ACUP Wraps Up in Minneapolis
A chilly rain dampened the highway on the 90-minute bus drive to Mankato, Minn., Wednesday morning, as the 80 attendees of the Association of College and University Printers conference headed southwest to tour Minnesota State University-Mankato's print and mail operations. It was the third and final day of an exciting, information-packed conference that brought together in-plant managers from 25 states, plus Scotland, England and Australia.
The event started Sunday night with an opening reception, and ended Wednesday evening with a dinner and awards ceremony, chaired by retired University of North Texas Director Jimmy Friend. In between, the conference was packed with great information and plenty of networking.
Among the highlights:
- Ken Macro, soon to take over as head of the Graphic Communication Department at California Polytechnic State University, gave an enthusiastic, fast-paced talk about Cal Poly’s graphic communications programs before detailing exciting future print technologies like printed electronics, smart packaging and 3D printing.
- Ray Chambers, CEO of the Chambers Management Group, and his wife Cathy Chambers, of Virginia Tech's in-plant, led an in-depth, two-day workshop about strategic print management, covering hands-on decision making, recognizing and addressing management problems, and evaluating results.
- Richard Tussey of Eastern Kentucky University gave a spirited presentation on his efforts to implement a copier fleet management program at his school.
- ACUP President Lisa Hoover, of Bucknell University, moderated an active roundtable discussion on Web-to-print software.
- Doug Fenske talked about how he works with Minnesota State University-Mankato’s integrated marketing team to ensure that all printed materials have consistent branding, including the university’s specific (PMS 269) purple color.
- Brian Pickles, of Bradford University, in Bradford, England, discussed how he helped create a shared print services program with Bradford College, for the mutual benefit of both institutions.
- IPG Editor Bob Neubauer gave a presentation on in-plant best practices in which he offered anecdotes of in-plants targeted for closure, and revealed how they were saved, and he gave examples of new services in-plants are offering.
Read more about ACUP 2013 in the June issue of IPG.
