Meeting Of The Minds

The University of California-Berkeley's representative noted that in-plants have to be careful about using variable graphics in print jobs; when the graphics change, the piece no longer qualifies for a bulk rate discount from the USPS.

The Top 70 in-plants have the same problem most in-plants have with departments buying their own copiers and bypassing the in-plant. Some, like LSU, are in charge of copier management and get to decide whether or not to approve purchases. Others, like Purdue University, ask local copier vendors to consult with Printing Services whenever university departments come to them to buy a copier. Cigna's representative said that since he controls the paper supply, he can always tell when a department is adding a copier.

All managers reported a big increase in digital printing. Unisys, with 30,000 documents to support, said it is moving to digital printing to stop the waste involved when inventorying items. Last year a large amount of offset-printed pieces had to be thrown away after they became obsolete.

One of the participants, Allstate, has an Indigo digital press, though Allstate's rep said its Xerox 2060 costs half as much to run as the Indigo and thus gets much more use. The State of Ohio replaced its Xerox DocuColor 30 with a Canon 5000, which is reportedly running great.

Despite the size of the Top 70 in-plants, survival is never far from their minds. After discussing the recent demise of two former Top 50 in-plants, participants offered their own survival tips, the first of which was to "follow the images" and continually look for new business. Allstate, Unisys and several other in-plants have found such new business by insourcing from outside organizations.

The UC-Berkeley rep suggested folding other departments, like mail, into the in-plant to make it more crucial to the parent organization's business.