Xerox Corp.

In-plants that have integrated digital printing systems into their shops are racing ahead and not looking back. IN JULY of 1997, CCH, of Riverwoods, Ill., made a bold move. The publisher decided to retire two of its offset presses and bring in digital printing equipment to produce its business law publications. The goal was to do away with the practice of overprinting and warehousing books, as well as to increase quality and make it easier to update materials. But CCH had to find a product with dynamic database management capabilities that could print on 8.6-pound bond—akin to the paper in phone books.

With on-demand digital printing on the rise, vendors are offering better digital gear at more reasonable prices. These days, warehousing is just not as popular as it used to be. Now that customers know they can get short runs printed cost-effectively, that's what they want. The makers of digital printing equipment are wise to this, and they are continually upgrading their offerings—and making them more affordable for small shops. "They are starting to show the corporate user and the in-plant user that there are more affordable ways to get short-run documents—especially unique documents—into the hands of the users," says Stan Bradshaw, president

Though college and university in-plants take on many different sizes, shapes and functions, the same basic issues affect them all. Visit any two college or university in-plants and you're apt to encounter two remarkably different operations. If you're in Seattle, walk into the University of Washington's vast in-plant, and you'll see big offset presses, high-speed digital printers and sophisticated mailing equipment all cranking away. Stop into Philadelphia's Temple University, on the other hand, and you won't see any offset presses at all, just copiers. Saunter down to Austin and you'll find two unaffiliated in-plants at the University of Texas: UT Copy

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

According to a new study, significant cost and performance improvements have qualified digital color presses for mainstream in-plant printing. In-plant operations have always been pioneers in digital production printing. A decade ago, many in-plants began to add networked PostScript printers to produce books, manuals, directories, forms and other products. In fact, the in-plant market was the largest initial opportunity for the Xerox DocuTech, which essentially defined printing on demand (POD) and supplanted small-format, "short-run" offset production for many corporate applications. On the color side, in-plants have been major customers for mid-speed digital printers such as the Xerox DocuColor 40. However, the digital color revolution—promoted

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

Though in-plant managers aren't ready to abandon their offset presses yet, they say the process needs to change to compete with digital printing. As print runs get smaller and clients learn to accept digital print quality, why should in-plants bother to stay in the offset business at all? That's a question many managers are pondering as the world continues to race into the digital age. Already several in-plants have dumped offset altogether after finding that high-speed digital printers can handle their work more cost effectively. Still, most in-plants have no intention of giving up their presses entirely. They've paid for them and they

Combining departments will not only boost your services, but it will save money in the long run. Marrying in-house mail and print departments requires all the foresight, planning and tact of a royal wedding—and the payoffs are just as spectacular. A more coordinated, efficient operation able to offer customers more services at a lower cost—that's the dream come true for managers of integrated in-plants. "The results [of our merger] were far greater than we ever imagined. There's a synergy from everything being together now in one wide-open space," reveals Tim Steenhoek, who manages mail and print at Equitable of Iowa in Des Moines. Operations

Dwight Loeding has rebuilt Orlando Regional Healthcare System's in-plant into an efficient, service-oriented success. When most people go to Florida on vacation they come home with a tan. Dwight Loeding came home with a new job. In 1990 he and his wife were enjoying the Florida sunshine on vacation from their home in Michigan when they noticed an ad in the Orlando Sentinel. The Orlando Regional Healthcare System needed someone to overhaul its faltering in-plant. Armed with some high school printing experience and a business administration degree, Loeding decided to check it out. Clad in his vacation shorts, he interviewed for the position.

Are you ready for a calamity to hit your in-plant? Neither were these managers. Find out what happened to them, and how they recovered. For most people, spring break brings thoughts of warm, bright Florida sunshine under which college coeds hit the beaches by day and party by night. But for Brad Johnson, print services manager at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., last year's spring break was about as far from fun as he could get—and not just geographically. "I was in shock. It was a reality check for sure." That was how Johnson says he felt when he first laid