Des Moines

OVER THE past couple of years, the term “transpromo” has been popping up across the printing industry, particularly among in-plants, where demand for it is highest. What is transpromo printing, and why is it an attractive option for many companies and organizations? Transpromo is the addition of promotional or customer education messages to regular transactional documents, like bills and statements.

NOT EVERY in-plant offers mailing services for its clients. Prior to 2005, for example, the in-plant at The Stelter Co.—a marketing firm in Des Moines that works with non-profit organizations—simply shipped printed material back to clients or handed it over to an outside vendor. But Dan Manderscheid, who joined Stelter in October 2004 as a mail processing specialist, says that outsourcing mail didn’t make sense given that the company was otherwise a one-stop shop with artists, Web designers, editors, legal counsel, marketing professionals and print operators on staff. In January 2005, Stelter purchased an inserter, two address printers and Pitney Bowes SmartMailer software,

After several in-plant jobs, Tim Steenhoek now heads up document management for ING, a financial services giant. By Kristen E. Monte When Tim Steenhoek began working for his school district's print shop in high school, he never dreamed printing would be his ultimate career choice. Now, however, as head of the Document Management Center for ING, one of the world's largest financial services companies, he wouldn't have it any other way. His Des Moines, Iowa-based operation provides ING with on-demand, variable data printing, as well as mailing and fulfillment. Steenhoek didn't just stumble into ING's in-plant; this self-described "technology freak" had been working to

Government in-plants from around the country gathered in Des Moines to learn from each other and develop their digital strategies. By Bob Neubauer Perhaps the highlight of the recent National State Publishing Association (NSPA) conference—the part that may have hit home hardest for the 27 government attendees—was when fellow NSPA member Raúl Guevara took the floor with an energetic presentation detailing how his department's strategic business plan saved $839,133 for the Kansas Department of Transportation. By analyzing his operation's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and calculating its savings, Guevara, bureau chief of KDOT's Bureau of Support Services, strengthened and improved his department. "We

As the fourth generation to work in the graphic arts, Lise Melton has done plenty to make her forefathers proud. By Bob Neubauer As a child in Rockford, Ill., Lise Melton may have had an inkling she was destined to work in the printing industry. It was, after all, a family tradition. "I kind of grew up around printing," she explains. "My great grandfather was a graphic artist who drew on litho stones." His son, in turn, started a printing company called General Lithographic. Melton's father worked there as an estimator. So when it came time for Melton to attend college, small wonder she

Thanks to its cutting-edge expertise in variable printing, mailing and fulfillment, ING's Document Management Center gives the company a strategic advantage over competition. By Bob Neubauer Tim Steenhoek knew his in-plant had turned a corner the day it completed its largest variable data print job ever. Using a single Xerox printer and only one operator per shift, ING's Des Moines-based Document Management Center (DMC) output 4.5 million mail-ready pieces in just one month. Such a feat shows how far the 73-employee in-plant has come on its journey into the world of on-demand, variable printing. But DMC's expertise in customized printing, along with