From the Editor: Rewarding Quality
I JUST got back from Oklahoma City, where I supervised the judging of the In-Print 2007 contest, a partnership between IPG and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association (IPMA). As always, it was an educational experience.
In-plants are tackling some complicated projects, and our five judges were very impressed. Still, it’s always sad to watch some of the most ambitious submissions get eliminated due to poor folds or missing dots in solid areas. Among the most common flaws were color variations from page to page, particularly noticeable on tabs and crossovers. (More than once a judge was heard to utter, “someone needs to shoot the designer.”)
Earning particularly high points were in-plants that had used two-color presses to produce four-color work. The judges boosted one winner from Bronze to Silver after learning its brochure was printed on a two-color; the quality was so good they were simply amazed that a four-color press hadn’t been used. I took video during the proceedings and plan to put some of it on our Web site soon so you can see what the judges went through.
The top winners this year were the University of Oklahoma (no, the home field advantage didn’t factor in), the University of Delaware, Ohio University, Brigham Young University and Texas Tech. (Universities sure print some excellent stuff.) The University of Delaware earned six Gold awards.
The judging was held at Redlands Community College, and Larry Clements, director of Printing Services, along with his assistant Ann Jackson, deserve a hearty thanks for opening and sorting the entries, and for hosting the judging.
After the Best of Show winner was picked and the judging wrapped up, Larry took IPMA contest chairman Larry Wright and I for a spin past the Renaissance Hotel, the site of this year’s IPMA conference, taking place June 6-9. It looked like a great location, right near lots of restaurants, a botanical garden and the city’s Bricktown section, where a riverside walkway meanders past scores of shops and restaurants. I encourage all in-plant managers to attend the IPMA conference, where you’ll get to meet dozens of fellow in-plant managers and attend sessions designed to help you run your in-plant even better.
It’s also where the In-Print awards will be presented and where the Best of Show winner will finally be revealed.
- People:
- Larry Clements
- Places:
- Oklahoma City
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.