NGPA Conference Wraps up in Denver

Government printers from as far away as Alaska converged in Denver this week for the 35th annual National Government Publishing Association (NGPA) conference. For three days, managers attended sessions, talked with vendor sponsors and shared ideas for new services.

On Wednesday the group toured the State of Colorado's Integrated Document Services operation, overseen by conference host Mike Lincoln. Attendees got to see the in-plant's extensive digital printing operation, which includes a Xerox Color 1000, as well as its impressive mailing operation, which was named 2012 Mail Center of the Year by the In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association.

Entitled "Exceptional Government and the Power of Partnership," the conference was packed with educational sessions. Monday's opening keynote speaker Gary Reblin, USPS vice president, Domestic Products, stressed the power of direct mail, and talked about how mailers can use QR codes to increase response rates while getting more information to recipients. Howie Fenton, senior consultant with NAPL, advised attendees to find their "sweet spot" (the products they print most often and most cost effectively) and focus on it—but remember, he added, this sweet spot changes over time. He recommended that managers check competitive pricing once or twice a year on the products ordered most.

Chris Reich, CEO of TeachUPresentation, gave a popular presentation called "Using Game Theory to Make Effective Presentations." Called back for an encore after his initial session, Reich pointed out that in any negotiation, the goal is to maximize the outcome for both sides. Always consider what the payoff is for the other person. Touting benefits like "improved efficiency," he noted, may not excite the other person, so stress a payoff that means more to them.

During informal meetings at the conference, members related some of the changes happening at their in-plants back home. In Delaware, the closure of the state's Administrative Services in-plant has resulted in more work coming to the Legislative Council's in-plant. Louisiana's General Services Division is preparing to reduce its offset printing and move more into digital. Iowa's Department of Administrative Services expects to add inserting and color printing equipment in the near future.

Andy Sherman, director of the GPO's Congressional Relations Office, noted that small agency in-plants appear to be doing a large amount of printing that should be handled by GPO. He said it would be more cost effective for taxpayers to let GPO procure this work. The Government Accountability Office is doing a study to locate all of these small in-plants, he said.

To see more photos from the conference, visit www.facebook.com/inplant.