In-plant Innovator Award Winners

Last month’s In-plant Innovators Conference brought managers to Washington, D.C., to hear about innovative practices and technologies being used by their in-plant peers. Five of those in-plants were honored with In-plant Innovator Awards. Each presented a case study highlighting their innovative accomplishments.

Singled out for this honor were:

• Colorado Integrated Document Solutions
• Houston Independent School District Printing Services
• The U.S. Government Publishing Office
• Clemson University Campus Banner + Design
• Omaha Public Schools Printing & Publications Services

Colorado Integrated Document Solutions

Colorado’s Integrated Document Solutions division was honored for its technology advancements and efforts to use them to help its customers succeed. The in-plant added a Ricoh InfoPrint 5000 MP inkjet press and started adding color to formerly monochrome pages.

“Our customers had been asking for it,” explained Mike Lincoln, Colorado State Printer.

The in-plant helped customers see the advantage of adding color.

“We showed them how they could use colors to highlight certain areas within the document to bring attention to areas they’d want their consumers to take action on,” he noted.

Prior to doing that, the in-plant implemented an automated document factory (ADF) solution. That, Lincoln said, was the best thing it could have done.

“From this, we were actually able to increase and identify efficiencies in the workflow before we started with inkjet solutions. And then, we were able to procure our inkjet.”

IDS is now working with other municipalities in the state of Colorado and is looking at doing printing for state utilities.

Lincoln added that the in-plant is also taking a lead in data management, which he noted, is not something that’s really conventional for most print shops.

Houston Independent School District Printing Services

Last year, Houston Independent School District Printing Services became the first in-plant to install an Océ VarioPrint i300 sheetfed production inkjet press. The improvements that brought to the district, including enhanced teaching and learning materials, earned the operation an In-plant Innovator Award.

“In a business where a week was considered normal, we were trying to deliver tomorrow. We couldn’t do that with our toner devices,” explained Chuck Werninger, senior manager of Administrative Services. “We were also looking for outstanding quality at a lower cost point. Those were things that we found with the i300.”

With the addition of the VarioPrint i300, the in-plant does not miss deadlines and does not have overtime costs. No calibration is required, Werninger said, and the press almost never needs service.

“Missed deadlines were a daily thing for us about a year ago, and that hasn’t happened in 2017 and I’m really excited about that,” he said. “For the most part, one operator, one machine, one job, beginning to end.”

Government Publishing Office

GPO Director Davita Vance-Cooks herself joined her staff to accept the in-plant’s In-plant Innovator Award, which it earned for investing in the right tools and technologies, applying Lean Six Sigma methodologies and modernizing its operation.

“The GPO is committed to strengthening our organizational foundation by implementing best practices in technologies that allow us to improve our processes, reduce costs and increase the value that we deliver to our customers,” said Gregg Estep, deputy managing director. “The critical pillars to our success are people and technology, fiscal responsibility and maintaining industry certifications.”

Among its accomplishments, the GPO touted its investments in employees and technology, its efforts to maintain fiscal responsibility and its industry certifications. GPO has developed a new composition system based on XML data standard, implemented a manufacturing workflow system and implemented a warehouse management system.

GPO modernized its facility by installing a new high-speed zero makeready press and adding a high-speed Muller Martini binding line. The in-plant is currently preparing to add a second new binding line as well.

Clemson University Campus Banner + Design

Prior to adding new technology, Campus Banner + Design faced a few challenges. The in-plant is staffed by students so it has a frequent turnover rate. It was becoming difficult to accommodate client requests for wide-format printing, said Nathan Smith, art director. Because of this, the shop needed to add more dependable, user-friendly equipment. So it installed eco-solvent, wide-format digital printing equipment from Roland DGA with integrated contour cutting.

The printer enabled the in-plant to produce a range of high-quality products, such as vehicle graphics, laptop skins, decals, stickers, wall murals, window graphics and canvas prints. The in-plant has brought in new business from external clients at nonprofits, civic organizations and even other universities.

Since introducing the new technology, the shop’s business has grown 204% and its staffing has increased. To meet the demand, the shop added a new website that allows 24/7 online ordering. Eco-solvent digital printing now accounts for all sales, Smith said.

Omaha Public Schools Printing & Publications Services

Workflow automation has greatly improved the customer experience at Omaha Public Schools Printing & Publications Services, earning the operation an In-plant Innovator Award.

The challenge for Manager Steve Priesman and his team was to drive the district’s printing to their facility, rather than having teachers and staff send work to the copiers in their schools. To do that, the in-plant needed to make ordering easy and provide quick turnarounds.

“We built the system for online ordering around 10 years ago,” said Priesman. “About five years later, we decided we needed to go to a commercial product.”

The in-plant uses XMPie software to develop personalized printed materials that align to the mission and vision of the public school system, such as variable data letters that get sent out to the parents of all students who receive transportation.

For the 2015-16 school year, Printing & Publications Services processed more than 33,000 individual printing orders on its Xerox printers and Ryobi offset perfectors.

In his closing statement, Priesman stressed the importance of having an online ordering system and variable data capabilities.

“Any in-plant printer who does not offer a good online ordering system for their customers, and does not have variable data capabilities, is missing the boat. And I think, eventually, their viability will be impacted,” he concluded.