As you route another job to your digital press today, take a moment to reflect on the fact that xerographic technology has come a long way since it was invented 75 years ago this month.
Seattle
The battle to close one of most well-run in-plants in the country rages on in Washington state. State Printer Jean-Luc Devis offers his view.
ABOUT 100 document professionals participated in the recent Digital Printing in Government Forum. Organized by INTERQUEST, a market and technology research and consulting firm, the third annual forum took place in Washington, D.C., on November 5. During the “Leading Vendors Strategies Panel,” which kicked off the event, Elaine Wilde, vice president of sales for Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group, spoke about some leading-edge public sector in-plants that have been using Kodak’s technology:
IT’S SAFE to say that no one left the 31st annual National Government Publishing Association (NGPA) conference thirsting for more information. Held in Bellevue, Wash., near Seattle, the meeting combined excellent educational sessions with a well-orchestrated plant tour that left many attendees breathless.
With $14.65 million in annual revenue, University of Washington Publications Services is the largest university in-plant, according to sales. But until August, it was one of the few big in-plants that had neither a digital color press nor computer-to-plate equipment. That just changed. The Seattle-based operation recently added both a Xerox iGen3 and an Agfa :Avalon chemistry-free CTP system. “Now it’s an all-digital workflow,” proclaims Frank Davis, associate director. “Whether it goes to the pressroom or it goes on the iGen, it’s all digital now.” So far the speed and quality improvements are making a huge difference. “Our designers and customer service reps
There aren’t too many private athletic clubs that have their own in-plants. But for nearly 17 years now, John Ashby has been serving as the one-man print shop for the Washington Athletic Club, a 17,840-member club in downtown Seattle. Using a two-color Ryobi 512, he produces more than a million impressions a year, handling about 80 percent of WAC’s printing. This includes four-color jobs, like the 28-page “menu of services” he recently printed. He single-handedly cranked out 2,500 of the 4x5.5˝ pieces, each with an 80-lb. cover. “That job took me a little while,” he recalls. Ashby prints three membership mailings a