In-plant Graphics June 2009
ACUP Webinar Draws Large Crowd
DESPITE THE cancellation of the ACUP conference, ACUP lived on this year in a Webinar that attracted more than 100 in-plant managers from around the world. IPG partnered with the Association of College and University Printers to bring about the event, held on what would have been the last day of the ACUP conference. Three of the speakers who were scheduled to talk at ACUP gave their presentations online. Then, to replicate some of the free-flowing shop talk that is ACUP's hallmark, three past ACUP hosts held a lively roundtable discussion about the latest developments in their shops.
All the Right Moves
HOW DID Ray Embury, manager of Konica Minolta's bizhub Image Center, Office Services and Community Relations get started on his career path? He followed his heart. Born and raised just north of Detroit, Embury headed south to the Sunshine State to earn a business degree at Florida Atlantic University. One sunny day in March 1974, Embury was boating with a friend when their attention was drawn by two young women—twin sisters—standing on a bridge.
California Shop Adds CTP/Press Combo
Before installing a Glunz & Jensen PlateWriter 2000 in April, Gordon Rivera admits he didn’t know much about Glunz & Jensen. Then the coordinator of Campus Graphics at Allan Hancock College picked up his favorite graphic arts magazine, and everything changed. “I saw the Glunz & Jensen ad in your magazine,” he says, referring to IPG, “so I gave them a call...and I ended up buying it.”
CTP Comes to Ole Miss
According to IPG data, almost 22 percent of in-plants have an imagesetter. Until last month, one of them was the University of Mississippi, which has been churning out film with a Screen Katana for years. The main reason the shop stuck with it? “It was paid for,” laughs Tony Seaman, director of Printing and Graphic Services at the Oxford, Miss., shop.
Developing Your People: The Key to a Successful In-plant Team
It is imperative that we develop the people on our teams. HR experts make a distinction between training (improving people's skills in their current job) and development (improving skills for future roles). Both training and development are essential and can be interrelated. We train and develop our people though a two-step process: Education (Learning what to do). Application (Doing what you learned). What follows are 15 specific tools we can use to train and develop our people.
From the Editor: Outsourcing Talk
AS WE plod through this recession, I keep hearing rumors of a growing interest in document outsourcing. Consultants say that facilities management firms are tripping over each other in a frenzied effort to convince companies to outsource their printing. With equipment purchases slowing, they say, vendors are encouraging their outsourcing divisions to get busy.
Future Authors Selected for Fourth Annual Summer Writing Workshop
The School District of Palm Beach County and Océ North America announced today the selection of nearly 60 middle and high school students to participate in the 2009 Océ Future Authors Project. About 15 of the students will be participating from Glades Central High School through distance learning technology. Seven graduates of the program will be returning as mentors.
In-Print 2009 Winners
WE RECEIVED 420 entries this year for In-Print 2009, the only printing contest exclusively for in-plants. Sponsored by both IPG and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association (IPMA), In-Print was judged again this year in the Salt Lake City offices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Printing Division.
IPMA Mourns Passing of Ardent Supporter
Just 10 days before the conference she had helped organize, one of the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association’s most enthusiastic supporters passed away. Lora Geionety, an active and well liked IPMA member since 1996, died on May 28 after a short illness. She had served for more than 20 years as the manager of Mail Services at American Fidelity Assurance Co. in Oklahoma City.
MIS Brings Paperless Job Tickets to Washington State
Paper job tickets are a thing of the past at the Washington State Department of Printing. Thanks to the in-plant’s new EFI Monarch print production and management solution, the Tumwater, Wash.-based operation now uses digital job tickets. This not only saves time and printing costs, it is expected to reduce spoilage and rework over time.
New Press, CTP for Oklahoma's State Printer
Ten months ago, the aging, largely analog Central Printing Division at the Oklahoma Department of Central Services (DCS), struggled to produce high-value color print and finishing work. “It was more than a challenge to be competitive and meet production deadlines,” recalls Mark Dame, director of Central Printing. Because it conducts its business as a self-funded government program, Central Printing often competes with some of Oklahoma City’s best commercial printers. For this reason, Central Printing’s team of 24 employees knew the time had come for
Printing Beyond Borders
PRESIDENT DWIGHT D. Eisenhower had a dream of developing a program that would promote international understanding and friendship. So in 1956, Eisenhower founded People to People, basing the organization on his idea that direct contact between ordinary citizens from different parts of the world can encourage cultural understanding and world peace. Eight U.S. Presidents have served as the honorary chairman of People to People International.
Take Control of Your Team
WHILE DIFFERENT organizations tend to battle diverse and unique challenges, one issue remains constant and prevalent across the board: managing bad employees. When you add a weak economy to the mix, the situation becomes even more difficult. The easy answer to dealing with bad performers in a poor economy is to treat them the same way you would in a great economy. But, like most things in life, knowing the answer is not nearly as difficult as implementing it.
Technology Day Comes to PA
The Central Pennsylvania chapter of the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association (IPMA) held a technology day recently at Penn State’s Multimedia and Print Center. Hosted by Xerox, the event brought 12 in-plant representatives together for a day of conversation and education.
The Real Meaning of Lean
LEAN, THE practice of continually identifying and eliminating waste in an organization, is very often a misunderstood term or phrase. Too many people associate it with the phrase "Lean and Mean," which has become a euphemism for laying people off, working with too few staff, working staff long hours and micromanaging every activity to lower costs—often at the expense of quality. It's ironic, then, that the practice of Lean is the exact opposite of the phrase "Lean and Mean."
What's New in the Bindery?
THE RECENT On Demand show featured more than just digital printing equipment. There were plenty of innovations in the bindery as well. IPG was all over the show floor checking out the equipment. Here are some of the photos we snapped of the bindery equipment that caught our eye.
xpedx Debuts Demo Center
Despite the sour economy, xpedx is investing. That was the message the company wanted to send when it showed off its new Cincinnati-area print technology center to graphic arts journalists last month. It is reportedly the only U.S. center demonstrating equipment from a variety of manufacturers.
