In-plants Deck the Halls and Prepare for a Winter Break
As the holidays approach, many in-plants are getting ready for a “long winter’s nap” when they shut down their shops and take a few days off. With less than a week until Christmas, we surveyed them to learn more about their holiday preparations and celebrations.
All respondents get a winter break of some sort, though 17% apparently work for Scrooge because they get only Christmas and New Year’s Day off. A lucky 61% get the entire week between those holidays to relax and put printing out of their minds – with 33% enjoying a few additional vacation days beyond that. Nice.
Celebrating with a staff holiday lunch is very popular; 82% do this. But in-house festivities are more limited, with only about a quarter decorating the print shop for Christmas, and even fewer exchanging gifts or sharing Christmas cookies. (Thankfully very few hold an ugly sweater day.)
Beyond the merriment of the season, Christmas is also a source of work. Three quarters print Christmas cards for their parent organization, and half produce programs for holiday events. Event signage and decorations also keep the presses busy at some shops, and at least one has printed wrapping paper.
While Christmas is generally a jolly time of year, there are certain situations likely to turn an in-plant manager into an angry Scrooge. Chief among them: Last-minute jobs arriving right before Christmas break. More than three quarters picked that as their top Yuletide pet peeve. Nearly 40% said being unable to track down customers who are off making merry at holiday time is what annoys them most. Fortunately, few in-plant employees are getting distracted by visions of sugarplums, as only 11% of managers see this as a holiday frustration.
So as the winter break approaches, here’s hoping your holidays are merry, your deadlines are light, and your presses are quiet until the new year.
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 200 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.
