Challenge

• Weston&Sampsonneededtoreplaceitsin-houseprintserviceagreementwithhigh-qualityprintersitwouldownin-housewithoutrunningupoperationalcosts.

• Producingasmuchas30,000ft2ofprintedvolumepermonth,thefirmneededhigh-speedprintersitcouldrelyontomeettightdeadlines.

Solution

• InstockDesignSupplyledWeston&SampsontopurchasethreeHPDesignjetT7100Printers,innovativedigitalprintersthatrunavarietyofsubstratesinbothmonochromeandcolourwithtruecost-effectiveness.

Results

• Weston&SampsonprintsuptofourA1/D-sizepagesperminuteandsuccessfullykeepsupwithitsdemandingproductionscheduleforarchitecturaldrawings,utilitydesigns,CADlinedrawings,andothercivilengineeringdocuments.

• Thefirmmaintainsitsrigorousproductionscheduleandtransitionstotheall-HPprintingenvironmentwithoutanyinterruptions.

• Owningratherthanleasingitsprintingtechnologies,Weston&Sampsonprojectsthatitwillsaveupto$65,000peryear,andreturnaformerbusinesscostbacktothecompany.

Instock leads Weston & Sampson to savings with the HP Designjet T7100

At a glance

Industry: Architecture,Engineering&GIS

Business name: Weston&Sampson

Headquarters: Peabody,MA,USA

Website: westonandsampson.com

Business name: InstockDesignSupply,Inc.

Headquarters: Mansfield,MA,USA

Website: instockdesign.com

IN-STOCK

“WerealisedthattheHPDesignjetT7100Printerwouldallowustocapturealotoftherevenuewewerepayingouttothisin-plantserviceproviderandkeepitin-houseand,inturn,reduceouroperatingcosts.”–RichardSpurr,CADDmanager,Weston&Sampson

Besidestopprintingquality,theHPDesignjetT7100Printerallowsforoutstandingproductivity.Rightoutofthebox,theHPDesignjetT7100Printerhastwostandardmediarolls,withanoptiontoupgradewithathird.Capableofholdingupto500linearfeetperroll,thisoffersusersasmuchas1,500feetofmediatoprintfromatanytime.Additionally,theembeddedwebservermakesiteasytomonitorandmanagetheprinterthroughfamiliarwebinterfaces.“Inaproductionenvironmentthat’swhatyouwant:lessoperatorintervention,lessloadingofinksandpapers,”saysAstuccio.

SpurrandAstuccioagreethattheHPDesignjetT7100Printerisvirtually“bulletproof.”Indeed,itwastheprinter’sreliabilityandeaseofusethatassuredWeston&Sampsonitcouldmakethetransitiontoanall-HPprintingenvironmentwithoutanyhitches.“Fromprintheadchangestomaintenancecartridges,theT7100isverystraightforward,”Spurrsays.“Yougothroughthepanel,pressthebutton,popitin–andyou’regoodtogo!”

From cost centre to cost saver

ButwhywastheHPDesignjetT7100PrintertrulyanetwinforWeston&Sampson?Notjustbecauseitcoveredthefirm’sprintingneeds.Italsoturnedacost-intensiveareaofthebusinessintoanewwaytoreduceoverheadcosts.

Spurrcrunchedthenumbersbycomparingthecostofequipment,supplies,andmaintenanceundertheleaseagreementwiththesamecostsunderin-houseownership.Theresultwasremarkable.“Wecouldownthisstuff–andevenreducethecostofourprinting!”heobserves.BecausetheHPDesignjetT7100PrintercanmatchLEDonthecostofmonochrome–reducingper-square-footcostsfrom45centstoaslittleas2cents–Weston&Sampson’sdecisionsuddenlybecameverysimple:gowherethevalueis.

Today,theconsultingfirmexpectstosaveasmuchas$65,000peryearbynolongerpayingashareofitsrevenuetothedealeronacost-per-clickbasis.“WerealisedthattheHPDesignjetT7100Printerwouldallowustocapturealotoftherevenuewewerepayingouttothisin-plantserviceproviderandkeepitin-houseand,inturn,reduceouroperatingcosts,”Spurrnotes.“Thecostswesavebecomeaself-sustainingfundforourprintenvironmentforequipmentpurchases,maintenance,andsupplies.”

Astuccioiselatedbythisdevelopment.“ThelargerandthemorevolumeWeston&Sampsonprints,themoremoneytheysave.It’samazing,I’vebeenwaiting25yearsforthis!”

It’sabrightpicturegoingforwardforWeston&Sampson–withallprintingneedsmetandastrongerbottomlinethankstoitspartnershipwithInstockandtheHPDesignjetT7100Printer.

WhenJoeAstuccioofInstockDesignSupplyandRichardSpurr,CADDmanageratWeston&Sampson,firstmetintheearly1990s,theywerelittlemorethanco-membersoftheNewEnglandDesignDraftingManager’sAssociation.Today,thankstoinnovationsinHPwide-formatdigitalprintingtechnology,theyhaveabusinessrelationshipthatshowshowfreshthinkingcangeneratesavings.

Weston&Sampson,aPeabody,Massachusetts-basedconsultingfirmwithexpertiseinenvironmentalandinfrastructuraldesign,hadlongbeendependentonwhatmostfirmsinitsindustryusetosatisfytheirprintingneeds:anin-plantserviceprovider.Theprovidertookcareofallprint-relatedequipment,supplies,andservice–butatnosmallprice.Costsaccruedonaper-clickorper-square-footbasis.Sowitheveryarchitecturaldrawingorutilitydesignthatwentoutthedoor,Weston&Sampsonalsosentashareofitsrevenue.

Inearly2012,thecompanyrethoughtitsprintenvironment,withspeedandcolourascoreconsiderations.Historically,leasedmonochromelight-emittingdiode(LED)printersweretheindustrystandard,whilecolourprintjobsweresentofftocostlyprintshops.Today,thingshavechanged.Armedwithnewwide-formatHPdigitalprintingtechnology,InstockhelpedWeston&SampsonpurchasethreeHPDesignjetT7100PrintersandfiveHPDesignjetT2300Printersthatnoweasilycoveritsmajorprintingneeds–atalowertotalcostandatspeedsequaltoorbetterthanLEDprinting.

The need for speed leads to HP Designjets

Inanaveragemonth,Weston&Sampson’sproductionofficesprintbetween24,000and30,000squarefeetofarchitecturaldrawings,maps,buildingplans,andothercivilengineeringdocuments.Tokeeppacewiththisheavyworkload,thefirmrequiresfastprinters.WiththeabilitytoprintuptofourA1/D-sizeprintsperminute–incolour–theHPDesignjetT7100Printereasilyfillstheneed.

Spurrnoteshowvaluablethisisforthefirm:“Withutilitydesign,Icannoweasilyprintwithcolour-codedmapping.Tobeabletolookatacolourdrawingmakesitsomucheasiertoknowwhat’sgoingoninanengineeringcontext.”Manyofthefirm’sdrawingsareusedforofficial,civicpurposes–whichmeanstheyrequireon-timesubmittalandextensivereview.FastcolourprintingfromtheHPDesignjetT7100PrinterenablestheconsultantsatWeston&Sampsontosatisfyanexpectantclientelewithtimely,top-qualityplansanddrawings.

A game-changing printer

TheHPDesignjetT7100PrinterhaswidenedWeston&Sampson’sprintinghorizon.Inadditiontocolourprinting,whichwasamajorexpenseunderitsformerleasearrangement,theprinteralsooffersthefirmseveraladvantages,beginningwithprofessionalquality.

“NotonlyisthelineworkverycrisponCADdrawings,”Spurrobserves,“butwhenourGISguyscreatefullbleedprintswithcolourgraphics,theyareblownawaybytherichnessandaccuracy.”

Indeed,akeyreasonwhyAstucciorecommendstheHPDesignjetT7100PrintertofirmslikeWeston&Sampsonisthat,“YoucanshowoffyourworkinpresentationpiecesandalsocreateeverydayCADdrawingstomarkupandthrowaway.”Dependingontheclientandproject,printjobscanservemanydifferentapplications.AndtheconsultingfirmhasbeenpleasedwithhowtheHPDesignjetT7100printssocleanlyonawiderangeofmedia–frombondandMylar®productstoclearfilmandphotopaper.

Getconnected.hp.com/go/graphicarts

Sharewithcolleagues.

©2013Hewlett-PackardDevelopmentCompany,L.P.Theinformationcontainedhereinissubjecttochangewithoutnotice.TheonlywarrantiesforHPproductsandservicesaresetforthintheexpresswarrantystatementsaccompanyingsuchproductsandservices.Nothinghereinshouldbeconstruedasconstitutinganadditionalwarranty.HPshallnotbeliablefortechnicaloreditorialerrorsoromissionscontainedherein.

4AA4-6693EEW,October2013