From the Editor Ten Years of Comments
Outsourcing of printing by the parent organization is a big threat in Australia, and 44 percent of managers felt it was likely to happen to their operation. Interestingly, only 30 percent feared that the in-plant would be taken over by a facilities management organization.
Several in-plants reported that they have successfully turned themselves into "commercial" operations by securing new customers—both internal and external—and becoming profit centers. One such shop is College Printing and Graphic Design at Box Hill Institute in Melbourne. I visited this 18-employee in-plant with General Manager Martin Booth, who told me that 15 percent of his work is done for clients outside of the university. Some of this business comes from taking in finishing work from other printers. He uses a salesperson to call on outside clients.