Eastman Kodak Co.

Wide-format printers bring a new dimension to your in-plant and allow you to offer customers jobs that are larger than life. IMAGINE GIVING your customers the option of making anything they want into a poster. Now think about the cost savings you could pass onto them by doing it in-house—not to mention the increased exposure and business for your shop. Many in-plant managers already have made this a reality, and are reaping the benefits of providing wide-format printing in-house. "In addition to the cost savings from not having to outsource, the in-plant gains greater control over the final print," says Kelli Ramirez, director of

Once copying and printing was brought in-house, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office was able to take advantage of the low cost of color. Sidney Ettedgui of the Manatee County, Florida, Sheriff's Office certainly has his hands full. As a crime prevention practitioner he is often speaking to community groups and planning programs to deter crime. As if that weren't enough, though, he is also responsible for managing all internal and external documents for the 1,005-person sheriff's department, which includes more than 356 law enforcement officials. With officers constantly filing crime and incident reports, document management is a priority. About five years ago Ettedgui

In-plants that have moved to a digital workflow have streamlined their operations—saving time and money and eliminating costly errors. TO REALLY join the digital age and take advantage of all the benefits it has to offer—like faster turnaround times and fewer production errors—in-plants need more than just digital printing gear. Recognizing this, some shops have taken it a bit farther, receiving jobs digitally and often routing them directly to digital output devices. For example, after the State of Maryland linked its two in-plant sites—one in Baltimore and one in Annapolis—last summer, it eliminated the need for courier services between the two. Sam Cook, director

Customer-oriented, technology-focused and always looking for ways to save the university money, Mike Loyd has worked hard to build LSU Graphic Services into a leading in-plant. Ralph Gossard routinely makes key business decisions using hard facts, so it isn't often he renders judgement based upon a gut feeling. But four years ago, Gossard—the associate vice chancellor for administrative services at Louisiana State University—decided to take a gamble when he selected Mike Loyd as LSU's Director of Graphic Services. "Mike did not really have the large weight of experience you would normally look for," says Gossard. "But I knew him well enough to know he

When the Texas Agricultural Extension Service cleaned out its warehouse several years ago, it recycled 36 tons of paper. Thanks to on-demand printing, those days are gone for good. Ralph Piper's print shop is famous within the Texas Agricultural Extension Service for performing magic. In one case, the communications unit, which supports the Extension Service, was responsible for creating a manual on drought response in 36 hours for a federal government conference. Input was accepted and compiled electronically from extension services and experts all over the country. The 300-page file was transmitted to the print shop Thursday night. The shop created 500

The leaders of the digital graphic arts industry converged in Boston recently to display their latest wares. Seybold returned to Boston this year after a two-year stint in New York—and what a homecoming it was. All the leaders of the digital graphic arts industry were on hand to show off their new technologies. Adobe, naturally, took a lead position at the show, as the father of PDF. Adobe President John Warnock and CEO Charles Geschke laid out their collective version of publishing for both print and the Internet during the exposition's opening keynote. Both Adobe executives stressed that publishers in the near future

In-plants serving printing equipment manufacturers not only produce printed work, but also lend a hand in planning equipment improvements. Back In 1997, A.B.Dick came up with a plan. The Niles, Ill.-based company wanted to resurrect its in-plant and use it both to showcase its products and test its new equipment. With that goal in mind, Greg Zanoni was picked to serve as corporate demonstration floor and print shop manager. Now, two years later, Zanoni's in-plant produces about 98 percent of A.B.Dick's printed work, including all of its business stationery and marketing materials. What's more, the 3,900-square-foot in-plant doubles as a demonstration center where

Digital file transfer and remote proofing are speeding up workflows and making it easier for in-plants to communicate with clients. Your client wants the job done yesterday. In one scenario, the client downloads the job to disk, packs it up and transports it to you. You run a press proof and deliver it back to the waiting client. The client wants changes, so the whole process starts over again. Time elapsed: 48 hours (and counting). In an alternate scenario, the client merely drags the job file over to a folder on the computer desktop and sends it to you via a digital network. You

California Office of State Publishing Sacramento, Calif. Sometimes when you're big you've got to get smaller to survive. That's what happened in 1996 at the California Office of State Publishing (OSP), the largest state printing operation in the country. That was the year the Sacramento-based operation went non-mandated—when state agencies were no longer required to use the in-plant's services. The result was a significant drop in sales—10 percent over two years—and a corresponding reduction in staff. But the move also reduced some of the privatization challenges being directed at OSP by private sector printers and won the operation a lot of

University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, Calif. University of California-Berkeley Printing Services has a long and distinguished history as the main provider of printed materials for the school. According to George Craig, director of printing services, the university created its first print shop in 1874 in the basement of an early administration building. Up until the 1950s the printing department was combined with the publishing division. When the printing needs of the school became too great, a separate department was born. "It was recognized as an early requirement and has grown since," Craig says of the printing department. Since those days back in