World Bank In-plant Hailed for Innovation
In 2013, The World Bank’s Printing & Multimedia Services unit became one of the first in-plants to invest in a high-speed inkjet press. The new technology enabled the shop to acquire new clients, produce jobs that were previously outsourced, print more pages, increase revenue and reduce cost.
To honor The World Bank’s in-plant for these accomplishments, the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association has presented it with its 2014 Innovation Award, which recognizes an organization that has used creative and innovative ways to improve a process or business model through the use of technological, customer facing or process-driven changes.
“Winning the IPMA Innovation Award is a great feeling as it is a clear validation of the strategy and vision we had for the unit in the past few years,” remarks Manager Dave Leonard.
Prior to implementing the inkjet press, The World Bank’s in-plant was a document printer focused on operational black-and-white documents. Because the in-plant had primarily toner-based capabilities, the Bank spent approximately $3 million a year to print about 40 million pages externally.
Also, as the volume of operational documents shifted from print to electronic distribution, volumes declined. By adding an inkjet press, the in-plant would be able to address both these issues.
“We felt this would allow us to print color pages at high speeds and competitive costs in order the capture the large volume of pages that was being printed externally,” says Leonard.
After extensive research, an RFP was issued and the in-plant selected an HP T-230 inkjet press. Manufacturers recommended a roll-to-roll configuration, making the press independent from the finishing, but the in-plant wanted to consider the advantages of finishing in-line so they could output finished signatures or cut sheets. To get the best of both worlds, the shop decided to include both in-line and off-line binding to allow the press to operate at maximum capacity based on the requirements of a print job at hand.
Manufacturers recommended a straight-line configuration for a simpler paper path, but since this configuration would be almost 90 feet long, two operators would have to run the equipment. So the in-plant pursued a “U” shape setup about 50 feet long. The manufacturers initially resisted, but eventually they signed off on the innovative idea and installation proceeded.
One important effort was inclusion of the in-plant’s customer service staff and designers every step of the way. During training and ramp-up, they were offered seminars so they would understand the benefits and challenges of the new press. For example, designers may need to adapt certain types of artwork to make inkjet printed pieces look their best. Customer service staff needed to understand what jobs best fit the new press.
Multiple tests, including testing of various substrates, were conducted to understand the challenges and maximize the capabilities of the new press. The press was officially launched on May 20, 2013, and the in-plant quickly began to show increases in print volume. By the fourth quarter of 2013, the operation showed a 35 percent improvement in production printing revenue over the same quarter the previous year. The shop was able to show institution-wide savings of 20 to 35 percent for jobs brought in-house vs. external printing.
“It could not have come at a better time,” remarks Leonard. “The World Bank was actively pursuing a large reduction in general expenses in 2013 and this really helped us contribute to the institution-wide effort.”