Xpedx

NORMAN HOWARD sums up the feelings of most faith-based in-plant managers in just one sentence: “I just feel like I’m serving God here doing what I’m doing,” says Howard, director of printing for the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, Va. It’s a sentiment shared by countless in-plant managers at religious organizations—and one that drives them to put forth their best efforts in the service of their faith. “It’s not just a job; I’m working for the Lord,” echoes Trout Davis, print shop manager at Grace Baptist Church, in Santa Clarita, Calif. The devotion of in-plant managers like these has certainly been a blessing for the churches and

IT HAS now been 16 years since Heidelberg introduced the first GTO digital imaging (DI) offset press. In that time, enhancements in architecture, quality, speed and control have served to create a viable and sustainable technology. The history, though, has been rocky. Other displacement technologies on both sides of the run length and quality equation continue to compress the space in which DI presses play. Still, digital imaging presses have many unique positive qualities that every in-plant should consider. As an independent consultant, I know that one of the things my clients appreciate is my objectivity. I operate in an unbiased, vendor-neutral environment.

On Monday, xpedx began operations at its new distribution/logistics center and offices in Grove City, Ohio. By moving from its facility in eastern Columbus, xpedx doubled its square footage, tripled its warehouse capacity and increased its proximity to core customers. The new structure stands at 68,000 square feet. Its increased capacity enables same-day delivery to area printers. xpedx has roots in the Columbus community dating back to the 1920s. The company has grown by acquisition and has formerly operated as Scioto Paper, Chatfield Paper, Mead, and Zellerbach.

FOR ALVIN Griffin, director of Graphic Production for North Carolina’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District, and proud owner of a new Xerox iGen3 digital press, a K-12 in-plant stays in the good graces of the superintendent for one primary reason. “We’re dedicated to their needs,” he says. “We provide the support documents for the teachers and the administration. We provide documents used by the students. Ultimately, our goals are aligned with the goals of everyone else in the organization: Education.” Keeping aligned with the goals of the organization became especially important with the arrival of a new superintendent, Peter Gorman. After 100 days at the helm

Due to popular demand, xpedx-sponsored MBA of Finance Workshop is making a return visit to Charlotte in less than two weeks. The in-plant community in Charlotte liked the workshop so much that they requested a second one. It will take place February 1, 7:30 to 11:30, at 4265 Trailer Drive, Charlotte, N.C. Having already drawn crowds in cities around the country, the four-hour workshop will provide in-plants with strategies to help them get senior management to make the investments necessary to successfully take on the competition and grow their in-plants. Learn more (and watch a video on the workshops) by visiting xpedxworkshops.com or e-mailing rachel.guenther@xpedx.com.

OFFSET PRESSES continue to pull their weight amidst the flashy digital printers that have been popping up in offices nationwide. These digital newcomers might be great for short-run work, but for big projects they still must step aside and let ye olde offset workhorses do their thing. Don’t think being called “old” is an insult, though. The longevity of these machines is impressive and can easily add up to decades. Jim VanderWal, production manager at CRC Product Services in Grand Rapids, Mich., says that his shop’s four-color Heidelberg SM102 was purchased in 1989 and the two-color Heidelberg SM72 dates back to 1975. Over

Xplor joined up with Graphics of the Americas last month to bolster its conference. Did it work? By Bob Neubauer AFTER WATCHING attendance at its conference dwindle since the booming days of the '90s, Xplor International teamed up with the successful Graphics of the Americas (GOA) conference this year, putting on a joint event last month in Miami Beach that drew about 24,500 attendees, according to organizers. The partnership seems to have been a wise move, as it freed Xplor from the task of organizing a trade show, allowing it to concentrate on its educational mission. GOA, in turn, got a host of

With demand rising for quick-turnaround, short-run color, in-plants are looking to half-size presses to give them the versatility and shorter makereadies they need. By Carol Brzozowski For Rodney Brown, a half-size press is, in many ways, the perfect size press for his in-plant. "There's very few jobs that we can't do for the university on this press," says Brown, manager of University of Delaware's Graphic Communications Center. His shop's 20x28˝ Komori is compact enough to fit in his facility, and it allows the in-plant to stay competitive, since materials cost less than they would on a 40˝ press. Plus, the quality it produces

A year after Drupa, what new surprises do graphic arts vendors have in store for in-plants? Here's an advanced look. In-plant managers eager to see the latest graphic arts technologies can't do much better than Print 05 & Converting 05. Held in Chicago once every four years, this is the printing industry's main event. Larger than last year's Graph Expo show, Print 05 will feature nearly 800 exhibits covering more than 725,000 square feet of floor space. To help in-plants prepare, many of the industry's key vendors offered a peak at the products they plan to display in Chicago. Offset Boasting

Providing low-cost printing is no longer enough. At IPMA 2005, in-plants learned they must improve their customer relations skills and integrate themselves into their organizations' core businesses to survive. By Bob Neubauer More than 100 in-plant managers gathered in suburban Chicago last month for IPMA 2005, the annual International Publishing Management Association conference. Appropriately dubbed "Winds of Change," the conference focused on the need for in-plants to transform from printing operations into providers of financial and strategic value to their parent organizations. The conference took place at the elegant Oak Brook Hills Resort, in the midst of a Midwest heat wave that kept