7 Signs Your Pressroom Needs an Upgrade

But Not a New Press

You don’t need a brand-new press to reach modern levels of quality, speed, and sustainability.

What you need is better control, less waste, and smarter tools — all of which you can add today to the press you already own.

Here are 7 clear signs your offset pressroom is ready for an upgrade — and how printers around the world are solving them without heavy investments.

1. Your Make-Ready Still Takes Over 30 Minutes

If you’re spending 30, 45, or even 60 minutes just getting up to color, you’re losing time, money, and energy on every job.

✅ Solution: CIP3-based ink key presetting + closed-loop scanning can cut make-ready by 50–70%, getting you to color in under 15 minutes.

2. Color Results Depend on Who’s Running the Press

When color shifts from operator to operator, it’s hard to scale, hard to train, and even harder to guarantee consistency.

✅ Solution: A self-learning, automated system stores ink zone behavior per substrate and press — so results are consistent, no matter who’s at the console.

3. You Need Too Many Sheets to Get the Color Right

Are you burning 800, 1000, even 1200 sheets just to reach color targets?

✅ Solution: With real-time feedback and zone-by-zone corrections, most presses using Rutherford get to color in 300–500 sheets — or less.

4. You Can’t Easily Prove Color Accuracy to Clients

If you can’t provide measurable color reports or use CXF-compatible tools, it’s harder to meet today’s packaging and brand expectations.

✅ Solution: X-Rite IntelliTrax2 + Rutherford. gives you G7/PSO-compatible feedback, real-time ∆E data, and color reporting for every job.

5. You’re Still Adjusting Ink Keys Manually

Manual ink key changes are slow, error-prone, and outdated. And let’s face it — your best operators deserve better tools.

✅ Solution: Closed-loop automation adjusts keys in real time, learns from every job, and shows clear visual corrections onscreen.

6. Waste Levels Haven’t Changed in Years

If your ink, paper or plate usage hasn’t improved in the past 5 years, you’re leaking margin — and missing sustainability goals.

✅ Solution: Reduce waste at every stage (make-ready, production, changeovers) and cut material use by up to 40%.

7. You’re Avoiding Short Runs Because They’re Not Profitable

When short jobs are too expensive to run, you lose flexibility. But automation helps offset compete with digital again.

✅ Solution: Automated setups + fast job changeovers = lower cost per job, even for 250–1000 sheet runs.

You Don’t Need to Replace Your Press — Just Upgrade It

With Rutherford’s automation platform, you can transform presses from the 1990s to the 2020s into efficient, sustainable, high-performance machines — in just a few days, without production downtime.

No disruption. No replacement. Just better results.

Want a Free Pressroom Assessment?

We’ll help you find out if your press qualifies for retrofit — and what kind of ROI you can expect.

📍 Visit: www.rutherford.fr

📩 Or message us to schedule a quick technical walkthrough.