Dozens of university and government in-plants from the Mid-Atlantic region met at the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) in Washington, D.C., in April for the eighth annual Digital Printing in Government and Higher Education Forum. The event, organized by Interquest, a market and technology research and consulting firm, featured several panels of in-plant managers, hailing from the United Nations, the World Bank, GPO, the University of Virginia, Fairfax County Government, Navy Federal Credit Union and others.
Washington, D.C.
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.
Stepping into The World Bank’s bright, spacious Printing & Multimedia Services operation on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., one is immediately struck by how much this in-plant has advanced from its days in the basement of the Bank’s downtown D.C. headquarters.
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In April, Xerox hosted an event in Washington, D.C., that drew more than 80 in-plants from around the region. Titled “Freedom to Perform: Innovative Ideas to Make Your In-plant Thrive,” the one-day event focused on sharing best practices.
The World Bank’s Printing & Multimedia Services operation has become one of the first in-plants to install a production inkjet press. Last month, the 42-employee in-plant fired up an HP T230 Color Inkjet Web Press in its Landover, Md., facility, 11 miles away from downtown Washington, D.C. With duplex printing speeds of 400 feet per minute, the inkjet press is a quantum leap over the speeds of the in-plant’s two Kodak NexPress 3000s and Océ ColorStream 10000. In fact, the first job run on the T230—800 copies of a 92-page book—would normally have taken up to eight hours to print.
Last month, university and government in-plants met inside the U.S Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C., for the seventh annual Interquest Digital Printing in Government and Higher Education Forum. Acting Public Printer Davita Vance-Cooks gave the keynote address, discussing the challenges faced by GPO, including tight budgets, increased congressional oversight, rapid technology changes and the advance of social media. As a result, GPO has been reexamining its mission and trying to redefine itself as an information and communications provider.
When it comes to the legislative agenda in a presidential election year, 'tis best to strike while the iron is hot. And that iron cools off considerably once school lets out. When the weather heats up, silly season begins in Washington, D.C. All attention will turn to the November elections, and virtually nothing will get done in Congress. That's hardly a bold prognostication; historically, except for any must-pass legislation needed to keep the government running, Congress hangs its "out to lunch" shingle around mid-year to focus on elections.
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