ACUP Conference Wraps Up in Texas
Roughly 75 higher-ed and K-12 in-plant managers gathered in Dallas recently for the Association of College and University Printers (ACUP+) conference, turning the event into a lively hub for ideas, insight, and innovation. All week, managers from Alaska to Georgia and everywhere in between dove into conversations about flatbed printing, stickers, Web-to-print systems, and a range of other topics. Between networking opportunities, participants took in a strong lineup of educational sessions, while the bustling vendor area drew plenty of attention with its array of equipment — including the brand-new Mimaki UJ330H-160 hybrid wide-format printer, which made its North American debut at ACUP+.
Mark Fallon addresses the ACUP conference.
The conference opened with a presentation by Mark Fallon of The Berkshire Co., who talked about teamwork, generosity, and leadership styles. He had attendees fill out a score sheet to determine if they were a director, promoter, supporter, or analyzer in their preferred communication methods, then offered tips on how people in each category should best communicate with people in the other categories.
In-plants talk with vendors in the exhibit area.
Speakers from Ricoh offered case studies from the in-plants at Omaha Public Schools and Richardson ISD, focusing on how they have each amped up their automation and shifted the conversation from effort to performance. Kim Stanford (University of Alaska Anchorage) gave a tutorial on strategic planning based on her experience working with her team to craft a mission statement. Sara Bakke (Oklahoma City Community College) offered an in-depth session on sticker printing. And a team from Konica Minolta discussed how in-plants should automate repetitive tasks and elevate their value to the institution.
The ACUP+ Awards dinner.
But the most impactful session on the first day may have been a panel discussion featuring Fallon, IPI Editor Bob Neubauer, and Gary Warren, formerly with Fayetteville State University about ways in-plants can strengthen their position to avoid outsourcing. Each offered advice gleaned from years of experience on steps in-plants should be taking now – before they are threatened with outsourcing – to collect data showing their savings and value.
IPI Editor Bob Neubauer gave the keynote on the second day of ACUP 2026.
Neubauer kicked off Tuesday with a keynote focused on new services and applications in-plants are adding based on the results from a new IPI research report. He also offered scores of ideas for ways in-plants can use artificial intelligence to add efficiency and get new ideas. He was followed by Canon’s Bob Barbera who talked about the growth of production inkjet among in-plants and the benefits it can bring.
Other Tuesday sessions covered fleet management programs, wide-format essentials, licensing and royalty issues involved in promo products, and ways to better market your in-plant.
In-plants talk with vendors in the exhibit area.
On Wednesday, attendees toured Richardson Independent School District’s in-plant and watched its Mimaki flatbed press at work. They also got a tutorial on wall and window wrapping and got to use heat presses to make mouse pads and puzzles. Capping that day was the ACUP Awards ceremony and gala dinner. Watch for full ACUP+ 2026 coverage in the days ahead.
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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 200 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.
