Cost of Quality
Jul 8, 2006 12:38:21 GMT -5
Post by Quato on Jul 8, 2006 12:38:21 GMT -5
Here is a chart taken from the book "Quality Planning and Analysis" bt J.M. Juran & Frank M. Gryna:
What is shows is the sharp curve in manufacturing costs to achieve 100% conformance. For comic book collectors, 100% conformance would be CGC 10.0 or better.
As I've stated before, perfection should be measured by the manufacturer's or distributor's specifications, not what is possible. A Charlton Comic was made to lower specs than a DC or Marvel Comic. As collectors in the industry start pushing their expectations onto the distributor, publisher, and printer, the cost to manufacture the quality into the product approaches infinity.
This chart illustrates why CGC 10.0 books attain stupid prices. Once your goal becomes perfection, it doesn't matter if the book is "Action Comics #1" or "Archie #551", the price approcahes infinity to reach that goal or perfection. If you notice on the chart, perfection never reaches 100% and neither will perfection in the printing industry. A CGC 10.0 comic is not an absolute guide for perfection. It only measures specific criteria. The criteria could become more strict tomorrow or less. Collectors tomorrow could deem that plating thickness on staples is a quality measurement that separates a 9.9 from a 10.0.
Herein lies my problem with people paying stupid money for a CGC 10.0 and trying to lay out their scale of quality over a scale that collectors like me or my peers were raised using. I feel that the manufacturing process is where quality should be defined, not in the hands of armchair collectors or dealers that just want to make an extra buck off of a pretty comic they own.
By having a grading scale that measures quality on what is possible, it pressures manufactirers to implement more costly handling, processing and production methods. The expectations from the consumers cause printers and distributors to implement process controls that have a costs which increase sharply towards infinity.
This nonsensical quest to pay more money for an arbitrary definition of perfection is incurring unnecessary costs on all of us-- even those happy with a solid, shiny flat and readable copy.
Q
Note: This is a repost of what I posted at the lyria comic exhange messageboard
What is shows is the sharp curve in manufacturing costs to achieve 100% conformance. For comic book collectors, 100% conformance would be CGC 10.0 or better.
As I've stated before, perfection should be measured by the manufacturer's or distributor's specifications, not what is possible. A Charlton Comic was made to lower specs than a DC or Marvel Comic. As collectors in the industry start pushing their expectations onto the distributor, publisher, and printer, the cost to manufacture the quality into the product approaches infinity.
This chart illustrates why CGC 10.0 books attain stupid prices. Once your goal becomes perfection, it doesn't matter if the book is "Action Comics #1" or "Archie #551", the price approcahes infinity to reach that goal or perfection. If you notice on the chart, perfection never reaches 100% and neither will perfection in the printing industry. A CGC 10.0 comic is not an absolute guide for perfection. It only measures specific criteria. The criteria could become more strict tomorrow or less. Collectors tomorrow could deem that plating thickness on staples is a quality measurement that separates a 9.9 from a 10.0.
Herein lies my problem with people paying stupid money for a CGC 10.0 and trying to lay out their scale of quality over a scale that collectors like me or my peers were raised using. I feel that the manufacturing process is where quality should be defined, not in the hands of armchair collectors or dealers that just want to make an extra buck off of a pretty comic they own.
By having a grading scale that measures quality on what is possible, it pressures manufactirers to implement more costly handling, processing and production methods. The expectations from the consumers cause printers and distributors to implement process controls that have a costs which increase sharply towards infinity.
This nonsensical quest to pay more money for an arbitrary definition of perfection is incurring unnecessary costs on all of us-- even those happy with a solid, shiny flat and readable copy.
Q
Note: This is a repost of what I posted at the lyria comic exhange messageboard
