We need to offer a competitive price to our clients that fall way below the significant psychological barrier that exists when purchasing a UV LED flatbed, roll to roll or hybrid inkjet printer – so far below it in fact, that the mind-set of the buyer is changed from thinking of it as an investment comparable to ‘buying a small house’ to instead comparing it to ‘buying a nice car’. That’s a big shift in the purchasing thought process. In pricing the JHF UV LED printer, we will have to effectively create a whole new price point, a whole new customer base, and sales success that subsequently will be followed. This price will also sit JHF in the midst of competing printers that simply, well, cannot actually compete that well. To get like for like performance, comparable build quality, and the ability to print 8′ x 4′ boards rapidly and at high quality, the client will have to spend significantly more on any alternative. To get like for like pricing, the clients will need to be looking at a brand-name printer that has been throttled back in terms of its features, functionality, and productivity – or the clients would of course take a gamble and try their luck with cheap UV LED flatbed printers of questionable origin, more than questionable pedigree and the distinct possibility of all but non-existent after-sales support.

Of course, there are counter arguments, one of them might be that bigger, faster, and more expensive UV flatbed printers have lower ink costs. Personally, I think that’s perhaps an argument best saved for the time when a client needs a bigger, faster, and more expensive UV LED flatbed, perhaps to meet the demand for higher print volumes from business that the JHF UV LED printer might have won for the client.