Connecticut

Ask Chris Barclay how he became interested in the printing industry, and he points back to 1976, his freshman year of high school. He remembers being hooked after taking his first graphic arts class.

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.

Don't get me wrong: I love getting out of the office, talking with in-plant managers and seeing the latest equipment at trade shows. But all that time away sure makes it tough to catch up once I return. In recent weeks I've been to three different events and met with more than 100 in-plant managers. We had some great discussions, and I got a number of excellent story ideas. It all started with the annual National State Publishing Association conference. I drove up to Connecticut to spend four days with the directors of some of the largest state government in-plants. (I was

Steady improvement over six years turned the once meager in-plant at Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maine into an award winner. WHEN ANDREW Haynes started working at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maine in 1994, the in-plant wasn't exactly state-of-the-art. "The equipment was so old that you really couldn't do anything with it," the prepress and press production specialist recalls. But help was on the way—in the form of a two-color, 26˝ Heidelberg MOZ press. Haynes arrived at the beginning of a six-year period of growth that turned the South Portland, Maine, in-plant into a high-production, award-winning facility. These changes not