Garry Boytos, Director of UT Health In-plant, Passes Away at 64

Garry Boytos, longtime director of Printing Services at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio (UTHSCSA), passed away unexpectedly on Saturday Nov. 15 at the age of 64, leaving his family and friends in shock. He had just started a new position as director of Business Technology Auxiliary Services for UT San Antonio Online two months ago.

Garry Boytos

“The University of Texas at San Antonio lost a dedicated employee,” lauds Richard Beto, former director of Document Solutions at the University of Texas at Austin. “Garry always had his university’s best interest in mind. He had the energy of three people. We partnered on several projects, and he led them all. The most memorable one was producing fat heads during COVID. Our in-plant community lost a good friend and manager.”

“He was just an all-around great guy,” reflects Heidelberg’s Jack Kasper, a close friend of Boytos for the past 50 years. “We took printing [classes] in high school. And then we stayed in the printing business.”

Kasper recalls how, early in his career while working for a PIP Printing franchise, Boytos’ knowledge and skill caught the attention of company leadership.

“He made such an impression on somebody in that franchise organization, they hired him at their corporate office in Simi Valley, California, and he moved out there,” Kasper says. “He was an innovator, and he was also an influencer.”

After working at several commercial printing companies, Boytos entered the in-plant world in 2008 when he started at UTHSCSA. He brought a commercial mentality to the in-plant, infusing the stagnant shop with an energy it sorely needed.

Garry Boytos and Leticia Dominguez stand next to the in-plant’s Xerox DocuColor 7002 in 2011.

As director of UTHSCSA Printing Services, Boytos made significant improvements over the years to keep the shop competitive and ensure its continuing success. In a 2011 IPI article, he detailed how he walked into a disorganized, decentralized in-plant at UTHSCSA and modernized it to keep it in business.

He implemented a copier management program and brought in a tracking system to allow the department to monitor jobs and print costs. He merged the copy center and print shop into one location, successfully switched the focus to short-run digital color printing, and overhauled the wide-format printing area, which was generating very little revenue at the time. He turned it into a lucrative service for the in-plant.

Under Boytos’ leadership the in-plant brought more work in-house by focusing on service, quality, and price to stay ahead of the competition. He generated additional revenue by attracting jobs from outside educational institutions and facilities.

Garry Boytos and Julian Juarez confer on a job by the 30˝ Heidelberg Stahl folder.

“Just his knowledge of the graphic arts ... I mean, he knew big press, he knew post press, he knew promotional. Gary would immerse himself in every discipline of the business. He was a very thoughtful and skillful manager,” recalls Kasper. “He would empower people. He would nurture people along the way and help them to grow into their positions.”

Boytos got a chance to tell his success story at the Print 13 show in Chicago when he was part of a panel discussion with other in-plant leaders. He kicked off his presentation with a humorous video featuring him as Indiana Jones on the search for the secret to success. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/D9GOsGJGFLw?si=guwJazAQBmi3RuAe&t=652

Boytos was always happy to share his ideas and advice with his fellow in-plant managers. Twice he hosted the Texas Association of College and University Printers (TACUP) conference. Arthur Pare, associate managing director of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center’s in-plant, remembers Boytos’ contributions fondly.

“Garry hosted an excellent TACUP conference in 2012, and then very graciously stepped in and again hosted the 2014 conference when another university had to back out very late in the planning process,” Pare says. “Garry was the one who introduced me to embroidery machines, 3D stainless steel printing for medical schools, and wide format canvas prints. Garry taught me some time saving tricks on framing. He had great results with his shop and many in-plant printing centers in Texas looked to his leadership over the years. Several of his wide-format installations are still in place 20 years later. Garry, you will be missed.”

In 2015 Boytos’ in-plant became one of the few to install a Heidelberg Linoprint C901 digital press. Boytos was so proud of the offset-like quality it produced that he moved even more short-run work from the shop’s offset presses onto the C901.

Five years later, during the pandemic, he and his team hustled to print 1,600 fan cutouts to help fill the stadium stands during that socially distanced era. He saw it as more than just a big job; it was an opportunity to help out the university in a time of need.

"It has been an honor and a joy to play a role in bringing the fans back to Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium while helping keep student-athletes, staff and fans safe,” he told IPI at the time.

Jack Kasper and Garry Boytos enjoying a drink in Florida on his last visit there.

Kasper last saw his old friend when Boytos visited him in Florida not long ago and the two caught up on old times.

“He spent a week here, and … it was just a fantastic amount of quality time,” he says.

When Boytos attended last year’s PRINTING United Expo, he went with a list of specific equipment to check out. He was focused on continuing to add services, including apparel decoration and automated cutting, to keep his in-plant relevant. His advice to fellow in-plant managers was always this: avoid complacency.

“The industry has changed and is changing every day,” he told IPI last year. “You must change along with it – or just keep doing the same and you will be outsourced. In-plants have a limited customer base so you must find new products and services to ensure your future and be considered an asset to the origination.”

A classic car fan who loved riding his Harley Davidson, Garry Boytos leaves behind his wife Megan Cruz-Boytos, along with a son and two daughters. Funeral services will take place in Helotes, Texas, on November 25.

Kasper is hopeful his friend’s impact on his printing industry peers will live on for years to come.

“He was a teacher and a mentor,” Kasper says. “He loved to impart all of the information, the knowledge, the wisdom that he had acquired along the way, onto other people to help them be as good as they could possibly be. I want everybody to know what a super guy he was.”