Mark McCarty of Missouri State University Passes Away

Mark McCarty, manager of Printing and Postal Services, at Missouri State University, in Springfield, passed away on Monday after a battle with cancer. He was 66. He leaves behind a wife and two children. His 33-year career in the in-plant industry spanned two universities, where he made his mark by improving their print operations and focusing on the success of his customers.

Mark McCarty

Rarely seen without a smile, McCarty was well known to his peers at other in-plants around the country from his attendance at in-plant conferences, where his jovial comments always put others at ease. Even when he couldn’t attend in person, he still made an effort to help out, such as when he gave the first remote video presentation at an in-plant conference in 2014, addressing attendees of the Association of College and University Printers conference via Skype. He told them how adding digital color printing to his in-plant turned it around after it was downsized due to shrinking offset volumes. Adding a Kodak NexPress 2500 with dimensional printing effects improved the creativity of customers’ projects, he said, earning high praise for the in-plant.

McCarty volunteered as an In-Print contest judge multiple times, including during the pandemic when social distancing protocols made the work a little more challenging. He was always happy to talk with In-plant Impressions for articles and pass along his considerable knowledge and expertise. His last appearance in the pages of IPI was in 2024 when he chronicled his shop’s installation of two Ultrasonic humidifiers to reduce static, and admitted to making a mistake by turning humidity levels so high the shop was shrouded in “London fog.”

A Printer Since 16

Mark McCarty in his office in 2011

McCarty began his printing career when he was just 16, working at a local mom-and-pop shop called Hutto Printing in his hometown of Winfield, Kansas.

"I worked mainly in the darkroom, but I did deliveries as well," McCarty told IPI in a 2011 manager profile. "I took pride in the craftsmanship that was still part of the printing industry at the time before computers."

He enjoyed hand-setting type for funeral announcements on a letterpress. When he was with friends and saw a sign that he'd helped print, he would proudly tell them "Hey, I did that."

Mark McCarty (left) and his team show off their new Kodak NexPress 2500 in 2014. From left: Kaye Hendershott, Doug Evans, Steve Townsend and Rick Patton.

After graduating from high school, McCarty enrolled at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas. He earned his degree in Printing Management, then went to work for a large commercial printer. After detouring into auto glass sales with his brother for more than a decade, the call of printing pulled him into a job at Emporia State University’s in-plant in 1992. His focus on quality was rewarded when his in-plant won First Place in the four-color magazine category in In-Print 97.

Mark McCarty (kneeling) and his crew at Missouri State University Printing and Postal Services gather around their new Duplo iSaddle. From left: Nate Bledsoe, Austin Hubbard, Steve Townsend, Rick Patton, and Kim Hardie.

In 1999, McCarty migrated to Missouri State University where he never stopped looking for ways to improve his in-plant. He listened to what customers wanted and worked with them to make it happen. When the Enrollment Management and Services department wanted to develop a variable data viewbook, McCarty pushed for the purchase of a Duplo iSaddle in July 2019 to get this and other crucial VDP projects completed more quickly and efficiently. The Board of Governors was extremely pleased with the in-plant’s contribution to recruitment efforts. The resulting uptick in print work made MSU Printing and Postal Services one of the few higher-ed in-plants to post revenue gains in 2020, during COVID.

Always happy to run equipment on the shop floor during busy times, McCarty oversaw several shop relocations over the years. In 2023 he proudly welcomed industry peers into his operation for an In-plant Printing and Mailing Association Road Show event where they saw the in-plant’s new Xerox Iridesse in action. The in-plant used it to win a Gold award in the Variable Data Project category in In-Print 2024.

Always upbeat, even while undergoing cancer treatments, McCarty loved hunting, fishing, camping, and cars. He had a special fondness for the friends he made throughout the printing industry, particularly his own team.

"I've got a good crew," he once told IPI. "I couldn't do it without them. The way I motivate them is simple: I wouldn't ask them to do anything I don't do myself.”

A funeral service will be held 10:00 a.m. Saturday, October 4, 2025, at Finley River Cowboy Church, Highlandville, Missouri.

IPI joins the entire in-plant printing industry in mourning the loss of our friend Mark McCarty.