all original equipment owners of our machines. This support is provided via phone, email, Skype…whatever remote assistance is most comfortable for the customer. All of our larger systems can be operated and diagnosed right from my desk via TeamViewer, the proprietary remote access software solution we have relied on for years.”

    “We find a special pride in our ability to develop long-term relationships with each of them. We cherish all of our customers and we frequently receive positive feedback because they know that we are always here for them. We will send a qualified Technician to any facility within a few hours time if the situation warrants this level of timeliness support. We know that really matters and we have loyal, repeat customers because that’s the level of support we are known for.”

    Q: In addition to simply providing the free lifetime support, what about it do you think sets us apart from other companies in our industry?

    “I think what sets us apart is our responsiveness and expertise, which is second to none. You can ask any customer and they will tell you as much. We make every effort to get back to our customers within minutes of a request. In addition to my team having a high level of expertise and quick response time, they are a ‘likable’ group. People enjoy speaking to them, and prefer that over opening a manual and troubleshooting an issue themselves. We have a mantra here; if our customers are successful we are successful. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, and therefore they are more likely to consider EPS for future projects. We have built relationships with our customers and know where they are at with a piece of equipment. As a result, we can pick up on something right where we have left off.

    “That being said, the double-edged sword here is that if a customer is picking up the phone to call us, it’s not because they wanted to say hello. It’s because they have encountered an issue and they need a quick and thorough resolution. Let’s use a newly purchased machine as an example. A significant investment has been made and there’s a learning curve there, plain and simple. The customer is still getting their ‘sea legs’ and that is where most problems occur. It’s our job to diffuse the situation, to calm them down and do what we do…which is to work them through the problem. This is what my team is very good at.”

    Q: How and why do customers depend on your department for sample production?

    “There’s any number of reasons as to why we produce so many product samples. It can be a contract basis, a custom basis, and most commonly during the presale phase for a new tool for proof of concept and quality. A company might simply need samples done for a trade show. A customer may be struggling with their own in-house printing, and ask us to figure out the problem. There are lots of reasons we’ll turn a machine on here!”

    Q: What do you think best summarizes the importance of the technical services department?

    “It would be the fact that there is no such thing as a ‘service-less machine’. Our customers simply need us in one manner or another. Regardless of whether or not it is a technical issue with some aspect of the printer, or the operator is struggling with a process. My team is here to see them through it.”

    Q: What do you personally enjoy the most about your position and leading your team on a daily basis?

    “The challenge of the job, hands down! After doing this for 20 years, I still learn something new every day. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be doing it. Engineered Printing Solutions is a ‘custom automation house’, and thus no two processes are the same. We are uniquely positioned to produce and service three very different solutions; pad printing machines, cutting edge digital machines and completely customized, uniquely manufactured proprietary machines. There might be a few cookie cutter aspects with the smaller, pad printing equipment. However, when you get into the larger machines, none of it is the same. The challenge for my technicians and I is understanding what those differences are so we are able to diagnose and repair them. That’s the challenge, in addition to always meeting the customer’s expectations…of course!”

    For more information about Engineered Printing Solutions custom solutions, such as standard pad printers, industrial inkjet, consumables and auxiliary equipment, visit www.epsvt.com, email info@epsvt.com or call 1-800-272-7764.

  2. Case Study – Industrial Printing Solutions

    Comments Off on Case Study – Industrial Printing Solutions

    Engineered Printing Solutions Case Study #1:

    An automotive firm required assistance in gaining efficiencies in their molding and decorating process.  They wanted to eliminate staging / moving parts around the facility, and to be able to print parts at the mold.  The part required a custom machine as the print was not only multi-color, but on multiple planes.  The customer also wanted a machine that would require as little human intervention as possible.

    This required a machine that would fit in the constraints of their molding cell, capable of picking freshly molded parts from a conveyor, orienting and placing the parts onto custom tooling.  The parts were then printed and automatically removed for post-print handling / inspection / packing.

    The same parts could be used for different applications, so it was also necessary to provide an efficient way to change the images.

    We provided a fully automated KP-08 with multiple heads with independent pads, plus automated loading and unloading.  The unit was configured to integrate with the customer’s mold, so if one or the other components experienced a fault a “parts buffer” could accommodate any intermittent pauses, but also allowed for a full shut-down, if required.

    Engineered Printing Solutions Case Study #2:

    A large plastic injection molding firm asked for assistance with a change in their production requirements, based on their customer’s ordering preferences.

    The facility is highly automated and parts are printed in-line.  However, the customer was seeing their market shift toward multi-color images, as well as shorter print runs on the same series of molded parts.  Their current technology allowed only single-color images, and required a minimum of 30-45 minutes for job changeovers, and more if the color had to change, as well.

    We offered a solution based around our own industrial inkjet technology, which provide the following advantages:

    • No loss in throughput
    • Multi-color images
    • Less ink waste
    • Immediate curing
    • Job changeover in seconds, not minutes
    • Order entry could be done remotely, integrating with their own software
    • Parts could also be counted, bagged and bags labeled automatically

    Our industrial inkjet printer was able to be easily integrated with third-party provided feeding systems as well as the bagger / label unit on the back end.

    This custom solution has allowed our client to be more flexible and more responsive to their customer’s wishes, while saving labor as well as reducing waste re: parts and ink.

    Let us design a custom solution for you.  Drop us a line today!
    Fields marked with an asterisk are required.
    This will enable us to direct your inquiry to the appropriate Sales Engineer.
    Click or drag files to this area to upload.You can upload up to 3 files.
    Upload an image file (optional)
    Note: Under no circumstances will we sell, share or otherwise distribute your data outside EPS.