Expo Helps Ohio In-plant Plan Its Automated Future

As older employees retire from the state of Ohio’s State Printing and Mail Services division, Administrative Officer Van Hylton says he’s faced with employees who don’t have as much experience as his retirees.

“Over the last, say, two years, I've had six retirees, and we've had three new hires. But even their experience in printing accumulatively doesn't add up to one of the guys that retired,” Hylton says.

Van Hylton

That’s when Hylton says the 11-employee Columbus, OH-based in-plant decided to turn toward automation.

“Automation is a word a lot of people use kind of loosely, but in reality, it was one of the things that we were facing. I had to find something that was digital, state-of-the-art, but automated to the sense that the staff I have, they're very aware of the digital age. They live in it. They were born in it. They grew up in it. So, they're not afraid of computers. And so, I had to rely more on the electronics versus the mechanical,” Hylton says.

And to find just what he needed, Hylton turned to PRINTING United Expo last year in Orlando, FL. Prior to the event, he met with Gary Greis, a regional sales manager from Graphco, who put some equipment on Hylton’s radar. But it wasn’t until he saw it in person that things became much clearer.

“Once I was hands on, pushed some buttons, it accelerated our need to get the equipment. So, the hands-on in Orlando was tremendous help for me to visualize that if I can push the buttons, my staff can easily push the buttons,” Hylton says.

It’s that aspect of the Expo that Hylton appreciates the most — the fact that you can get hands-on experiences with multiple machines, all under one roof.

“Just actually being there talking to someone from the company, hands-on, seeing it firsthand. I mean, you can watch YouTube videos until you're tired of watching YouTube videos, but to see the actual footprint, that's different” Hylton says. “We’re landlocked in an office building, so we can’t expand, we can only rearrange what we have. So, seeing the actual footprints was probably one of the biggest helps for me being at the show.

“The other part is just live demos,” Hylton continues. “I didn't have to travel to eight different places or four different places to see something. I'm walking across the floor.”

Hylton says when he saw how certain equipment would help automate additional production, he brought back all the information and presented it not only to his management, but also to his staff.

The following pieces of equipment are expected to be delivered and installed this month at the state of Ohio’s State Printing and Mail Services division:

1. A Standard Horizon AFC-566FKT folder
2. A Graphic Wizard PT9375SCC Supercut slitter/cutter/creaser
3. A Revo Flex automatic sheet-fed laminator with four-side trimming
4. A Plastikoil PBS 3000 QS4 auto coil inserter, which will allow Hylton and his team to increase the volume they currently do using a manual process.

Hylton has plans to keep adding to the list for the next fiscal year. He’s eyeing a Ricoh Pro 9500 color printer with some finishing options with Plockmatic; a Preferred Packaging PP-5600CS shrink wrapper; a Quadient DS-77iQ folder/inserter; and if there’s any money left over, a TrojanLabel printer.

“We do a lot of stickers, but currently we're using our wide-format and our Colex cutter to print and cut out the stickers,” Hylton says. “We're looking to maybe move into the roll sticker to change up some things and help state agencies so we can easily and cheaply provide 100 stickers without major setups and exorbitant costs.”

Speaking of time and exorbitant costs, the thing Hylton is looking forward to the most once his new equipment is up and running is the time he and his team will get back.

“So literally, with the speed and execution of each of the pieces of equipment, I probably gain two hours a day back without even trying,” Hylton says. “Usually, you get some pushback or a whole litany of questions, but the efficiency of the new equipment and with the staff being tuned into the digital age, it's like hand in glove.”

And in addition to the time Hylton’s team will get back, he also says he’s looking forward to the doors the new slitter/cutter/creaser will open up — like thank you cards or personalized note cards for the senior executive levels.

Overall, if you’re an in-plant manager who hasn’t attended PRINTING United Expo, Hylton urges you to go.

“Anybody that has never attended, I would recommend it,” he says. “You're not going to walk away disappointed. Plus, once you get your list of priorities looked at, there are so many other things going on at that show that as a printer ... you just walk around there in awe.”

Register for this year’s PRINTING United Expo taking place in Las Vegas Sept. 23-25, here.