IPMA Conference Delivers Valuable Insights

Spokane, Washington, was the epicenter of the in-plant world last week as more than 125 managers gathered for the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association (IPMA) conference — the largest event of its kind in the world. The conference, which wrapped up with a fascinating tour of the Inland Empire Paper Co., marked IPMA’s first return to the Pacific Northwest in over two decades.

More than 125 in-plant managers attended IPMA 2025 in Spokane, Washington.

Nearly 300 attendees — including 45 first-time in-plant participants — converged for the weeklong event. From engaging sessions to sponsor showcases, the energy in Spokane was anything but quiet (and may have reached its peak at the Wednesday night outing at the Steam Plant Restaurant, built in the city's old steam plant and retaining much of the original machinery and piping).

IPMA 2025 attendees at a session.

IPMA 2025 started on Sunday June 8 with several afternoon user group meetings that brought Canon, Ricoh, and Rochester Software Associates users together to compare notes and ask questions. A roundtable of state government printers also convened to share experiences. Then the welcome reception assembled all attendees for a few hours of networking and catching up.

IPI Editor Bob Neubauer gives the opening keynote at IPMA 2025.

On Monday (as outside temperatures approached 100 degrees), IPI Editor Bob Neubauer got the conference going with his opening presentation: In-plant Expansion Strategies, Equipment Trends, and Best Practices. Filled with data from a recent IPI survey, he detailed the equipment investments in-plants have been making and plan to make, noting which new services are gaining traction. (Get those answers by downloading the report here.) He also revealed results from a more light-hearted survey looking at in-plant managers’ favorite foods, hobbies, music, colors, and more. (You can still participate in this ongoing industry census survey at this link.)

Neubauer was followed by Konica Minolta’s Frank Mallozzi with a presentation on Leading Transformation in the In-plant Era. He hit on a number of areas important to in-plants, such as the impact of tariffs, the importance of marketing, and using AI to streamline workflows.

The IPMA vendor fair included 47 vendors.

Then attendees hit the vendor fair, which was packed with an impressive 47 vendors, who brought 136 people to talk with in-plant managers about their solutions. Several were demonstrating equipment, such as Ricoh (which launched its light-production Pro C5400S at the conference), Sharp (which showed its six-color BP-1200), Rhin-O-Tuff (showing the Tornado), Quadient (showing the Mach 7), and Duplo (which had both the DFL-500 coat/foil/laminator and the DC-618 slitter/cutter/creaser).

Martin Schneider of Careington looks at the Sharp BP-1200.

A lunch session by Canon’s Lucy Perez-Sierra and John Ingraham featured two in-plant users, Michele Woodrum of Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance (a Canon varioPRINT ix3200 inkjet press user) and Kelli Embri of Shelter Insurance (a Canon Arizona and Colex user). Woodrum said her shop’s inkjet press has unleashed great benefits for the in-plant. Embry said wide-format has been key to unlocking the in-plant staff’s creative side. Using the Canon Arizona and Colex Sharpcut, Embry’s team is able to print on metal, acrylic, wood, and more to create things like ornaments, wall decals, magnets, banners, and even signs for the plants in the organization’s outdoor garden.

Roundtable discussion at IPMA 2025.

Monday afternoon, attendees split into groups according to their regions and held roundtable discussions. They talked about a range of issues such as the scarcity of skilled operators, using student workers, inkjet presses, laser engraving, direct-to-film, recycling, MIS software, wide-format equipment, inkjet envelope printers, how shops are responding to tariffs, and making the process for customers to communicate deadlines seamless.

Following that, breakout sessions covered robotics and AI, marketing, workflow, and end-to-end ecosystems. Elisha Kasinskas of Distinctive Chameleon Marketing moderated an interesting discussion with three in-plant managers: Christina McDonald (Seminole County Public Schools), Jennifer Honeycutt (Alliance Defending Freedom), and Jeff Todd (Oregon State University). They detailed some of their successful marketing campaigns (and some unsuccessful ones). Read the full story here.

At a dinner on Monday evening, Ricoh presented Kristen Hampton with its Lincoln Innovation Award, named after the late Mike Lincoln, former Colorado State Printer.

"Our goal is that our marketing materials should blow people away,” said Todd.

In another session, Mark Boyt, principal analyst for production workflow services at Keypoint Intelligence, dove into the rapidly developing realm of robotics — the next evolution being humanoid robots. Because labor is a top concern for in-plants, Boyt sees robots as a boon for shops. He emphasized the importance of investigating automation opportunities now so in-plants don’t fall behind as the field continues to evolve.

Attendees tour the Inland Empire Paper Co. | Photo by Samantha Lauersdorf

Artificial Intelligence

On Tuesday, Kasinskas got the day started by moderating a panel discussion on how vendors are supporting in-plants with AI. On the panel were Konica Minolta’s Dr. Mark Bohan, Canon’s Bob Barbera, and Ricoh’s Heather Willovit. They shared various AI-driven tools their companies offer and strategies for optimizing print production. They encouraged managers to learn about these AI tools and use them to eliminate repetitive tasks so their employees can focus on more value-added responsibilities.

The AI panel discussion

“AI is transforming operators into strategic decision makers,” said Willovit.

Then the AI conversation continued with a presentation by Dave Rosendahl, who talked about thriving in an AI-powered world. He discussed the unprecedented growth of AI and how in-plants must adapt. He showcased several of the ways AI can boost productivity and quality for in-plants and how in-plants can leverage it just by learning to create prompts, plus what it all means for the workforce. He also hit on the concerns many of us have about AI and the anxiety about job security.

"AI is going to come for your job," he warned, adding that it's important to anticipate where AI is going and get there first.

After lunch, Ricoh's Denise Iannuzo gave a presentation focusing on optimizing in-plant printing operations through strategic improvements in marketing, customer experience, order management, file prep, document development, print production, distribution, and other areas. She emphasized the importance of doing an operational review and methodically addressing key challenges to create competitive advantages. Key recommendations included implementing integrated MIS and Web-to-print solutions, reducing manual processes, tracking customer preferences, and being decisive in digital transformation efforts.

Awards Ceremony

Tuesday evening, attendees dressed in their finest for the awards reception and dinner. All of the winners of the In-Print 2025 contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and IPI, were on display for attendees to examine. Then, winners were honored during the ceremony, including the winners of the separate IPMA Awards:

• In-plant of the Year: The Church of Scientology
• In-House Promotional Excellence Award: Tennessee Department of General Services
• Innovation Award: Mayo Clinic

Also honored were winners of the 2025 IPMA Outstanding Contributor Awards:

• Jennifer Chambers, Assistant to the Executive Director, IPMA
• Nate Riggins, Graphic & Production Supervisor, EMC Insurance
• Katelin Shanks, Senior Account Executive, Racami

In-Print 2025 Best of Show went to University of Texas at Austin.

The big finale of the night was the revelation of the winners of the In-Print 2025 Best of Division and Best of Show awards. This year the contest was reorganized; instead of having two separate Best of Show winners — one for offset, one for digital — the categories were split into four divisions: Offset, Digital Division A, Digital Division B - Small Shops, and Wide-Format/Specialty.

Neubauer shot, narrated, and edited videos of the judges selecting the winners in each division, and showed the videos during the ceremony so attendees could experience the tension as the judges make their decisions. Those four winners were pitted against each other for the final selection of the Best of Show. This year that winner was the University of Texas at Austin — its fourth Best of Show award.

One of the regional roundtables.

Howie Fenton started things off Wednesday morning at IPMA 2025.

Wednesday was packed with educational sessions. Consultant Howie Fenton kicked off the day with an informative session detailing how to prepare RFPs for hardware and software purchases. Before writing an RFP, he said, analyze your workflow, bottlenecks, quality control, automation, and pain points. Then you can say "This is where we're having problems. What can you offer us?" Fenton said.

Then author and motivational speaker Steve Gilliland shared inspirational stories from his life. He emphasized the importance of positivity and supporting the people around you — including your employees.

In other sessions Wednesday:

In a session on promo products, three managers told their tales. From left: Kevin Kelley (Georgia State University), Krista Moritz (University of Florida) and Christina McDonald (Seminole County Public Schools).

• Leo Raymond, managing director at Mailers Hub, touched on several important USPS updates, from leadership moves and financial standings to operational changes within the organization.
• Mark Fallon, president and CEO of The Berkshire Co., shared advice drawn from the writings of Ben Franklin in “Poor Richard's Almanack” to help in-plants live up to their potential. Fallon spoke about managing staff, keeping thorough records, networking, and more.
• Three in-plant managers shared how selling promotional products has dramatically increased their revenue. One went from earning $8,000 in promo product sales in a year working with a local distributor to $350,000 a year by working with Swag Solutions through its partnership with IPMA.
• Sherri Isbell of the University of Oklahoma led an interactive session on leadership during which managers shared their personal leadership experiences and how they influenced others on their teams to enhance their leadership skills.
• Two managers from Oregon State University related how they revamped their bulk mail service, drastically improving it. They not only increased customer satisfaction, they boosted the revenue generated from bulk mail by 300%.
• Andrew Dumas of UltimateTech, shared how in-plants can automate their prepress workflow can help boost efficiency, minimize errors and waste, save time, and bring in more revenue.
• John Johnson and Carlos Duenas of Palm Beach County Graphics Division told the story of how their in-plant built a thriving in-house label business. Not only has the shop been able to keep other county departments from outsourcing their sticker jobs, but departments that had never ordered labels are now regular label customers of the in-plant. As Johnson put it: “Build it and they will come.”

During the conference, IPMA announced that the 2026 Annual Educational Conference will be held June 14-18, 2026, in Greenville, South Carolina at the Hyatt Regency Greenville.

Check back for more updates from IPMA 2025.

More than 125 in-plant managers are attending IPMA 2025 this week.

The IPMA vendor fair.

Roundtable discussion at IPMA 2025.

"AI is going to come for your job,” remarked speaker David Rosendahl in his session at IPMA 2025.