Graphic Whizard

For years, Temple University Digital Document Services reported to Business Services, and getting approval for new equipment was a challenge. Then a curious thing happened at the Philadelphia university about a year ago.

It is not altogether clear whether Catherine Chambers believed in fate when it came to choosing her career as an in-plant manager.  As the director of Printing and Mail Services at Virginia Tech sees it, it just “kind of happened.”

Hidden deep inside New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) is an art studio of a different sort—a graphic arts operation responsible for producing high-quality printed pieces in support of the iconic museum. With a four-color Ryobi 784 EP perfecting press, as well as Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS C8000 and C6000 color printers, the busy 11-employee in-plant prints projects the MET's quality-conscious designers can be proud of.

When Kristofer Russell arrived at the in-plant for the City of Oklahoma City a few years ago, he knew he needed to make changes to not only the equipment languishing in the shop, but also the old-school mindset of many customers and employees.

Shelter Insurance, a recognized insurance and financial services leader, has built a solid reputation on integrity, excellence and an ongoing commitment to improvement. That commitment is reflected in its full-service Document Services operation, located in Columbia, Mo.

IPG attends the In-Plant Printing & Mailing Association's Harrisburg chapter meeting, then tours Hershey Printing Services.

Equipped with an arsenal of digital printing and high-tech inserting gear, the 42-employee print and mail operation at Physicians Mutual processes between 30 and 35 million mail pieces a year for the health and life insurance company.

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.

When Bucknell University’s Office of Publications, Print and Mail decided it was time to replace its 17-year-old Rosback perforator/creaser, the Lewisburg, Pa., in-plant didn’t just want another version of the same machine. It wanted new capabilities so it could offer new value to the university.

Though digital printing equipment made the biggest splash at the On Demand Conference and Exposition in March, the Washington, D.C. show was chock full of bindery equipment too. IPG visited all of the major bindery vendors. Here's a look at what we saw.