From the Editor: Don't Miss This Event
The pages of In-plant Impressions are filled with stories about in-plants successfully expanding into new services beyond their traditional purview. From wall wraps to name badges to 3D printing to promotional products, smart in-plants are looking for new types of work so they can add more value and remain critical to their parent organizations.
For years I’ve watched in-plants diversifying their services. I never stop encouraging them to seek out new applications and expand their capabilities. It’s all part of adding value so your parent organization sees you as essential.
For this reason, I strongly believe there is no better place for an in-plant to be this fall than at the new PRINTING United show in Dallas, October 23-25. With so many hot, new technologies and eye-catching applications on display, no one will leave the show without new ideas to enhance their operation and bolster their status as the one and only place customers should look for any kind of graphic arts need.
If you think you will come up with these ideas on your own, sitting in your office, think again. Trust me. I get my best story ideas when I’m on the road. You will definitely be inspired by what you see at PRINTING United.
Launching this year, the event was created as a strategic response to the convergence taking place all over the industry as print providers seek to offer services and products to expand their businesses. For in-plants, convergence can also mean using existing capabilities to go after new applications. We’ve seen countless examples of this when in-plants use their wide-format printers to provide signage and wraps that customers never thought to order previously. PRINTING United will inspire you with ideas for new applications, which you can bring back to your customers and expand your business.
Beyond the systems on display on the massive show floor in Dallas, the event will feature a robust educational program covering a diverse range of topics: apparel decorating, direct-to-object printing, 3D printing, workflow, industrial printing, dye-sublimation, color management, Web-to-print, and, of course, wide-format. On the show floor, PRINTING United’s three amphitheaters will feature research and exhibitor-led presentations addressing the apparel, industrial, graphics, commercial, and package printing communities.
To add even more value for in-plants, I will be running three free breakfast and lunch seminars exclusively for in-plant managers, covering topics like wide-format printing, workflow, and promotional product sales. My hope is that these sessions become gathering points for the in-plant community during the show. You’ll be able to talk with fellow managers about what you’ve seen on the show floor and share ideas for new services. I think you’ll all agree with me that networking is one of the most valuable sources of inspiration at any event.
Offering new services is the key to your future success because these days, in-plants have to do more than just save money. That’s how the outsourcing companies try to put you out of business: claiming they will save your organization money on printing. So you need to add value far beyond just a cheaper price. Exploring the PRINTING United expo floor to scout out new services and applications your in-plant can provide is an essential step to ensuring your future success.
I strongly believe any in-plant that cares about its future should make plans to attend PRINTING United to get ideas and see new technologies they can put to use to strengthen their operations.
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.
