In-plant Graphics September Issue
A Road Well Traveled
Twenty years ago, you wouldn't have found Mark McCarty in a print shop. Back then he spent his days driving around the plains of Kansas selling auto glass. But with a degree in Printing Management and a deep love of the craft, he couldn't stay away forever. In 1992 printing lured him back. Today he is Printing Services Manager at Missouri State University in Springfield.
Bar Association Beefs Up Pressroom
WHEN GORDON Ryan joined the 77,000-member New York State Bar Association about 12 months ago as print production manager, the organization had already decided to upgrade its in-house printing capabilities. To date, that upgrade has included a relocation to a 20,000-square-foot off-site facility custom-fitted to suit NYSBA's printing and warehousing workflow requirements, as well as a significant upgrade in equipment.
Building a Better In-plant
One of the more exciting acquisitions for the Print Solutions department at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee in 2011 was a new four-color Presstek 75DI digital offset press with an aqueous coater. It joined the Print Solutions family in May.
Canadian Managers Discuss the Business of Print
Thirty higher-ed in-plant managers from across Canada met in Victoria, B.C., in May for the 44th annual College and University Print Management Association of Canada (CUPMAC) conference. Hosted by the University of Victoria Printing Services, the focus was "The Business of Print."
E-books: Doom or Opportunity?
AN ANCIENT saying attributed to Chinese author, philosopher and general Sun Tzu offers great insight into the attitude the printing industry should take toward electronic readers, smart phones and iPads: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. In other words, it pays to know your enemy (and, if necessary, put him to work for you).
Five Lease Gotchas that Will Cost You
Eighty percent of all companies lease equipment. Leasing can bring many benefits, including conserving cash flow and bringing an additional source of capital. Savvy lease negotiators know that lessors will negotiate financial terms and conditions, end-of-lease terms, late charges, prepayment definitions and more. Leasing has a language all of its own. We call it "Lease Speak." It is possible to decode the language, negotiate your way through the murky water and save money for your company.
From the Editor: Fight Data with Data
When facilities management companies stop in to chat with your senior management, the words most likely to drop from their mouths at least a dozen times are "cost savings." They know these VPs and administrators will lean forward eagerly each time, excited to be the hero that saves their organization big bucks.
Strapped for Cash? Get Creative
You need to update your equipment, but your financial circumstances say, "There are no funds available." So how do you buy what you need, so you can continue to improve your operating performance, when there's no cash, and no budget approved for needed equipment?
The Case for Unfair Competition
THIS IS an argument for unfair competition. In the end, it will conclude that service departments and auxiliary enterprises (SDAEs) should have an unfair advantage. It will suggest that institutional customers (i.e., departments) should be made to do business with the SDAEs and should be asked to pay a higher-than-market price for the related products or services.
