From the Editor: ACUP Class Reunion

I just got back from a wonderful four-day visit to Harrisburg, Pa. That’s not something you usually hear people crowing about, I know, but Harrisburg was where the Association of College and University Printers held its 47th annual conference, and I was glad to be a part of it.

ACUP is always like a class reunion for me. Managers I’ve known for years are together in one room, and I get to find out what’s new with them, and rehash old stories.

Though this was my 17th ACUP, I was (thankfully) not the oldest one in the room. Several long-time managers, and a few retirees, returned this year, and it was wonderful to see them. They were joined by a number of first-timers, and quite a few members of the “new ACUP” contingent—managers who started attending in 2010, the year after the group was forced to cancel its conference when the recession stripped away everyone’s travel money.

In a way, that fateful year marks the separation point between the new and old ACUP. The year before, in Clearwater Beach, the conference was packed with ACUP veterans. The year after, in Charlotte, a brand new class of managers enrolled. Many of them have been coming ever since.

By all signs, ACUP is doing well since its incorporation as a non-profit organization two years ago. Attendance has grown every year since 2010, reaching nearly 100 this year, thanks to the promotional efforts of host and new ACUP President Lisa Hoover, director of Bucknell University’s Office of Publications, Print and Mail. At the conference, she and ACUP’s first elected board were officially introduced, along with new committee members, each tasked with improving the services ACUP offers members.

This year’s conference boasted a great blend of traditional sessions, roundtable discussions, vendor displays and open time for networking. For my part, I felt like I was always on the go—taking notes, shooting video, snapping photos and using every spare second to chat with managers about their shops. (I make way too much work for myself.) But the conference was a great success, and I came away with several good story ideas.

The highlight for many attendees was our trip to Bucknell University, where we toured our hosts’ well-equipped in-plant. The day was capped off by the screening of a terrific documentary called Linotype: The Film, which we watched in cinematic splendor in the refurbished art deco Campus Theatre, on Lewisburg’s main street. As if that weren’t enough, the film’s director and producer, Doug Wilson, was on hand to answer questions about his love of the linotype, and the reasons he chose to film this tribute to the device that revolutionized printing.

Though it was sad to say good-bye to everyone when ACUP wrapped up, I was so glad to be able to drive home for a change, after a busy spring of plane travel. Now I get to stay home the entire month of May before the next set of trips begins in June. IPG