Myrtle Beach

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.

After taking a sabbatical last year, the Association of College and University Printers conference will begin on Sunday in Charlotte, N.C. Hosted by Richard Griffin, director of Campus Printing at Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC), it will feature several roundtable discussions on topics like digital presses, online ordering and wide-format printing. Other sessions will cover good financial management practices, best business practices, peer evaluation, using social media to grow your business and utilizing Microsoft Outlook to manage your time. 

DESPITE THE cancellation of the ACUP conference, ACUP lived on this year in a Webinar that attracted more than 100 in-plant managers from around the world. IPG partnered with the Association of College and University Printers to bring about the event, held on what would have been the last day of the ACUP conference. Three of the speakers who were scheduled to talk at ACUP gave their presentations online. Then, to replicate some of the free-flowing shop talk that is ACUP's hallmark, three past ACUP hosts held a lively roundtable discussion about the latest developments in their shops.

IT WAS with a sense of dread that I opened the e-mail from Richard Griffin last month. Griffin, manager of Central Piedmont Community College’s in-plant (and occasional writer for IPG) had graciously and enthusiastically volunteered to host the 2009 Association of College and University Printers (ACUP) conference. He and his co-hosts had made grand preparations for the event in Myrtle Beach, S.C., lined up excellent speakers and brought in strong vendor support. Then, after months of promotion, came this e-mail: “We regret to tell you that, in consultation with the ACUP Board, we’ve postponed ACUP 2009.” With one click of the send button, the hearts of past attendees around the globe were broken. For you see, ACUP did not wither away due to lack of interest; rather it met its fate due to economy-related travel bans instituted at hundreds of schools around the country. University managers who hadn’t missed an ACUP in ages were told they could not attend.

For 44 solid years, university in-plant managers have met annually for one of the most successful and anticipated in-plant events of them all: the Association of College and University Printers conference. But tough economic times have compelled many universities to institute travel bans this year. So severe has been the drop-off in registration this year that, after much discussion, ACUP hosts have decided to postpone the event indefinitely.

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