ACUP Conference Taking Place in Phoenix

More than 80 college and university in-plant managers are meeting in Mesa, Ariz., right now for the 49th annual Association of College and University Printers (ACUP) conference. The first two days of the event featured some excellent presentations and discussions on topics like building a strategic business plan, equipment justification and customer service.

The very first session featured several in-plants sharing their success stories and strategic plans for growth. One of them (Bob Donahue of Franklin University) started a new in-plant only a few years ago. He detailed how it has grown and become an integral part of his university. Likewise, Ken Toy, of Harvard University, described how he has expanded his mailing operation to include printing services. Mark McCarty gave a presentation via Skype from his office at Missouri State University about how he brought digital color printing to his drastically downsized in-plant and turned it around.

A panel on wide-format printing, moderated by IPG Editor Bob Neubauer, drew enthusiastic questions from managers interested in expanding their wide-format business and getting into latex inks. Panelists Gary Warren (Ohio State University), John Wesseling (University of Cincinnati) and Paul Roberts (University of New Hampshire) shared some unique applications they have printed with their devices.

Tuesday afternoon featured eight different roundtables on topics like 3D printing, right of first refusal, document scanning, revenue opportunities and more. Managers shared information and had some very interactive discussions.