When it came time to print summer reading materials for Bethel School District in Eugene, Oregon, Karley Davis would always prepare teachers for a few days of waiting.
“We would ask for 72 work hours,” says Davis, head printer of Bethel’s two-person in-plant. The shop’s 25-year-old Oce printer could print the 450 or so comb bound books, which range from 50 to 500 pages each – just not quickly, she says.
That all changed this year when the district's print shop became the first in-plant in the country to install a new Xerox IJP900 inkjet press, the first product resulting from Xerox’s partnership with Kyocera Document Solutions.
“Now we’re doing it within 16 hours,” Davis says of the summer reading materials. “It’s really next-day turnaround. It has significantly cut [turnaround time] down.”
Showing off Bethel School District’s new Xerox IJP900 inkjet press are (from left) Becky McDermott, Karley Davis, Charu Tangri, and Arturo Moreno.
This speed boost was just one reason the in-plant switched from toner to inkjet.
“The cost of printing on the inkjet printer was so economical,” notes Charu Tangri, the district’s director of technology. “In the education sector, budget and finances are very, very tight.”
Plus, she admits being intrigued by inkjet technology.
“I am all for trying and testing and experimenting with the brand new tech that comes out,” she says. “I wanted to give it a chance.”
But the real reason the district went with a Xerox machine, Tangri says, was because of the company’s stellar service in their region and the great relationship the in-plant has with its Xerox technicians.
“Machines are machines” Tangri reasons, “but it's the people aspect that really helped us make that decision.”
The in-plant’s local Xerox representatives listen to their concerns, she says, and get them answers.
“The working relationship that we have with the Xerox folks is really top notch,” Tangri remarks.
“They have great response time,” adds Davis. “You put in the call, they’re there either that same day or next morning. They take us very seriously.”
With Xerox Versant and PrimeLink printers already in place, adding another Xerox device also made sense because of the shared Fiery front end.
“It’s been very helpful having one system connected to everything,” reports Davis.
It also takes up a lot less space than the Oce it replaced, she adds.
One feature she loves is that the IJP900 has been programmed to start up a half hour before she arrives, so the inks are at the right temperature and it’s ready to run once she gets in.
“I walked in this morning with a note from Becky, my coworker, saying, ‘I just need five more of these.’ I hit print and continued walking my rounds,” she says. “So, it was great.”
She notes that the shop had some initial problems with sheet curl, but after analyzing the problem, Xerox eventually adjusted machine settings to fix it.
The IJP900 is configured with in-line folding and stapling, so the in-plant can now do trifolds, which the Oce printer could not do.
Tangri appreciates that the IJP900 uses three-liter ink tanks instead of cartridges, minimizing refill frequency. This will be especially appreciated as the press takes on increasingly more work, she says.
“My hope and dream is to have a lot more print jobs,” she says – including more outside work. Though the shop currently does some outside printing for the Oregon Department of Forestry and the Eugene/Springfield Fire Department, Tangri would like to greatly expand that insourcing to “make the print shop a profitable entity.”
That may require moving the in-plant from its current space inside an old classroom with limited public access. The shop will also need a better job submission process than email attachments, Tangri notes.
“We're working on getting that built right now,” she says.
Oregon Shop Installs First Xerox IJP900 Inkjet Press
When it came time to print summer reading materials for Bethel School District in Eugene, Oregon, Karley Davis would always prepare teachers for a few days of waiting.
“We would ask for 72 work hours,” says Davis, head printer of Bethel’s two-person in-plant. The shop’s 25-year-old Oce printer could print the 450 or so comb bound books, which range from 50 to 500 pages each – just not quickly, she says.
That all changed this year when the district's print shop became the first in-plant in the country to install a new Xerox IJP900 inkjet press, the first product resulting from Xerox’s partnership with Kyocera Document Solutions.
“Now we’re doing it within 16 hours,” Davis says of the summer reading materials. “It’s really next-day turnaround. It has significantly cut [turnaround time] down.”
Showing off Bethel School District’s new Xerox IJP900 inkjet press are (from left) Becky McDermott, Karley Davis, Charu Tangri, and Arturo Moreno.
This speed boost was just one reason the in-plant switched from toner to inkjet.
“The cost of printing on the inkjet printer was so economical,” notes Charu Tangri, the district’s director of technology. “In the education sector, budget and finances are very, very tight.”
Plus, she admits being intrigued by inkjet technology.
“I am all for trying and testing and experimenting with the brand new tech that comes out,” she says. “I wanted to give it a chance.”
But the real reason the district went with a Xerox machine, Tangri says, was because of the company’s stellar service in their region and the great relationship the in-plant has with its Xerox technicians.
“Machines are machines” Tangri reasons, “but it's the people aspect that really helped us make that decision.”
The in-plant’s local Xerox representatives listen to their concerns, she says, and get them answers.
“The working relationship that we have with the Xerox folks is really top notch,” Tangri remarks.
“They have great response time,” adds Davis. “You put in the call, they’re there either that same day or next morning. They take us very seriously.”
With Xerox Versant and PrimeLink printers already in place, adding another Xerox device also made sense because of the shared Fiery front end.
“It’s been very helpful having one system connected to everything,” reports Davis.
It also takes up a lot less space than the Oce it replaced, she adds.
One feature she loves is that the IJP900 has been programmed to start up a half hour before she arrives, so the inks are at the right temperature and it’s ready to run once she gets in.
“I walked in this morning with a note from Becky, my coworker, saying, ‘I just need five more of these.’ I hit print and continued walking my rounds,” she says. “So, it was great.”
She notes that the shop had some initial problems with sheet curl, but after analyzing the problem, Xerox eventually adjusted machine settings to fix it.
The IJP900 is configured with in-line folding and stapling, so the in-plant can now do trifolds, which the Oce printer could not do.
Tangri appreciates that the IJP900 uses three-liter ink tanks instead of cartridges, minimizing refill frequency. This will be especially appreciated as the press takes on increasingly more work, she says.
“My hope and dream is to have a lot more print jobs,” she says – including more outside work. Though the shop currently does some outside printing for the Oregon Department of Forestry and the Eugene/Springfield Fire Department, Tangri would like to greatly expand that insourcing to “make the print shop a profitable entity.”
That may require moving the in-plant from its current space inside an old classroom with limited public access. The shop will also need a better job submission process than email attachments, Tangri notes.
“We're working on getting that built right now,” she says.
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.