West Barton

Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited more than 170 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.

AS A high school student in Cedar City, Utah, Doug Maxwell had no particular career path in mind. He got good grades, was on the debate team and enjoyed hanging out with his buddies. So when some of those buddies enrolled in Cedar City High School's graphic arts program, Maxwell figured, why not?

By recognizing new opportunities for growth, the BYU Print and Mail Production center has increased both its revenue and services. by Mike Llewellyn Sales grew solidly over the past year at the Brigham Young University Print and Mail Production center. Director West Barton attributes the increase to an academic trend. He explains that "independent study," or distance learning, has been a great opportunity for his operation. "We've gone from 26,000 student packets four years ago to 75,000 this year," he says. "And we're looking to reach a goal of 500,000." This growth pushed the in-plant up four ranks on last month's Top 50, placing

Entering In-Print can win you more than just a plaque. In-plants say their awards have won them increased recognition and more business. To West Barton, the In-Print contest is much more than a contest. It's a marketing tool. After all, how can the faculty and staff at Brigham Young University help but notice when the BYU Print & Mail Production Center wins 10 awards, like it did in a previous year's contest? "It brought exposure," confirms Barton, who oversees the department. But that's only part of it. Winning an In-Print award also shows departments the in-plant can produce high-quality printing—something that will

In-plants are cautiously examining e-commerce offerings. But many aren't ready. And others already offer the same services. You might expect a state-of-the-art in-plant like the Brigham Young University Print and Mail Production Center to have all the latest e-commerce solutions in place. But look all you want; you won't find Noosh, printCafe or any of the other e-commerce vendors in BYU's Provo, Utah, facility. Instead, BYU uses a home-grown solution to provide online ordering for business cards, letterhead and stationery. "The whole bottom line is, there's nothing new in what these guys have to offer," says Director West Barton of today's crop

Combining departments will not only boost your services, but it will save money in the long run. Marrying in-house mail and print departments requires all the foresight, planning and tact of a royal wedding—and the payoffs are just as spectacular. A more coordinated, efficient operation able to offer customers more services at a lower cost—that's the dream come true for managers of integrated in-plants. "The results [of our merger] were far greater than we ever imagined. There's a synergy from everything being together now in one wide-open space," reveals Tim Steenhoek, who manages mail and print at Equitable of Iowa in Des Moines. Operations

The show was built around a trio of themes: personalization, the Internet and outsourcing. This last theme, however, may have proved a bit overbearing. As Barbara Pellow put it in the opening minutes of the 1998 On Demand Digital Printing & Publishing Strategy Conference and Exposition, "The digital opportunity isn't coming; it's here, it's today and it's now." Certainly that was not headline news to printers, who have been hearing about—and practicing—printing on demand for years. Nevertheless, more than 18,700 people jammed the Javits Convention Center in New York recently to learn about the latest print-on-demand developments. Pello's consulting firm, CAP Ventures, the

More Blogs