Just two months away, Graph Expo is shaping up to be an in-plant manager’s dream. The country’s largest graphic arts trade show is putting a lot of emphasis on the in-plant market this year, with sessions, users’ groups and networking opportunities focused exclusively on in-plants.
A number of sessions focusing on in-plants are planned for this October's Graph Expo show in Chicago. Perhaps the most exciting one is a panel of four in-plant managers who will talk about why their operations are successful.
The Graphic Arts Show Co. (GASC), producer of GRAPH EXPO, is introducing an expanded In-Plant Education Track for this year’s event, scheduled to run Oct. 7-10, 2012, at Chicago's McCormick Place. By partnering with exhibitors such as Rochester Software Associates (RSA), a variety of the key associations, industry publications and in-plants themselves, GASC has created a dynamic set of offerings for this year’s show.
With the implementation of Web-to-print and an automated hardcopy workflow, Blue Valley School District's in-plant in Overland Park, Kansas, was able to grow its volume 600 percent—without adding staff.
Graph Expo is debuting an in-plant educational track at the Chicago show this year, with sessions covering topics like rebranding, growth strategies, in-plant ingenuity and multi-channel offerings. One session will feature a panel of managers from successful in-plants. The session organizer, Rochester Software Associates, is giving in-plants an opportunity to pick who they would like to be on that “dream team” panel.
A year and a half ago, Shana Farrell, Printing Services and Distance Learning Manager at Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, Wis., organized a recognition event for her staff of six. She invited not only her boss but the college president. There, each employee received individual recognition for his or her hard work and dedication. Afterward, Farrell says, she noticed everyone was working harder and enjoying their jobs more.
in 2008, Yale University decided to begin construction of a new Yale School of Management. Yale Printing & Publishing Services was located in a building that was scheduled for demolition. To determine whether outsourcing made sense, the university did a complete financial review of the in-plant. The study revealed that it would be more costly to close the shop and outsource than to move it.
When SUPDMC attendees weren't networking or attending sessions, they were visiting Vanderbilt University's impressive in-plant.
ANY TIME in-plant managers get together, the conversation and camaraderie never end. This was particularly true at the recent Southeastern University Printing and Digital Managers Conference (SUPDMC). About 30 in-plant managers from universities all over the southern U.S. and as far away as the state of Washington got together in Nashville, Tenn., to exchange information and listen to presentations to help them tune up their operations.
Two years ago, things were looking up for M.I.T. Copy Technology Centers, the in-plant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge. After a long search, the 21-employee operation had finally made the decision to acquire a Xerox iGen3 and was preparing to enter the world of high-quality color printing.
